I mean, I hate a good chunk of Kalos saga's writing decisions so... of course I despise Showcases being a girls only activity lmao I would even argue that XY's popularity is even a determining factor for the change in contests in JNs (⚆3⚆) I mean it sure is interesting only Serena was allowed to participated in the watered down "spetacular" contests that worked exactly like showcases...

But that's not here nor there. Onto Showcases being girls only: I hate when people bring up the "idol" aspect to defend Showcases being gender segregated, because;

male idols exist. In fact, K-pop, with its pletora of boybands started to explode worldwide around 2012-2019 before becoming the pillar of pop culture that it is today. american boybands have been a thing and extremly popular at that since the 90s? Why not capitalize on that aspect as well?

the most popular idols in japan tend to be part of an idol "group". I've talked about this before, but if pokeani really wanted to emphasize the idol aspect and culture of their own country, why not focus on something meant to be done as a group instead of the individualistic approach they actually went for?

So not only showcases were deliberately written to exclude men for no real reason but also to force competition between girls when the focus could easily have been on sisterhood and women working together towards a shared goal instead. Men cant be artists and female rivalry! That's two on two on the gender essentialism bingo👍

And another thing that reeks of misogyny in showcases that was never a problem in contests before is all of the girl's aesthetics and presentation. Like you said, amongst all the girls that appear in Kalos showcases, there's literally 1 single performer whose style is somewhat more masculine (and that's me being extremely generous?! this is not masculine, she's just not wearing a skirt)

Not only there's no place for boys in showcases, neither there is for masculine looking girls. Not only are characters like Drew and Harley not welcome in this environment, but neither is Zoey. Congrats, you created an tournament that excludes everyone!

All the girls there are expected to wear flowing skirts and do pretty dances where they float in the air like fairies, to be feminine, to be pretty, to be perfect. If they make a mistake, they dont get enough votes and not even as much a second chance. If they are creative and step out of the norm, they are activelly punished for it.

Never ever forget Jessie's first showcase attempt and how she got to dress up herself and her pokemon with matching outfits that emphasized the ghostly aspect of her ghost pokemon, pumpkaboo's pumpkin shape and also made reference to the french fairy tale Beauty and the Beast AND SHE LOST!!! Because the audience deemed it UGLY!!

And when you look at the freestyle rounds, all of them were created to fit in with Serena and not for her to adapt to them. That's a writing flaw and not really a sexism issue in my eyes, but the fact that the only ´possible challenges the writers could come up for Serena were *checks notes* dressing up. baking. vague trivia quiz. baking again. rhyhorn-fucking-herding; it creates a pattern that does reeks of mysoginy.

Showcases don't have that discussion explicitly, but there's at the very least an implied bias there (and that's me being generous). And I love your point about Jessie's dress up in that episode. It was singlehandedly the most creative thing anyone has done in that episode, yet she failed because there's no judge and the winning criteria is so arbitrary.

Almost all the flaws in how Showcases are portrayed in the anime is because they're catered to Serena's character. Because unfortunately, beyond being cute and indecisive initially and having a crush on Ash, Serena... doesn't have much going for her character.

May had her arc about constantly falling short of her rivals and going from a rookie who didn't know a thing ti veing an experienced trainer and coordinator, and Dawn had her confidence arc and her learning that just because her mother's a coordinator and she grew up wantign to be one doesn't mean she'll automatically be good at it. Even the non-coordinator girls like Misty and Iris had an arc about maturity (imo Iris was handled better than Misty because the OG series' pacing was really bad, but it's been a long time since I watched any Pokemon series—and OG series especially).

