Draco: Holy disbalance, Crobat. Just realized at my addenda so far; one to introduce Lental into my canon, one to elaborate on my Kantonian canon, one to just ramble about Hoenn, one just for the Sinnohan heartwarming, one that was technically inspired by Hisui but was mostly affected by something else, and then four to establish my canon on Hisuian events. I mean, I'm not going to apologize, but Legends gave me a lot more ideas than I was expecting.

[quote]Can you use the term 'is canon' when referring to game elements present in a fanfic?[/quote] {laughs} Tell me you guys saw that coming.

In the middle of another run of Gen VI Hoenn, for a plethora of reasons involving Gen III Orre. Also having some very unusual theories about #WhatCouldHaveBeen possibilities in Gen VIII Sinnoh. Also also, coming up with an absolutely outrageous fangame-turned-fanfic (a la Eternal Colosseum) regarding Pokétopia, and trying my best not to write it until I at LEAST have these teams trained to my satisfaction.

So why am I inspired to write an addendum about Johto? Your guess is as good as mine.

Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo.

Ilex Forest, Johto

"I know relaxing with your Pokémon is a good thing..."

Ethan opened his eyes, and he and Typhlosion turned towards the voice to find Silver and Feraligatr stepping into the clearing where the shrine stood. "But if you ask me, doing it in the middle of the forest is a recipe for disaster."

"No one in my party is in such a condition that we can't deal with anything in this forest," Ethan defended, lying his head back.

"Maybe," Silver mused, "but what about you?"

"The day I get wrecked by a Paras is the day you get to call me weak and not get proven wrong," Ethan replied.

Silver chuckled. "Whatever you say," he muttered, starting through the clearing.

"What about you?" Ethan asked. "What brings you in here?"

"That old Poké Ball maker in Azalea," Silver replied. "Came across something I wanted to ask him about. Since I was in already in Goldenrod, I figure there's no sense taking the sky route."

Ethan hummed, turning to him. "What've you got that you want to ask Kurt about?"

"I don't think it's any of your business," Silver insisted. "I'm not threatening anybody with it, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not," Ethan scolded. "Just don't see why you'd ask a Poké Ball smith about anything other than Poké Balls."

"Who said I was asking him about anything other than a Poké Ball?" Silver retorted.

"Then why do you think you need to be secretive about it?" Ethan asked. "Unless you think you got a Master Ball, but that's not exactly an ask-a-professional topic. It's got an M on it."

Silver groaned, reaching into his bag. "Fine, if you're gonna pester me about it."

He tossed something to Ethan - something that gleamed impressively in the tree-filtered light coming down in the forest. At first, he thought Silver had thrown it short just to mess with him, and he sat upright and reached his hand out - but then he caught the thing, and he was surprised at the weight it carried. It seemed to be a Poké Ball, indeed - a modern Poké Ball, even, with a black seam and a button on the front - but it was a Poké Ball that seemed to be made out of precious metal, with a silvered bottom half that remained unmarked and a golden top half sporting two faint letters.

"What the heck?" he muttered. "Is this even a Poké Ball?"

"Right?" Silver mused. "Poké Balls are heavier when they have Pokémon in them, but they don't get that heavy."

"Yeah, I don't blame you for wanting to ask a professional about that," Ethan admitted, throwing it back.

Silver caught it and returned it to his bag. "That's what I was saying."

Ethan laid back again, closing his eyes with intent to return to his nap.

"...Hey, Gold?"

The address caught Ethan off-guard, and he opened one eye. "Yeah?"

"That book you've worked on, with the Sinnoh Champion and all those other Trainers..." Silver turned to him. "You said you only ever saw a glimpse of the Time Traveler."

"...Yeah?" Ethan mused.

"Is that really all you ever saw of her?" Silver mused.

Ethan had some suspicions on why he was asking. "What," he accused, "you got something in your past you want to change?"

Silver scoffed. "And make my whole life worse in the process?" he retorted. "I know better."

"Then why does it matter?" Ethan asked.

"You're dodging the question," Silver observed.

Ethan took a deep breath. "It was all I'd seen of her before Cynthia consulted me about which legendary Pokémon I'd encountered," he defended. "Yes, I've seen her a bit more personally since."

"Then why not update your 'notes'?" Silver asked.

"Because that's not the point of the book," Ethan insisted. "It's not a strict study, where we're trying to compile as much information as we can. It's about what sort of impressions we get from the legendary Pokémon we encounter. If someone wants concrete facts about legendary Pokémon, they can talk to Pokémon Professors like Elm."

Silver narrowed his gaze at Ethan for a moment before making his way out of the clearing, Feraligatr following behind.

Silence in the forest for a moment... and then a quiet cry echoed from around the shrine behind him.

"I'm not going to tell him what you showed me," Ethan said firmly. "Not unless he chooses to share."

Draco: Gen IV Johto should've had the GS Ball event reprised. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for being able to battle Mythical Pokémon instead of just receiving them.

Let me be perfectly clear again, just to head off any of the assholes who want an excuse to complain about things - I don't have a problem with BDSP, in and of themselves. Yes, I have a pattern of being "annoyed by the most random shit", and BDSP is no exception. But it's all tremendously minor stuff, like certain lines of dialogue not being revised for new circumstances, or the events in Hearthome being referred to as "Super Contest Shows" rather than just "Contest Shows", or the boxart and promos using (what look like) 3D models instead of 2D artwork.

On the other hand... I feel like Legends: Arceus might have been better served if it came out before BDSP. The way that Hisuian gameplay is so different from modern-day gameplay means that you can't really make a concrete judgement on how the newly-introduced Pokémon, forms, and moves compare to the extant ones. Especially considering how many moves in Hisui got completely reworked for... reasons that don't really make sense to me, to say nothing of the absence of Abilities as a whole. Yes, it's nice to know for sure whether I'm throwing Poké Balls at a Glalie or a Zorua, but still.

If BDSP had come out after Legends, Hisuian Pokémon could very well have appeared in modern-day Sinnoh, and we'd be able to experience them in modern-day battle much sooner than Gen IX. Hell, they could've even maintained the "no National Pokédex" trend that got started in Alola, without ruining Oak's visit to Sandgem Town. If Kamado is Rowan's ancestor, my whole "Rowan has an old copy of the Hisui Pokédex" headcanon isn't that far-fetched; he could have enlisted Oak to make a digital-Dex installment with that data, and Oak shows up to pass that on after you've filled out the Sinnoh Dex.

...Also, Mew and Jirachi are in Floaroma Town as #OldSaveBonus gift Pokémon, and Celebi got left out again. Let's be totally honest, here: Mew makes sense as a Let's Go bonus because it's a Kantonian Pokémon; Jirachi makes sense as a Galar bonus because of the Wishing Stars; Celebi would make sense as a Legends bonus because the Hisuian protagonist time-travelled.

...Plus, Legends: Arceus is referred to as a "premake", which would have been a little more meaningful if it preceded the remakes, but that's just being semantic.