Pokemon Copyright by TV TOKYO, Nintendo, Satoshi Tajiri, and OLM.
Fred Figglehorn by Youtube.
Crossover by Cure Ariel
All Rights Reserved.
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The events, characters, and firms depicted in this Fanfic are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.
-Manaphy is SUCH A WHINY LITTLE B***H!-
Enjoy!
-Post-Pokemon Ranger and The Temple of The Sea x-over-
Hey It's Fred!
I've just wanted to say that Manaphy is the worst Baby Pokemon known to American Kids!
Manaphy is even worse than Misty's Togepi!
May and Manaphy feels like a Blant Ripoff of Misty and Togepi.
Montage Time!
Nice artwork of Misty and Togepi.
It's truly a darn shame that Togepi was given a significantly bad rap by various fans, especially since several of the things it was hated for it wasn't even responsible for in the first place or otherwise made little sense to hate it anyways. For starters, Togepi didn't give Misty a motherly nature, she already had it even before Togepi was born (in Episodes 1 and 2, Misty expressed clear concern for Pikachu when it was injured, even cradling it in the Japanese novelization, and in A Chansey Operation, she also gave tenderly motherly care to a Cubone), and even if it did give her a motherly nature, I don't see why or how it would detract from her overall character, which it didn't detract from her character at all in either case (she still teases, she still gets angered, she still overall has her characteristics from before. Heck, there were plenty of characters who actually were improved to some extent by becoming motherly, like Terra Branford, Samus Aran, even Ariel). Besides, I wasn't sure how people were acting like she had as big of a temper as she did. Even before Togepi came about, it was pretty clear that Jessie was far more volatile and possessed a much more fiery temper than Misty could ever be and have, and even Jessie is eclipsed with the likes of Naru Narusegawa anyways.
As far as Togepi not doing much during Johto (the other main complaint about it), that's also a large problem as well because Togepi was not meant to be used for battles. Heck, how to evolve it barely even involves battling, but instead increasing its happiness levels (where battling plays an extremely minor role). Togepi had poor stats in Generation II (the only actual attacks it has are Metronome and Double Edge, and even then, only Double Edge is reliable as Metronome is so random that it's not even worth using it against Pokémon, and Double Edge isn't even able to be learned except at a fairly high level, 37, more specifically, and that involves either trying to have it battle constantly, an extremely bad idea due to its low stats, or otherwise feeding it rare candy constantly). Even if we take into account the Anime, the amount of moves it could be given is limited, and its small size and sluggish movement would be more of a hindrance than an asset. In fact, the only reason why it won against Pikachu in the one battle it did fight prior to the Mirage Kingdom arc is because the latter was extremely reluctant to fight it, so frankly, it actually makes a lot of sense to not have it battle as much. In fact, it's because of the audience acting like Damian (Charmander's former owner) regarding Togepi that we've gotten instances of baby Pokémon/rookie Pokémon actually being extremely OP in a bad manner, which was even worse (May's Eevee and Squirtle are notoriously hated for basically being OP ed to a ridiculous level [Dogasu at one point even sarcastically compared Squirtle to a member of the Son Family in Dragon Ball Z when comparing the episode where May went back in time], and don't get me started on the hatred Dawn's Piplup has gained for its Creator's Pet status and its OP level), and ironically all those Pokémon at least actually WERE meant for battling anyways. Now, if Togepi was fully capable of battling and it still just sat on Misty's lap, that's one thing and I can actually understand why people would hate it under that, but Togepi wasn't even meant to be used for battling in the first place, so stating it "doesn't do anything" as if it battling is the only way for it to prove its worth made absolutely no sense.
And honestly, Misty and Togepi's relationship actually did pay off far more than May and Manaphy's relationship in Movie 9. At least Misty, when Togepi (or rather, Togetic) got in trouble fighting with Colonel Hansen, actually attempted to defend Togetic and fought Hansen, knocking him down flat as a result, like a mother should be to her child. May, when Manaphy got kidnapped by Phantom in the climax of Movie 9, basically abandoned Manaphy like a coward even though he was supposed to be effectively her child with her duty as a mother being to defend her child by any means necessary, even if it meant laying down your life in the process. That reminds me, they really should have brought Misty back for Movie 9 and have her be Manaphy's mom instead of using May, as at least it actually fit her (not to mention give her much needed development AND actually would give her an opportunity for stardom and even save the day).
