henrymidfields

While we all love to see the exciting and electrifying gym matches between the modern gladiators, let us also spare a thought about the people outside the arena who continue to uncover the mysteries of Pokemon, and strive to improve the welfare of Pokemon in society. Special Column 1: Leading Pokemon Professors in Kanto and Johto Doctor of Zoology and Sociology Yukinari Okido 獣医学・社会学博士 大木戸 幸成 (Dr Samuel Oak) Yukinari Okido has been long considered as the leading Pokemon professor in the nation, with even the wider public knowing his name. Although Okido specialises the sociological interactions between humans and Pokemon, he also spends time as an educator for young budding trainers through his weekly radio and television programs Okido’s Pokemon Classes through TV Yamabuki (usually on Thursdays 7:00-7:30pm) on how to safely catch, raise, and train particular Pokemon. Although they can sometimes give him a hairy experience, he has been taking them in good stride. His television shows are also noted for his impressionable weekly senryu poems – some adult viewers are said to view the shows just to collect and record said poems. On a more serious note, Professor Oak and his investigation team in the University of Yamabuki has also been important in continuing to raise attention in the Poke-sociological issues that plagued Shoyo during the years leading up to, and during World War II. He and his co-writers has published several books and papers regarding several atrocities against Pokemon perpetrated under the military-industrial administration of then Empire of Shoyo, including his latest book The Pokemon Cried for the Land. Unfortunately, this had made him a political target by a number of right-wing organizations. IN the most notorious case, Okido’s laboratory in Masara Town had faced a number of attempted robberies from the far-right terrorist organization Team Rocket. Although the robberies have abated since Team Rocket’s disbandment in 2007, there are still some people on the right (such as National MP Masayoshi Shido from the Conservative Party) that deride Okido’s works as unpatriotic and inflammatory. Doctor of Bioelectrical Engineering Masaki Sonezaki 生物電気工学博士 曾根崎 正樹 (Bill McKenzie) Even as recent as two decades ago, it was hard to imagine just how difficult for aspiring trainers to raise and manage more than five or six Pokemon at any given moment. Back then, it took several days or sometimes even a fortnight to send and retrieve Pokemon between different Pokemon carefarms and Pokemon Trainer Centres, which made many trainers thinking long and hard about who should be their lifelong training partners. While Pokemon transfer networks did exist back then, they were mainly reserved for transferring Pokemon assigned to either soldiers or to other military functions within the Shoyoese Defence Force and her allies due to the cost and difficulty in building a safe network. The current network and terminal system initially proposed by Sonezaki has changed all of that, with improvements on the ease of installation, reliability, and cost, which allowed trainers to reliably transfer their Pokemon within minutes. This has the added effect of lowering the bar for budding trainers, as they no longer have to work around the constraint of whether to catch, keep, or release their Pokemon for better party formation for upcoming gym challenges. It should be noted though, that for the interests of Pokemon welfare, extended keeping in the storage system are discouraged, and trainers are reminded to regularly rotate their Pokemon to better nurture bonds and companionship. Doctor of Biology Kanna Shimazaki 生物学博士 志摩崎 栞那 (Lorelei Rhineland) An acclaimed researcher from the University of Yamabuki who studies Water and Ice-type Pokemon, and a former Elite Four trainer specializing in said Pokemon. While she is originally from the Nanashima (Sevii) Islands, she often goes onto exploring all across Shoyo to track some of the Pokemon’s transoceanic voyages and have even been consulted on a few of Planet Earth episodes by the acclaimed Saxceltian biologist and tv producer Sir David Attenborough. She is also the overbearing older sister of Maiko Shimazaki of Fortuna Entertainment fame. Ironically, Kanna mentioned in an interview about her likes and dislikes, which S-Pop was the latter. Even more ironically, Kanna’s had the opposite view on Columbian and European pop music, in which the same interviewer wrote how Kanna was “squeeing like a hyperactive girl at the mention of the Columbian superstar Madonna.” Even after her retirement from the Elite Four to focus on her research in 2004, Shimazaki still participates in sanctioned league matches from time to time. She proves herself to everyone, that she still has not lost her edge. In particular, budding trainers in their exhibition matches dread going up against her “Quickdraw” Cloyster which often becames a game of its nickname’s namesake duel, while matches between stronger trainers often become a cat-and-mouse sniping game. Doctor of Biology Yukiharu Utsugi 生物学博士 宇都木 幸治 (Elijiah Elm) While not quite as experienced or famous as his mentor and eastern counterpart, Dr Elm of Johto is considered by many in the Pokemon academic field to be Oak’s successor. Some of Dr Elm’s research achievements includes the role of evolutionary items in the biochemical processes of the Pokemon’s evolution, and the incubation and conception process of Pokemon Eggs. Elm also participates from time to time in his mentor’s television show; particularly, he is noted to educate kids and parents about – surprise, surprise – Pokemon egg incubation. Doctor of Archaeology Sully Hale 考古学博士 シュリー・ヘール Dr Sully Hale is a former adventuring archaeologist from the who crossed the land and the seas to chase after mythical Pokemon. He has spent his career chasing after Roaming Legends across Unova and Johto regions, far and wide, and is often said to be the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones movie series. He first research achievement, during his tenure at America University, was providing data on Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus, and tracking their movements between Shoyo and Columbia, which proved that while the Forces of Nature make their home in East Asia, they also migrate across different continents. He now works at University of Enju and leads a team of researchers and trackers including Ecruteak Gym cousins Matsuba and Minaki Reizei to track Suicune, Entei, and Raikou across Central Shoyo – while he is no longer as capable go on the chase himself, his passion and dedication motivates his pupils to hopefully carry the torch.

