Meme #420

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No17. A Touch Worse Than a Poison Trainer

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50916805

Words: 1,097

Cws: Past abusive relationship, light swearing

Notes: I used the Pokemon name “Doublade” as a replacement for “Double edged sword,” I think it’s cool to build slang like that, but it might not have come through especially clear to real life. Oopsies.

Prompt: No. 17: “You’re the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest.” Collar | Touch Aversion | “Leave me alone.”

James shivered as he sat there, trying (and failing) to calm his racing heart. His mind seemed stuck on repeat. A horrible track of memories that just kept replaying and replaying and replaying again in his mind. Memories of her. 

Jessiebelle, the woman that his family had determined that he would eventually marry. She with her gorgeous red curls, he with his soft purple locks. She with her well crafted dresses and expensive jewelry, he with his well fitted suits and expressive watches. She with her “love” and he with his terror.

He squeezed his arms around himself. Logically, he knew that he was safe and far away from her, logically he knew that it had been that way for many years, logically he knew that there was very nearly zero chance she would ever be able to harm him again, what with the team he was in. (Though their latest meeting at James’ old house had made him second guess that last point for many years since then.) Logic, however, was not enough to calm him, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that it should be.

The fact that he was in Kalos, of all places, probably wasn’t helping his worries.

Jessiebelle had always told him how much she wanted to visit Kalos. In fact, she was so entranced by the idea that one of the many activities that James’ parents had forced them to do together had been learning Kalosian. He was begrudgingly thankful for that time now, as that skill had been saving his and the rest of his team’s asses in Kalos so far, but every so often he would hear a word, or a voice, or a high bell-like laugh, and be reminded of his old fiance. When that happened, he always found himself in the state he was now.

Nervous, scared, and unable to calm his rushing heart.

He knew it was crazy. Jessiebelle shouldn’t have felt such a threat to him these days, not with his “fairly high level” Pokemon trainer ranking (though his near daily battles with Ash sometimes made him think that ranking may not be entirely accurate), but she still was. The fact that James was here then, with only one Pokemon to his name and a partner who was more excited about the things she might be seeing in the region than their only mission, did not make him feel very safe.

Speaking of Jessie…

James looked over his shoulder, watching as Jessie happily fed Inkay some scraps from dinner (no matter how annoyed she pretended to be at the little squid, James knew she couldn’t help but care about it like any of their old Pokemon). She seemed to be busy enough not to notice how much James was freaking out, which was, of course, the Doublade that it always felt like. For one thing, she wouldn’t get worried about him, which he knew that she did on the regular (even though she pretended not to), but for the other…

James really could do with some distraction from his worries.

“Hey Jessie?” he squeaked, bringing his legs around to look at her easier, “Do you think we’ve made any progress on our mission yet?”

Jessie paused for a moment, causing Inkay to headbutt her in annoyance after a couple of moments without its food. She frowned and turned to look at him, her pink red hair shifting smoothly through the air. To the untrained eye, she looked a lot like Jessiebelle, heck, even their names were similar, but James knew better.

“Why are you asking this now?” she asked, putting down the last of the food scraps for Inkay to eat on its own, “Is something bothering you?”

James shrugged no, even though something was absolutely bothering him. “I guess I’m just a bit bored,” he forced a very fake sounding laugh, and Jessie frowned a bit harder, “I was wondering if we can talk or something…” He trailed off as Jessie stared at him, unconvinced. 

“I’m guessing that’s a lie,” Jessie said, scooting a bit closer to him. She looked him up and down and smirked in that very Jessie way of hers, “You’re clearly upset,”

James’ fake smile faltered a bit, and he found himself studying his boots like they were the most interesting thing he’d seen in months. He didn’t want to admit it to her, but he knew it was true. Even then, with his short bout of conversation as a distraction, he still felt like doing nothing more than standing up and running around screaming like a poor little Torchic with its head cut off. He couldn’t help it! He was terrified.

