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pikatrainer99 · 2 days

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Orange with his newest (13th) team member: Tails the Vulpix!

This was SO INCREDIBLY HARD to draw...it took me over two hours! Drawing Tails sleeping with her tails curled around her like a blanket was so difficult because there aren't many reference images I could use for that, since most sleeping Vulpix images have the tails behind them, but Tails uses them like a blanket since she has enough anxiety to qualify for a GAD diagnosis and the coziness is comforting for her. Seriously if anyone can give me tips for drawing Vulpix or help me find good references for this pose I would really appreciate it.

Orange is petting Tails' head while she sleeps on his lap, her fur is so soft and warm and it's making him sleepy too. This is the calmest I have ever drawn Orange, just look at him! He's not gonna wanna move for a while. They're supposed to be sitting under a shady tree, but since this isn't digitized (and I don't know if I'll digitize this one), it's hard to make that distinction.

I hope you all like this one regardless of the weird proportions and awkwardly drawn Vulpix! I have written the story of how Orange met Tails and she joined his team, so if you'd like to see that posted on AO3, just let me know.

One more thing, Tails' nickname has NOTHING TO DO with the Sonic the Hedgehog character, people who know me know that Tails is my favorite Sonic character and that may lead to confusion about Tails the Vulpix being named after Tails from Sonic. She is NOT named after him. I just thought that Tails would be a good in-universe nickname for a Vulpix since it has six tails...plus it's a very Orange-sounding nickname choice in my opinion. So that's why she's called Tails. I honestly wasn't even THINKING about Tails from Sonic when I chose it as this Vulpix's nickname, that's how well it fits this Pokémon species...and it fits Ninetales very well too, so if she ever evolves, she's still got the perfect name.

#pokemon #pokespe #my pokespe oc #trainer orange #orange of viridian forest #my boy got a new 13th team member #tails the vulpix...she's not named after the sonic character #i already wrote the story of how they met and how she joins his team #if you wanna see it posted to ao3 let me know and i will #pika's art #pika talks

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pikatrainer99 · 5 days

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I was able to find more of the modules I made for my Vocaloid personas over the years!

So here they are! First, we'll start simple...Pikachu!

I tried to make the girl a female Pikachu as best I could...and the boy is supposed to be a shiny Pikachu, just to have them both differ from each other.

Next we have them being full of energy wild children (yes, that's the name of it, Wild Child). They're playing tag and then they're gonna have a race. This one has a touch of mirroring color pallets. It's in the shoes, the wristbands, and the belts.

Now they're ghosts! Just wandering the digital void...nothing better to do. You can clearly see the mirrored color pallets on these Ghost ones...even the heterochromic eyes are mirrored! They look a lot like twins in these modules...so I'll tell you who's who. The girl is in mostly white with the black cape, and the boy is in mostly black with the white cape.

And finally, we have Blood Moon! These are based on Kagamine Rin and Len's Black Star and Blue Moon modules. They're just chillin', looking cool while listening to their music. This one also features mirrored color pallets, if you can't see it, it's their tops that are mirrored. They look the most like twins here of ANY of the modules I've created, can you tell which one is the girl and which one is the boy?

And finally, for the last photos of today's post, I've got their default outfits zoomed in, as well as what they look like without their headphones on.

There's the boy's default design, easier to see, and also an image of what he looks like without his headphones on.

And here's the girl's default design, easier to see, and also an image of what she looks like without her headphones on.

I hope you all liked seeing more designs of my Vocaloid personas! Those were designed years ago at this point but I still like them 😅.

Which is your favorite...? My personal favorite is Blood Moon...i just love how cool it looks!

#not pokemon #my vocaloid personas #made by me in gacha club #these module designs are old but i still like them #and wanted to share them with you guys #hope you like them!#pika talks #pika rambles

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pikatrainer99 · 8 days

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Just a fun little random thing I thought of...

If you were a Pokémon, what would your nature be? You can choose 1 of the 25 natures that are present in the Pokémon games. For example, I'd probably be an Adamant Nature because I'm very stubborn and persistent, never stopping till what I'm doing is finished...which can be both a good and bad thing depending on the situation. I do things my way, and once I've made my mind up nothing and no one can change it. If I wanna do something, I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna get it done no matter what. That's just how I am, it's how I've always been, so I think if I were a Pokémon I'd be an Adamant Nature. But that's just me. What nature would you be if you were a Pokémon?