Yeah I think the horse has kind of bolted in regards to flooding the country with guns. Maybe a nationwide compulsory third party or liability insurance for gun ownership? (Like how we need compulsory third party insurance with cars.) I heard at least one county in Cali has been doing that to discourage irresponsible usage.

In my playthrough, not all that worse, to be honest - though that does come with a couple of caveats. I thought Fates was more iffy with avoidtanking, actually. But oh whatever. Anyway, a possible plot point I'd like to see in a future game is the role of the industry-military complex in a war. Say, the purported Empire turned out to be not quite the bad guy. The weapon suppliers, merchants, mercenaries, and nobles are the bad guys tagging together as the warmongering faction because they like the profit from weapon sales, contracts, and war prizes.

So I've completed the first five Kanto gym entries (in the RBY/FRLG bosses order): Brock/Pewter, Misty/Cerulean, Lt SUrge/Vermillion, Erika/Celadon, and Koga/Fucshia, and a special article about Kanto-Johto Professors, Now also coming to AO3: Shoyoese Pokemon League Magazine

I was more thinking in the lines of how much difference they can make long-term in their respective games, or whether they're redundant due to the (lack of) difficulty of the game. In that sense, Rutger does make certain chapters or bosses from very difficult (or near-impossible like Henning) to more reasonable... Never thought of that in my playthrough, but if I had the opportunity to replay FE6, I'd like to try that out. As for Fir, I'd actually be happy to use both her and Rutger to clear the Western Isles and then use them as crit machines.

I think with the Mongol Conquest there are several factors: war and pillaging was still the norm everywhere else, and the only difference would be the no of people killed. That would make Genghis Kahn or his successors not that much worse to his peers. At least we should also recognize the Vikings, Eastern Rome, Crusaders, or the Ottomans for their own conquests too. Actually, even with the numbers a quick Google suggested that the death toll is probably exaggerated, with the purported death toll being conflated with the spread of the Black Plague; and there's also the question of whether that was intentionally caused by the Mongols, or just an unfortunate side effect. There's also that the killings were mainly done against local nobles who opposed the takeover (as opposed to "every single one of them!"). It's also possible that propaganda and rumors were at play considering lack of communication technology. There's also that the supposed 30-60 million killed was over a period of 100 years, during the Mongol Conquests, or less than a million per year average. Still bloody, but nowhere near the intensity of WW2 and its 70 or so million deaths over a much shorter period of time - and I'm not even sure if the numbers include those predating 1939 (such as the 2nd Sino-Japanese War). I think there's also that the conquest also predates the concept of genocide in the modern sense. In turn because of the concept of, say, race (and especially race tied with the nation-state) wasn't really a thing until 18th/19th Century, maybe 17th at the earliest. Genocide itself wasn't a term until 1944. Applying modern concepts to pre-modern events are problematic for that reason. Hitler (and I have to admit, the Kwantung Army) are worse as their acts were done at a time when they were starting to be disapproved/disavowed - though it should also be noted that we shouldn't ignore the human toll and hardships imposed by other colonial powers, ie UK, France, Belgium. It also didn't help that thanks to advances in governance and military tech, it is far easier to destroy multiple lives all at once. There's also that they had a clearly racially motivated agenda to enslave or exterminate the other race(s) as opposed to simply conquer them, and there are more paper trails (and until recently, survivor accounts) to prove as such.

Counterpoint: Rutger (or swordmasters in general) can avoid tank easily in FE6. Question: How does Ryoma play a role in making BR easier? Are we talking about Lunatic-Classic mode, or does this apply in any difficulties? Also, here's the thread, which has been going back and forth between different posters.

Your favorite group of Pokemon League journalists has staked out the gardens of the Pokemon Gym at Tamamushi [Celadon] City. And we can assure you this was not to cast our gaze on the lovely ladies - no siree! - but to continue our jobs as intrepid investigators of the latest situation on the Kanto Region League! Chapter 2a.4: Takashimaya Tamamushi Gym [Celadon City Gym] 珠虫高島屋ポケモンリーグジム The gym was initially opened by Erika’s father who was formerly one of the executive at the Takashimaya Department Store. The Gym made an agreement with the department store chain for funding as a way to promote its haute-couture fashion products alongside the traditional arts Erika’s parents practiced. Despite Grass’s numerous type weaknesses, Erika has proved to be quite formidable due to her tricky status attacks that made many an unsuspecting trainer panic with their drowsy partners. Erika Matsudaira 松平 絵里香 One of the youngest descendants of the Matsudaira branch of the Tokugawa family, which had the shoguns rule Yamabuki-era Shoyo [Edo-era Japan], until the new Imperial government took power from the 1820s. The pretenders after the fall of the shogunate made their names in the arts and philosophy, and Erica, born under a particularly traditional branch, happened to take up traditional flower arrangements. Her seemingly traditional, Yamato-Nadeshiko-like demeanour belies a few surprises however. Despite the family pressure to find a spouse to carry the family name, Erika notably does not show apparent concern, which leads to fans (and especially female fans) speculate that she is a closeted lesbian. The sheer number of female trainers certainly does not help the rumors - never mind that some of them had come from families who were retainers or court daimyos of Erika’s ancestors. In addition, Erika, with her namesake company she has recently established, has taken the cosmetics industry by storm, with her organic set of perfumes she and her Grass-type Pokemon has been perfecting, which their share has been increasing in the nationwide market. Kao, Kose, Shiseido, and others have been eager in buying her business, but so far, Erika has denied any buyout attempts on her business. Pokemon: Bellossom, Tangrowth, Victreebel, Cradily Haruo Matsudaira 松平 温雄 (Haroldo Madeira) Erika’s cousin, and one of the few male trainers. In contrast to Erika’s traditional Shoyoese upbringing and trade, Haruo often adopts a Mexican persona thanks to his family’s residence there for his father’s job. Haruo immersed himself into the local culture including joining a Mariachi Band. He also co-specialises in some sound-based Pokemon. Pokemon: Ludicolo, Maractus, Tympole, Criketune Tsubasa Oribe 織部 つばさ (Appia Emerald) Most people would know Tsubasa as an up-and-coming young Idol Singer who looks up to her sister Ayaha, the crossover Shoyopop-Classical singer. Tsubasa, however, is more interested in the latest popular music fad, instead of the more recent classical music peformances that Ayaha started producing – not helped by the regimented and sleep-inducing music classes that dismisses the former as crass commercialism and worships the latter as the true academic form of music. Her debut song Feel had many of the flowers supplied and animated with the assistance of Erika and her proteges for the visual effects. She is a crossover character from Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Haru Okumura 奥村 春 (April Rearville) The daughter of Kunikazu Okumura, president of the Okumura Foods Corporation, which has long supplied the food courts and basement supermarkets of the Takashimaya department stores. Haru has recently taken up gardening, initially as her hobby, and eventually as one of the gardeners for the Tamamushi Gym’s greenhouse. Author's notes Okay, so we finally had a crossover character from Fire Emblem - albeit that also being a crossover with Persona/SMT. The next one will definitely have someone from one of the FE titles. You are welcome.

