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Tell us about your favourite Pokemon!

Bluwiikoon

waow!
Location
Gensokyo, Past and Present ~ Flower Land
Pronouns
He/him
Partners
  1. nosepass-bluwiikoon
In this thread, you can write essays about why you love your favourite Pokemon, and why they're the best ever 😁 They can be as long or as short as you want!

This idea came up on the discord, so I thought it would be cool to actually see people write about what their faves mean to them.

Have fun!
 
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IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
LEAF DINOS
 

Bluwiikoon

waow!
Location
Gensokyo, Past and Present ~ Flower Land
Pronouns
He/him
Partners
  1. nosepass-bluwiikoon
VERY ELOQUENT AND TO THE POINT
 

cynsh

full-time quilava
Location
Deepden
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. quilava
We Need To Talk About Quilava

People often come up to me and say 'hey cynshie, you're a really cool guy and all but why the hell is quilava your favourite pokemon?' So I tell them

Well. It wasn't always this way! I think there's a few factors involved. Firstly, one of the first fanfics I read and one of my biggest inspirations in writing my first story, was Talgoran's Power Trip, which features the most wonderful cyndaquil/quilava character. Secondly, I distinctly remember going on quilava's Bulbapedia page (as I have with so many pokemon), being met by its official art and thinking 'wow, this guy really is adorable isn't he?
quil.png
I'm a sucker for any fire type with actual fire coming off it, so the flame spots are of course an instant win. It's just the right size - I love typhlosion but I just prefer quilava's proportions (plus it's the only one of the line to have two flame spots instead of one - another win).
What I think sealed the deal was this artwork by Haychel - who, incidently, was the first artist I really loved, and without whom I might never have discovered that side of the pokemon community (Also thanks Fro/Demi, I think it was you who sent this to me (my love for quilava was already blossoming at this time)). Anyway, the art, titled 'You're Surrounded!' (you may have seen it already): you_re_surrounded__by_haychel-d6vxeob.jpg

The joltic of course make a big contribution here. And on a certain website this is tagged as typhlosion - tbh I think it probably is?? But let's try to forget about that. But LOOK AT THOSE FLAMES. THE FLOOF. Everything. Glorious.

Finally, the origin of my own quilava, who basically represents me online now! A couple years ago, an artist I followed on deviantart (Wooled) opened up Winter-themed portrait commissions. It was super cheap so I figured why not. I asked her something like 'could you draw a quilava wearing a bobble hat drinking hot chocolate, idk what colour the hat is just do what you think fits'. And she came up with this:
holiday_icon_requests_2019__cynsh__1__by_wooled_ddmiwn7.png
Have I since adopted this hat colour, as well as the iconic ear holes, in every future iteration of this quilava? You bet I have.

I think that's about all. I think a lot of my love ultimately comes from fanart rather than original sprites and such. I don't have a picture on hand but the cyndaquil line also lend themselves exceptionally well to art of the three forms stacked on top of each other (in size order ofc).
I'll leave you with this page of sketches by Doodlefaux, which I loved SO much that I ended up literally commissioning her to draw my quilava because I needed more of her quilavas in my life:
every quil.png
 

AbraPunk

Cosmic Guardian
Location
The Circle
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. luxio
oh boy.
(putting these in spoilers so that you don't have to look at massive walls of text if you don't want to)

June 2020.

A friend and I are writing a pokemon roleplay on a social media app I no longer use, and I come up with the idea for some extra characters. I think to myself, I need a weak Psychic-type... and then, how about Abra?

Ultimately I ended up... not using an Abra in the roleplay, but I did carry over the concept to something that you may now know as my main PMD fic, Tail of Time.

Fast forward to February 2021. I've grown unsatisfied with my old writing, and decide to reboot my fic.

As I write my fic and develop lore and worldbuilding and all of this stuff, I find myself growing attached to one character in particular. That character is the Abra that was meant to be used for the roleplay.

That same month, I also, through wonderful luck on Reddit, join Thousand Roads. You all see my username. 😎

Anyways, this character ends up being something of a favorite of mine.


Even though I've taken a hiatus on the fic for now, that character is one I'm proud of, and I do relate to it (I've often called it "my depression as a character" and, well, that's basically true.) And it kind of shaped my whole opinion on Abra as a pokemon, because I previously never so much as spared a second glance at it.


Anyways, I really have grown to love this funky little.... cat fox goat thing. So adorable! Honestly a top-tier design, and it's just so.... aaaaaa there are no words really. I'm really bad with words. the adoration and love I feel for this little yellow 'mon is just..... 🥺 💞 god it means so much to me. so so much. I wouldn't be embarrassed to call Abra one of my comfort 'mons. I just want to give one a big hug :'))))

Also, like, can we just talk about the chance involved in all this? I said I needed a Psychic-type, and I picked Abra. It could have been a number of other pokemon. It could have been Spoink. Or Ralts. Natu, Unown, Chingling, Bronzor, Elgyem... you get the idea. It could have been any of those, and everything would be very different.