#pokemon #pokemon natures #what nature would you be if you were a pokemon?#for me i think i'd be adamant #pika's musings #pika's randomness

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pikatrainer99 · 9 days

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Special Costume Barry in Pokémon Masters EX!!!

Look at him! He’s so cool! I got him to 6 star EX almost immediately after getting him (I got him on the second try btw), and I love his EX style more than his default one! I took the screenshot as he was in the middle of his hero pose animation, I wanted to get him just like this so I’m glad I had perfect timing! I’m so glad my ADHD king FINALLY got his own alt, especially since he’s been in the game since day 1. Barry is my favorite rival character and he doesn’t get enough love in my opinion, but he DOES get too much unnecessary hate in my opinion. I however, love this kid who might as well be ADHD incarnate (which is why I call him my ADHD king). I have only seen ONE YouTube video focused on him that talks about him in nothing but positive ways, and I appreciate that video for existing, since Barry deserves more love.

#pokemon #pokemon masters ex #trainer barry #rival barry #barry finally has an alt!!!#and i got it on the second try!!!#i love this adhd king so much #he gets too much hate and not enough love #pika’s musings

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pikatrainer99 · 9 days

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I made an Ask Orange of Viridian Forest sideblog!

Orange will definitely be looking forward to meeting all of you and answering your questions, so feel free to head over there and give him some stuff to answer! Just remember, no NSFW stuff allowed, ever! And no swearing either! Orange may have a fiery temper but he doesn't swear because he's also a pure sweet soul. I won't be able to draw all the answers but I will make sure he answers everything and I will make sure he chats with anyone who wants to have a chat with him in the messages.

I hope you enjoy interacting with my OC Orange directly!

#pokemon #pokespe #my pokespe oc #trainer orange #orange of viridian forest #i made a sideblog that's run by orange himself #ask him anything or chat with him!#he's looking forward to meeting you guys!#pika's musings

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pikatrainer99 · 10 days

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I’ve been thinking about starting an “Ask Orange of Viridian Forest” side blog…it would be solely for Orange and you guys could ask him anything! Or even just have a chat with him if you want! I can really get into character when it comes to him, so you could definitely have conversations with him as well! I most likely won’t be able to draw all the answers due to time constraints and my own art skills not being the best, though…but all questions asked will still be answered as long as you don’t ask any NSFW stuff (he’s a child, so I will not allow his pure soul to be tainted 😅).

Let me know if interacting with my OC directly like that would be something you’d be interested in!

#pokemon #pokespe #my pokespe oc #trainer orange #orange of viridian forest #let me know if interacting with and asking my oc orange questions on an “ask orange” side blog would be something you’d be interested in!#pika’s musings

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pikatrainer99 · 14 days

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Just wanted to send everyone good vibes!

I drew this yesterday, it's my Pokésona Pika just chilling in his little secret hideout in a tree hollow in the forest listening to music. If that's not good vibes, I don't know what is. Hope you all like it, and I hope you catch the good vibes yourselves!

#pokemon #pikachu #good vibes pikachu #pika's art #pika sends good vibes to everyone

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pikatrainer99 · 14 days

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Anyone here into Vocaloid...BESIDES the Project Voltage stuff...?

I got into Vocaloid years ago and even made myself some Vocaloid personas (because I also sing, it's one of my greatest passions)! They're a lot like my favorite Vocaloids Kagamine Rin and Len...not twins, not lovers, but mirror images (they're also 14 years old just like the Kagamines...I made them when I was around that age IRL so...yeah 😅). Their color pallets are also (usually) mirrored...there aren't many examples of that in this post but I have plenty more where they ARE mirrored. I haven't drawn them in FOREVER but I HAVE made little concept models of them in Gacha Club over the years, all with different outfits (or "modules" as the different outfits are called in the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA games). These are definitely NOT all the modules I've made over the years, these are just the ones I made on Gacha Club on my PHONE in particular...I also have the app on my iPod and have made more there. Anyway, enough talking, here they are!

These are their default modules

These are their Append modules

Of course I made Pokémon Trainer modules for them 😅

These are just called "Dark"...they're being edgy teens here basically 😅

These are called "Sakura" and are inspired by Hatsune Miku's Sakura module

These are Kitsune modules I made for them...they're supposed to have nine tails but Gacha Club only has a maximum of seven tails...so just pretend there's nine there, okay? 😅 Also, they're playing tag in the picture, and they're having lots of fun, it's really cute.