Oh this was based on a debate that some of us had regarding units several years ago... I forgot exactly where that thread was, but I do remember it was between those two units.

Never understood why Ryoma is often considered to be superior to Rutger. For one, I don't really understand how I can compare stats from two different games. This is considering different max stats, different skills (and different roles they play), and different calc equations. Secondly, isn't Fates!Birthright kind of Awakening 2.0 in terms of general difficulty? Do you even need Ryoma when any other unit can bulldoze the map without too much trouble? Sure, he may make a difference in LTCs or turn efficiencies, but outside of that, for the average player who doesn't care for the turn counts, is he really essential? At least Rutger (and any other Swordmasters in FE6) makes life hugely easier with more consistent crits and esp hit rates (which is an actual problem in FE6) and gets more consistent advantages against otherwise difficult to near impossible bosses like Henning. and also safely kill otherwise risky units like the Berserkers, and does this in a game that in some respects is more difficult than Conquest. (At least Conquest gives you opportunities to buff your units, nerf enemy units, and lack the same kind of hit rate inconsistency headaches that FE6 has...)

I've written about this in aother place. Let's see if I can bring it up: A succession crisis with some gender studies, based on both the wars involving the Austrian Empress Maria Teresa, and current-day Japan's hang-ups with having a female tenno - or even just addressing female leadership: Another one I would like to see is an industrial-military complex with merchants and weapon suppliers supporting a belligerent government or Empire just because they can sell more of their products, and would assassinate pacifists (and scapegoat other people for the incident) who do not tow the business line. Thirdly, some mass hysteria involving a royal family member who is also a demagogue who is in a succession crisis and, alongside with his supporters, tries to stop the perceived steal of his succession rights despite everyone else rightly believing that a) he is unfit to rule, and b) the rightful heir is someone else. He and his supporters commits the Duscur Massacre 2.0, and takes over the kingdom with an iron fist. You are the next rightful heir who saw your family (who was supposed to be the previous heir) got murdered - initially, you can only run, hide, and survive, but you gradually build your alliances to overcome the evil usurper. It's based on what if a certain event on January 2021 was more successful for the insurrectionists with a theme on misinformation and propaganda, as you have to convince others that you are the rightful prince(ss)/King/Queen who was exiled, or otherwise bribe them to turn over to your side. It's also far less ideal, and more like Leif's story in FE5, in that your enemies (both active fighting ones and political ones) often have the upper hand in the first half of the story, particularly in the first several chapters, and you have very little choice except flee and survive for another day/chapter.

