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rvdl
random-typepokemondex
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random-typepokemondex

#098-099

“Krabby” might be one of may favorites so far. I have such a soft spot for little guys. Also I think seeing a beach that’s just covered in smooth colored gems would be super cool. One of those natural wonders kind of thing, you know! However, conceptually, “Kingler” has so much cool potential. I love the idea of mobile castles and I took the opportunity to make them a full knight with shield and sword. You can’t see it at this angle, but the shield claw is actually still a functioning claw. I can imagine “Krabby’s” living in the old molts and just how wild it would be to see two “Kinglers” sparing with each other. Maybe the “Krabby’s” help to feed the “Kinglers” and in return they get a safe home. The Possibilities! Very cool, 10/10.

rvdl
adarrhiannon
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adarrhiannon

It fascinates me how regeneration in an exercise in overcompensation for the Doctor. It's a case of making decisions that backfire or don't have a good outcome and then trying to fix that when they regenerate but always going too far. And there's the matter of how context is so important.

For Nine, letting Rose close helped him to open up more and start to move past his trauma about the Time War. But for Ten, basing his personality around Rose meant that when they were together they were too tied up in each other and then when she left he handled it badly, thereby contributing towards hurting Martha. (I know people have different opinions on how much of TenMartha was either party's fault but I do think Ten should shoulder at least some of the blame)

But stuff like letting people in vs shutting people out isn't a yes/no question. There's a balance to be found and there are different situations where leaning in one direction may be more appropriate than another. And, of course, what someone needs at a particular stage of their life can change. And regeneration doesn't take any of this nuance into account. It's almost like the Doctor is unconsciously thinking "this went wrong because I am y. I should not be y or this will happen again" sans any kind of context and then they act on that.

So because regeneration is based on that one last moment and what the Doctor thinks they need right then, their entire personality post-regen reflects that. They're a walking trauma response.

rvdl
headcanonsandmore
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headcanonsandmore

I love the Ninth Doctor because they initially seem cold at first glance but actually Care So Much and genuinely want to save people and help the innocent, and they would rather lose than cause loss. They love their friends so much and are overjoyed at the simple humanity and warmth that their companions show to them. They have two hearts so they care twice as much.

And then there’s the Thirteenth Doctor, who initially seems light and whimsical at first glance but is actually deliberately pushing people away because they’re deeply traumatised, and rarely lets anyone get close. They are terrifying in an eldritch miasma way and are shockingly ruthless and cold when push comes to shove, even pushing their companions away when they feel it necessary. They have two hearts but they push down their feelings because they feel Too Much.

Two mirror images, the first modern Doctor and the most recent modern Doctor. Both dealing with trauma in completely different ways.

rvdl
adobe-outdesign
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adobe-outdesign

Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam Headcanons

(Gamefreak only provides so much information so I guess I gotta take things into my own hands. These are all based off the games, save for the egg designs because I do what I want.)

Biology

  • The line’s scientific name is Bestia magica (approx. ”beast that uses magic”). The Bestia genus includes many other bipedal plated “kaiju” Pokemon, such as Rhyhorn and Kangaskhan.
  • The Abra line is omnivorous/insectivorous.
  • Out in the wild, they eat fruits, veggies, and some types of fungi. They will also occasionally hunt small and weak bug-types.
  • In captivity, they can enjoy most of the foods their trainers do. They also enjoy frozen treats like shaved ice and ice cream (though they can only have dairy if it’s lactose free).
  • Their average lifespan is 65 years out in the wild, due in part to their frail nature. In captivity, they can live up to 110 years, with some individuals living as long as 130 years.
  • The line’s body texture is similar to armadillos; the brown areas of their bodies are covered in thick, leathery plating. This helps protect their otherwise frail bodies.
  • The rest of the skin is rough in most places, but the underside of their chins and tails are very soft.
  • Abra and Kadabra used to be semi-arboreal a long time ago; their tails are prehensile to help with climbing and their three-toed claws are designed to grasp tree branches. They can still sometimes be seen in trees gathering berries.
  • They’ve evolved to prioritize their psychic abilities. On the plus side, this gives them some of the most powerful psychokinesis of any Pokemon (outside of legendaries), but on the minus side, they’re very frail health-wise, with issues such as:
  • Joint problems/arthritis, which is especially common in Alakazam
  • Semi-hollow bones that break easily (though a combo of recover and levitation allows them to heal remarkably fast)
  • Frequent headaches, especially with Kadabra
  • Issues with muscle atrophy and strain
  • Badly-designed legs (the reason they levitate all the time is because walking too much can seriously mess up their knees)
  • Their long whiskers are highly sensitive and are used to sense changes in psychic energy, which helps them avoid attacks.
  • Males have evolved longer whiskers to impress females (and other males from time to time). While the female’s whiskers are shorter on average, they’re more sensitive.
  • Kadabra store energy in their tails in the form of fat, similar to a gecko. This allows a well-fed Kadabra to go as long as long as a month without eating.
  • While the entire line’s heads never stop growing, Alakazam’s grows the fastest, at an average of ~1 cm (.7 in) per year.
  • The largest Alakazam skull (relative to size) on record was from a 117 year old individual. It was 3 feet (.9 m) long from the back of the head to the snout at the time of its passing. The skull was donated to and currently resides at the National Museum of Nature in Kanto.
  • If an Abra doesn’t get enough sleep, they can temporarily lose their psychic abilities until they sleep again. They can permanently lose both their abilities and their psychic typing if they stay awake more than 12 hours.
  • These normal-type Abra don’t need as much sleep, but they’re also unable to evolve into Alakazam.
  • While they can evolve into Kadabra, they tend to have more muscle and other adaptations to make them less frail, possibly to compensate for their lack of abilities.

