funky video game beats!!

Now THAT'S what I like to hear. See Lusamine and appreciate her as she was meant to be: Fucking Horrible.

Also why haven’t any 3DS rom hacks restored Lusamine’s original plotline in Ultra yet because I want to reply Alola with all of Ultra’s QOL improvements but with the original story…

SEE THE THING IS... It's so heavily implied that Lusamine is abusive, like we discussed, and I actually think that's kind of a good thing?? Like, sure, abuse a heavy topic, but I think a lot of people underestimate kids and what they can understand. Children can handle heavy topics like that, if presented in the right way. What if a child got a copy of SUMO and saw themselves in Lillie or Gladion, and/or they saw their parental figure(s) in Lusamine? Maybe that would make them feel seen. Maybe that would make them feel like they're not alone in the world. Maybe Lillie's arc would give them hope. I think heavier topics presented in a gentle way is honestly good for kids.

In a way, yes, I can kind of understand why they dialed Lusamine back, but I will be angry about it until the end of time LMAO. USUM has SOOOO many QOL changes that I absolutely love, and believe me, I put a stupid amount of time into Ultra Moon, but god the story and Lusamine's change of heart frustrate me to no fucking end. I've replayed SUMO like six times, and I have done One (1) playthrough of USUM because of Lusamine and the Ultra Recon Squad. They felt a touch forced. To me. They did not interest me in the slightest.

I admittedly didn't have anything super specific in mind, I was just intrigued by that pairing the most because of the lore between Giovanni, Mewtwo, and Team Rocket as a whole. I do say I am tired of Team Rocket and Kanto, but they were my favorite evil team pre-gen7, and I feel like there's a lot of potential for some fucked up shit to happen within the organization. It just feels so Giovanni-core to do something as insane as fusing with fucking Mewtwo of all things.

See the issue is that there's soooo many variables for this hypothetical situation that I simply cannot answer because this mechanic isn't real. The thing that swirls around in my brain the most is how it would effect each of their minds. Would they be able to work together? Would Mewtwo's (frankly justified) anger overtake Giovanni, making him lose control of their shared body? Or would he be so like... So determined, I guess, that he'd take control and beat Mewtwo down and use their shared powers for his Evil Schemes™? How violent would they be when fused? How in control would each of them be? Do they struggle and fight each other to try and be the dominant personality? Things of this nature.

You've Made A Mistake. I Do Not Know How To Shut Up.

I love Lusamine. I love her SO much. Absolutely my favorite villain in Pokemon... In Sun and Moon. Sun and Moon Lusamine is the only valid Lusamine and that is a hill I will fucking die on. She was absolutely perfect, she was such a fascinating character and villain especially, and her plot lines with Lillie and Guzma were actually pretty serious and a bit dark for a Pokemon game. They don't say it in so many words, but she was an abusive mother to both of her children. You can see it in Lillie when you first meet her, you can see the way she behaves, the way she talks, the small things she says about her mother. Lusamine was a very manipulative parent, and tried shaping her kids into something she deemed as 'perfect', completely taking away their autonomy. She is obsessed with perfection, and if her kids weren't perfect, they weren't good enough to be her children. They didn't deserve her love, if they disobeyed her.

And also like, when Lillie stands up to her in Ultra Space, she literally just fucking shrugs. I think Lillie says something along the lines of "you're a bad mother" and she just SHRUGS and is like "okay whatever". She DOESN'T CARE.

And my GOD GUZMA... So like, I'm a touch influenced on my opinions of Lusamine and Guzma because RP'd situations with them with a mutual of mine (hi gio) and I am FULLY convinced that she manipulated the FUCK out of him. He's a misfit, good for nothing, he's the big bad leader of Team Skull!! But my god he just wants someone to love him. Lusamine gave him the attention he craved. She smothered him in love, she had him completely wrapped around her finger. He would do fucking anything for her, it didn't matter what she asked of him. He loved her, she didn't love him, she completely and 100% used him to achieve her goals, and she couldn't give less of a shit about what happens to him. He could have died in Ultra Space and she wouldn't have cared at all.

All she cared about was being with Nihilego.

