Firstly; the art in that image is amateurish and kind of throws me off of the content.

Secondly; I for one do not shy away from "dark" things when the situation calls for it. Heck, I once wrote a story about a kid who dreamed of four very dark ways his father died (killed in a war, suicide, false accusation by a Knight Templar, and alcohol poisoning, in that order), yet I also took Giratina and turned it into this cute little baby. So I guess it just depends on what feels appropriate for the mon in question. It is fairly difficult to find a balance between avoiding both Cute Is Evil, What Measure Is a Non-Cute?, and finding the elusive Grey-and-Gray Morality.

edited 29th Apr '11 11:31:45 AM by CalamityJane

Please consider supporting my artwork on Patreon

That's not what I mean, I'm saying that we have disproportionate amount of interest at showing that the world is NOT Grimdark to the point of redundancy. Tangent's post is basically "Look this isn't grimdark! See? See?"

I'm not saying that Darker and Edgier is necessarily a good thing, but we have to careful not to go too far in the other direction.

Sorry, I can't hear you from my FLYING METAL BOX!

actually, some articles do describe them in quite a bit of detail. *looks at tepig article*

edited 29th Apr '11 11:40:22 AM by Blissey1

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

-Looks at own articles-

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

-points to Horn Drill-

The Danse Macabre Codex

Well, that's what I was trying to say too, Neo. We need to find a balance between Darker and Edgier and Lighter and Softer. Also, pointing at one person's actions as a basis for the entire project is somewhat akin to stereotyping, since you are a part of this project and you and Tangent are not one and the same.

edited 29th Apr '11 11:50:36 AM by CalamityJane

Please consider supporting my artwork on Patreon

-looks at own article-

... Eh, Luvdisc are harmless anyway.

You got some dirt on you. Here's some more!

As far as the thing I linked, I just thought it was good for showing that fierceish mons are still capable of socialization, while acknowledging that the in-universe society still has reason to be wary of some of them.

As a species, instinct can encourage violent behavior. But Pokémon do have personalities; when access to civilization ensures that food and a mate are not to be worried about, many are going to be willing to play nice. Though yes, "many" does mean you will still have jerks.

And you are even going to have aggressive members of even the fluffy species (Evil Togepi from the anime, anyone?). But while people need to be on their guard, and Hazards sections are based off of the idea that Knowing Is Half The Battle, trainers are probably far more likely to quit a Pokémon journey due to not feeling cut out for animal training or camping than they are due to fearing for their life.

edited 29th Apr '11 11:57:45 AM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Let's not even get into how Nidoran can go to town on you.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

The Deino line entry though, is a prime example of being too dark and edgy. Basically, we don't want that.

You got some dirt on you. Here's some more!

^ Meh, the only real fault that I find with it is that it doesn't have anything counterbalancing the Alien references and some of its statements regarding behavior are highly generalizing.

Also, I'm fairly certain by the contents of some of our hazards entries that we're not going for Lighter and Softer. If anything, we seem to be attempting to make every 'mon into Guilmon, creatures that while typically relatable and something that you'd actually want to befriend, are immensely dangerous in the right (or wrong, depending on how you view it) circumstances.

edited 29th Apr '11 12:49:22 PM by TracerBullet

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

Well, they can launch fireballs, high-pressure jets of water, lightning bolts, and a meteor storm pretty much at will....they'd have to be fairly dangerous. But many Pokemon are reasonably nonviolent, or Pokemon training would probably have been illegalized long ago.

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Did you see my earlier post?

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Okay. The server hosting the chatroom has been moved successfully enough, it seems.

However, the DNS update might take a bit. The TTL (update interval) was set to one hour, but some servers may wait longer.

I will deal with any issues once my homework is complete.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Here's the Heatran article. The only problem is it's rather... brief. It's also a demented hybrid of the Legendary template for articles and the normal template for articles.

Heatran

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

• Heatran [485]

Heatran is a very rare quadrupedal species of Pokemon that dwells in volcanoes, indeed, there is only one confirmed to exist. It is a squat creature, no more than a metre and a half long, though by all accounts it appears to be incredibly dense. Its body appears to be made of a mix of a metal of some kind and molten rock, and it possesses a mouth as wide as its body full of huge flat teeth. It has cross-shaped feet which it uses for latching onto walls and digging, and it has a pair of flat, horizontal horns jutting from the side of its head.

With so few sightings, it is unknown whether Heatran could properly be called a species of Pokemon. So far there have only been verified sightings at Stark Mountain, and though other claims have been made, they are not backed up by any evidence. However, there is only a very small amount of myth describing the Pokemon, and different sightings have reported that Heatran have reacted in different ways that seem to indicate different male and female genders, so debate continues over whether Heatran could be classified as a normal Pokemon or a Legendary Pokemon. There is a single unconfirmed case where a Heatran has been sighted with brighter colouring of their metal and molten rock on their body.