Evolution/Mega Evolution

  • The line used to be two stages several thousand years ago. Alakazam is a relatively recent evolution and is thought to be caused by the line’s rapidly developing psychic abilities.
  • The ring on an Abra’s tail will start to glow when they near evolution (likewise, a Kadabra’s markings also glow right before they evolve).
  • The amount of sleep they need gradually decreases as well, dropping from 18–20 hours a day to about 12 as a result of their strengthening minds.
  • Like other “trade” evolutions, Kadabra rely on changing social interactions to evolve; specifically, they evolve through learning and training with others.
  • This can be easily accomplished in captivity via trade, loaning them temporarily to another trainer, or via linking cord (which simulates the energy they receive from the former).
  • In the wild, evolution is usually achieved by a Kadabra leaving its original home to travel, join another group, or train under a more powerful psychic-type. They’ve also been known to evolve via self-enlightenment, but this is rare.
  • Kadabra have been known to enter a meditative state before attempting to evolve where they won’t eat for long periods of time, instead relying on the stored nutrients in their tails.
  • When they evolve, the stored fat in their tails is burned up to fuel the evolution. The subsequent lack of tails make Alakazam much faster and lighter.
  • Alakazam are considered easy-to-medium level Pokemon to mega evolve, as many individuals strive for the heightened abilities mega evolution brings. They also have few physical or mental problems as a result.
  • The biggest physical issue is that their muscles completely atrophy in order to better enhance their minds. This does not cause them pain (merely a tingling pins-and-needles sensation), but makes it harder for them to physically move their bodies.
  • This atrophy makes them even more fragile than normal, so trainers should pay close attention to their Pokemon’s condition and recall them immediately if they’re showing any signs of serious pain.
  • Mentally, they almost always stay lucid due to their high intelligence. However, the shock of their heightened mental state combined with the future events they see can sometimes lead to declines in mental health, so it’s important to offer support if they need it.