Your favorite group of Pokemon League journalists have now travelled to Kuchiba City to visit Kuchiba Gym. This one has some difficult but important discussions about our way of life. Hey, we didn't say that it was all going to be all roses and sweet juicy gossips! Chapter 2a.3: Kuchiba US(Columbian)-Shoyoese Common Air Force Base Pokemon Gym [Vermillion City Gym] 在久地羽昇陽国・コロンビア合衆国共同空軍基地附属ポケモンリーグジム A group of servicemen initially opened this gym as a place for their and their families’ recreation, but is now co-owned by the Shoyoese and US/Columbian Air Forces under the League’s supervision and agreement. It’s one of the few facilities within the naval base grounds that is regularly open to the general public as one of the two forces’ community outreach programs. There was a brief crisis with the Gym’s continuation during January 2011, with the prospect of the majority of the overseas Armed Forces being recalled to deal with the multiple uprisings in the January 23 Incident back in the United States, with some Shoyoese troops also brought over to assist with logistics. Most of the personnel including Lt Surge suspended their Gym activities during the month due to said recall, and were dispatched to protect key locations in Washington DA (*1), Castelia (*2), and other major cities across the nation (*3). As many of our readers know, the organizations responsible for this heinous attack on our freedom included the white supremarcist Loyal Silver Knights (codenamed as Team Plasma by the Federal Bureau of Investigations) led by disgraced ex-Unova State Senator Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius, and its political organization the Make Columbia Great Again Party led by also-disgraced ex-Congress Senator Donald Heinz. It may be noted that one of Team Plasma's most heinous modus operandus had been their stealing or defrauding Pokemon trainers of their Pokemon and reassigning them to the Team Plasma klansmen - to attack and intimidate non-citizens and people of color, and anyone else who did as little as to look funny at the klansmen. Even worse, their other conspiracy involved misinformation with the self-portrayal as a Pokemon rights group - which also involved portraying the same people of colour as abusers of Pokemon. And this is even before we mention the widespread Pokemon abuse and grooming Team Plasma itself has perpetrated, and the ironic hypocrisy arising from this. We can only be thankful that the the US and Shoyoese armed forces and law enforcement groups have opposed Team PLasma's tactics and have warned the Columbian and Shoyoese public of Team Plasma's misinformation campaign. More importantly, the majority of our troops have continuously upheld our respective nations’ Constitutions, worked tirelessly over those months to reunite lost Pokemon with their partners, have brought the insurrectionists to justice, and restored social order. We are hopeful that people's trust in society and our governments would soon be restored as well. As long as we remember this, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself! Lieutenant Commander Matthias Surge マシアス（マチス）サージ Originally from Virbank, Unova, United States of Columbia, and currently stationed in US Navy Base in Kuchiba [Vermillion] City. Until his promotion to Lieutenant Commander, Matthias is posted across the globe in various peacekeeping operations. It has been said that Matthias has several electric Pokemon on hand, whether on or off the battlefield, whether as emergency electric sources, or for protection against potential enemies, or even for company for more mundane and isolating missions. The Shoyoese locals call him Machisu-Shosa, with Machisu being a corruption of Matthias, something which initially irked Matthias, but now wholeheartedly adopts. He is also a semi-professional double bass player focusing on classical and jazz and often plays with the Navy Band. He has Elesa and Ann as his cousins, and they often collaborate as Gym Leaders in goodwill activities and matches between Kuchiba and Castelia Gyms. This does not stop the three from getting each others nerves, mainly due to Elesa not being fond of Matthias’s involvement in the various intervention missions in the US Military, while Matthias baulking at the seeming disproportionate amount of money Elesa garners “just for looking glamourous” in Mattias’s words. Pokemon: Raichu, Hisuian Voltorb, Electivire, Lanturn Ann Takamaki-Surge 高巻・サージ 杏 A cousin of Matthias, and a younger sister and former fellow supermodel of Elesa Kamitsure Takamaki-Surge from Unova, and sister member from the Nimbasa City Gym in the Unovan Regional League. While Ann had her fans in her younger days, she has mostly left modelling since the early 2000s after her completion of her MBA and her appointment as board member in the Castelia Stock Exchange. As part of an exchange agreement, Ann also participates as the outside board member for the Yamabuki Stock Exchange. While Ann occasionally conducts photoshoots from time to time for her close friends, she is now more known as a board members alongside Shoji Manakano who oversaw the standardization and integration of Yamabuki Stock Exchange with other international stock exchanges. She is also one of Manakano’s few friends in the workplace due to their shared third-culture backgrounds and vehemently opposed his demotion that the board imposed in 2005. According to one interview, Ann mentioned that her career in finance was her priority as she could never imagine outshining Elesa in the fashion scene. She also mentioned possibly enlisting in the military, but has been ineligible due to not [yet] meeting physical requirements. She seems to be still open to the idea, as she also mentioned that she has been working with her cousin Matthias to get into better shape each morning – a routine she now considers as a relaxing antidote against the stress from the constant vanity projection of modelling life. Her battling style has been noted as a versatile mix of Elesa’s dazzling misdirection with Matthias’s ruthless shock-and-awe attacks. Ann’s colleague Shoji Manakano from the Yamabuki Stock Exchange also noted how Ann has been quick to test and adopt other strategies, including Shoji’s analysis of type counters. Pokemon: Alolan Raichu, Magnezone, Rotom, Oricorio (usually Pom-Pom Style) Lieutenant Colonel August Thormann オーガスト・ソアマン Matthias’s former supervisor and squad leader who often went on mission and voyages on the same squadron before a change of career saw him employed by the US State Secretary. He is currently the Columbian Ambassador-General to Shoyo and has found himself working with Matthias as a benefactor to the gym. Colonel Leona Denison Woods レオナ・デニソン・ウッズ The (fictional other) daughter to former Lieutenant Colonel Earl Woods and sister of celebrated golfer Tiger Woods, Leona is the base commander on the Shoyoese side. While the media has been busy distracting the public with her brother Tiger and his spicy shenangians with some 120 counts of affairs, Leona has been mostly left outside of the limelight – and she is pretty satisfied to keep things that way. Lieutenant Raizo Kondo 近藤頼三 (Ray Baird) The base commander of the Shoyoese Air Force side, Masahaya’s brother and Hayato’s (from the Kikyo Gym) uncle who represents the Shoyoese side of the gym trainers. Unlike Masahaya, Raizo does not hide his skepticism for his family traditions and is a firm believer of modern air travel, often sparking tensions between himself and his relatives in Kikyo. They however have been able to put aside their differences when it comes to air transport safety, however. The current system of requiring licenced Pokemon air travel for trainers was his and Hayato’s recommendation to the Shoyo Transport Safety Board (運輸安全委員会) after a series of near-misses between planes and idiot trainers and their Pokemon. Lieutenant Commander Raika Tachibana 館花来鹿 (Fredrica Burner) A lieutenant from the Shoyoese Air Force. Raika represents the next generation of Air Force pilots and engineers ready to serve to protect the freedom, liberty, and the Shoyoese (and Columbian) way. After a somewhat uneventful stint in working for YEPCO (Yamabuki Electric Power Company) as an office worker, Raika herself enlisted in the Air Force as an electrical engineer, and hasn’t looked back since. Takayuki Yamamoto 山本鷹征 (Tac Yamamoto) A legendary veteran in the Shoyoese Air Force who mentors the younger pilots, renowned for his kill counts and his numerous participation in Shoyo’s post-World War II peacekeeping operations. A story that he often tells people is his travel over 500km back to a Shoyoese Base on a makeshift electric car after being stranded during the Suez Crisis. Even though Yamamoto is approaching his 75th birthday, he and his reflexes sees no sign of slowing down. Notes: (*1) - One of the most notorious events, with criminal proceedings still ongoing, was the attack on the US Capitol in Washington DA by Senator Donald Heinz and his supporters with some 1,000 Pokemon supplied by Team Plasma. The attempt resulted in at least 15 of the security staff, 17 of the insurrectionists, and 10 US Army personnel killed, and martial law declared in the entire city limits. (*2) - Locations within Castelia that were taken over by the MAGA Party and Team Plasma were the Castelia Stock Exchange and the World Trade Center, with over 3,200 people taken hostage over the course of 48 hours. (*3) - One location - well-known to the league followers - that were related to the incident was the former Gropius Family Mansion and the nearby Unovan Pokemon League, which was also Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius's main place of operation to steal Pokemon from trainers via online. Nathaniel Gropius (often referred to as N Gropius) has also poached one of the regional legendary Pokemon under his father's instructions - reports from the Central Intelligence Agency suggests the poaching as a political symbolism of attain legitimacy for Gropius's family and their political parties. Author's notes So this one is a crossover episode between several titles, including Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, Advanced Wars, and real-life celebrities and entities. I'm also going to start putting up links to Wikipedia of the real-life entities I will be referring to. There will be future episodes that will incorporate similar re-works of, or or fictional/non-canon relatives of, characters from the above franchises and hopefully from the Fire Emblem franchise. Finally, stuff from Black and White has been reworked to more explicitly reference real-life USA and especially its recent politics (though much less bleak than real-life for obvious reasons). I mean, Unova is an inferior, half-hearted adaptation of its real-life inspiration compared to Johto, or Kalos onwards, or Earthbound's Eagleland. In particular, making Ghetsis as King was just ridiculous when its real-life counterpart is crazy about its republican-stsyem government and politics. You are welcome.