Notable Biology and Lore

Heatran has not been properly studied, so it is unknown how this Fire and Steel type Pokemon functions exactly. The body appears to be a mix of an unknown metal and molten rock. The molten rock is hot enough to partially melt the metal in places, but it appears to cause the Pokemon no discomfort. Indeed, while the Pokemon is partially steel type and one would expect fire based attacks to be at least able to hurt it, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that fire attacks are completely useless against it, just making the Pokemon stronger. Its internal organ structure is completely unknown, however it is assumed that beneath its molten metal and rock armour is an extraordinarily heat-tolerant body.

Heatran has a single story featuring it in Sinnoh legend. The stories state that if a certain kind of Magma Stone is removed from Stark Mountain, Heatran will awaken and go on a rampage. This stone was recently removed. While it is true that Heatran sightings in the mountain has increased since the stone's removal, and it may be more aggressive than it was, it definitely did not go on a rampage. While it is commonly believe d that ancient people's believed that Heatran was an incarnation of the volcano, there are actually few, if any texts that state this.

Known Sightings

The only Heatran confirmed to exist lives in Stark Mountain, with other unconfirmed sightings made in mountainous or volcanic regions. Sightings in Stark Mountain have skyrocketed ever since the Magma Stone was removed, with a couple being made per month as opposed to each decade. Given its physical nature, it seems that Heatran could only possibly live in a volcanic region. It may cause catastrophic damage if it were to exist in another environment such as a forest.

Diet

It is unknown how much sustenance Heatran needs. It has been observed to crush up rocks and metal with its massive mouth, which seems to be done purely to replace any of its armour that it may lose over time. There are unconfirmed reports of it eating Pokemon, with more reports of Heatran eating rock and steel types than other types.

Hazards

Heatran may not have flown into a rampage when the Magma Stone was removed, but it is nonetheless an extremely dangerous Pokemon. It is very durable and incredibly powerful with energy attacks, capable of using a wide variety of volcanic attacks, some of which are more ground-type in nature than fire-type. Few Pokemon are capable of standing up to those kinds of blows for long.

There are a handful of recorded cases where Heatran has been seen to use a unique fire attack. Dubbed "Magma Storm" by scientists, it appears to be similar to moves that many fire-type Pokemon use, but it is much stronger. When Heatran uses this attack, it spits out a massive spiralling wave of molten material. Though the attack takes a small time to prepare and is thus inaccurate, the attack causes grievous injury. The spiralling blast also spreads around the target, leaving them trapped in a molten barrier which continues to burn for a while after the attack has finished. Physical escape is impossible, and one eyewitness account states that calling Pokemon back into Pokeballs is impossible as well. As this attack prevents running away, it may spell doom for you or your Pokemon and there may simply not be anything you can do about it.

The only fortunate thing about dealing with Heatran is that its typing, while making it very resilient to many attacks, does leave it vulnerable to water, fighting and especially ground attacks. Using those attacks will allow you to drive it off. It is a little on the slow side, and only a handful of reports mention Heatran using Magma Storm while fighting. If it is not a single unique Pokemon, then it can be concluded that not all of them know Magma Storm. It is still extremely wise to run away, however, and to use as many Pokemon as you can that resist fire while being able to easily strike against it.

Other

Of almost all Pokemon, Heatran is one of the least well known in society at large. Until recently, if you asked the average person on the street, they would probably say, 'Heatran? Isn't that that enormous monster that tried to stop those adventurers in those mines in that story?' With the removal of the Magma Stone and the number of recorded sightings increased, awareness of Heatran has increased.

No. What was it?

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

This one.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

How about we forget tone altogether. We interpret the canon as best we and logic dictates and whatever comes out of that comes. Like in my Lit Wick article (which would be published today if my computer wasn't bleached). These guys eat SOULS for a living; doesn’t make them bad people doesn’t make hem good people, but a guide should note that and tell trainers how to deal with that (The answer is Artificial Soul Substitute).

We shouldn't deliberate manipulate the canon based on our personal tastes in the first place, so the fact that this debate comes up at all sign also a failure in the project.

Let's make a TCG!

^ But when they feed on "souls", do they consume the entirety of it, or can they consume varying extents of these "souls"? After all, if your Litwick can feed without out and out killing (*insert organism near death here*), it makes upkeep much easier, and lowers the probability of embarrassing incidents involving the elderly couple across the street.

