#fretshipping

We've decided to make some changes to the shipping names between our fankids. The main reason for this is some of the names are over seven years old at this point, making them a little dated. We know our characters better now and thought it might be good to change some of them to things a little less superficial.

We know a lot of actual Pokemon names are pretty superficial as is (contestshipping, pokeshipping, etc.), but since this is our story, we want to give things a little more substance. That being said, here are some changes we've made! Not all of them have changed, but I'm including them on here anyways in case you guys were ever curious about what they were or meant.

Skye + Lizzie: Formerly Championdaughtershipping and is now Summitshipping. There are a couple reasons why we're changing it, the first reason being it's a name that focuses on their fathers more than it focuses on who Skye and Lizzie are. The second reason is "championdaughtershipping" is just such a mouthful lol We have @doridoripawaa to thank for the name Summitshipping! Here are some reasons why it's called this now:

- The first place where Skye and Lizzie actually meet (around 5/6 years old) is at a Champion's Summit (a formal event hosted by a different region each year; it's attended by all Champions).

- A summit is the peak of a mountain where many Champions are found in-game (namely Red in GSC or the player in SuMo). Reaching the summit of a mountain signifies a massive achievement. Skye's goal of becoming Champion one day is her aiming for the summit. Not to mention, Lizzie being a summit in Skye's life as her rival that Skye needs to overcome.

- Lizzie, on the other hand, has lost her faith in the Champion. She fell down the mountain and is stuck in a landslide. But thanks to Skye, she's able to look to the summit and believe in the strength that's there and keep going upward again. In April's words, "The summit is the place where she is closest to the sky(e)."

Cade + Sorrel: Formerly Prettyboyrockshipping and is now Fretshipping. The main reason for changing this one is similar to why we changed Skye and Lizzie--it's kind of a mouthful lol We also felt it didn't capture who Cade and Sorrel are as characters very well. So here's where Fretshipping comes from:

- "Frets are strips of metal—generally, an alloy of nickel and brass—embedded along a guitar's fretboard, which makes up most of the guitar's neck. By depressing a string against the fretboard below a fret, meaning away from the guitar body, the vibrating length of that string changes, and a specific note results."

- An alternate meaning of the word "fret" is "a state of anxiety or worry". Sorrel lives in a constant state of worry that if he doesn't put up a mask then people will think his true self is ugly. He frets the opinions of others so much that he will not allow himself to be who he truly is.

- Fret can also mean "gradually wear away (something) by rubbing or gnawing". Cade acts very much like a fret in Sorrel's life--being the person to wear away the mask Sorrel wears. Cade wants to see Sorrel for who he truly is and wants others to see the same.

Lia + Tempa: A new ship name! They didn't have one before! They are now Lunatoneshipping. Big thanks to @tixca for this one!

Pokemon Fankid Week Day 5: Romance/Shipping

A while ago I posted about how we were taking tweet-length drabble requests on our Twitter! I’ve since finished the entirety of the first batch of requests! I figured I’d post them all here in one big master post! So below are the drabbles I wrote, plus the prompts that were given!

I’m starting on a second batch soon. So if you have requests then send them on over! And thank you to everyone who sent them for the first batch! I’m pretty sure I wrote all requests!

Linnea + Calla - First meeting

"There's two of them?" Linnea gawked, crouching down to get a better look at the twin infants, who were asleep in their car seats.

"Yeah!" Skye beamed, puffing out her chest. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Calla's small hand gripped at Linnea's finger, and she smiled. "Very cool."

Dawn + Paul - I thought you were dead

"Paul? Earth to Paul." Paul cracked his eyes open as a blurry vision of Dawn hovering above him came into focus. "Hm?"

"Morning," Dawn teased, pushing a piece of hair from his face. "I was starting to think you were dead."

Paul huffed, placing a hand over hers. "Funny."

Lizzie + Skye - Did you eat my muffin?

Lizzie stared at the plate on the kitchen counter. The muffin she got earlier that morning was nowhere to be found, and she knew there could only be one culprit.

Stepping into the living room, Lizzie spat, "Did you eat my muffin?"

"Mo," Skye muffled, wiping crumbs off her face.

Serena + Skye - First meeting

She was Ash in every way possible. Even at one-month-old, Serena could tell the child in her arms would grow up to be as admirable as her dad.

"Let me give you a piece of advice your dad gave me, Skye," Serena whispered, stroking the infant's head. "Never give up until the end."

I actually had no idea that flower shop/tattoo artist was a thing LOL But you're right it definitely fits Cade and Sorrel, so here's a small description of that...

Sorrel runs a flower shop that has been in his family for generations. His parents handed it down to him recently, so he's the newest owner. They've catered flowers to all SORTS of events (Sorrel claims they were the ones who catered the flowers for one of the royal weddings--it has yet to be determined by most if this is true), so they're very popular. Sorrel thinks that everything is going peachy once he takes over the shop.

...Until a tattoo parlor opens up next door. Sorrel decides he hates the tattoo parlor before he even meets the owner. Just the exterior of it is gaudy and tacky and does not fit the vibe of the rest of the cute shops on the street. Sorrel tries to start a public campaign against this new tattoo parlor (he even goes to city hall and everything to fill out the paperwork), but it's no good. Once the shop finally opens he decides to give the owner a piece of his mind.

By bringing flowers.

He enters the parlor and Cade greets him behind the desk. Sorrel asks for the manager (because of course he does) to which Cade responds with, "You're looking at them". Sorrel tries to keep his composure and be as pleasant as possible in introducing himself and tells Cade he brought flowers for "the grand opening of your... quaint little establishment". Little does Cade know, Sorrel has brought him a bouquet of petunias. Sorrel claims the purple color fits the aesthetic of the shop, but in actuality, it's his passive-aggressive way of showing disdain toward Cade since petunias in the language of flowers can mean "anger and resentment". But Cade isn't that smart and is like, "Oh, awesome. I'll keep them on the front desk."

Over the following months, hijinks ensue. A lot of it is Sorrel purposely attempting to get Cade's tattoo shop shut down in underhanded ways, but he always fails. All the while, he keeps bringing him petunias, and eventually, Cade figures out what they mean, but doesn't say anything. Cade knows what Sorrel is up to and just goes along with it. He finds it amusing. But Sorrel doesn't know that he knows. And slowly, as time goes on, the more Sorrel gets to know Cade, the more he starts to like him. Eventually, Sorrel brings Cade a vase of white lilies instead as his way of saying, "I'm sorry" without actually saying it outloud.

these are all super good questions that i don't have solid answers to unfortunately! they start dating sometime when they're traveling, maybe around 14-15? i feel like sorrel would realize his feelings before cade and get super jealous when cade flirts with his fans. i'm not sure what makes cade realize his own feelings, but i feel like them dating would honestly just be the natural next step. they're already each other's closest person

as for their identities, i think cade just realized one day how much he doesn't care about labels. he likes what he likes and he is what he is, and thats that. i dont think cade even labels himself because he doesn't like being put into a box. cade has no fear when saying anything to trip, who tries to be supportive of cade but still struggles to understand