-Montage Time The END-
Fred Figglehorn: Well, to All May and Manaphy fans out there, Misty and Togepi's Relationship is logically much more successful than May and Manaphy's because when Manaphy got kidnapped by Phantom in the climax of Movie 9, basically abandoned Manaphy like a coward even though he was supposed to be effectively her child with her duty as a mother being to defend her child by any means necessary, even if it meant laying down your life in the process. That reminds me, they really should have brought Misty back for Movie 9 and have her be Manaphy's mom instead of using May, as at least it actually fit her.
So That's That!
ThE END
Epilouge: Misconceptions about Japan:
1. People in Japan eat sushi every day
Whenever you mention Japanese food to foreigners, who have never been to Japan, they immediately think of sushi. It is the most popular type of Japanese food overseas and due to its exquisite way of serving and delicious taste of fresh ingredients, the number of sushi restaurants is still rapidly growing worldwide. However, sushi is not really found on the daily menu of Japanese families. Japanese food is much more than that, and influenced by other cuisines, it is reshaping its culinary tradition. Rice is widely consumed in Japan (as well as many other places worldwide) and can be compared to bread eaten at any possible occasion in western countries. Japanese rice is short-grained and always slightly sticky when cooked, therefore it's very easy to eat with chopsticks. Japanese are also using different types of noodles (like ramen, udon and soba) as an ingredient of many dishes. Deep-fried food is extremely popular (especially tempura, karaage and tonkatsu), as well as grilled meat (yakiniku/yakitori) and curry. Dishes that are cooked on the dining table add value to social gatherings with friends. Nabe (hot pot), okonomiyaki (omlette) and takoyaki (octopus balls) are delicacies that I most often ate at Japanese home dinner parties.
Note: Most people are very surprised to hear that Japanese cuisine is not vegetarian friendly. Finding things that don't contain meat is extremely difficult, while fruit and vegetables are served in very small amounts (and they are also very expensive).
2. Air is so polluted that everyone needs to wear protective masks
Most foreigners think that Japanese wear masks due to incredible pollution in the cities. However, the air in Japanese megalopolis is surprisingly fresh and clean. The reason why so many people wear masks (on the streets, as well as indoors) is to avoid getting a cold or flu, or to prevent infecting others when already ill. It is considered extremely rude to carelessly sneeze and cough your germs around and to contaminate people in your surrounding. Many Japanese have airborne allergies and during the hay fever season, most population covers their nose and mouth with surgical masks.
Another thing that I just recently learned from my colleagues is that girls (especially students) wear masks to cover their face when they didn't have time to perfect their makeup. Japanese girls really take a great care of their looks – their impeccable hair and makeup (regardless to weather conditions – temperatures, humidity and typhoons) always fascinated me.
3. Everything in Japan is high-tech and futuristic
Yes, Japan has superfast trains, toilettes that can almost do your homework, all possible types of vending machines on every corner and generally very sophisticated infrastructure. However, it also abuses fax and copy machines more than any other country in the world. Despite technologically advanced systems, paper is still king in Japan. If you ever dealt with any administrative task there, you have learnt that handwritten file sealed with a stamp is the only valid way a to write a document. Officials in public sector don't use emails and each and every official record is kept in an archive as a hard copy. Apparently, keeping thighs on paper is much safer than electronic data in Japan.
While the rest of the world is going 'green' and taking ecological issues as one of the greatest concerns, Japan still loves printing brochures, leaflets and handouts for any given occasion. Japanese employees even print out presentations and distribute them to their contacts during company meetings, just as a backup. And this doesn't seem to be changing at all.
4. Japanese people sleep on the floor
Japanese don't sleep on the floor. Their traditional mattress (futon) is just different than the contemporary one. It is pliable enough to be folded and stored away during the day, allowing the room to serve for purposes other than as a bedroom. Traditional bedrooms also have different flooring, consisting of mats made from straw or compressed wood chips called tatami, offering much softer and more comfortable rest. The size of a room is often measured by the number of tatami mats.
Nowadays in urban areas "ordinary" mattresses are becoming more popular and common than futon beds. Personally I really prefer futon to "sinking" into memory foam (or similar) while sleeping. It is comfortable, as well as convenient.