But no. It was Abra.

And I couldn't be happier with my choice.

So! I've always had a fondness for Ghost-type 'mons, and of course this one is no exception.

Something about the Haunter line has always stood out to me, even among other great Ghost 'mons like Duskull and Mismagius.

I like Gastly, but it's too... amorphous. A ball with a face and some gas.

And Gengar's cool, but.... eh. Too chunky.

Haunter is the perfect middle ground between those two! Still somewhat amorphous, what with the Rayman-esque hands, and not too chunky! I also quite like its spiky appearance. (Very Abracore, hehe)

Besides all that, it's a really cool 'mon I haven't really been able to think much about until fairly recently (school has been taking up too much of my brain)

Again, I'm atrocious with words and explaining stuff, so I can't quite put my finger on why I've gotten so attached to Haunter! Despite that, I happily consider it another of my comfort 'mons, and I'd really like to give one a hug :)))
 
Partners
  1. skiddo-steplively
  2. skiddo-px2
  3. skiddo-px3
  4. skiddo-iametrine
  5. skiddo-coolshades
  6. skiddo-rudolph
  7. skiddo-sleepytime
  8. snowskiddo
  9. skiddotina
  10. skiddengo
  11. skiddoyena
let me just grab this from an old tumblr post (oh god how was this six years ago i hate everything):

the challenge meme i was doing for pokémon20 said:
Pokémon are now real. Who is your main Pokémon partner that travels beside you outside its pokéball? Out of all 700+ Pokémon, who are the other 5 that travel in your party with you on your Pokémon journey?

SKIDDO.

No, not even giratina. That would be great, sure, but it would also be terribly impractical. It’s just so big, y’know? Can’t take it anywhere. It might not even fit properly into secret bases, and that would just be the worst. No, if I were somehow able to get my hands on my own personal grumpy antimatterpillar that would be a wonderful thing, but it’d have to be confined to a ball most of the time while skiddo would be my constant companion all day, erry day.

Oh, skiddo, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1) It’s cute.
2) It looks soft and probably smells amazing.
3) It’s really cute.
4) It learns milk drink, so free delicious creamy beverages are available wherever you go!
5) It’s adorable.
6) The dex says skiddo is 2’11”, which is maybe about as tall as a largish dog? And at 68 pounds, it probably weighs half as much as a dog of that size. But through the magical, physics-defying power of skiddo’s cuteness and love, somehow grown adults can ride around on it comfortably. Sugary-sweet and a practical mode of transportation!
7) It’s just so precious!
8) Did you know that skiddo can also learn surf? Travel in cuteness over both land and sea—it’s like an ATV! (Adorable terrain vehicle, of course.)
9) This is not strictly a skiddo fact, but rather a completely shameless confession that I can spend literally an hour just riding around in circles on Baa de Mer’s skiddo in X and Y.
10) Cuuuuuuuuute.
11–1000000000000000)

tumblr_p4mv9isbIn1qj44zxo1_1280.jpg


I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want one of these by their side and have this be their life forever and ever?????

In conclusion, this is an awful, mean-spirited question that the meme creator should feel bad for asking because now I’m super-excited about the prospect of a real live skiddo that can never be. Jerk.

Just.

Skiddo.
 

Flyg0n

Flygon connoisseur
Pronouns
She/her
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. swampert
  3. ho-oh
  4. crobat
  5. orbeetle
  6. joltik
  7. salandit
  8. tyrantrum
1648581130179.png
Need I say more?
 

Bluwiikoon

waow!
Location
Gensokyo, Past and Present ~ Flower Land
Pronouns
He/him
Partners
  1. nosepass-bluwiikoon
It is finally time for me to tell you all about Nosepass!

:letsgorb::letsgorb::letsgorb::letsgorb::letsgorb::letsgorb::letsgorb:

Prelude: The Nose Behind the Legend​

Nosepass is one of the Pokémon that people consider to be more unusual. In a series that contains objectmon (like Magnemite), "humanshape" Pokémon (like Machoke), and creatures made of living stone (like Onix), Nosepass manages to combine them all into one essence: a creature made of stone, based upon objects that resemble humans. Distinctly human-esque, but also very distinctly not human at all. In an objective sense, it makes sense that some people would find this combination of traits to be a bit too uncanny to stomach.

But, what about those who don't? What about the man dedicated enough to create an entire webspace themed around one nosey boy?

Prepare yourself... for a legendary journey... unlike any other...!

THE ULTIMATE NOSEPASS ESSAY


CHAPTER 1: Perfection Takes Time​

1651280232738.png
Nosepass, in no small exaggeration, had a bit of a rocky start in life.