This is basically Append but add angel wings and a crown...they're called "Sky King" and "Sky Queen". I don't know what was going through my head when I made these a few years ago...I guess I just wanted them to fly. 😅 And they're having fun flying, that's for sure. Look at them! They're adorable!

And finally, I made this one today, without even thinking of Sky Queen and Sky King...but this one is definitely more detailed and I honestly like it better, especially with their trademark mirrored color pallets. This one is called "King of Song" and "Queen of Song", and the wings sprouted from their backs when they were singing one day. Also, the more they sing the more powerful their wings get, taking them higher and higher into the sky and letting them fly faster and farther, putting on beautiful aerial concerts as they go.

I hope you all enjoyed seeing my Vocaloid personas for the first time! I am not sharing their names because their names are basically corruptions of my real name and I don't want my real name out on the internet at all...you guys shall know me as Pika and nothing else! Please feel free to ask me questions about them if you're curious about anything (just not their names, you're not getting the answer to that). And also, if you like Vocaloid music...what's your favorite Vocaloid song? For me it's definitely "Remote Controller", that song is so fun and I love its energy! I also really like "Suki Kirai" (even more so now since I found a Pikachu UTAU cover of it on YouTube and it's the cutest thing ever), "Amatsu Kitsune" and "Fire Flower" though (I know, it's all old stuff and it's all Kagamine songs, but I love them so much)! Some Miku songs (other than the Project Voltage stuff) that I like are definitely "Catch the Wave" and "ODDS&ENDS", as well as "Nekomimi Switch" (that one is just cute and it was the first song I ever got a Perfect on in Project DIVA...so I'm a bit biased because of that 😅).

#not pokemon #not my usual stuff #my vocaloid personas #and some modules i made for them on gacha club #hope you like them #pika talks #pika rambles

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pikatrainer99 · 18 days

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I made Orange and Red as autism creatures! (With bonus digitized Sinnoh Trio as autism creatures)

Drawing Red as an autism creature was really difficult...his hair and his clothes were NOT easy to adapt into creature form. For Orange the biggest struggle was the scarf...which I think I made a good way of making it look like it's wrapped around his big creature head...and I updated Dia's design to have his scarf look the same way. For Pearl I couldn't do that because of his high collar on his shirt. And for Platinum I tried to make her scarf actually look like it's trailing behind her like it does in the actual official art. Everyone's hair and bodies are white because that's the color of the TBH creature, so don't go complaining that everyone's hair color is wrong because it's literally just because they're in creature form this time around. As for expressions everyone has a little smile except for Orange who has the classic TBH creature blank expression. I decided to give him the blank look because he really struggles with identifying emotions and he either feels everything or nothing depending on the situation. Orange also has his fingerless gloves which I somehow was still able to draw the little Poké Balls on them...as well as the Poké Ball design on his shirt. Btw...It is SO hard to draw these characters in four-legged creature form because their clothes...ESPECIALLY Red's clothes...do NOT translate well to four legs...it's so weird and hard to draw. So I just stuck to each character's shirt and hat/scarf to make it a bit easier for me. I'm sorry if it looks all weird and wonky because of that but clothes just don't translate well to these creatures 😅

Eventually I would like to draw the Sinnoh Trio and Red normally...but I'm still trying to learn how since PokéSpe characters are hard to draw (for me anyway). The only one I've ever drawn is Yellow, and that was only ONCE in that one drawing where she and Orange were drawing pictures. I've drawn Yellow's head a second time and Red's head only once, but that's all I've managed to draw of PokéSpe characters so far. I will keep practicing though, I want to improve so I can draw more art of my favorite characters in all of PokéSpe!

I hope you all like this newly digitized Sinnoh Trio drawing, and I hope it's an improvement from the original I posted last year! I also hope you all like my new autism creature drawing of Orange and Red as autism creatures! These are all characters I headcanon as autistic (and Orange IS autistic), so it works perfectly for them all! I'd like to be back with more drawings soon but I've been really busy lately so I don't know when I'll be able to draw again next.