That'll be Super Mario for me, and no points for guessing.

Next the magazine Pokemon League: Who's Who Column travels to Hanada (Cerulean) City to visit the Hanada's Sensational Four Sisters, their water ballet, and some more family shenangians. Chapter 2a.1: Hanada Aqua Arena and Gym 椛田アクアアリーナ・ポケモンリーグジム [Cerulean City Gym] The Yawa family and ancestors are ethnically Kievanian, who fled the country during the Kievanian Revolution during the last years of World War 1 and the Civil War that ensured after - explaining many of the family members’ European-looking eyes and hair. They first settled down in Sinnoh as refugees, and had lived in Shoyo ever since. Their former Kievanian name was Yavanov, which was changed to Yawa (矢輪) during World War II, when the family were pressured to adopt Shoyoese surnames amidst the heightened xenophobia. Today, Kasumi and her sisters runs regular water ballet shows in the Gym, which the roots can be traced back to both the ballet troupes from St Petersburg and the folk water dances of the Kievanians from the rural coast. The Hanada Aqua Arena Gym was traditionally considered to be one of the lower class gyms alongside Nivi Gym due to Sakura and her two sisters having more interest in running the water ballet shows, but have improved in rankings in recent years once Kasumi took over and enlisted fellow trainers, and examination battles are available for Gym Badges up to 4th Class. Most trainers that train their water Pokemon under Kasumi’s supervision are local students, with a few Ace Trainers that Kasumi’s mentor and Kanto-Johto Elite Four trainer Kanna Shimazaki assigned to help the Gym improve its standings. Kasumi Yawa 矢輪 霞 (Misty Waterflower) Kasumi alongside her sisters is a gravure idol and water performer who hold regular shows in the Gym. In contrast to her feminine older sisters, she is a tomboy in many ways, which is sometimes a tension between her and the other sisters. Ultimately, however, Kasumi takes both of her tomboyish tastes and her female appeal with pride, which is reflected in her various roles, (both feminine and masculine/tomboyish) she plays as part of her water performance with apparent ease. In recent years, she has also shown improved skills in Pokemon battles, most notably her Pokemon’s fluid dodges from opponent’s attacks, feint counterattacks against them, and her type diversification to address Water type’s relatively few weaknesses. Pokemon: Starmie, Gyarados, Kingdra, Quagsire Sakura, Ayame, and Botan Yawa 矢輪 櫻 ・彩芽・牡丹 (Daisy, Violet, and Lily Waterflower) Sakura, Ayame, and Botan were the de jure Gym Leader of Hanada Gym until 2006, but most league followers contend that they were not exactly dedicated leaders, with them handing out Gym Badges like candy. Eventually, Kasumi and administators from the Pokemon League forced her older sisters to resign. Sakura now only runs the Water Ballet Trope, with Kasumi that does the everyday work of the Pokemon Gym, something that sometimes comes out as passive-aggressive banter between the two in many of their interviews with their fans. Nowadays, the three sisters are more known for their Water Ballets and their modelling work. Kenji Makino 牧野健司 (Tracey Skechit) Kenji has been noted to frequent the Gym and assist Kasumi in her duties since her promotion, though he also seemed to value the Gym as his atelier for his watercolour works depicting Pokemon. While the two have been keeping this under wraps, rumors are abound that the two are in a relationship, which is something that Sakura and others have been teasing the two about. Interestingly, Kenji’s great-uncle Kunio Makino was a mid-20th Century painter who exhibited a particularly individualistic painting style in rejection of the general trend of art abstraction. Pokemon: Seaking, Azurill Mizuho Iwasaki 岩崎瑞帆 (Lola Slaton) Mizuho is one of the artists and creative staff for the Water Ballet, who is currently training her Pokemon under Kasumi (who Mizuho’s son Takeshi is a friend of) She was also former idol and a high-ranking Pokemon Contestant specializing in Water-type Pokemon, and often mentors Sakura, Ayame, and Botan for their modelling and acting work. She once challenged Takeshi for the rights to the Gym, in the hopes of redecorating the Gym into a Water Type one and relive her past glory days – until Kasumi found out from Takeshi and took Mizuho in. While Mizuho often lacks restraint in her work role, she nevertheless contributed to the Water Ballet’s popularity. She is also Muno’s wife, and Takeshi’s mother – even though she may not always at home due to her gym duties, she is always seen enjoying dinner with her family at the local bistro whenever she has the chance. Pokemon: Tentacruel, Vaporeon, Mantine