5. Japanese and Chinese languages are similar
Japanese has no genealogical relationship with Chinese, but it makes extensive use of Chinese characters (kanji) in its writing system. Japanese language didn't have its own script and primarily used only Chinese characters, from which it later developed two unique Japanese scripts, hiragana and katakana. Also a large portion of Japanese vocabulary is borrowed from Chinese. Still we cannot talk about language similarity, as Japanese language belongs to the Japonic language group, whereas Chinese forms one of the branches of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Even though Chinese characters are indeed used in Japan, they have different pronunciations and sometimes quite diverse meanings. If you understand Chinese, it might help you read road signs and restaurant menus, but it won't get you too far trying to communicate verbally.
Other Misconceptions about Japan:
There exist stereotypes for every kind of people and the Japanese are no exception. As with many misconceptions, some of them are based on some truth that has been exaggerated to the extreme, but some of the misconceptions about Japan are downright outlandish.
Like many people, I thought that there was at least some truth to a few of these when I was a kid and started to learn about Japan and their culture. Thankfully, as I learned more and more I found out how these stereotypes came to be and the real stories behind the myths. So read on, my friends – and let's learn something.
10. All Japanese People Can Speak English Real Good
Did you take a foreign language in high school? How much do you remember of it? Yeah, that's what I thought. Sure, Japanese students take many years of English while they are in school, but from my experience they mainly focus on writing rather than speaking and the only ones who are really good at it are those who really take an interest in the language and study it outside of class.
Many Japanese students just do enough to get by in English class and by the time they graduate they've forgotten quite a bit of it. This, coupled with the fact that the average Japanese person has little to no use for English on a daily basis, causes the English skills of many Japanese people to be pretty elementary. So next time you visit Japan, don't be surprised if not absolutely everyone speaks English as well as you'd like them to.
9. All Japanese People Eat Whales and Dolphins for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
While Japanese people are much more likely than others to dine on meat from whales and dolphins, it's probably not as common as you think. This may be familiar to those of you who have already read Hashi's post Ever Been So Hungry You Could Eat A Whale, but like he says, eating whale in Japan is about as common as something eating like alligator or squirrel in the United States. It's uncommon, but it's still done.
[yframe url=' watch?v=xQmsBEpDoAg']
The Japanese have eaten whale meat for hundreds of years now and during WWII and the early postwar years, the Japanese ate a lot more whale meat because it was an easy, plentiful source of protein. You'll still find packaged meat in stores and the like, but it's definitely not a super common meal in Japan.
8. Hibachi Grill Restaurants are Properly Named
Yes, the picture above is a hibachi. Not what you expected? I'm not surprised. The "hibachi" grills you see in hibachi restaurants are actually "teppanyaki" grills. Hibachi, or "fire bowls," are traditional Japanese heating devices consisting of a round, cylindrical, or a box-shaped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal.
[yframe url=' watch?v=RWxqjbc_GRA']
In North America, the term "hibachi" is mistakenly used to refer to a small cooking stove heated by charcoal (actually called shichirin in Japanese), or to an iron hot plate (teppan) used in teppanyaki restaurants. Armed with this knowledge, you can show off and correct your friends in the most pretentious way possible next time you go to one of these so called "hibachi" grill restaurants. Please.
7. Japanese People Don't Like Letting People Into Their Personal Bubble and Are Really Weird About Personal Space and Stuff
For some reason a lot of people view Japanese people as being very anti-touchy-feely and kind of prude. While this may be somewhat true with person to person relationships and PDA like holding hands and kissing and whatnot, this is most certainly not true with daily commutes and train rides. Just take a look at the video below. It's nuts.
[yframe url=' watch?v=Fk2R_mqV4ts']
Japan is crowded. People need to get places. You're going to get bumped into, crammed, and squeezed. It happens. If all Japanese people were so weird about personal space, stuff like this wouldn't happen. People need to get to work, school, and other places, and they're not afraid to cram together to do it. So don't be surprised if you end up getting crammed into a train car sardine-style the next time you're in a busy city in Japan.
6. Japanese People Are Still Sour About WWII and Are All Racist Xenophobes
Really? Come on. In all honesty I'd say that there's more Americans that are still sour about Pearl Harbor than there are Japanese people sour about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A lot of things happened in WWII that are touchy subjects for everyone, but that's largely in the past for most people. Most Japanese people today are very interested in Western and American culture and are very welcoming to others.