#pokemon #pokespe #my pokespe oc #trainer orange #orange of viridian forest #pokespe red #pokespe diamond #pokespe pearl #pokespe platinum #i drew them all as autism creatures #because i can #actually autistic #autism headcanons #tbh creature #autism creature #pika's art #pika talks

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pikatrainer99 · 20 days

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Got to watch the solar eclipse today and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen! I had to take turns with my younger brothers (we only had one pair of eclipse glasses so we had no choice but to take turns), but it was so much fun for all of us to take our turn, point out what we saw, and pass the glasses over to the next person. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this day as long as I live, it was that interesting, fun, and just plain awesome to watch my very first solar eclipse even though my state was not in the path of totality (we did have like 92% of the sun covered though so we did get to see a lot of it)!

#not pokemon #solar eclipse #april 8 2024 total solar eclipse #it was lots of fun watching it with my brothers #pika’s musings

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pikatrainer99 · 23 days

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Kieran is autistic and you can't change my mind!

Okay, I KNOW that I'm not the only one who holds this headcanon...but I wanted to do an analysis on Kieran anyway, especially since my best friend @sinnohanvulpix said she'd love to see me do one. Credit to her for all the screenshots used btw. The GIFs on the other hand were either found on Google Images or created by me using gifrun.com and these YouTube videos:

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I did not use my own footage for this at all...as proof here's what MY character in the game looks like...he has my real name but I tried to make him look like Orange which is why he has the orange eyes 😅

(Sorry for the bad quality btw...taking pictures of my Switch screen is hard 😅)

Okay, now without further ado, let's get started with the analysis!

First, Kieran has a CLEAR special interest in Ogerpon, he admires and looks up to her, he was obsessed with the story of the ogre, he was always trying to go to her den and meet her, he has a meltdown when Ogerpon chooses the player over him, etc. Carmine even says that Kieran "really really REALLY likes the ogre" and that made me think, "Ah! Special interest!"

And then at the end of the Teal Mask he gains a new special interest in getting stronger to beat the player...and he hyperfocuses HARD on that...to the point of it being detrimental to both his physical and mental health, as he was doing nothing but training during that time...he barely ate, barely slept, just trained...and that is not healthy. It's a rare example of media showcasing a special interest being unhealthy and absolutely CONSUMING one's life, and the consequences do actually show for it.

Kieran is very introverted and doesn't know how to make friends very well. I actually think the player is his first friend considering his surprised reaction when the player says they consider him a friend, and following this, he quickly becomes a bit...too attached to the player, as he doesn't quite understand how friendships work.

(This is also such a neurodivergent way to say "I'm so happy I finally have a friend")

He also struggles socially, as is a requirement for autistic people to qualify for a diagnosis. Kieran specifically has a hard time reading social cues, he struggles with making eye contact, he has clear anxiety when talking to people as proven by his little stutter he has at times.

(This is an adorable screenshot 🥺)

He also struggles with social and emotional processing (and might have alexithymia as well due to his sudden huge outbursts of emotion), and he also struggles with initiating conversation as well, as seen when he tries to talk to Penny at the League Club. They both have no idea how to even start a conversation with each other and it's honestly pretty adorable seeing the two quiet adorkable kids trying their best to hold conversation. I get it, you two, initiating conversation is really difficult for me too.

Also the way they try to start the conversation by talking about the weather...that's really funny and ironic to me because that's what NTs do all the time. NTs always use the weather as a small-talk conversation starter but NDs like me (and Kieran and Penny too apparently) just don't get that stuff.

(These two are so neurodivergent it's great and I love them both 🥺)

Kieran also has four in-game animations that I personally see as stimming. The first one is him tapping his fist against his hip when he's thinking or nervous.

(Focus your attention to his hand here and you'll see it.)

The second one is him playing with a strand of loose hair, usually when he's nervous.

(The little nervous side glance at the player is relatable and adorable 🥺)

The third one is a more agitated stim that he only does ONCE in the entire game...and that is tapping the front of his foot on the ground. I do that myself when I'm agitated or impatient, somehow it's comforting, especially since for some reason I really like the way my shoes sound when I tap them on the ground... especially since I got my brand new Infernape-themed shoes, they sound extra satisfying because they're brand new.

(This is not the way most people tap their foot...I've never seen an NT do it like this...only other NDs such as myself and one of my brothers)

The fourth and final one is, unfortunately, a stress stim...Kieran runs his hands very fast through his hair and it also looks like, to me anyway as someone who has self-injurious stims myself, that he is digging his nails into his scalp as well while doing that. I do something similar myself, though on top of running my hands through my hair and digging my nails into my scalp, I also pull at my hair...yeah... self-injurious stims are no joke...and I'm kinda glad Kieran's autism coding brings attention to that aspect of autism...at least in my eyes as someone who does those things myself.

