Gosh darnit, Pokemon!

[soc_puppet]

So the big boss of the bad guy team in Sun and Moon has been leaked, and...

...it's another dude. I've talked before about how a female Big Bad was something I didn't know I wanted until X/Y, and it looks like I'm going to be disappointed again. My one hope is that the female admin will take over for some postgame plot bonus stuff. (Fuckin' dude did that in X and Y, too. Grah!)

I'm also reeaaally not sure how I feel about the aesthetic of Team Skull. Is it Bro Aesthetic, or is it Young Black Man Aesthetic? Or has the former copied so much from the latter that it as much as makes no difference? Hopefully I'll be able to dig up some analysis by Black bloggers fairly soon. And we still don't know what Team Skull's goals or motivations are, which will definitely also make a difference here. As it is, I've still got a slight case of the Do Not Wants going.

That said, I'm definitely loving all the new Pokemon, and all of the new Alola forms! I'm completely satisfied to see Alola Meowth is Dark type, since standard(?) Meowth learns so many Dark-type attacks, and really, Dark is just a sensible typing for cat Pokemon ;) I'm really hoping that they'll include an Alola Butterfree that's Bug/Psychic or an Alola Venemoth that's Poison/Psychic, since Butterfree's lack of Psychic typing especially annoyed me in the core games (though Venomoth would also make sense, IMO). I'd also love more Corsola forms, and maybe a pre-evo for it? Oh, and a new, even more colorful/extravagant Shellos and Gastrodon, because nudibranchs, and it's already got alternate aesthetic forms. And maybe an Alola Tropius? Really, just any one of those would make my day.


In other news, I need to make myself a Pokemon icon or two. But probably not until after I crochet some more stuff.

Comments

[redsixwing]

Huh. I read Team Skull's aesthetic as sort of the punk side of Goth. Especially Plumeria - who definitely has some ganguro (or yamanba) going on! And given Yamanba's Pacific Islander influence as a fashion style*, that fits with the rest of Alola, too.

Though, there's plenty of room for overlap with either Bro or Young Black Man aesthetics ...

I'll come be unimpressed with the dudebro in charge over here. I was so hoping Plumeria was the team boss. >.<

*and the distinct possibility that yamanba evolved from a racist stereotype of Pacific Islanders in the first place...

[redsixwing]

Whoops, forgot the squee!

Island morphism! Alternate typings! Surfing Raichu! Dark-type Meowth! Finally a draft horse Pokemon! *flail flail*

More Corsola forms would be awesome. Thanks to someone on Twitter, I'm hoping for a Fairy-type Satinette Pidove.

[soc_puppet]

So much to squee about, honestly :DD Surfing Raichu is sun-bleached, omg!

I just really, really want more Corsola forms? I've wanted them for a while now, and it would make a lot of sense, considering how many types of coral there are. And Satinette Pidove sounds adorable.

That said, so far it seems like only the first generation has been getting new forms. Fingers crossed that they'll prove me wrong, though!

[redsixwing]

I can hope they do more later, too. :3

I'm so jazzed about that Ice-type Ninetales, though! And the Fire/Ghost Marowak - with Lightning Rod as an option, no less - that gives us another Pokemon with three immunities (!) a wide range of resistances, ..but five super-effective types!

[soc_puppet]

Whether or not it ends up on my team, I am def getting me an Ice-Fairy Ninetales. And then nicknaming it Dragonfucker, lol.

I'm also looking forward to how they'll reimagine Cubone and Pikachu, given Marowak and Raichu both got new forms. I'm hoping for a new Cubone at least; I feel like Pikachu could go go either way, really, but there's enough of a difference between standard(?) Cubone/Marowak and Alola Cubone/Marowak that I can't see them not changing at least something.

I also 100% expect Alola Marowak to be overused by Team Skull, lol; it's got the perfect aesthetic, after all ;)

[soc_puppet]

That sounds about right, especially since Plumeria is identified as the "big sis" of Team Skull. Still plenty of room for racism in there, of course.

(Is it wrong that I'm also slightly disappointed that she's not wearing her namesake flower?)

[redsixwing]

..I'm a little bummed about that, too. xD

Incidentally, the Hawaiian symbolism attached to the plumeria is perfection and thanks - which... uh.

I wonder how they chose the name. >.>

[soc_puppet]

I suppose it's just as well, since I'm not sure which ear they'd stick it behind - though I'd have extra super mixed feelings if they'd gone with both, because on the one hand, accidental(?) canon poly representation, but on the other, they're still one of the baddies. I mean, Pokemon does a decent job of fleshing out their baddies and giving them decent motivation and backstories, and the fact that she's not the ultimate big bad leaves room to hope she's got her good side (IIRC, the worst of the worst have always been the baddest of the bad; Giovanni (Pokemon are for profit), Ghestis (Pokemon are for personal power), Saturn and Lysandre (both were remake the world in my own image)), but still.

Re: Name choice - I haven't the foggiest. Well, maybe the perfection part means she's a perfectionist? But other than that...