More fake clickbait! This one is making fun of how news outlets seem to gravitate toward rather gruesome space discoveries like things getting eaten by black holes or blasted by radiation. Peace is boring, apparently.

 Honestly, in the games, when Lance takes you back into the Pokemon Champion recording room thingie, it's pretty tidy for someplace that hasn't been entered in probably three years.

Shadow Play, Chapter 8

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Terra and her family ate breakfast in their suite the next morning. They’d stocked the kitchen with groceries, for days when they didn’t feel like mingling in the cafeteria, and today was one of those days. Terra liked the extra bit of downtime to lounge in her pajamas, and after the emotional whirlwind of yesterday, she wanted to give herself some extra TLC.

She’d just taken a bite of her rainbow toast when someone knocked softly at the door. “I’ll get it,” Isengrim said as he moved to the door and opened it. “Ah—good morning, Zoltan.” Terra tensed a bit and concentrated hard on her toast, hoping Zoltan would not notice her, or at least would not have anything critical to say about her.

“Good morning,” the Kyrii replied, clearly more out of politeness than because he truly found anything good about the morning. The harsh edge seemed to have gone out of his tone—Terra wondered if he’d overheard her conversation with Isengrim in the hall last night. She couldn’t decide whether that would be beneficial or embarrassing. Probably both, but if it was beneficial she was okay with it.

 

 This of course is a reference to how Professor Oak next appears in the Sinnoh games. :)

 Yesterday I was sitting in on a cosmology lecture by my buddy Chris Lintott, and (in true Chris Lintott fashion) he included a mysterious wedge of cheese on the title slide of the lecture, and proceeded to not say anything about it until the end of the lecture when he tied the holes in the cheese into inflationary theory.

When I commented on it afterward, he told me it was Chekhov's cheese. So then I just had to draw that.

One of the many reasons I enjoy hanging out with scientists is because they give me the best ideas.

 It's definitely one of my science journalism pet peeves when something about aliens gets shoehorned into as many article titles as possible. Psychological manipulation at its finest.

 A couple of weeks ago on Virtual Fossil Friday, my friend Maggie Jo gave a great presentation on the thylacine (colloquially called the Tasmanian tiger), and I mentioned the presentation made me want to make an amigurumi plush thylacine, and Maggie Jo said "if you make one, I want it", so I made one for her. :)

This was a very involved project as I designed the pattern myself, but it was a lot of fun. It didn't turn out 100% perfect, but I think it's not bad for a first go. Those toebeans came out absolutely precious, IMO.

I've got a long list of other cool critters I'd like to design amigurumi for, and I'll keep posting them here!

Also, if anyone wants this pattern, I can sell you the PDF for it! Just get in touch with me via email.

 I loved how Lance's actual line in the game "This is all getting a bit too noisy" worked so well in this situation.

Also, in retrospect it probably would have been more satisfying to have Chikorita (now a Meganium) deliver the blast-off to Oak, but Jynx's Ice Punch made more sense from a choreographic perspective.

 I just had to make a Redbubble design featuring the ever-adorable Vampyroteuthis! Always looking for excuses to sneak vampire squid into things. <3

Shadow Play, Chapter 7

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8

“How’s this for a study space?” Blackwing asked as he opened the door to a lounge with plush chairs and round tables. Bookshelves lined the walls, and large windows let in plenty of light. “There are other, smaller private rooms down these halls,” the Wocky said, pointing to the corridors in question. “Make yourself at home. Can I get you anything else? Sheesh, I sound like a waiter,” he muttered to himself.

“No,” Zoltan said, marching toward one of the hallways. “I’ll glean zhe information I need and zhen I’ll be on my vay.”

“Sounds good,” Blackwing said with a nod. “Judge Hog will be happy about this. I’m sure whatever you do will help those other mages we hired—“

Zoltan jerked to a stop and whipped around. “You hired ozher mages?” he asked, his magic streaks flaring with light and his mane bristling.

Blackwing cringed. “Is… that bad?”

 

 Having Oak terrorize Red and Kris through two chapters was amusing, but I kind of felt by the end of Book 2, the joke had run its course and I was ready to put it to rest. Plus, I wanted to end the comic on a hopeful note--trying to convey that no matter what challenges you face, no matter how scary they seem, if you turn and fight them, you'll find they're not as intimidating as you feared.