(He's in so much stress here, poor kid 😔)

Another aspect of autism that I'm surprised and kinda glad that Kieran exhibits as an autistic-coded character is meltdowns and shutdowns. Kieran has actual meltdowns in the game! This is something we have never seen in such an in-your-face way in any Pokémon game, and as someone who regularly has meltdowns myself, it hit me in the feels whenever I saw him having them. His first meltdown is in the Teal Mask when he steals the Teal Mask and runs off to Loyalty Plaza where he battles the player. He yells at Carmine and the player for treating him like an outcast...which is unfortunately something that happens to a lot of autistic people, myself included. Kieran screams at the player and Carmine for for lying to him while doing his stress stim, before running up to the Lousy Three's shrine and punching it, without any regard for his safety, which is also something autistic people may do during meltdowns...I know I have no regard for my safety during mine. After that's all over he gives the mask back to the player and goes home, leaving the player to talk to Carmine alone, who says that she's worried and thinks it's just "teen angst". When I saw that I was like, "...Uh, Carmine...I don't think it's just that, I think your brother is neurodivergent and really needs a lot of help and support because he's struggling a lot right now..."

His second meltdown is also in the Teal Mask, when he wants Ogerpon to go with him but Ogerpon wants to go with the player...Kieran can't process that and doesn't understand how to take Ogerpon's feelings into account, instead demanding the player to battle him for the right to be Ogerpon's partner. He collapses on all fours after being defeated again, and it gets worse...he looks like he's crying while the player battles Ogerpon in order to catch her. After the player catches her, Kieran wonders why he can't be like the player, and runs off crying, locking himself in his room for the rest of the story. The end of the Teal Mask has him doing his stress stim while being consumed by a new special interest in a very detrimental way...that interest being becoming so strong that no one can defeat him...including the player.

Kieran's third meltdown is in the Indigo Disk, after the player defeats him in the championship match. That meltdown is a full-on cutscene, where it is CLEAR to see his spiraling mental state through the visuals, and he holds his hands on his head like he has a headache while trying to process the fact that he lost to the player AGAIN (which is also relatable as someone who struggles with processing difficulties myself...it really does give headaches and it is one of the worst feelings when I just can't process what's going on around me or the emotions I feel or anything really)...he collapses to his knees and looks like he's breathing very hard as he is so upset and distressed at this loss. It is definitely one of the most heartbreaking scenes for me because this is a CLEAR CUT MELTDOWN in my eyes and it hits me in the feels like a TRUCK to watch that cutscene.

Also, in the Terapagos fight, Kieran has a bit of a shutdown for a bit, standing there frozen, thinking he's useless and can't do anything right (which is relatable as I have regular shutdowns as well, and I also constantly feel like I'm a failure of a human being who can't do anything right)...but let me tell you, when the player finally gets him to snap out of it and convinces him to help and he opens his eyes revealing that the light is back in his eyes as well as visible tears...I cheered (and teared up myself). My boy was back, and I was so happy.

(When I first saw the tears I was like, "NOOOO don't cry Kieran! 😢)

Also in the Indigo Disk, Kieran seems completely different and "no longer like his usual self". His autistic traits are (mostly) nowhere to be seen as he becomes much more serious, angry, assertive,and aggressive. I personally see this as a persona he puts on by masking, which is common for autistic people to do. I myself can't mask, but Kieran definitely seems to be masking here by putting on this persona in order to get stronger and seem stronger as a person as well. This is NOT his real self, this is a FACADE!

We see him start to drop the mask again in Area Zero when he says it seems like they're in a spy movie or something and how cool that is, but once the crack in his mask is pointed out he immediately puts it back on.

After everything in the under depths ends, and you go back to Blueberry Academy, he drops the mask again completely, and goes back to his real, adorkable, relatable self...and stays that way from then on, which made me so relieved and happy.