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

I thought we were gonna go with Litwick line merely feeding on emotions associated with dying and not actual souls

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

Ah. Changed it.

edited 30th Apr '11 1:45:30 PM by memyselfandI2

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

All of these things were covered in my (now) bleached computer.

I still have the skeleton but it will take a while to build up.

Let's make a TCG!

A little heads-up to everyone, but the chatroom has been up and running for a while. If anyone's up for talking, I'm presently in with Tangent ATM.

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

Oh yeah, did I mention that I decided to do something totally different? Because I totally did.

Background

Despite its status as Kanto's second largest city and its role as a major economic hub along with its sister city Saffron, Celadon City is relatively young as a settlement, with its formal founding dating back less than 400 years (though it should be noted that the Greater Celadon area has evidently supported human settlement well before Celadon's founding). Since its inception, Celadon has gradually expanded outward, with some of the most dramatic expansion occurring within the last 50 years, and has since formed a megalopolis with Saffron City via a contiguous bloc along the seaside. As of present a region of unurbanized land surrounding Route 7 presently separates the northern regions of Celadon and Saffron from each other. Like a number of other cities within Kanto and some nearby regions, Celadon has historically been plagued by calamities that have required massive reconstruction, which has resulted in an absence of dedicated historical districts within the city.

Geography

Celadon sits on a plain inland from the ocean, and is flanked by foothills to hilly regions along Routes 7 and 16 and plains in the other directions, including a thoroughly urbanized southern plain that contains structures that were primarily constructed within the last century. Within Celadon and its immediate surroundings, there are three primary sectors of settlement, the northeast, the northwest, and the southern portions of the metropolitan area. The northeast sectors of Celadon are the oldest continuously settled regions within the city, and are among the most extensively developed, with some districts hosting large numbers of high-rise buildings. The northeast sectors of Celadon were first settled extensively within the last 150 years, and due to the presence of large concentrations of local transportation facilities, quickly developed into a major entertainment and retail hub, a function that it continues to serve in modern Kanto. Lying outside of Celadon City proper, the southern districts of Greater Celadon contain a significant portion of Celadon's suburbs as well as a large number of manufacturing and port facilities.

Industry

Modern Celadon's economy is heavily service-oriented, with the northern sectors of the city thoroughly pervaded by retail and entertainment venues, which are one of Celadon's most prominent tourist attractions. Celadon also hosts a number of corporate offices, including among other things the headquarters of a number of media, retail, transport, IT, and food service firms. Despite this, it should be noted Celadon maintains a significant industrial presence, as the industrialized area in the south of Greater Celadon hosts a large number of heavy manufacturing and distribution sites for a range of industrial corporations.

Points of Interest

As a well-established entertainment hub, it is entirely possible to spend an entire day within Celadon milling about its many restaurants and shops, which cater to every imaginable clientele and can be found in setting ranging from locales along broad streets and plazas, to dense amalgamations of venues in alleyways. Some of the more prominent landmarks within Celadon are explored in further depth below:

Celadon Gym

Celadon City has long maintained a tradition of supporting gyms focusing around Grass-Type Pokémon, a trend that has continued under the its present leader Erika *******. While the gym itself is relatively mundane compared to those of some other leagues, Celadon's gym has long built up a reputation for being infamously difficult to find, with the gym's main entrance lying in a back alley that is only distinguishable by rows of trees planted along its sides. In addition, Celadon Gym under Erika's leadership has become infamous for an erratic schedule, due in no small part to its leader's parallel pursuits as the owner of a prominent local perfume boutique and major figure in the world of floral arrangement.

Celadon Department Store

An extremely prominent retail outlet that has been active for over eighty years, the six-story Celadon Department Store overlooks the north of a prominent plaza in west Celadon that serves as a prominent local retail hub and gathering site. Despite the presence of many competitors within Celadon, the Celadon Department Store maintains a truly enviable inventory of offered goods, and has developed a reputation of being the premier retailer for goods pertaining to specialty training equipment within Kanto. It should be noted that the plaza that the Celadon Department Store sits next to also hosts a number of competing retail outlets, many of which also merit a visit in their own right.

Celadon Game Corner

Although Celadon as a whole is (in)famous for its concentration of gaming establishments, the Celadon Game Corner in eastern Celadon has developed a truly unparalleled following due in part to its history and it the clientele that it caters to. The Celadon Game Corner, initially founded as the Rocket Game Corner, was at one point the front for an extensive Team Rocket hideout, an element that makes it a minor point of interest to some visitors (it should be noted that the actual hideout has long been sealed, and attempts to enter the abandoned hideout will be met with a swift ejection from the premises). Since its inception, the Celadon Game Corner has overtly courted a clientele of active trainers, which is evident in its offerings of Pokémon and items such as TMs as prizes for its games. Due to a series of scandals involving the regular admission of underage clients to the Game Corner's slot machines, the establishment has recently begun experimenting with alternative forms of gaming along with slot machines, including the use of a minesweeper-esque game involving touch-sensitive tables.