She was PERFECT. She was INTERESTING. She was COMPELLING.

And then the FUCKING POKEMON COMPANY... They drive me ABSOLUTELY FUCKIGN INSANE. I hate hate HATE how much they backpedaled with her. I don't know why they did it, I don't know if they just got scared for being, I dunno, too real, maybe?? But the character assassination of Lusamine in both USUM and the anime drives me to fucking MADNESS. In USUM, having her have a change of heart after seeing what Necrozma was capable of and warning everyone to stay away from it, completely taking away the parts of her that made her such a compelling villain, it JUST MAKES ME SO UPSET. THAT'S NOT HER!!! MY Lusamine would NEVER cower from an Ultra Beast like that. She would love it. She would LOVE IT.

And hooooly shit anime Lusamine. Anime Lusamine is not Lusamine. That's a fucking mimic. That's a fucking skin walker. She's goofy, cheery, so happy, she loves her kids to an embarrassing degree, it is NOT HER!! That's a completely different character!!!! Even the Mother Beast arc was watered down!! Like it's cute, sure, but that role should not have been filled by Lusamine. It genuinely frustrates the shit out of me.

My interpretations of her stem almost exclusively from SUMO because I just straight up reject any other depiction of her in the franchise. They got it all wrong after SUMO.

She is mean. She is manipulative. She is cruel, uncaring, unsympathetic, selfish, abusive, she weaponizes her love, and she's a fucking villain. She's also really good at putting up a mask, fronting as a gentle, caring and motherly person that loves all Pokemon. I do think she cares about Pokemon to a degree, because like. Gestures to Aether Paradise. But at the same time, you see her obsession with perfection taking such a horrifying turn when you stumble across the room filled with frozen Pokemon, when you explore the Aether labs and learn about what they're trying to do with TYPE: NULL, and the way she treats Nebby with no care in the world, using them to open an Ultra Wormhole and not giving a single shit about what happens to them. Again, they could have died, and I don't think she would have cared.

Okay I know what you're saying I'm just being a smart ass LMAOO. I could go on for fucking days about how Lusamine was handled as a character but I'll spare you for now.

Though... The next thought it a touch related. If they did implement some sort of fusion mechanic like that, would they treat it the same way they did with Mother Beast? Where you don't fight them, you still just fight their team? From what I know of Pokemon mangas, they're like, surprisingly violent. Doesn't an Arbok get like sliced in half at one point or something. That's BRUTAL. So like, people fusing with Pokemon and beating the shit out of each other in the manga sounds like it would be more likely than that same idea being translated into a game.

I have not, this is the first I'm hearing of it! Admittedly the manga side of Pokemon is probably the part I'm least knowledgeable on, but as the resident Pokemon guy I simply Had to investigate, and I'm.

This looks. Absolutely fucking insane. Like I'll be so real you said the name and concept and I assumed it was a fan project of some sort but?? No??? This is OFFICIAL??? I'm losing my MIND, this is SO fucking bizarre and I am FASCINATED.

Pac-Man rarely speaks in most games, but for Pac-Man World 3 back in 2005 they had him fully voiced

who they brought back nearly 20 years later for Pac-Man World Re-Pac 2! They even kept in the fun little bonus of the same voice actor having done the very few lines for one of the ghosts back in World 3, voicing the same ghost for World Re-Pac 2!

also the red one is a new yorkah hes walking heeaahhh

...Realizing I have absolutely no idea if I ever knew that Pac-Man spoke LMAO. Certainly didn't in any of the games I played (which is not very many). I do love that they brought the original voice actor back, that's fun :)

I went to look up a video to hear everyone's voices and I'm. Does Pinky have a fucking crush on Pac-Man. What in the world dude, he has a WIFE (MAYBE?? IT'S SO FUCKING COMPLICATED). Anyway wow Pac-Man does not sound ANYTHING like I imagined, he sounds so...

Well... it vaguely reminds me of something very specific but it is so fucking embarrassing so I am nooooot sharing it here...

So! I'll leave it at he sounds very... Anime-dub?? Not bad! Just not quite what I expected. I guess uh, to be fair I do not know what I was expecting. I've never thought about Pac-Man's voice before.