(This is my favorite cutscene in the entire DLC because of how adorable it is and also how neurodivergent Kieran is being here while apologizing for all he did 🥺)

In conclusion, I think Kieran is a great example of an autistic-coded character who has many relatable traits, and also does a good job showcasing some of the more "unpleasant and challenging behaviors and traits" (NTs use that terminology a lot, not me... that's how NTs unfortunately view NDs a lot of the time) of autism. I used to be afraid of him during the post-Teal Mask pre-Indigo Disk era but that was my trauma and PTSD talking (I talked about the emotional rollercoaster Kieran's story arc took me on in another post from last year after I finally worked up the courage to play the Indigo Disk...feel free to check that out too if you'd like). Now though I can wholeheartedly say that I love and appreciate Kieran a lot as a character, and his relatability is definitely a big part of why he is a big comfort character for me now (please Pokémon put him in Pokémon Masters EX, PLEASE I will literally cry from joy if he gets added to the game)!

Hope you all enjoyed this autistic person's analysis of yet ANOTHER autistic-coded character in Pokémon! I know I had A LOT to say but that just proves how relatable Kieran is, and I love him for that. Let me know what you think and if I missed anything in the comments below!

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pikatrainer99 · 23 days

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Every single Gacha Life 2 concept model of Orange that I have made

The ones with power exploding out of him are when he's in intense emotional distress and his aura suddenly physically manifests as a weapon. And yeah, I also made cat Orange even though that's not canon to my fanfic universe...it was just too funny not to make cat Orange XD

Hope you all like these little concept models of my boy that I've made over the past year or so!

#pokemon #pokespe #my pokespe oc #trainer orange #orange of viridian forest #concept models i made using gacha life 2 #pika's musings

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pikatrainer99 · 26 days

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I'm glad we got to collab on another post, Vulpix! It's always fun collabing with you and analyzing characters we headcanon as autistic! Sawyer is definitely a precious autistic bean and he's very relatable, especially with the security item and the constant approval-seeking 🥺

I'm glad he helped you through such a hard time in your life too, I've definitely had characters who've helped me through those hard times too, so I know how it feels 💖

Sawyer is a great character and he is so underrated too, I wish he got more love than he does, he deserves all the love 💚

Sawyer is neurodivergent and you can't change my mind

Last year for Autism Acceptance Day, my good friend @pikatrainer99 and I did a collab post about Goh and our headcanon of being him autistic. Here's a link to that post if you'd like to check it out:

Today, we'd like to talk about Sawyer from Pokemon XY, another character who we both headcanon as autistic, and who means the world to me.

Let's start with his special interest, Pokemon battles. In all of Sawyer's appearances, we can clearly see his desire to learn as much as he can about battling and to grow stronger. He greatly admires strong trainers like Steven Stone and Ash. I mean, just look at how excited he gets when he hears that Ash had won five badges!

And that's exactly what he does for the rest of the series. He spends so much time studying and training that he manages to catch up to Ash within a just season's worth of episodes! But we'll get to that later.

Before going into detail about his most obvious traits, let's go over some of the traits that we only see for brief moments, starting with his sensory sensitivities. In episode 73, we see him getting visibly overwhelmed when the crowd around him, Ash, and Clemont suddenly starts cheering. We also see him shielding his eyes from Spritzee's Dazzling Gleam attack during his battle with Valerie. Note that he's the only one to react this way to both situations. I don't know about you, but I have yet to meet a single autistic person without some kind of hypersensitivity to noise, bright light, smell, texture, etcetera.

We also see in the following episode that he sometimes unintentionally gets too close to people when he's excited, not noticing their discomfort. We see this after Ash wins his gym battle with Valerie, and Sawyer is so beyond amazed and eager to learn from him that he momentarily forgets how to act "socially appropriately". Ash and his friends are visibly uncomfortable, but of course, because they're all so kind and supportive, they don't judge him for this 🥺

We also see in the first episode of XYZ that he's an amazing artist. And I mean, AMAZING! He can literally draw Squishy the Zygarde Core exactly how it looks in its official artwork, despite only having seen it for the first time that day! While not every autistic person has to have a talent like this, it's definitely not uncommon. Growing up, Pika and I both used to draw a lot, and our drawing skills were one of the few things we took pride in because of how much praise we got for it.

Now let's talk about one of his most adorable traits, which is his habit of saying, "I've gained some EXP!" Clearly he's into video games and enjoys feeling like he's in one, because this is definitely not something you typically hear in real life. This kind of escapism is quite common in autistic people, Pika and I included. In a world that's not built for us, sometimes imagining ourselves in a fictional world that we love can be really comforting and even inspiring in some cases.

