i cried at the aarchtegor wedding

[these are getting reposted without credit to hell and back so i wanted to post them officially on my account]

smant - steel type user, aggron is his ace, it would be funny for him to have durant because yeah. also i thought about giving him aegislash but that's just because i love aegislash and i think it has hella aura - definitely the most well balanced and difficult e4 member to beat... i don't really know how to describe his fighting style other than really smart and annoying. very strategic and thorough just like in his nuzlockes. i'm the kind of guy who just spams attacking moves and hopes for the best so he's the kind of fight that would ruin me basically

cj - i mostly see him as an electric type user but i think you could also have him as a fighting type user with poliwrath as an ace... if he was an electric user i was thinking toxtricity as an ace but that's just because i like it a lot and i think it fits his vibe - i see his fight as being like super all or nothing, either you get your ass handed to you or you can beat him somewhat easily. well not like it's easy to beat him, but if you have the right strategy he's less of a threat than the others. goes for risky moves and strategies a lot, it's hard to exactly predict what he'll do next

fir - alolan ninetales is his ace of course, i think ice type user would be the obvious choice but you could also make him fairy type? i don't know i like both of them for him - i kind of see his fight as being a war of attrition, he's really stable and steady and it takes a while to whittle him down and beat him, mostly inspired by aum... fir aum is like feinberg aa to me in the sense that it colors my entire perception of him and i need to worm it into everything i do. as an ice type user he'd use hail or snow warning to have a constant blizzard throughout the whole battle

also i don't know how much you care about other hide and seekers but crafty is the other e4 member and he's a psychic type user ☝️ to me

anyway would love to hear any thoughts and additions you have about this. i have a few more thoughts regarding like worldbuild stuff mostly but this is already long enough so i won't talk about that here

Wait i love all of this. First, an E4 with steel/fighting/fairy/psychic is SUCH a good concept on its own like those types are so associated with stronger trainers and mons already i Love it.

Smant as a steel type user makes a lot of sense, it's his favorite type, he loves aron/aggron and klefki, he won ironmon with skarmory, it just Makes Sense. I can see his team being a stall focused comp probably with both mega aggron (DEFENSIVE WALL) and skarmory (setting up spikes and stones layers), plus klefki could be a great support with screens. And i think aegislash for him also makes a lot of sense honestly + youre right IT IS HELLA AURA

Cj as a fighting type trainer makes so so much sense. I can see his battling style being VERY risky and focusing a lot in pure attack power. He's the type of guy to use belly drum strategies (and the strategy is just belly drum turn one and pray you can survive enough to hit your opponent). It's a completely different fight from smant for sure ALSO i can see him with an annihilape too..... it would be so cool

Also while i agree with ice trainer fir being a very stable and consistent fighter with snow/hail setters, i kinda love the idea of fairy type trainer fir that is just a little of a trickster guy. Think of opal and jacinthe, fairy trainers are usually a bit... eccentric, yknow???? And i think it would fit so well with fir's style in online games (among us/smo h&s) of being a Jester and doing whatever it's funnier. But instead of being whatever it's funnier, i think he would have very unorthodox strategies.... Other reason why i love fairy type for him is EXCLUSIVELY bc of hatterene like i just think he would love having a hatterene, but also i think either a tera fairy mismagius/flutter mane would fit him so well (he likes mismagius and flutter mane already has dual fairy type, so....)

You know how larry in S/V is both a gym leader AND a e4 member? I could maybe see fir doing that with ice and fairy, but they are both completely different battles: when he is with his ice team, he is very serious and focused, ninetales probably is a bit more defensive with snow warning + aurora veil, and his other mons' sets are full of coverage moves. So when you meet him again in e4 it's so different because hes using a much more flashy battle style, if that makes sense???

AND CRAFTY AS A PSYCHIC USER.... i love that. I can see him having a psypam trick room team #TBH slower mons but still hitting strong by twisting the dimensions... it makes so much sense to me because there are 3 speedrunners and then the tech guy who can Change Things in the game..... urgh really good idea. Idk what pokemon you've thought for him but now with this trick room concept im obviously thinking of an indeedee and maybe armarouge since i already mentioned fir with a hatterene.

happy 20 year anniversary of Neil banging out the tunes!

though every rat is special, it's a wonderful and unusual thing for their accomplishments to be remembered and cherished by so many people so many years later. we're all so fortunate to know about the rat who banged out the tunes!

thank you to all the people who sent me reference photos of their beloved rats for this piece!!! credits under the cut!