The Nosepass whom appeared in its debut game of Ruby and Sapphire is not the same Nosepass that we know today, and the rough design of its original sprite did not garner much appeal with fans. With its forehead tall and round and smooth, it brings to mind the image of a balding old man. Its jagged orange nose, the cracks or edges running through its body, and the smooth but harsh brow line make it feel somewhat antagonistic. Befitting of a Pokémon that serves as the first "boss" in the game, but altogether lacking polish.

This was not the Nosepass that was meant to be. And, even in the promotional material, the guidebooks and the outside Pokémon medias at the time, its true form was already in sight.

The form... of a friend.

CHAPTER 2: Aesthetics; The Magnet That Draws You In​


1651280654582.png
The relief? Palpable. My skin and crops? All clear and watered. This is what peak performance looks like.

We go from a palette with harsh greys and sharp orange, to a softer and more subdued one. A soft greyish blue, almost purple in tone, with a gentle and ashy pink nose, tied together by accents of black (or dark grey, depending what image you look at). Even just the palette of Nosepass brings me joy. I find it to be comfortable, stylish, and appealing.

1651281363660.png
(palette picked from Nosepass' Platinum version sprite.)

I'm very fond of palettes that combine dark blues with warm colours, and Nosepass accomplishes that in a very simple but effective way. The colour design of nosepass could be seen as humble, and yet it draws attention to everything it needs to. Rather than a uniform blue colour throughout, the splash of pink gives its nose special attention and emphasis, immediately drawing you to one of its most prominent features. Its "mask" surrounding its eyes further helps to emphasize the detail of its nose, and ensures that its eyes, a focal point of how its personality is conveyed, is not merely lost in a sea of blue.

Nosepass' masky eye crevices serve a few key functions in its design. The shape of it conveys facets of Nosepass' rocky edges very clear and concisely, and the clarity and sharpness of the edges of the mask, the unnatural rock-like shape, prevent it from being perceived as furrowed brows. Although Nosepass' eyes are closed by default, the change to its eye mask here as opposed to its R/S/E sprite helps its expression feel more neutral, rather than antagonistic. While it is certainly still a personality that's up to interpretation, this very effectively guides it in a direction that's less harsh.

Nosepass' overall shape becomes more short and stout in its official artwork, compressing it down and widening it slightly. Ironically, this makes it feel more round in overall body shape than the R/S/E design that had smooth edges.

nosepass-designs.png
Even its legs became shorter and stumpier, and objectively much more cute. Everything refined, sharpened, and enhanced, like an ore into a polished gemstone.

Although this section contained several comparisons between modern Nosepass and its R/S/E design, I hope it is apparent just how much I value its design even without the contrast of its former self. Although people who dislike Nosepass complain that its nose is too large, I think that it's just right. I think that Nosepass, as it is now, is perfectly in proportion with itself. It is short, and stout, and a bit chubby in shape, and it is my friend.

The origins of Nosepass, in its moai basis and compass-point nose, are pretty ingenious. The nose itself is even shaped like an arrow, to such ends that it only has one nostril to emphasize this! I don't have too much else to add in terms of Nosepass' real-life inspirations and bases, but it is worth noting that I think the thought behind it all, and the way everything comes together into one coherent design and creature, is very neat.

CHAPTER 3: Lore of the Ore; A Living Creature​

A key basis of Pokémon is that you journey together with them, and get to know your companions through your travels and the battles you face. I think every Pokémon is made to be likable in some way, and that even if it doesn't particularly shine within battle-based environments, there's always something more to them.

The reasons of why I became drawn to Nosepass are a bit personal. As a child, I struggled to thrive in any form of social environment, and I often felt like the one person hated by all his peers. When people would scrutinise me and ridicule me for things I thought were innocuous, it made me feel like I wasn't human. Something that looked human, perhaps, but whose guise would immediately be seen through by actual human people. I developed a habit of always siding with the underdog, of giving unpopular fictional characters the empathy that I desperately wished people would give me.

Of course, I was a very silly and sometimes unpleasant child and teen, but I don't think anyone deserves to be bullied for that.

In the early 00s internet communities I frequented, Nosepass hate was all too common. At first I would join in with the vitriol and bashing, but eventually... I gave Nosepass a chance. And I think, in some way, I realised that I could relate to the way it was treated. I would draw pictures of it, giving it happy eyes and putting it in fun situations where it could eat snacks and play and have fun, and I grew more and more fond of it.

There's blanks in my memories, but I remember the particularly good moments. A close friend sent me a Nosepass plush in 2009, and that was probably one of the first Nosepass things I ever owned. Growing up with very little money and being unable to purchase goods online, it was a dream come true for me. The Nosepass plush (a UFO Banpresto Nosepass) is named Palmer, and is still with me to this day.

Days and months lamenting the fact that Nosepass wasn't available in Pokémon Black and White, only to erupt in screams and overexcited gifs on social media once Nosepass was confirmed to be in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Friends who played the game much quicker than I could, going out of their way to trade me Nosepass so I could have it in my party early.