Meanwhile, Serena is someone who, it feels to me, was never a character the writers were truly interested in fleshing out. Which is why she doesn't get to struggle the way the rest did. Serena sucks at battling. If Showcases were more like Contests, we could have had an inverse Dawn arc, where Serena would be better at appeals but suck at the battling aspect. But because she's never allowed to grow and change, showcases are conveniently made to not have any kind of battling. Heck, in the entire anime, Serena never gets a full fight against anyone who's not Team Rocket (aka pokemon jobbers). All her major battles are conveniently interrupted (and to begin with, they're never agianst an opponent who wouldn't treat her with kid gloves)

Because of the writers' refusal to let Serena strughle in any way, we get the stupid aspects of showcases that are conveniently tailored to Serena's character (because we don't actually see her try to get better at showcaaea beyond practicing the one appeal she uses in every single one, outside of that one XY ending song). Dressing up pokemon, baking, performing while baking (because that's so different) are all stuff she's already good at (because she's a girl and these are girl things *eyeroll*). The two things that could be perhaps more gender neutral are a quiz (which I don't recall being super hard) and Ryhorn herding. Which. Again, it's an activity tailored to Serena through her mother, and even then, the Ryhorn just gather towards her without her doing a thing which is just... They could have made her not do well for once but they chose not to because *checks notes* her mother is good with Ryhorns. I could buy Serena being good with them because she grew up around kne, but she doesn't even have to lift a finger there smh.

It doesn't help that Serena's biggest rival in Miette and even she doesn't really challenge Serena in showcases as much as she does for her crush on Ash, which is, to me, the least interesting aspect of her character and the most shoehorned thing in XY

Girl got to fall butt first in the middle of an appeal (twice), she almost got hit by her own pokemon move, had a pokemon freeze due to stage fright, got embarassing stories about her play on speakers in the middle of a battle.

And yet, she never really panicked or distressed much on it and always managed to turn things around with conviction.

Even the way she uses "luck" based moves like metronome and assist help emphasize how never giving up is such an intrisical part of her being. It used to piss me off how much she relied on those types of moves ngl, but really looking at how she uses them (when Harley is not manipulating her) she usually knows how to very nicely take an unexpected move and implement it into a new combination or just generally use it to her advantage.

Stuff like Assist giving her razor leaf and then freezing those with Blizzard or the time she used the Vine Whip from Assist to push Combusken into the air? Those are crazy smart ideas that she came on the go?? That's not only genius of her but also shows such a deep knowledge of her own pokemon's capabilities, which is pretty much the core of what contests are about!

Not to mention how much of a fast learner she is. There's so many moments of her using strategies and tactics similar to other coordinators (or even trainers, as seen with the water-fire combination from Tucker) after seeing it like, once? And that's so cool of her? Specially when compared to Dawn, who has a hard time understanding and implementing even basic stuff into her appeals; or Serena, who did pretty much the same routine from beggining of XY to the end of JNs.

While the Sinnoh contests may be "better" presented, Dawn for me falls into the trap of same-y appeals far more than May despite the latter being more criticized for it in the fandom. She generally has the same sparkly, uber fancy tactics which she uses for most of her battles, while May can't afford that kind of a style because of her pokemon's random moves. Not that sticking to one style is a bad thing; it's very much on-brand for Dawn. I just think it provides a nice contrast to May—and Zoey. For all that Dawn grows as a coordinator in Diamond and Pearl, her shortcomings as a coordinator are on full display during the Sinnoh Gran Festival.

For Serena, I think that (barring the actual reason of the Showcaae arc being rushed in general) it's just the difference between Performers and Coordinators. Performers are more akin to irl idols, so I think they have to stick to a niche. Though I do agree that out of all the three "performer" pokegirls, Serena falls the shortest for me because of how the Showcase arc is structured.

For more than two and a half years, you have stood by me through some of the hardest moments of my life. Your support, your words, and your kindness helped us keep going when we were close to breaking. Because of you, we were able to hold on, and I will never forget that.

But the truth is, our story is not over yet.

We have lost everything, our home, our source of income, and the stability we once had. It feels like we are not just starting from zero, but trying to rise from below it.

Now things are even harder with my father’s illness. He needs ongoing care and treatment, while we are facing a complete lack of income. Even covering our basic daily needs has become a real struggle.

We are doing everything we can to stay strong, but we cannot do it alone anymore.

I am not asking for much, just for you to stand by us as you always have. Any support, no matter how small, can make a real difference. It can help us cover my father’s treatment, provide our basic needs, and help us keep going.