“Yep, that proves my point,” Jessie crawled a bit closer to him and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but James recoiled, surprising both Jessie and himself. He began to profusely apologize, but Jessie just shook her head and sat back on her heels.

“Don’t worry James, you don’t have to apologize,” she said softly, and then, a bit louder, “Is there anything specific that’s bothering you?”

James didn’t quite know what to say to that, but he just barely managed to shut off his hurried stream of “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” at her soft reminder. He looked at her, and then looked away, and then let out a deep breath and nodded.

“Do you feel like talking about it?” Jessie asked, brushing a stray strand of pink behind her ear, but still holding his gaze, “Meowth won’t be back with the map for an hour at least, we’ve got time,”

She gave him a bright smile, and a wave of gratitude crashed over his heart, nearly enough to overpower the now weakening grip of terror around him. He was so lucky to have found her. Yes, he had lived a life of luxury before Team Rocket, but he had also been on a terrifying track to marry Jessiebelle, so, at least to someone who had lived it, the trade off was fair.

Even though he and Jessie often struggled to buy food or new clothes, had to sleep in uncomfortable tents in the woods most nights, and found themselves losing battles nearly every day, he felt at home with her. If he didn’t have so much trouble sorting through his emotions, he might have even said he loved her.

No, scratch that, he was sure he did.

“Yes,” he decided, scooting a bit closer to Jessie, a real smile growing on his face, “I do feel like talking about it,”

Naoki Saito is another great TCG artist! I love how colorful his art is! 😁

Pokemon fashion thing? idk honestly, also drawing pokemans are hard

♔ || TEAM ROCKET ICONS

250x250 || trans || bordered circle

like / rb + credit + read dni if using

MMC : Aether Foundation (and family) or Team Rocket (and family) !!

Pokemon x DP

This idea just won't leave me alone for some reason.

So yeah, it's been a millenia and Danny has been the ghost king for a very long time.

Probably longer since time flows inconsistently and in a nonlinear fashion in the infinite realms.

He just finished all of Pariah's Neglected paper works and messed up and he's Stressed and Dead Tired™ that he needs to relax.

He completely skim through every media entertainment he could get his ghostly hands in to, managing to finish One Piece, Detective conan, MCU, DC, Spongebob, the entire pokemon franchise (games, manga, anime, movies included), complete slew of movies of different genres, games and many, many more.

He's still stressed though…

So Vacation it is!

He had a hard time deciding where he would go before someone joked about going to another multiverse just for a vacatiin and you know what? Danny like that.

(Tucker wasn't serious obviously, he was just kidding!

"Danny! Wait—! Aaaaaan he's gone."

Sam entered the office with a bunch of ghost behind her carrying ghostly paper works and request from multiple Gods, Death Gods, and Eldritch entities.

She take one glance to the office and to tuckers sheepish expression and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay spill, where's Danny?"

"Funny, you see—"

After the explanation, Sam sighed.

"You do the paperworks then."

"What?!"

"You dig your own grave and your own coffin, you sleep on it."

"Excuse you! I'm not Vlad! And FYI! I sleep on my Sarcophagus!"

"Don't care, what ever.")

Danny then remembered pokedex entries:

[Phantump–the Stump pokemon]

[These Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died in the forest. Their cries sound like eerie screams.]

Just like the kind of universe he belongs to!

Ignoring Tucker's voice, he opened up a portal and immediately dive in.

(He could sense the presence of the dreadfull paperworks getting closer, better skedaddle before he got caught)

He grinned and transform himself into human before shifting his age to that of a teenager, this is gonna be fun.

___

If you tell Paul previously that he would end up travelling sinnoh again with a fresh team and a traveling companion like a certain World Champion from Pallet town does all the time, then he would have scoffed or sneer at you before insulting youe intelligence.

"GET DOWN HERE YOU MENACE!!!"

Paul screamed at the tooof his lungs towardshus travelling comoanion. The said menace just grin before—

"WAIT—STOP!!!"