There's also some folks who think that Japanese people refuse to accept foreigners as their own and it's really hard to become a citizen of Japan. Well, while it may not be easy, it's certainly possible. Just take Donald Keene for example. He's received honors from the emperor himself! Just like with any other country, you can Go From Foreigner to Japanese Citizen with a bit of hard work and dedication. And everyone will love you for it.
5. Only Japanese People Can Excel at Traditional Japanese Sports and Things
There are a handful of people (both inside as well as outside Japan) that think only the mighty Yamato people are capable of being good at anything Japanese whether it be the language, sports, or otherwise. This, however, is grossly untrue. Take sumo for example. What's more Japanese than sumo? Well, believe it or not there hasn't been a Japanese Yokozuna in like ten years (they were either Hawaiian or Mongolian).
[yframe url=' watch?v=2eZulXJTZwk']
And then there's Jero. Jero is the first ever black (well, half black) Enka singer in Japanese history. Who would have expected that? So while there may be some Japanese people that believe there is something different about them that makes it so only they can excel at these things, this is most definitely not the case.
4. Japanese People Are Super Polite, Like, All the Time
Have you ever visited Japan and felt like everyone was being ridiculously nice to you, even more than you would have expected? Have you ever had a foreign exchange student at your school before? Would you be super nice to them? Probably. Japanese people are about as polite as anyone else really. This is even more true when you hang around Japanese people who think foreigners are cool and want to be nice and hang around them all the time.
I mean, the Japanese language has a special level of politeness just to make sure people don't give into their natural human temptations to be rude and crass to everyone. Okay, no not really. But in reality, Japanese people are just about as polite as anyone else when it comes right down to it. And if you want to return the politeness favor when you go to Japan, just make sure you don't embarrass yourself.
3. Japanese People All Drink Only Sake and Can't Handle their Alcohol
Of course Japanese people drink other kinds of alcohol apart from sake. Yes, they probably drink more sake than other nations, but probably in the same way French people would be more likely to drink more wine and Germans would be likely to drink more beer. But Japan loves wine and beer just as much as the next country. Don't believe me? Beer was responsible for starting a war in Japan. They take it very seriously over there.
As for Japanese people not being able to hold their liquor, thats only partially true. If you've checked out Hashi's post about The Science Behind Drunken Salarymen, this may be familiar to you already. About 40-45% of Asians have trouble processing alcohol and develop what has become known as the "Asian Glow." But for those who aren't afflicted with this unfortunate mutation, Japanese people are certainly capable of holding their own in any sort of drinking match.
2. All Japanese People Eat Sushi All Day Every Day
Yes, sushi comes from Japan. Yes, sushi is awesome and no one would be unhappy eating it each and every single day. However, Japan has a lot of other foods that are equally as awesome like tempura, gyoza, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and even bukkake. Some Japanese people don't even like sushi (the poor souls).
[yframe url=' watch?v=0b75cl4-qRE']
At most Japanese grocery stores the sushi section, albeit much better than its US equivalents, isn't that much bigger than those you'd find at your local Kroger or Giant Eagle. But of course fish is more plentiful in Japan as it is an island nation, much in the same way that beef is so plentiful in America. And now you know.
1. All Japanese People Watch Anime and Read Manga (Even in Their Sleep!)
Okay, so kids in Japan watch anime just about as much as kids in the United States watch American stuff like SpongeBob SquarePants or Looney Tunes. As kids get older, they will be more likely to "graduate" from anime onto manga (reading is hard, after all), but it's pretty comparable to how American folks like American comic books (or graphic novels if you prefer). And just like in America, if somebody ends up being really obsessed with comics they'll most likely be labeled as a super nerd (or otaku).
[yframe url=' watch?v=l0duOmmO02Q']
Of course there are things that almost everyone in Japan enjoys, like Studio Ghibli, but in America we have Disney and Pixar movies that can be enjoyed by all ages as well. So next time you see a Japanese person, don't assume that they like anime or manga as much as you do. There's a good chance they don't.
-CONCLUSION-
And there you have it. Ten of the most common misconceptions about the Japanese people debunkified. You're welcome.
Do you have any other misconceptions you think we should have addressed above? (All Japanese people being good at math, maybe?) Or maybe you have some other questions about Japanese people and their culture you'd like cleared up? Feel free to ask in the comments!
-END-