Chapter 2: The League in Central Shoyo: At a glance The Kanto and Johto regions were the two earliest regional leagues and used to be the most prestigious. Due to the urbanization of the regions and people’s occupations and lifestyles not being as reliant on Pokemon, however, the last two decades saw the decline in Pokemon training and league participation. Contributing to this are the higher reliance of white collar or technology-based employment in the two regions, and the consequently higher need and admission rates for tertiary education in both regions, which further deprives potential trainers from their Pokemon training experience in their teenage and most formative years. The decline in league participators has been such that, since 1997, the Johto and Kanto Leagues amalgamated with shared management, a common Elite Four and Champion, and shared regional leagues with only the gyms and their associations being separate from each other. Chapter 2a: Kanto League Gyms Many of the Kanto League Gyms have private involvement or ownership, who unsurprisingly have the capital to hire people, own facilities, and pay the bills. Yamabuki and Tamamushi Gyms in particular are not only 100% private-owned as part of their sponsors’ branding efforts, but are often audited and imposed additional levy by the Internal Revenue Service [歳入庁] under the Ministries of Finance [財務省] and Ministry of General Affairs [総務省] as part of their ongoing league membership conditions. Most of that levy is passed onto the other gyms in smaller cities as part of public funding. Chapter 2a.1: Nivi City Gym 丹備市営ポケモンリーグジム [Pewter City Gym] Nivi City Gym [Pewter City Gym] is one of the few publicly-owned Pokemon Gym and facility, which is leased out to the Iwasaki Family. Most of the gym trainers there are children and students from various schools in town, with a few adults tutors from the Nivi National Museum of Paleontology and Nivi Pokemon Technology Institute. Due to the numerous type disadvantages rock suffer from, examination battles are only available for Gym Badges up to 6th Class. The Iwasaki Family's ancestry can be traced back to Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of the Mitsubishi conglomerate who had a major hand in the rapid modernisation and industrialisation of modern Shoyo. Many of Yataro’s and his brother Yanosuke’s descendants have either took part in the family business, or otherwise taken up prominent careers in their lives. Takeshi's immediate family, however, was one of the few exceptions. Due to his father Munou's previous pursuit of the Pokemon League instead of his family business, and his mother Mizuho also being of commoner status, considered unacceptable in the Iwasaki family's long tradition, to this day, many within the Iwasaki Family still refuse to acknowledge their connection with Takeshi, Muno, and Mizuho. Notable exceptions to this included Muno’s uncle and aunt Renzo and Miki Sawada who insisted on continuing their relationship with him. Until 1999, all of the Mitsubishi Group companies refused to sponsor any part of the Kanto Region's Pokemon League for this reason. Even as recently as 2005, when Yamabuki Stock Exchange board member, Kanto Gym Association president, and the current Yamabuki City Gym Leader Shoji Manakano and other business executives launched their trust to help improve funding for the few publicly-owned gyms (including Nivi), Manakano found himself demoted from Senior Director obstensibly due to a lack of performance later that year. Many league fans however suspect that the Mitsubishi Group and a few of the other board members who were Iwasaki family members had a hand in influencing other members to scapegoat Manakano. Takeshi Iwasaki岩崎剛 (Brock Slaton) Takeshi is an aspiring Pokemon doctor and intern in Nivi. In contrast to, and not least because of his father, Takeshi was generally down-to-earth in his outlook on life, preferring to work hard and keep a low profile. He ended up having to suspend his final year in middle school so that he could work part-time and support the family. Luckily enough, he has met a sympathetic mentor at the Pokemon Center he worked in. Aside from attending high school, Takeshi also apprenticing as a doctor at the Nivi Pokemon Tech, and students and staff note Takeshi’s dedication to the trade, and his culinary skills for Pokemon food. A few researchers have even worked with Takeshi in improving the nutrition for Pokemon, both at the conservatory within the Paleontology Museum and the Gym. On a more scandalous (or hilarious) note, there are also rumors that Takeshi secretly desires to join The Bachelor Shoyo TV series as a contestant. A particularly entrepreneurial fan of Takeshi collected 100 signatures and sent that over to the Amazon Prime Video studio before Takeshi’s parents took that down and sent an humorous yet stern tweet warning everyone not to further commit similar shenangians. Jiro Iwasaki岩崎仁郎 (Forrest Slaton) Jiro is the closest younger brother to Takeshi who is intending to take over the gym once Takeshi retires. While still young and just entered middle school, Jiro seems to be showing some promise as a Pokemon trainer, and is starting to gather his own fans. Muno Iwasaki 岩崎武納 (Flint Slaton) While his glory days are long gone, Muno was one of the Elite Four specializing in rock-type Pokemon. Unfortunately, he had a difficult time adjusting to post-celebrity life, thanks to a few disasterous financial decisions from his false friends, and ended up leading the family into relative poverty for a while. While many of his former friends have abandoned him, to say nothing of his extended family, a few of his old supporters including his cousins from the Sawada Family banded together and established a gym in his place. Slowly, but surely, Muno and his family started to regain their footing, and ironically became the family (im)famous for sticking together thick and thin.