Losing my mind in a cascade of capslock and more enthusiastic gifs and hollering when screenshots of Nosepass in Pokémon X and Y surfaced on the internet, and the absolute joy of seeing Nosepass look so great in 3D.

Playing with Nosepass in Pokémon Amie for the first time, and thinking that its >< face was an unhappy one and that petting its nose was strictly forbidden... but as it turns out, patting the nose is the most desired result! Seeing it dance with happiness after being petted, or after it ate a tasty PokéPuff with its nose orifice. Playing countless minigames just to get the best possible PokéPuffs for my companion.

Hatching so many Nosepass eggs once I reached the Daycare Center in X and Y, and committing so many Wonder Trades, that my PokéDex was nearly entirely complete at 2 badges before I acquired a beautiful shiny baby. Dutifully raising said shiny baby with all of the Super Training minigames, so she could be the best shiny Nosepass to ever pass noses.

The careful shuffles from one foot to another that Nosepass does during its idle animation in the 3DS games, and how its in-game cry changed to be more quiet and gentle. The fact that Nosepass in X and Y only appear in Horde encounters or in the Friend Safari, meaning they are always surrounded by a wealth of friends.

Starting a new HeartGold file, trading in a Nosepass egg, and being extremely delighted when the baby Nosepass could follow me around on the overworld. Being overwhelmed by just how adorable the little overworld sprite and animations were.

Painstakingly attempting to catch a wild Nosepass in a Beast Ball, while they continuously used moves like Rest and thwarted my efforts with their adorable sleepiness. The moment where I finally hatched a wonderfully unique shiny Nosepass contained in a Beast Ball, and giving her the fitting moniker Beastmode. Taking her through the Alolan Pokémon League, and making her a true champion.

Experiencing a rush of excitement and adrenaline whenever Nosepass pops up in an unexpected place, such as a randomiser playthrough or on the internet. Being absolutely delighted whenever I come across a new, good piece of Nosepass artwork that I haven't seen before.

The list truly goes on. I don't know if I can even begin to list all the positive and happy memories I have regarding Nosepass...!

As far as Pokémon go, people may consider it a very unusual choice for an all-time favourite. But the magic of Pokémon is that any single Pokémon could be that Pokémon, for someone, because every person and every Pokemon are unique. The possibilities and circumstances that bring people and Pokémon together are so numerous as to be almost unlimited.

Nosepass makes me happy, and that's all it needs to be.
 

Sonic Ramon

Pokémon Trainer
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Zorua and Zoroark. Both of them. For different reasons.

Zorua has this very cutesy looking design that I absolutely adore about it, and it also helps that its lore makes it into a devious yet adorable little prankster that you can't help but to pinch their cheeks on (or downright hug them). And then there's its hisuian form, which made me love it even more because that form basically took the already cute design, and multiples it. (Rip on the lore, though. #EternallyBeingSpiteful. :'C)

And then comes Zoroark, which is a very cool and sick looking design. It kept the color scheme from its pre-evo, and basically utilized it to make itself look cooler and fluffier with that long hair. It also helps when its lore basically implies that it's a protective creature, and would use that illusion trick of theirs as means of self-defense. And much like with Zorua, its hisuian form is even better due to it taking the coolness of unovan Zoroark's design and multiples it by edgelord incorporated. Like if you thought unovan Zoroark was edgy: This mofo STRAIGHT UP HAS MALICE SPILLED ALL OVER ITS DESIGN AND IT IS SO RAW, I LOVE IT! (Much like with hisuian zoru though: Rip its lore. #EternallyBeingSpiteful. :'C)
 

Guy Orion

Guy (!)
Location
New Bark Town
Pronouns
he/him
Even though my favourite is Cyndaquil, someone already posted about Quilava, so allow me to rant about the other little fella I’m absolutely in love with.



7CF85F5D-0222-4BB1-8A78-78E9F49FACE0.png
Skitty is such an adorable mon, that little face is peak character design. I’ve read it is inspired by the foxtail plant, and it has always reminded me of flowers like the cherry blossom and red lilies. The soft pink coupled with light beige is so pretty. Skitty’s a little strawberry yogurt ~

I’ve also found that it not terrible in battle at all when used to its advantages. It actually has a pretty diverse moveset, and with Wonder Skin it can actually stand it’s ground in LC, or as a risky add to an actual competitive team. Wish spammer Toxic Skitty with good Special Defence is so fun to watch.

I started loving Skitty in Pokémon Ranger. I only picked up Gen 3 games recently, so it had flown under my radar, but it’s sprite in that DS game is so cute I could cry.


A91AE245-7AA5-4BD5-A4D6-37F3CBEA32CC.jpeg

8544BD51-CBF2-432C-85EE-653A17FD012F.jpeg
Are you KIDDING?

I genuinely think Skitty’s design is amazing. It is cute and monster-y enough to keep its charm of an early gen mon, and it’s PokéDex is so endearing. Just an all-sound absolute sweetheart.