And if you are unable to donate, simply sharing our story could help it reach someone who can.

Thank you for being there for us and for not leaving us alone.

Girl got to fall butt first in the middle of an appeal (twice), she almost got hit by her own pokemon move, had a pokemon freeze due to stage fright, got embarassing stories about her play on speakers in the middle of a battle.

And yet, she never really panicked or distressed much on it and always managed to turn things around with conviction.

Even the way she uses "luck" based moves like metronome and assist help emphasize how never giving up is such an intrisical part of her being. It used to piss me off how much she relied on those types of moves ngl, but really looking at how she uses them (when Harley is not manipulating her) she usually knows how to very nicely take an unexpected move and implement it into a new combination or just generally use it to her advantage.

The war has taken everything from me and my family — our home, our safety, and our source of living. We were displaced from Rafah to Al-Mawasi, and when we finally returned, we found our house destroyed and impossible to live in.Today, we live through hunger, poverty, fear, and constant pressure just to survive. Some days we cannot afford food, clean water, or even the most basic necessities. Sitting for long hours without a single meal has become part of our daily life.Before the war,

I was studying engineering and dreaming of building a better future for myself and my family. But the war stopped my education and destroyed the life I worked hard for .

I am trying to help my family survive and find a safe, stable life again. Any support, even a small donation, can help us with food, shelter, and hope during these difficult times.

Before the war, our life was simple, but it was filled with warmth, safety, and happiness. 🏠 Our home was our safe haven, and my children’s laughter filled every corner of it.

But in a single moment, everything changed...

We lost our home and became homeless. Today, we live in a small tent that cannot protect us from the heat of summer or the cold of winter. ⛺

My children are still beside me, but fear never leaves their eyes. Every day, I struggle to provide food, clean water, clothes, and even their most basic needs. As a mother, it breaks my heart to see them suffering while feeling helpless.

try to stay strong for my children, but the truth is that I am exhausted. All I want is to give them back even a small part of the safety and dignity they have lost.

🙏 We are in desperate need of help to survive — a decent tent, food, clothing, and basic necessities for my children.

Any support, no matter how small, can make a huge difference in our lives. And if you are unable to help directly, please share our story. Maybe it will reach someone who can.

Almost all of them came back with exact matches, but they are linked back to this blog (as in, it showed blogs that have reblogged this post)

For now, this campaign is unvetted

@gazavetters @gaza-evacuation-funds @bilal-sala7

My daughters spend their days standing in long lines for water and bread instead of living their childhood 🥺 My husband was also injured while trying to bring food for us during the famine.

I created this fundraiser with a broken heart, only hoping to protect my daughters and give them a chance to live with dignity, safety, and hope again 🙏

Any donation, no matter how small, can help us survive. And if you cannot donate, sharing our story may help us reach someone who can, but please try to support us with a donation because my campaign is still new and my little girls desperately need your help 🌿

None of the images came back with any exact matches

For now, this campaign is unvetted

@gazavetters @gaza-evacuation-funds @bilal-sala7

please donate as much as you can because that helps me a lot. If you cannot donate, tell people about my suffering.

These flowers are sometimes referred to as 'Moonflowers' or 'Queen of The Night' because they only bloom in the dark. They're very short-lived, lasting less than 24 hours. Once they wilt, the popular Dragon Fruit we're familiar with begins to grow at the base.

Hakuryuu blossomed into the 'Ultimate Player' under Fifth Sector's guidance -- i.e. in the darkness. He was just as brilliant as a 'Queen of The Night', ruling the depths of God Eden. But just like these brilliant flowers, which wilt so soon after blooming, Hakuryuu's reign as the ultimate player came to an end when Project Zero was suspended following their tie against Raimon.

But the story doesn't end there.

At the end of the Gryphon movie, Hakuryuu tells Tsurugi that he is going to start from the basics again. No longer the flower of God Eden, but just a regular player.

And when we see him again in Galaxy, he's grown into a powerful captain and team player, just like this beautiful flower grows into the fierce looking Dragon Fruit.