Anonymous asks:

What do you think shininess to do with Pokémon evolution, if anything? I remember in the Johto games, the shiny Gyarados was red because it was force-evolved from the naturally-red Magikarp, right? And is it a coincidence that Mega Charizard X has similar coloration to a shiny Charizard?

I’m sceptical. Like, what happens at Lake of Rage, supposedly, is that they’re forcing a whole bunch of Magikarp to evolve. The red Gyarados that you fight isn’t the only Gyarados there, it just happens to have caught everyone’s attention because… well, it’s red. Team Rocket’s original plan in Mahogany Town (aside from perfecting their radio technology for their later plot in Goldenrod City) was to turn a tidy profit converting useless Magikarp into valuable Gyarados – not just one, but several. Honestly they probably would have been better off without the extra attention drawn by the red one, but once people did start getting curious, they opportunistically started making a bit of extra money on top of that by setting up a toll booth near the lake. Or at least, that was my reading of it.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Mega Charizard X and shiny Charizard are both black, but I don’t think that’s the direction of the causal relationship; I think they’re both black because of a third, unrelated factor – namely, black Charizard are super badass (also, none of the other mega evolutions have this relationship, and the only one who does, Charizard, also has another mega form that doesn’t).

Anonymous asks:

My turn for an FMK question! Lance, Steven Stone, Wallace!

oh Christ more of these

uhhh

Okay, Lance and Wallace both wear capes so both of them are clearly trying way too hard, but only Lance actually goes out of his way to act like a superhero, which is a major warning sign, so let’s kill him

As for Steven, I am on the record as saying a number of disparaging things about geology (many of them including the phrases “not real science” or “really just applied physical chemistry”) but at least he’s also interested in archaeology and mythology, which is probably the closest thing I’ve got here to a solid foundation for a relationship, so let’s marry him

So I guess fuck Wallace? I mean… sure???

Anonymous asks:

You like mythical and folkloric inspiration for Pokémon, so how come you didn’t talk about or even mention Sun Wukong in Infernape’s entry? You mentioned the ‘world turtle’ myth in Torterra’s!

Well, I don’t strictly remember, on account of because I wrote it five years ago, but in the Disqus comments on that one I said “I am aware of this, but having not read Journey to the West myself there’s very little I can say about it,” which remains true, unfortunately.

Pokémon Moon, Episode 16: In Which I Am Judged By The Forces Of Nature, As Personified By A Giant Angry Lizard

Hapu and Mudsdale are waiting for us at the entrance to the Vast Poni Canyon, beneath a tall dead tree.
“Did everything go well?” she asks Lillie.
“Yes, it did! Though Chris had to help me out of all sorts of trouble, like usual.”
“Nothing wrong with that. People cannot survive all on their own. They have got to help one another out.” Hapu suddenly notices B, and pauses. “You are one of those Pokémon thieves, Team Skull,” she says in a calm, level voice.
“We ain’t no thieves just ‘cause we got a few tricks up our sleeves!” B objects.
“It’s fine, Hapu; he’s with me,” I tell her. That gets me a cocked head and a hint of a smirk. “That is, with us,” I clarify irritably. Hapu squints at B suspiciously. Continue reading “Pokémon Moon, Episode 16: In Which I Am Judged By The Forces Of Nature, As Personified By A Giant Angry Lizard” →

Vikingboybilly asks:

I hate that third wave feminists complain about Odysseus sleeping with Circe and that random nymph, when they FORCED him to stay with them or they’d let his crew die. It was an act of long-term, consensual rape. Penelope had it way better than him.

…weeeeelllll, I’d hesitate to attribute the idea specifically to third-wave feminists, since there seems to be a hint of it in Penelope’s letter to Odysseus from Ovid’s Heroides (published c. 25 BC, and therefore predating the feminist movement somewhat)… and Odysseus’ stay with Circe lasted a full year after he had defeated her and freed his crew, and is presented as something of a lapse of judgement on his part even by Homer in the Odyssey itself… and in some accounts he has a child with Circe, Telegonus… and I’m assuming that by “that random nymph” you mean Calypso, daughter of the Titan Atlas and mistress of far-flung Ogygia, in which case, well, he does keep sleeping with her even after the gods have ordered her to let him go and they have begun to make preparations for his departure…

…but other than that, yeah, sure.

Anonymous asks:

A post on the internet made me realize that Grant, the Kalos Rock-type Gym Leader, is probably named after Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park, right down to only having dinosaur Pokémon! (not a question, I just thought it was neat, especially since you’ve brought up JP and fossils in Pokémon before)

Well, I think his name is probably more likely to come from granite, actually, though it’s hard to tell because his English name isn’t used for any of the other languages the games are translated into. But this is certainly a happy coincidence!