Silly Collector. The friendship mechanic doesn't have any battle perks until Pokémon X and Y.

... But also I just really wanted to draw a Lickitung with an afro.

 I mean, when you talk to this guy in Ilex Forest, he doesn't appear to actually have a Pokémon with him, so...

 I'm launching a new line of merch on Redbubble that's all about... reimagining historic scientists as cats. Yep. That's what cat moms do.

First up is Mary Anning, because she's my friend Ashley Hall's favorite paleontologist and I wanted to give the woman her due. Accompanying Meowry Anning is her furry friend Tray, who is also featured on Mary's statue in Lyme Regis.

Meowry is specifically excavating the famous holotype specimen of Temnodontosaurus that the real Mary Anning and her brother Joseph discovered in 1810-1812. Mary was actually just a tween at the time, but I wanted to include a real and recognizable fossil of hers in this illustration. (I mean, if you care that much about accuracy, she also shouldn't be a cat, so.)

More coming in following weeks!

The Shadow of Takeryuu, Chapter 4

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Eunji had never seen anything like Muyang Brook Fortress. Its rammed-earth walls were thicker than she was tall, and instead of the bright reds and greens of her temple home, the materials that made up the fortress were more subdued and sombre in colour. Overall it gave the impression of being a very severe place. The officers who stared at the group as they passed by did not help matters much, either.

Wai Ren’s residence within the complex was a little livelier, with golden Belonthiss statues perched at the points of its tile roofs and a small garden in the courtyard. The interior of the mansion was decorated with all manner of works of art—jade carvings, elaborate metalwork, and painstakingly crafted silk tapestries. Ganzorig admired all of this as well, and although Min tried to remain focused on her objective, it was clear that their opulent surroundings awed the farmgirl.

The general gave orders to a servant to prepare a large lunch, and then led his guests to a banquet room that looked out on the courtyard. Here, a myriad of pillows were arranged around a low table. Eunji flinched—something was warping the flow of energy here.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Wai Ren said, folding his paws behind his back. “Lunch should be arriving shortly.”

 

 That's... not the best choice of Pokémon to send out if you're trying to convince someone of the merits of Bug-types.

 I can only assume this is what he meant.

The Shadow of Takeryuu, Chapter 3

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

The faerie Vandagyre’s antennae quivered. “Come on!” Eunji squawked to Ganzorig as she sprinted in the direction of the scream, toward a mess of chaotic energy she could feel throughout her whole body. She would have flown, but the forest here was too dense and she did not want to risk snagging her delicate faerie wings on branches.

“You’re just going to charge on in?” Ganzorig asked as he loped after her.

“Someone’s in trouble!” Eunji replied. “We must aid them!” It was only right.

The Tyrannian Lupe sighed and pulled on his Razumi mask. “You and your idealism,” he muttered.

Soon, she began to hear sounds of a scuffle, panicked cries and fierce snorts, and then saw movement in the undergrowth ahead. A pack of wild Pygui were trampling around the trees, angrily attacking something on the ground.

Another cry rang out and a beautiful curved blade thrust upward from the fray—and then a Pygui tossed it away with its tusks.