Drift’s Art Blog

Listen, listen, I know it was made to look like a rose because Rose has an ego... But oh my gosh it's pretty. It is so, so pretty. Like this is one of those buildings I wish could be real it's so pretty and because it's such a good design. Especially at night when the entire flower is glowing red.

Though thinking about the stadium in-universe, it does make me wonder if they'd ever change the design in the future now that Rose isn't Chairman anymore.

The Flags are Raised: Chapter 20 - Curtain Call

Chapter summary:

Bede thinks there’s only one way this can all end.

Hop thinks otherwise.

Fandom: Pokemon Sword and Shield

Relationship: Bede/Hop

Rating: T (rating may change)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Main Character Does Not Exist

Word Count: 5,761 (9,922 total)

Notes: Here's chapter 2 of my AU where Bede actually manages to become Champion and everything sucks for everybody involved. I'm having fun putting both of them in the torment nexus, if you couldn't tell. The only thing more fun for me than writing them being oblivious childhood friends is writing them being huge bitches to one another, lmao.

(I'm so sorry about this being so long I'm so passionate about this...)

It's not just you, I feel like they did too and from what I've seen a lot of others do also!

On the one hand I really love Leon's characterization in Pokémon Journeys. Even if his struggles are a little more surface level compared to the games where they hint Leon was getting tired of being Champion thanks to the weight of it all and him losing has given him a happier, freer life. While in Journeys he has a moment where he admits it scared him when he lost for the first time, only to turn around and talk about how excited it means he gets to grow more from the experience.

On the other hand, Hop, who you could argue had one of the most interesting character arcs in Sword and Shield... was barely in the anime with none of his story 😕. Like I'm not even sure that Leon and Hop even spoke to each other in the show at all. I think they only had like, two scenes together but even then one was a montage and the other it was more focused on Leon getting ready to battle Ash.

And that's kind of the problem. Ash himself felt like he took Hop's place in a lot of ways when it came to the story...

And don't get me wrong I love Ash, I've watched the anime since Indigo League so I'll always have a soft spot for him. It's awesome to see he finally got to be a Champion and achieve his dream of being a Pokémon Master!

....but as someone who really loves Hop's character and the bond he and Leon have it really does stink that he essentially got looked over for Ash and Goh by the writers.

(The fact that this is something Hop deals with in their own family the games only stings more. In universe and out poor Hop's getting overlooked and pushed to the side 😞)

I was expecting the show to have Hop join Ash like most rival characters usually do during his journeys. Heck Sun and Moon gave him a whole class to work with! It could have been a great way for Hop's story to be explored, and I think him and Ash feel like they could have been fun rivals and friends.

Plus the anime's usually done a good job showing sibling bonds like with May and Max, Clemont and Bonnie, I'd even say Alain and Mairin since they had a sibling sort of relationship just to name a few. So for Hop and Leon to essentially get nothing just hurts 😢. I mean even Piers and Marnie got something.

But.... yeah Hop really didn't get anything at all. And it makes me sad....😭

i think about how after leon kinda drifted away and she got closer to nessa, it still probably hurt to be in the proximity of someone so confident and successful

watching nessa navigate her own fame, all nuance included, sonia still had to deal with the pain of everyone around her knowing who they are and pursuing their passions. the universe made it a bit cruel. of course she supports her best friend, and nessa never obviously made her feel any less than (and was her biggest supporter when she dropped out of the gym challenge), but it was hard not to feel left behind or lost. not even getting into the pressure of living up to her family name. or the rift between her and leon

(side note: i hc nessa's modeling gigs came after her gym challenge, like she got scouted. and thought pursing it would keep her in the spotlight as she worked her way up to the hulbury gym leadership. also she and sonia are both into big designers n all that. pros and cons. i can probably write a whole paragraph on nessa's ethos as a model and how it's synonymous with her battle style)

but nessa working within the same league as leon is ultimately different for sonia; i don't think nessa expected anything from sonia other than to be herself. that's why it was easy to support sonia's decision to quit the challenge

whereas leon (who's always pushing himself to be someone more. his own way of compensation), projected that same wish for "greatness" onto sonia, the person he used to watch the clouds and dream big with! so watching her doubt herself devastated him into thinking that she thought she wasn't enough or something. he couldn’t take that either because, of course, he sees her as someone worthy

it's the same way he thinks he and raihan are "equals" on the battle pitch. despite their match history being 10-0 😭