A number of venues can also be found around major transport facilities in Celadon, three of the most prominent of which include two large local train terminals in west and east Celadon respectively, as well as a large bus terminal in west Celadon. It should be noted that the train terminal in west Celadon contains two prominent meeting locations, which provide a convenient point of reference for visitors. To the northeast of the terminal, there is a famous bronze statue of a Growlithe that has been lionized in Kanto's popular culture for its fealty to its trainer, to the southeast of the terminal, there is a statue of a Probopass that was presented as a gift to the residents of Celadon 30 years ago. Many of these locations are also major hubs for youth subcultures within Kanto, and present opportunities to immerse oneself in these subcultures.

Tips for Trainers

Trainers seeking to challenge the local gym are strongly encouraged to maintain flexible schedules when doing so, as it suffers from a leader with both an erratic schedule, as well as a large volume of potential challengers. It should be noted that the teams employed by the Celadon Gym, while periodically rotated to be composed of stronger or weaker Pokémon as per assignment by the Indigo League, are typically well out of the league of a fresh challenger, and is generally a poor choice for an initial gym challenge.

Despite significant improvement following a crackdown by the municipal government following the exposure of Team Rocket's hideout beneath the Celadon Game Corner, it should be noted that a number of establishments within Celadon are known to still be influenced by powers in the local underworld, and visitors should exercise caution in choosing entertainment venues to visit. One particularly infamous district is a dense collection of venues in a series of side alleys within eastern Celadon.

It should be noted that some circles within Celadon possess a robust tradition of training Eevee, which may be of interest to visitors that are either training or seeking to train a member of the Eevee line. Trainers are known to periodically frequent the lobbies of apartment buildings near the Celadon Department Store, which are the site of periodic meetings of particularly prominent local Eevee breeders and trainers (One of the most frequented buildings also contains the offices of a developer of a prominent RPG series, which may be of interest to visitors with an interest in video games). Following an incident a few years ago involving an offhand remark by a prominent Kanto trainer regarding the origins of his Eevee that triggered a large influx of visitors to the buildings in this area searching for free Eevee, these meetings have become significantly more impromptu in nature, with organization tactics not wholly unlike that of those exhibited by flash mobs.

Native Pokémon

Barring a population of Grimer, Muk, and the occasional Koffing that reside around a polluted lake within Celadon along with small numbers of often sickly members of the Psyduck, Slowpoke, Magikarp, Poliwag, and Goldeen lines, there are no meaningful stable populations of wild Pokémon within Greater Celadon. It should be noted that the Celadon City Council recently approved a measure to clean the lake in question, and population distributions in this area may change dramatically in the future.

To the east of Celadon, along Route 7, there are large populations of creatures from the Pidgey, Mankey, Meowth, Ekans, Growlithe, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Snubbull, and Rattata lines. More nocturnal trainers traveling along this Route will be able to readily encounter individuals from the Houndour, Noctowl, and Gastly lines. Small populations of Pokémon from the Jigglypuff, Pineco, Combee, and Shinx lines, along with Plusle and Minun are also known to reside along this Route.

To the west of Celadon, along Route 16, large populations of Pokémon from the Doduo, Spearow, Rattata, and Grimer lines are known to exist. Other, stable populations of Pokémon along this Route include populations of Murkrow, Slugma, Heracross, and the Shinx line, along with Plusle and Minun have also been recorded. Snorlax are also occasionally sighted along this Route, though a stable population of creatures from its line has yet to be documented along this Route.

In Popular Culture

While not featured as prominently in fiction as its larger sister to the east, Celadon City and its skyline occasionally make appearances in a wide range of media. More extensive representations of Celadon in fiction also exist, which include a short-lived television drama focusing upon a small number of youths that find themselves trapped within a virtual representation of Celadon, a similarly-premised RPG published by the owners of the Last Legend franchise (which coincidentally, has its corporate headquarters in western Celadon) revolving around youths attempting to survive a week-long "Spectres' Tournament," and a thinly-veiled use of Celadon as the setting of a cult platformer series revolving around tagging.

Comments?

edited 11th May '11 8:46:57 PM by TracerBullet

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

Very nice article.

Does anyone have any ideas/comments on the Heatran article? I know it needs more work but I'm stuck