Also, y'know, it's just satisfying to see Oak get his comeuppance.

Video game thoughts: Pokémon Legends: Z-A and the Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake

First off, the Copperajah in the room—yes, I know I’m reviewing a game that was released nearly a year ago. It’s taken me this long to play through it all, including the DLC. Part of that is because Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a hefty game content-wise – which I am not complaining about at all – but part of it is because I’ve been very busy and dealing with some health issues which have prevented me from enjoying video games as much as I’d like (which hasn’t been fun, but things are on the upswing at least).

And my verdict? To put it simply, I find I have a love-hate relationship with this game, and I’ll break down why. (This post is full of spoilers, so best to read after you’ve finished the game unless you don’t mind spoilers.)

 The fact that Oak shows up after you defeat Lance in the Johto games was just begging to be turned into some follow-up to Oak's shenanigans in this comic. Will the legend of the Pokémon-eating professor who used too many Repels and handed out Pokédexes to unsuspecting Trainers finally come to a close?

 Another spoof news article! Yes, I totally phoned this one in with the "image", but that's part of the joke. Black holes are very, very, pretty much impossible to detect if they aren't interacting with anything else. So really you could imagine a black hole wherever you want! Like maybe everybody's dryer has a black hole that routinely steals their socks.

 This joke worked great back in 2017, I promise.

Shadow Play, Chapter 6

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8

The wind swirled again, and this time it did not stop. Deep purple magic sliced through the air in front of them, the shadows seemed to shimmer, and from out of nowhere stepped a Halloween Kyrii.

This, however, was no ordinary Halloween-painted Neopet. He was a hulking beast who stood almost two and a half metres tall, shorter and a bit leaner than Isengrim because Kyrii were naturally smaller than Lupes to begin with, but that did not keep him from being imposing. He looked rather like the Kyrii equivalent of a Werelupe, and Terra wondered if that was exactly what he was.

But that was not the strangest thing about him. His fur and mane were laced with veins of glowing violet magic that surged with energy and seemed to be a manifestation of the power running through him. Even his bright green eyes contained purple streaks. Unlike Isengrim’s breeches made of skins, this Kyrii wore an old-fashioned shirt and trousers, an equipment harness, and a heavy cloak lined with thick fur. The topside of the cloak was curiously decorated with elaborate embroidery in floral designs, and Terra wondered about the strangely ornate apparel.

“King Isengrim,” the Kyrii said with a nod before surveying the others. “Is zhis the family you wrote of?” His voice was deep, but quiet, as though he knew he did not have to be loud to be heard, and he had a rolling accent very reminiscent of Count Von Roo’s.

Isengrim put a paw on Terra’s shoulder. “It is,” the Werelupe said. “It is good to see you well, Zoltan.” He extended his other paw to the mage. “This is my old ally, Zoltan Arnyek.”

 

 Having your mom save some of your prize money seemed like a good idea on paper, but...

 I was listening to an episode of a paleontology podcast where they were discussing the possibility of dinosaurs having eyebrows, and this was where my mind went and then I just had to draw it.

The discussion was an offshoot of the (more plausible) possibility that dinosaurs had "whiskers" (actually feathers that function similarly to whiskers as seen in quite a few modern birds and eyelashes (as the ostrich famously does). I have drawn both, actually. I love a good fluffy dino.

 Someone once asked game director Junichi Masuda what would happen if a human ate a Rare Candy, and he said Rare Candies were probably edible for humans but wouldn't taste very good to us.

I suspect if humans tried eating supplements meant for Pokémon, there would be... side effects.

 After drawing that first clickbait cartoon, I just got hit with a flood of ideas for more questionable science news articles. First off, another one making fun of how news outlets feel the need to shoehorn T. rex into absolutely every paleo news story. And making fun of how undeservedly overlooked invertebrate paleontology is. Squishy things and things with exoskeletons need love too! <3

Another level of joke here is that this creature appears to be the first known bilaterian, which is a huge deal if you know what bilaterians are and how invertebrate paleontologists are trying to trace the origins of animals. But savvy news websites know the lay public only cares about T. rex. ;)