This also might be a hot take, but I really like it’s shiny. I think it’s tasteful, and its reddish tone is so nice.

39FC64D7-3E59-45B0-8A3C-3923A9051DF3.png

So, yeah, Skitty for the win ~
 

Guy Orion

Guy (!)
Location
New Bark Town
Pronouns
he/him
We Need To Talk About Quilava

People often come up to me and say 'hey cynshie, you're a really cool guy and all but why the hell is quilava your favourite pokemon?' So I tell them

Well. It wasn't always this way! I think there's a few factors involved. Firstly, one of the first fanfics I read and one of my biggest inspirations in writing my first story, was Talgoran's Power Trip, which features the most wonderful cyndaquil/quilava character. Secondly, I distinctly remember going on quilava's Bulbapedia page (as I have with so many pokemon), being met by its official art and thinking 'wow, this guy really is adorable isn't he?
View attachment 2492
I'm a sucker for any fire type with actual fire coming off it, so the flame spots are of course an instant win. It's just the right size - I love typhlosion but I just prefer quilava's proportions (plus it's the only one of the line to have two flame spots instead of one - another win).
What I think sealed the deal was this artwork by Haychel - who, incidently, was the first artist I really loved, and without whom I might never have discovered that side of the pokemon community (Also thanks Fro/Demi, I think it was you who sent this to me (my love for quilava was already blossoming at this time)). Anyway, the art, titled 'You're Surrounded!' (you may have seen it already): View attachment 2493

The joltic of course make a big contribution here. And on a certain website this is tagged as typhlosion - tbh I think it probably is?? But let's try to forget about that. But LOOK AT THOSE FLAMES. THE FLOOF. Everything. Glorious.

Finally, the origin of my own quilava, who basically represents me online now! A couple years ago, an artist I followed on deviantart (Wooled) opened up Winter-themed portrait commissions. It was super cheap so I figured why not. I asked her something like 'could you draw a quilava wearing a bobble hat drinking hot chocolate, idk what colour the hat is just do what you think fits'. And she came up with this:
View attachment 2494
Have I since adopted this hat colour, as well as the iconic ear holes, in every future iteration of this quilava? You bet I have.

I think that's about all. I think a lot of my love ultimately comes from fanart rather than original sprites and such. I don't have a picture on hand but the cyndaquil line also lend themselves exceptionally well to art of the three forms stacked on top of each other (in size order ofc).
I'll leave you with this page of sketches by Doodlefaux, which I loved SO much that I ended up literally commissioning her to draw my quilava because I needed more of her quilavas in my life:
View attachment 2495
LOVE to see more love for the Cyndaquil line! I feel like Johto starters are so underrated, and this little guy is just so cool ~
 

ShinyMachoke

Hitmonchan Defense Squad
Location
USA
Pronouns
He/they
@Bluwiikoon your post was beautiful and inspiring, no joke. Also, whenever I see Nosepass in PoGo, it makes me think of you, so good job on being the ambassador of Nosekind.

Now, let me tell the tale, of how this weird punchy guy became my ultimate favorite...
mybrain3.png

Pictured: actual x-ray of the inside of my brain

Part 1- The Beginning

I didn't grow up with Pokemon. I was 13 when it came to the US, and, while I watched the anime, I didn't play my first game, Yellow, until I was 14. But before that, I had a liking for dinosaurs, reptiles, and, well, underdog animals in general. While dinosaurs and some reptiles, usually turtles, were typically given good portrayals in media, a lot of times they were deemed to be bad guys or disgusting/dangerous in some way. This liking of underdogs also extended to other species, like the hyenas in The Lion King, dobermans, rats, you get the idea.

This information seems kind of off-topic when it comes to favorite Pokemon, but this will all make sense in Part 3!

So, getting into Pokemon.

Before I learned of all 150 Pokemon, I had a few favorites already. Lapras was my first favorite, then Eevee. I liked Vaporeon a lot, too. Despite all of the monsterous and reptilian Pokemon, I kind of ignored them. This may be me becoming a teenager and getting into anime, so I wasn't as adverse to "cute and pretty" things as I used to be.

With my totally original party of the starter Pikachu, the other Kanto starters, and a couple other random Pokemon, I reach Saffron City. Mr. Mime easily defeated the Fighting Dojo, and I was presented with a choice, this funky little dude being one of them.
1651362883151.png
I was like "Oh, I remember that guy from that one episode, interesting, kind of cute, neat pose".

I proceeded to train "Jude" for a level or so, being very underwhelmed by his performance. But I still liked Hitmonchan, for some mysterious reason. At this time, feeling inspired by reading lots of Pokemon fanfic, I wanted to write my own. I, of course, wanted to use some of the Pokemon I was using in Yellow, not the LAME ones like Pikachu and the starters (except Bulbasaur, whose line I liked a lot), but the cool ones like Mr. Mime, Dugtrio, and Fearow. And... Hitmonchan? The Pokemon I trained to like, one level, before deciding he wasn't cutting it and promptly boxed him to collect dust? Why was I drawn to this Pokemon anyway?