You've probably noticed that Sawyer is holding his notebook in all of the last three screenshots, which is also something I'd like to get into. Not only is his notebook a crucial part of his character, but it's also a security item. Pika and I both have security items of our own, namely our phones and our favourite Pokemon plushies, which helps bring us a lot of much-needed comfort. In episode 75, we see just how panicked Sawyer gets when he temporarily loses his notebook, which quickly leads to him becoming depressed.

We know that he values his notebook deeply because it contains all he's learned on his journey, as well as an autograph from Steven Stone. But if you look deeper, it becomes clear that it's even more to him than that. He holds his notebook close to his heart, both metaphorically and literally. He hugs it after receiving approval from Ash (which I'll also get to later) Heck, he even attached his Key Stone to it! He cherishes this notebook like it's his baby, and we find that so adorable and relatable!

Okay, now it's time to get into what's arguably the saddest part of his character: his constant need of approval from others. Pika and I, as well as countless other autistic people, are no strangers to self-doubt, especially in a world where we can't meet a lot of people's expectations. Sawyer likely grew up feeling this way too, which would explain why he's always seeking Ash's approval, since Ash is the one he looks up to the most. Throughout the series, Sawyer's constantly trying desperately to catch up to him. What's even more heartbreaking part is that even after he beats Ash, he still needs reassurance from him that he's become strong 🥺

And to make matters worse, he's constantly masking his frustration whenever he fails to beat Ash. The autistic community is definitely no stranger to masking either.

It's not until the episode after his Kalos League battle with Ash when we finally see Sawyer breaking down. All those hours of training to catch up to Ash only led to him losing again in their most important battle yet. He was devastated, but he couldn't show that in front of Ash out of fear of being judged. Once he and Sceptile were alone, however, Sawyer was finally able to let out all the built-up frustration. And oh boy, was it emotional to watch...

But being the resilient trainer he is, Sawyer quickly dried off his tears and reaffirmed his desire to become stronger.

It takes a lot of strength to bounce back from something like this. I also went through a lot of inner turmoil around the time XYZ was airing. But seeing Sawyer bounce back like this inspired me to keep going, and make it through the rest of that year with Sawyer as my main source of comfort.

Needless to say, I see a lot of myself in Sawyer, and so does Pika. Not only is he relatable, but his story is also a great reminder that no matter how bad things feel in the moment, we can always make it out the other side. This is an important message for a lot of people, especially within the autistic community.

Even after all these years, I still find lots of comfort in Sawyer, and I know that'll last for many more years to come 💚

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pikatrainer99 · 26 days

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Time for some more Pokémon autism headcanons! (Happy Autism Acceptance Day!)

Since today is Autism Acceptance Day, I figured a good way to celebrate is to give a list of all the characters across all forms of Pokémon media that I headcanon as autistic! If you'd like to see me do an in-depth character analysis about any of these characters (other than the ones I've already done of course), please feel free to let me know who you'd like to see me cover! I will do my best to make them!

Anyway, here's the list!

Games: Red, N, Hop, Nemona, Penny, Kieran, Crispin (I actually see Hop and Nemona as AuDHD)

Anime: Ash, Goh, Sawyer, Clemont, Liko, Roy, Dot (I actually see Ash and Roy as AuDHD)

Manga: Red, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Black, Henry Sword, Casey Shield (I actually see Red, Sapphire, Pearl, Black, and Casey Shield as AuDHD)

And of course, my PokéSpe OC Orange is autistic, and I've been thinking about going in-depth on him too...for a while now actually 😅

I have already done character analyses for the Sinnoh Trio (Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum), as well as Crispin, and I collaborated with my friend @sinnohanvulpix to make an analysis about Goh a while back (though Vulpix wrote it and posted it, but we came up with the contents of the analysis together, and I reblogged it), so if you haven't seen those, please feel free to check them out!

It makes me so happy to see so many autistic-coded characters in Pokémon. Pokémon is my main special interest and I always get excited when engaging in any form of Pokémon media, and seeing autistic-coded characters just makes it even better and the characters much more relatable for me!

Again, please let me know if you'd like to see me do analyses on any of these characters (that I haven't done already). I would be more than willing to fulfill your requests!

And Happy Autism Acceptance Day to all my fellow autistics out there! I hope you all have a good day!

#pokemon #pokemon headcanons #autism headcanons #love the autism coding in pokemon #even though it's not intentional #autism acceptance day #actually autistic #let me know if you want me to do any character analyses on any of these characters #i will try my best to analyze any of the characters in this post if you want me to do so #pika's headcanons #pika talks

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