The menace jumped off the fucking cliff.

Paul almost have an heart attack before his companion harmlessly lands on the ground with both of his feet.

There was a big explosion of dust and dirt that Paul had to cover his eyes. The ground gave in and he could see the dark haired teen standing on the crater unharmed.

He gawked, before sighing in resignation.

Of course, he just have to get a super human, just like a certain boy from Pallet, for a travelling companion.

"Come—on Paul! Live a little would ya? Look at me, I'm half dead yet I'm having more fun than you! Give it a try for a yourself!"

Its official, this is karma for being awful and for all the things he did and said before.

Team Rocket SV studies based on moments I wanted to happen in the anime. From finding Gimmighoul Coins and Chi-Yu’s beads, Team Rocket’s not having the best of luck lol.

How’s Team Rocket?

You mean Jessie, James and Meowth? By the future timeline of the AU they had long been fired from the organization due to lack of results and due to rearrangements inside TR itself. In order to turn around to the situation the trio devotes itself in a Pokémon Café by taking advantage of their knowledge and talent for custards and sweet food. Their business is stable and a success! They sometimes miss those times they would freely wander around the world though.

Au doodles before ✌️

Once there was a greedy old man who wanted power more than anything, there was something else he wanted but he couldn’t get it with money at all and which made it “difficult” for him. He wanted someone to teach his methods to, Someone to spread his legacy with a bloody red R. He first used a beautiful rose and a magenta buddleia but they weren’t enough for him. Together they were strong but weren’t strong as he wanted to be. They failed him far too many times. He ignored the buddleia and her pleads as well as the handsome rose and left them behind locked up and beheaded Meowth their beloved cat and partner. Later on he found another pretty flower, a pink water lily. She was strong as her two legendary companions and passionate with her work, so he simply plucked her away from them and began to work. His scientists worked and worked to give him the perfect heiress, it was difficult because of how she fought but with a few clips of her petals and she was new. She succeeded at first as her once colorful spirit in her petals slowly died out but she failed her final test so she was locked up with the others, never to go back home again. He was angry, he had succeeded before, why was he failing now he thought. He research and looked over everything until a few colors caught his eye. Red, Bue, and Purple would race his mind. Red, Blue, Red, Purple swirled in his mind like an epiphany. A legend, another Legend, and a determined one to be a legend. The two were strong, the third wasn’t as strong but he had determination to be as strong. He went to his basement to see the others, instead of hushing their shouts and cries of pain he listened only to the water lily like a song, a song he could try to play. One day he went out and played the familiar song to them from a far, each captivated by the familiar call causing them to go into the grasp of the darkness. They were trapped and he knew it, he got them, it was hard with how hard the fought and screamed but he did it, the Pokémon were confiscated and trapped as well but far from their trainers. He finally did it he was going to make the perfect heir and the perfect weapon, it was going to be beautiful, he could just see his future now. The strong figure ruling over under his power, it was so beautiful to him.

When I woke up, I was “beautiful”. I was sore and felt like throwing my guts out at both my feelings and the sight of me. I could still hear there cries and their screams of pain. I could hear there voices in my head screaming at him about what he did to them.

I felt their memories and vibrations of their voices bubbling in my head to the point I felt it was going to burst. I could feel all their tears on my face as I processed every thing when I woke up. As I was trained, a new mind formed with their’s, giving me my own voice in a way slowly but I was yet to fully have my voice because it was taken away from me over and over again. He took away our Freedom, He took away our legacy, and He took us from our families and friends. He took our voices to make a new one. Blue, Silver, Red, The trainers in my head. The ones who guided me to lead him into a false sense of security. We worked together with the others and killed them all dead, they took us from our families so we took them from theirs.

Lavender, Magenta, Purple, Blue, Red, and Green were the last colors they all have seen before going into a deep and permanent sleep. He was the the last one left, and he was dead. But we had no where to go so we made the fucked up facility our home and the Pokéball our beds.