Part 2- The Appeal

Sometime in this timeline, I don't even remember if this was before or after I saw the sprite in Yellow, this was over 20 years ago, ok? Anyhow, sometime in this time, we had gotten Pokemon Stadium.
1651363667027.png
Well, look who it is right on the title screen, our good friend Hitmonchan! Front and (not) center, but pretty prominent.

For being low-poly N64 models, the Pokemon's textures could get pretty detailed... sometimes to a frightening degree. But the way Hitmonchan looked was pretty impressive, in my opinion. The tall crests gave him a powerful look, as do the intense green eyes. Really, Hitmonchan's got some VERY green eyes in Pokemon stadium, and to this day, I associate the default Hitmonchan look with having striking green eyes. In the anime and modern games, the eyes are either black or dark blue. Pokemon stadium was the only game to depict Hitmonchan this way.

Anyhow, Pokemon Stadium I think solidified my decision to include Hitmonchan in my upcoming trainer fic. BTW, I had never posted this fic anywhere, and it's a shame this story is lost to the sands of time. Not because it was good, but because it's a lost relic of my past. Like the anime that influenced it, I gave fun little personality quirks to the Pokemon my character, Kein, caught. Like Ash's Pikachu, the Eevee she rescued was distrustful of her, but after she saved his life, he became her loyal companion and her de facto starter Pokemon. The Spearow, who was the first to evolve, was wild but ultimately loyal and a powerful team member. The Diglett was timid but was agile and clever in her battles. The Bulbasaur was gentle yet steadfast, and evolved into the trustworthy Ivysaur.

And then there was the Hitmonchan who had... issues.

Part 3- Hurt, Comfort, and Justice

I had been drawn to hurt/comfort for awhile now, but I wouldn't learn of the term until years later. Back when I was 12, I'd read a Star Wars book about the various bounty hunters. One of the stories was about Dengar, this middle-aged guy with bandages wrapped around his head. 1651364635685.png
Anyway, in his chapter, he had was badly injured for life because of Han Solo, eh I don't remember the details, but there was also this younger humanoid alien chick who, like, helped Dengar with his pain, and 12 year old me went "yes, me likey".

I swear this ties into my Hitmonchan obsession.

Remember my talking about liking animals that were typically treated badly in media? So anyhow, my little pixel person, who I thought of as a girl despite the player always being a boy at the time, marches to Saffron City Gym after acquiring their Hitmonchan buddy. I knew enough about types at the time to not use Fighting types in this gym (used to read guides in Nintendo Power despite not playing the games yet). The npc's dialogue in this gym perked my interest, starting with the gym guide saying something about how fighting types get creamed before they can even aim a punch. This dialogue stuck with me after all of these years, heh.

At least one trainer in this gym said that the Fighting Dojo used to be Saffron's main gym, until the Psychic trainers defetaed them in battle and became the new gym. Now, at this time, I didn't have Hitmonchan as a favorite, nor were Fighting types even my favorite type. In fact, like a lot of people, I found them kind of ugly as a whole. But the warped self-rightousness in me felt that this bit of lore was really unfair. And how cruel it is that this "superior" gym is right next to the original one, which is still operating, just not handing out badges.

In gen 1, Psychic was the most powerful type. While Normal and Water were also excellent types, Psychic was the obvious *most* powerful, what with Mewtwo being of this type. Resentment for the haughty Psychic types burned in me. I began to like Fighting types because I felt pity for them, wanted to protect them. I, too, am a person who's not considered that clever. All my life, my older siblings and random kids at school would call me/treat me like an idiot. So this became something I internalized. The games were treating an entire type as idiots, one who could be easily be defeated by the intelligent Psychic types, with their high Special stat and favorable stats. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I had formed a kind of kinship with Fighting types, like how I had a kinship for unliked reptiles and other animals.

Let's go back to that trainer fanfic, shall we?

In the chapter where Kein obtains the Hitmonchan, she had just defeated her rival in battle. I think this is the chapter where Spearow evolves. One of the witnesses to this battle, an old man, said he was so impressed, he wanted to gift Kein a rare Pokemon he'd recently caught. Upon releasing the Hitmonchan from his Pokeball, Kein says how cute it is and how she likes "her" skirt. And then she gets promptly punched (but she's ok, just like how Ash is ok after being electrocuted by Pikachu!). Despite this poor beginning, Kein keeps the Hitmonchan, though every time she releases him for battle he turns on her, so he gets promptly withdrawn back into the Pokeball.

I never got too far into the story, but eventually I was going to explain what the Hitmonchan's deal was. They find out (somehow) that he used to belong to an abusive trainer who beat him and made him fight in "to the death" battles. I forget if I was going to have him escape or be released, but in any case, he was eventually caught by the old man Kein met, but never trained or anything due to being so aggressive. Kind of a dick move to pawn a dangerous Pokemon onto an inexperienced teenage trainer, but that's the Pokemon world for ya!