Social Behaviors

  • A group of Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam is known as a hocus.
  • Kadabra and Alakazam have little respect for non-psychics, especially out in the wild, making battling them before capture extremely important. If properly impressed by a trainer, however, they will be loyal to the end.
  • They can also be impressed by trainers who capture them with stealth, as this requires precise control over one’s thoughts.
  • They are intelligent enough to be approached peacefully, but this requires calm and clear thinking.
  • The line is incredibly curious by nature. On rare occasions, they’ve been known to approach people in the wild to investigate things like Pokedexes or cameras.
  • The line makes a wide variety of noises, primarily trills and rasps. These sounds are used mostly to communicate with other Pokemon, as they almost exclusively use telepathy to talk to each other.
  • Their vocal cords are relatively underdeveloped because of this, so what noises they do make tend to be soft.
  • Due to the line’s incredibly high intelligence, they can learn to communicate fluently with their trainers via telepathy. However, this tends to be incredibly migraine-inducing for non-psychics, so they tend not to do this to avoid accidentally hurting anyone.
  • With that said, many trainers will learn sign language alongside their Pokemon instead, which allows for equally fluent communication without the migraines.
  • Some also prefer to just grin and bear it, as the human mind will eventually gain immunity to the waves that cause the migraines through long-term exposure.
  • Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam either live together in groups of 30–60, known as colonies, or will stake out on their own to look for a trainer.
  • While historically they’ve been known to create structures to live in, in recent times they tend to just occupy abandoned human buildings instead. Individuals on their own may take shelter in caves.
  • Colonies are typically lead by an alpha, oftentimes but not always an Alakazam. Unlike many other Pokemon lead by alphas, leaders can be replaced if the rest of the colony is unsatisfied with their performance.
  • It’s estimated that over 80% of wild Abra will partner with a human at some point in their life, due to a natural desire to learn and improve their abilities.
  • Like many psychic-types, the line shows affection by pressing their foreheads against the heads of Pokemon and people they like. 
  • Smiling is not part of the species natural body language. However, they tend to pick it up after being around humans.
  • Abra only teleport if they feel unsafe. With that said, many trainers will attach trackers to them in case they teleport and become lost.
  • While Alakazam are several times smarter than humans, their average IQ is closer to 400–500 rather than 5,000.
  • The latter number comes from a discredited study that used computers. It’s believed that the computer glitched out due the Pokemon’s alpha waves, producing a number one digit higher than what it should have been.
  • Abra need a good deal of enrichment, even when asleep. Spoons make excellent toys as they can practice using their abilities on them, and small puzzles like rubik’s cubes give them something to toy with while dozing.
  • Kadabra are just as intelligent as humans and need just as much daily enrichment. Otherwise, they become frustrated, destructive, and will stop listening to their trainers entirely. Some may even return to the wild.
  • Many psychic-type shops carry various kinds of puzzles and brain teasers, which do a good job of keeping them entertained. Training is also an excellent way to keep them enriched and to help them learn better control.
  • Alakazam are much better at keeping themselves enriched via things like meditation and training. They also enjoy reading; many libraries will allow Alakazam to check out books on their own if they have their trainer’s library card.
  • Many trainers have also found that pairing the line with other intelligent Pokemon, such as Metagross or Oranguru, helps keep them stimulated.
  • Alakazam are so intelligent that many find themselves unable to find a trainer that can outperform them. Because of this, it’s not unheard of for them to become trainers themselves, oftentimes using hypnosis to disguise themselves as humans.
  • A particularly famous psychic-type gym leader in Kanto was actually an Alakazam. If impressed by the challenger’s performance, they would reveal their true appearance and act as their own last Pokemon.
  • While Alakazam are some of the smartest Pokemon out there, Metagross are more intelligent than them. However, Metagross’ brains work more like a computer while Alakazam’s work more like a human’s, so while a Metagross will always beat them at chess, an Alakazam will always beat them at philosophy.

Spoons

  • The Abra line makes spoons as a way to focus their strong psychic energy. Otherwise, their powers are significantly weakened and they may have strange effects on surrounding objects.
  • They have been creating spoons for a long time. It’s believed by some that humanity may have learned to make spoons from watching Kadabra.
  • Spoons are made the most often, as they have a handle for easy holding and a concave surface that aids with focus. However, different individuals have different preferences in tools, and everything from forks and knives to non-utensils like pendants have been observed.
  • The line creates their spoons with their psychic abilities. This is difficult to do correctly and takes a good deal of concentration.
  • Alakazam can create spoons frequently without issue, but newly-evolved Kadabra oftentimes can’t. Instead, they’ll usually be given a spoon by an older Kadabra or Alakazam.
  • In captivity, trainers can buy their Abras spoons either before or after evolving. If they don’t have a spoon already and they evolve during a battle, they may teleport one from wherever’s closest as a temporary solution (more than one person has has their spoon stolen in the middle of eating ice cream).
  • The spoons they create are 100% pure silver, which channels and amplifies psychic energy. A spoon made of any other kind of metal, even something that’s silver in color like stainless steel, won’t work as well.
  • Each spoon has an intricate pattern on the handle that’s unique to the individual that created it. All individuals have different preferences regarding their spoons, whether making their own or inheriting them from somewhere else.
  • Spoons wear out over time and get replaced when they become too warped or bent.
  • While it’s typical for Abra to have no spoons, Kadabra to have one spoon, and Alakazam to have two spoons, the amount they carry depends on how powerful their abilities are. Because of this, it’s possible for an Abra that chooses not to evolve to carry a spoon, an abnormally week Alakazam to only carry one spoon, ect.
  • The amount of residual psychic energy left in used spoons causes the mind to perceive food as tasting better than usual when eaten with them. For this reason, authentic Kadabra/Alakazam spoons are highly sought after by restaurants; however, they are hard to obtain, as they only give out their spoons to people they trust deeply.