So I decided to start writing this as my first project, a Who's Who book of Pokemon League celebrities:

Chapter 1: History of the Shoyoese Pokemon League Historical Origins The Shoyoese Pokemon League could be traced back to its traditional Pokemon fighting known as Keiju-do (携獣道), which was extensively used by samurais for war and imposing order. Commoners also used Pokemon mainly for various farming, hunting, and gathering tasks, and they were also known to use them for self-defense and to wage revolts against tyrants. Since the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603, the ensuing Yamabuki Era saw the samurais devise a system for Pokemon duelling, which became some of the earliest iterations of Pokemon battles in the nation. While many of these were fought as serious affairs and as part of dispute resolution between samurais or their families, they were attended by commoners as a source of entertainment. Eventually, an entrepreneurial Pokemon scholar from Suruga Province, Okido Masaichiro in 1685 organized the first series of Pokemon battles that admitted anyone and their Pokemon. While the shogunate despised the event as rowdy and crass entertainment, some of the lower-class samurai joined in due to financial desperation, due to the monetary prizes available. Genesis of League Rules The Tokugawa Shogunate was forced to open the country by Saxceltian gunboats in 1826, and the subsequent Bunsei Restoration since 1839 saw Shoyoese trainers contact Western Pokemon trainers and zoologists. Bunsei (文政義塾大学) and Totsuka Universities (戸塚大学) had their first battle clubs that adopted the modern Pokemon battle, or Pokemon Jousts as they were known under the supervision of Galarian advisor and zoology Professor Elijah Laventon. As with many other sports they adopted, the Kosei matches (戸政戦) were immensely popular and were considered to be the pinnacle of Pokemon Joust-style battles until a modified form of the Joust-style battles were eventually adopted by the national and regional leagues after World War II. The ownership of Pokemon has always been regulated through various laws and decrees under different government bodies, but the 1933 Pokemon Restrictions Act was when restrictions started to be more invasive. Amongst other things, the Act allowed confiscation of Pokemon by military personnel without cause, and also required all university Joust-format matches to be closely supervised by the military. While the ostensive reason was to preserve the health and safety of homes and public areas, post-WWII investigations by a government commission revealed that the Act’s main aim was censorship of front-line information the Second Sioan-Shoyoese War, and to inhibit communication between political dissenters, which only confirmed what many suspected. While many soldiers wrote proudly of their military exploits and their conquests over the ‘barbaric’ Sinoans, there were also many who wrote about their doubts about the war, the wanton death and destructions of the battles, the panic and sorrow of the civilians and Pokemon caught in the crossfire, and the veiled wishes of some of the soldiers to return to their families. A few even wrote veiled messages about their own Pokemon, or even themselves, being abused by their superiors. In addition, the Jousting leagues under the various universities across Shoyo were facing increasing pressure to adopt more ”traditional Shoyoese” rules, and discard what the militarists saw as “corrupt Westernization”. A few braver souls used whatever connections they could to keep the games going, and some games were even held in secret. There were also a few incidents such as the “Kogane Jousting Incident” where the local police even restrained and arrested soldiers-on-watch when the latter started to club students unarmed without any prior provocation. Despite this, the constant surveillance from the police, military, and esteemed members of the community such as veterans, and the strong focus on conformity with the community prevented any meaningful resistance until well into what is now known as the Pacific Theatre of World War Two. Only when the Imperial Shoyoese military suffered disastrous losses against the United States of Columbia (such as the Battle of Midway) and also failed to prevent the Doolittle Raids on Yamabuki and Kogane in early-to-mid 1942 that people started to more widely share their doubts. Initially, the military police responded by a mandatory requisition of all non-essential Pokemon from all citizens. Hastily conducted, much of the implementation was met with anger and confusion from citizens. One such protest and scuffle occurred on 15 June 1943 in one of the civic halls in Kogane when an elderly couple was forcibly taken away their Chansey they needed for everyday help. Surprisingly, other citizens and even a number of police officers and locally-stationed soldiers sided with the elderly couple and pinned down the confiscating officers down. News of this spread across the city and Kogane became the epicentre of the Constitutionalist Revolt (護憲反乱) that eventually spread across Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions, evolving into a full-scale civil war against the Imperialists (帝国派) when the Constitutionalists and their resistance groups agreed on their alliance with Columbian and Commonwealth forces on 10 October later that year. Many of the resistance groups helped civilians reunite and train with their Pokemon to resist Imperial forces. Birth of the Modern League Totsuka University zoology student and Constitutionalist medic Seigo Kido was one such person who worked with some of the Pokemon trainers and help found the first Pokemon League in Yamabuki City. After Imperial Shoyo surrendered to the Constitutionalists and Allied Forces in August 1944, Kido worked with the reformed Ministries of Education [文部省], and Health [厚生省], and their cross-ministry Sports Agency [体育庁] to reestablish the Shoyoese Pokemon League as a semi-governmental organization. Aside from as physical exercise, citizens under the new democratic government was encouraged to take up Pokemon League sports as a way of reconnecting with Pokemon and as a way of organizing resistance against future insurrections and government overturning by neo-fascist extremists. The first regional tournaments were attended by both up-and-coming trainers and veterans of the pre-WWII leagues in 1951, in which the top five trainers of each division were recruited as representatives of the leagues, now known as the Elite Four and Champion. Since 1955, a National Champion is elected through a series of battles between each of the regional Champions.