Eventually, Kein would have been able to help this Hitmonchan, gain his trust. He does turn around and stop trying to attack her. There would be emotional healing involved, like the kind I enjoyed reading in that old Star Wars story. In hindsight, being 15 at the time, I'm glad I never got this far into the story, I assume it would have been cringy. I did use the concept of an abused Hitmonchan for another story I wrote (and never finished) years later, "Guilty By Design". It makes me cringe now, but I'd still like to rewrite it some day. I feel better equipped and have somewhat more life experience over the decades.

Part 4- In Conclusion

I apologize for this summary being kind of disjointed and long. I feel like there should be another part in there. But I just have a very strong attachment to a Pokemon whose creator probably never really thinks about these days. It's been my favorite for more than half my life. I enjoy creating Hitmonchan characters and coming up with stories for them, even if said stories remain permanently nestled in my brain meat.

1651366923231.png
Here, my favorite sprite of Hitmonchan, with the best shiny depiction! Yay, Hitmonchan!
 
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Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Your guess as to my favorite Pokémon may go one of two ways:

- "She uses a Butterfree avatar and calls herself Butterfree or Dragonfree everywhere and wrote this whole emotional one-shot about Butterfree, right?"
- "Didn't she develop this whole elaborate Scyther society and write a whole Scyther dating sim and make your favorite Pokémon is Scyther jokes?"

But no, say I! My very favorite Pokémon is actually Charizard, who I have never named myself after or used as an avatar or developed elaborate societies for or written fanfics centered around or anything.

The first Pokémon game I played was Yellow, where you get all the Kanto starters over the course of the game. My first favorite Pokémon was just Pikachu. I believe my first exposure to Charizard was this sprite:

charizardyellow.png

And I just really loved that sprite. I've been a fan of dragons for as long as I can remember - especially as good, intelligent creatures rather than as monsters to be defeated and killed. And while when I look at this spritework magnified today it's probably meant to have a bit of the angry eye going on, what it looked like to me, squinting at my Game Boy Color screen where the darker color wasn't quite as dark, was just a dragon in a sort of calm contemplation. No roaring or trying to be cool and scary or whatever, just standing back a bit, flame burning peacefully, projecting power but not aggression. I loved that sprite a lot. Sometimes I'd just sit there looking at my Charizard's stats and admiring it for a while.

I think I realized Charizard was my favorite Pokémon sometime when I realized that I was mad at my Blastoise for being better than Charizard. How dare.

As I was in the process of training the rest of my beloved Yellow team to level 100 (Pikachu was already there because I'd tried a dumb fake cheat involving bringing a specific set of Pokémon to Bill to get into his secret garden and this meant I'd deposited Pikachu and then was mortified he only had one heart above his head so I just did some furious grinding against the Elite Four until he loved me maximally again; the rest were about 96, I think), my Danish cousin restarted it and overwrote the save file and I was devastated. My Charizard was dead and gone before he'd even made it to level 100. I wrote melodramatic essays about it and everything.

One way or another I never wound up feeling a big need to write stories centered around Charizard, though I injected a bunch into my trainerfic because I could. There's a lot of Charizard content out there and all. The one time I have been really inspired to write a fanfic about a Charizard is the Detective Pikachu (the game) fanfic I still haven't actually written, because the Charizard there is gentle and sweet and best friends with a Litten. That's the Charizard in my heart.

1651427258511.png
 

cynsh

full-time quilava
Location
Deepden
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. quilava
LOVE to see more love for the Cyndaquil line! I feel like Johto starters are so underrated, and this little guy is just so cool ~
To be honest I think they're pretty well represented in fanart, but anyway yes, hello! :veelove: For what it's worth I would love to read an essay on why you love cyndaquil. Absolutely adore the whole line, when I made a gen 2 tier list I think those three were the only ones in my S tier lmao
 

Seren

Lurking
Staff
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. sableye
I haven't seen a single person talking about everyone's favorite pokemon, scyther. I'm just going to assume that's because it needs no explanation.

Feel like gushing about sableye tonight, so that's what I'll do.

-A little bit of history, first:

So I've been playing pokemon since Red and Blue. I've had a few different "favorite" pokemon over the years. I think squirtle was actually my first, due to it being my first ever starter. Of course, I had/have a thing for pikachu, and for a long time, that was my favorite. I had a bit of a soft spot for starmie too, but since that was the favorite of my irl best friend at the time of red/blue, I kept that preference hidden for a long time (rather needlessly - two people can have the same favorite, you see). When gold/silver rolled around, I immediately fell in love with chikorita, too. Whichever one I called my favorite varied depending on the day, really.

When ruby/sapphire came out, though, sableye wasn't on my radar. Sure, it was cool and I liked it, but it wasn't anything that special; I had no desire to use one, anyway. Which worked out, since it wasn't available on my main save file (ruby) anyway. In fact, I think I had used both crawdaunt and sharpedo on that original save... hm.