Eggs/Breeding

  • Kadabra and Alakazam have human-like dating habits. Typically, they will date for a year or two before settling down, but breakups, “divorces”, ect. have all been observed.
  • They will create special spoons for their loved ones, which have specific designs and patterns relating to their partners. If accepted by their mates they signal the start of a serious relationship, similar to how rings work in human culture.
  • The line stays with their partners for their entire lives. They are typically monogamous, but polygamous couples aren’t unheard of.
  • They’ve been known to accept partners of all species in their egg group. Outside of their species, pairings with the Meditite, Ralts (mostly in Galar), and Machop lines are the most common. Pairings with the Gothita line are frequent in captivity as well.
  • Due to their fragile nature, Kadabra and Alakazam only ever create one egg at a time, and will typically only reproduce once or twice in their lifetime.
  • Abra eggs are yellow with a single brownish-purple ring around the middle.
  • Wild Kadabra and Alakazam that are traveling on their own tend to place their eggs in very obscure areas that are hard to reach without teleportation; high levels of abandoned skyscrapers are a favorite of theirs, though they also will use cliffs or deep caves. Otherwise, they raise their eggs in their colonies.
  • Somewhat unusually, the line does not incubate their eggs with their body heat (though Kadabra will sometimes wrap their tails around them when it’s extra cold out). Instead, they use old scavenged blankets, beds, and other soft materials to insulate the egg.
  • The parents will sometimes leave the egg alone to go get food or supplies. However, they carefully monitor it with their psychic abilities. More than one trainer has gotten attacked for trying to take an egg they thought was abandoned, only to have the parent teleport behind them.
  • Abra learn to teleport at a very young age. So young, in fact, that some researchers have observed eggs teleporting short distances when bothered.
  • Eggs hatch after about a week, which is considered a medium incubation period by Pokemon standards. However, breeders frequently have problems with baby Abra “sleeping in” and hatching weeks after they’re supposed to.
  • Similar to cats, Abra are effectively born blind. They will become strong enough to open their eyes after about three days.
  • To keep pace with their parents, immature Abra cling to their backs (or tails, if they’re still a Kadabra) until they learn how to levitate.
  • Mature Abra will sometimes cling to the backs of trainers they’ve bonded with. While very cute, this can also be painful due to their hind claws being quite sharp.
  • Abra are taken care of by one or both of their parents until they reach maturity after about 5 years. After that point, they may stay in their colony, or they may choose to wander and find a trainer.

Pop Culture/Mythology

  • The line is oftentimes used in magic shows and other stage performances, as they understand human speech and have a flair for the dramatic. Their kinesis can also be used for many different types of special effects.
  • Marketing:
  • A cleaning product company had a successfully television campaign featuring an Alakazam choosing their products over the competitor’s, to illustrate that they were the “smart choice”.
  • At least one major book publisher uses a silhouette of an Alakazam’s head as their logo.
  • A mattress company has sported an Abra in their logo for over 100 years, modeled after the owner’s own Abra.
  • There are cards used to help detect psychic abilities in young children that were modeled after Kadabra’s markings.
  • For a long time, the strange effects Kadabra had on their environment caused people to believe they brought bad luck, or even that they were outright demonic in nature.
  • Thankfully, further scientific studies have confirmed the strange happenings are merely a side effect of the alpha waves they produce, and this myth has mostly died out in all but the most superstitious circles.
  • While less commonly believed now than it used to be, a common old wives’ tale claims that children that can’t control their psychic abilities will transform into a Kadabra in their sleep.
  • These rumors originate from a few first-hand reports around the 1500s, which detailed how a powerful psychic child supposedly woke up as a Kadabra.
  • While there is evidence to support that a Kadabra was living with the boy’s family (which was very usual at the time) and that their child did disappear, there is no way to verify whether or not said Kadabra was ever human.
  • It also doesn’t help that many of the reports conflict with each other. Some say the child was killed by the town, some say they left to live in the wild with the other Abra, some say they evolved, ect ect.
  • In addition, many of the lines’ old oral histories state that the first Kadabra were humans that changed to become more powerful once humanity’s psychic powers started waning.
  • These rumors were the inspiration behind a short story called The Transformation (sort of like the Pokemon version of Kafka), which has won several awards and is considered a piece of classic literature.
  • The basic plot is that a boy with uncontrollable psychic abilities wakes up as a Kadabra. His parents give him an everstone and send him to a psychic research lab. Their tests inflict a serious back injury, which causes him to accidentally destroy the lab with his powers. His parents eventually end up trading him as he decides he wants to remain a Kadabra, and the story ends with him discarding the everstone he was given.
  • Because of this book, many classic lit fans have a Kadabra as their companion.
rvdl
adobe-outdesign
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adobe-outdesign

Gamefreak. Gamefreak look at me. are you telling me that every Pokemon canonically has a scientific name and you’ve refused to tell us what it is for every single Pokemon except goddamn Oddish

rvdl
adobe-outdesign
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adobe-outdesign

I was thinking about what social media, Tumblr specifically, would be like in the Pokemon universe. conclusion: not that different

rvdl
burr-ell
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burr-ell

so due to the mechanics of ranger companions, trinket will live as long as vex does

due to my brainrot i am now picturing vex making percy her second ranger companion to get around lifespan angst, and she somehow manages to Rules Lawyer it so hard that it works