Meme #302

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This is honestly one of my favorite AG episodes.

That May’s Pokeblocks laid waste to their entire teams, James’ disgusted reaction to May’s Purple Nightmare followed by Ash “...Is that good?”, and James’ absolute shock/horror when Jessie likes the Pokeblocks too.

Goodbye to Ash and Pikachu and all their friends and rivals and everyone we loved so much for so many years! It was a great ride and it was fun to see different takes and concepts and adventures. It was also wonderful to have a series that's realistic in that the main character tries and struggles and fails, teaching kids it's okay to lose, as long as you get back up and continue trying another day.

A show where most of the heroines can have their own journeys, rivals, goals--they're not cardboard cut-out love interests without lives of their own... where women can hold roles similar to the men (Pokemon Champions, regional Professors, etc.), not just relegated to one or two stereotypical roles, things SO many shounen anime aimed at an older audience fail to do.

Thank you for not shaming kids for crying, thank you for comforting and meaningful lyrics (Soko ni Sora ga Aru Kara, Te wo Tsunagou, Smile, etc.).

Thank you for beautiful stories of characters overcoming trauma and abuse, being saved from or escaping bad situations, and shown genuine love and friendship (Chimchar's storyline and especially the Tears for Fears episode, Larvitar's storyline too, even Tepig's story ending with Evolution by Fire), thank you for stories of kids with phobias and repressed memories and all the recovery stories (Lillie, Sophocles...), the episodes dealing with loss (Mallow's mother), and the characters who were traumatized and couldn't fully overcome those fears but still found their place in the world (the Nurse Joy who feared she would drown as a child in The Joy of Water Pokemon and James with his fear of marriage, where even the word "fiance" triggers flashbacks, not to mention the sound of a whip... but he still found a place of belonging with his friends from Team Rocket), kids who were bullied and ostracized in school (Iris, Regina) but found friendship later on...

What a great show!

I got into this show a bit late (after Pokemania ended, because I was too young when it came out to appreciate it, but I still loved and cried watching the first Pokemon movie and the one cassette I had with four episodes, including Todd Snap's first episode--I think that first Pokemon photographer is why I love taking pictures so much!), but I got into it just as I went through big changes (the divorce of my parents) and trauma of my own, so I got very, very attached to the Team Rocket trio (especially Jessie), as they all had such tragic backstories, but they weren't one-note tragic characters who could never find happiness.

Especially with how Jessie lost her mother very young, being put into foster care by her very poor mother, and spent years being shifted from home to home, every career she pursued ended in failure, until she joined the same gang her mother was in (I don't know if she ever knew that)... but she found true friendship even in a dark place like that.

I also loved Iris and how she had trouble opening up to others because of what she'd been through; she was also a tomboyish girl who loved nature and didn't mind getting dirty and fighting, but also loved pastels, bows, and dressing up!

I also loved Trip and how much he changed from the sweet and happy child he used to be, to someone jaded and cynical and convinced he's an adult (but he's still a child... I also didn't think I was a child anymore at 12), how disappointed he was by meeting his childhood hero again, but also how he began to question what he previously believed and became a better person, even if he'd always be a little distant and awkward and won't be that child again.

I loved and related to Lillie feeling sad when her friends spoke about their mothers, when she rarely saw hers, when she lagged behind the others because her mother wasn't around enough to teach her things like how to cut vegetables, but also took credit for her learning things (in her absence!), the way her feelings were devalued if they weren't logical, so she'd insist any emotion she felt was rational or logical... she even named her Vulpix, in the dub, the same name I gave my cat around her age, a cat I had gotten after I'd just recovered from fearing touching cats (despite loving them since I was small, I was scared, after my mother's cat scratched me out of nowhere and scarred my ankle)! Her recovering the last of her lost memories and overcoming her fears was pure catharsis... beautiful to watch. To say nothing of finally finding her father and even being able to embrace a Nihilego as her sister.

I love them all so, so, so much.

Happy Trainer Tuesday!