-Jumping to Gen... 4?

It wasn't until diamond/pearl that sableye got any real interest from me. Or, I guess that's not technically true... it was actually Pokemon Battle Revolution. I loved seeing the models in 3D, and I followed a couple youtubers who uploaded regular battles; one in particular (Overhazard - they're uploading SwSh battles today, even, after a hiatus since Gen 5) got my attention for being a player who purposely created teams using uncommon or weak pokemon. One of those teams contained a sableye/mawile duo (since PRB was doubles-focused). And frankly, watching that sableye impressed me. Their sableye played a supporting role to the offense-oriented mawile partner, pretty much the standard moveset before it became popular (via mega evolution). Recover, will-o-wisp, shadow claw... this was before hidden abilities (and I think before knock off?) so it had very little offensive presence, but it was surprisingly tanky.

-So then why did I start to like it?

So around this time, I'd also started getting into competitive battling. Nothing coherent - I wasn't very good. But I had a solid 20 or so trained pokemon, I guess. Anyway, I was inspired to train my own sableye and see what it could do. Named him Diamond, after his eyes. I used him in a couple diamond/pearl battle tower runs, and while fun, wasn't overly impressive (this may have also been partly my inexperience).

Then, in one of those battles, everything changed.

I was in a doubles battle; I don't recall what other pokemon I had in my team, only that I was down to only my sableye. My opponent had three pokemon left, meanwhile; a xatu, a claydol, and something unknown. I fully expected to lose, and figured I might as well see how long I could stall for. The xatu, for some reason, kept spamming the move fly; I don't know why it had that, but it did. So I had Diamond burn it. The damage it was doing was minimal, so I focused my attention on taking out the claydol. I don't remember exactly how the battle went; what I do recall is having to spam recover every other round, usually while the xatu was wasting a turn in the air, in between spamming shadow claw on the special-attacking claydol (I think it was using ice beam against me?). Holding a leftovers item helped, too.

Eventually, I did manage to bring out the claydol. The final pokemon was something immune to ghost-type moves; I'm pretty sure it was a noctowl, because I remember vaguely having something use psycho shift to burn my own sableye and adding to the battle drama, but it was something normal-type that I could burn. I managed to finally take down the xatu as well, so somewhat miraculously, the battle was now a one-on-one. I was running low on PP for recover, though, so I'd spend several turns just spamming moves that had no effect on the remaining pokemon and trying to time my recovers as efficiently as possible, so I'd only be healing the maximum amount each use. Eventually though, the PP for recover ran out, and I gave in to the realization that I was going to lose - admittedly not as badly as I'd originally thought, but not enough to keep my tower streak alive.

Except that's not what happened. My sableye, through burn damage and leftovers recovery, managed to outlive the final pokemon and win me that battle. A three-on-one, double-battle-style match that I hadn't given the slightest chance of a victory, and my sableye managed to come out on top.

I know it wasn't a real battle against another person, and since that day I've had a lot of similar experiences both online and in post-game facilities, but none have ever felt so epic, and because of that, sableye's earned it's place as my favorite. I carried him through all the way to Sword/Shield, although that original sableye currently resides in Home; I'd bred a new one - this one happening to be female - somewhere in X and Y when I realized how IVs worked, as I'd previously only been breeding for natures, abilities, and egg moves.

I've since also come to appreciate sableye as a design and a character, too. It's motions and the way it acts both in the anime as well as the games, particularly the Colosseum/PRB models, are hilarious and adorable, and I just love my little precious, purple, gem-eating, demon imp.
 

Travant

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
He/him

While this spectacular image is a very good summary of why silvally is the best pokemon I want to ramble about it lol

The thing about Silvally is that they're one of the pokemon that I can't help but tie to the story of the game they're from, of course. Silvally is definitely associated heavily with Gladion in at least my mind, so to me Silvally's story is not just what we know of its own past in the game (a need to fight ultra beasts, unethical experimentation, locking up the Type:Nulls in the helmets, being rescued and growing to trust its trainer) but also Gladion's own story happens with Silvally in the picture, which just gives me so many headcanons about it. I'm a huge sucker for Pokemon that have ties to humanity in some way or another because I think they're such a cool concept (and probably realistic depictions of what could go wrong if humans actually had Pokemon to fuck around with). Some other Pokemon like this that I also really enjoy are Mewtwo, Genesect, Ditto if you buy into the Mew clone headcanons, and probably some others I can't think of off the top of my head (lol Castform).

But what really sets Silvally apart from the other ones for me is just how integrally they're tied to both the story of the game and the characters (Lusamine too in addition to Gladion honestly). Like seeing stuff like Gladion's jacket being torn and then seeing his absolute demonic looking type:null for the first time and having no idea what it is just hits so different and I'm a huge fan. This was probably very incoherent but oh well.
 
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