So I've been thinking of this as my first entry to my fanfic writing. I do have several ideas, but I'm going to try this as an easier entry to my try at fictional writing. It is not really a standard fanfic story, but an in-universe Who's Who guide book consisting of facts and gossip of all of the Gym Leaders and other notable celebrities from the Pokemon League and the wider Pokemon training scene. Both the characters from the game and the anime would be featured here. (I haven't read the Special Manga.) Note: As a longtime believer of incorporating real-life history and culture to Pokemon, I've incorporated a lot of real-life and alternate history of Japan - though not directly - into this world of Pokemon that the Who's Who is based on. Secondly, the Japanese original names (with some exceptions) will be considered as the canon names (with English names added to canon characters for clarification). Finally, there will be some crossover characters here and there. Contents: Chapter 1: Shoyoese Pokemon League Chapter 2: Kanto-Johto Region Chapter 2a.1: Kanto League Gyms: Nivi [Pewter] City Gym Chapter 2a.2: Kanto League Gyms: Hanada [Cerulean] Aqua Arena and Gym Chapter 2a.3: Kanto League Gyms: Kuchiba [Vermillion] US-Shoyoese Common Air Force Base and affiliated Pokemon Gym Chapter 2a.4: Kanto League Gyms: Tamamushi [Celadon] Takashimaya Department Store and Gym Special Column 1: Pokemon Professors in Kanto and Johto Chapter 2a.5: Kanto League Gyms: Iga Ninjutsu School Koga House Dojo and Gym (Sekichiku [Fuchsia] City) Chapter 2a.6a: Yamabuki [Saffron] City League Gyms: The Fighting Dojo Gym Chapter 2a.6b: Yamabuki City League Gyms: Kirijo Yamabuki Gym City League Campus (Former Regional League Gym) Chapter 2a.6c: Kanto League Gyms: Kirijo Yamabuki Gym Main Campus Chapter 2g: Kanto League Gyms: Atayama Baths and Inn Pokemon Gym - Guren [Cinnabar] Branch Chapter 2h: Kanto League Gyms: Tokiwa [Veridian] Gym Further chapters to be added in the future. Feedback to be posted within this thread.

There's also the reverse-whodunnit in the form of Detective Columbo - or how we know who the criminal is - no surprises there, but the characters in the story don't. And the main enjoyment is how the detective is going to find out who did the crime. Persona 5 also kind of fits this too - we know Shido is corrupt and responsible for a lot of bad stuff in the story, but what we find out is how he has stayed above arrest and how the Phantom Thieves try to bring him down. Persona 4 Golden's Animation, I heard, re-wrote a lot of the narrative in the assumption that everyone knows Adachi is the killer and focuses more on why Adachi is the way he is, and how he interacts with Yu over the course of the story.

This seems to have all of the info, there are some minor differences, such as name standardizations (some of the enemy names are either direct transliteration of Japanese or completely different names in the original) and there are some additional gameplay features and graphic/audio upgrades. Storywise, there doesn't seem to be any difference: Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch) - Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia Unless if Japanese or English isn't your first language and the the newly introduced remake is indeed your first language, you're not going to miss much tbh; for reference, I won't be getting the game.

My answer: none. Just don't. The less I see the stupid Princess with the stupid old story, the better.

I haven't got into it, because I don't really like having to subscribe stuff just for a few downloads. But I'd be very happy to play this over Mario Kart nowadays. Mario Kart's Grand Prix (except maybe the Nintendo 64 version) is just not fun, when you're knocked down from 1st to last just because of some CPU opponents got lucky items. The relatively few times I played F-Zero, they generally require actual skill and quick thinking and the times I messed up was really when I messed up.

Out of main games, I say Mario Kart GP mode is pretty close to being fucking garbage, because of how outright cheap the gameplay is for single player mode. (See my other post in this page.) I also say that Mario Sunshine was also has some of the more imbecilic narratives out there, even for a Mario game. People accuse Sunshine for the story coming out wrong, but I say the main problem is a particular someone being such a fucking coward taking risks, ignoring the opportunity to actually shake up the story, and make Wario and Waluigi as both the imposters and the acting villains for once instead of Bowser, or even do an all-star villain team-up with Bowser to take over the island, and ignore the Princess for once. But no, a this imbecile director insists on the same Bowser doing basically the same princess-napping shenangians, and have some form of obviously not-Mario doppelganger instead.

...Are you one of those kids who never did your homework?

Really? I haven't heard much about people missing the Kremlings for some reason, whether here or on reddit. Or maybe people do miss K Rool but it's not that big of a dealbreaker/priority?