My wife has not played a video game since Bart’s Nightmare on Sega Genesis. She’s rolling a Sorcerer in 3 hours to play with me on the PS5. What is expected of me in the near term future?

Spoilers discussion below

So I'm approaching a pretty high degree of completion of the game, but compared to BotW a lot of the "rewards" of the game feel, well, unrewarding.
In BotW a large degree of the endgame "encounters" rewarded what I will refer to as "real" gear, actual gear you got and would look at and go "Ah, I actually might consider using this"
ToTK introduced a handful of "new" full sets.
Overall however, it feels like many of them are fairly useless and not even worth the inventory clutter. I would consider only these sets to be worth my time and effort in gathering:

Zonaite Gear

This is what I would consider one of the better sets, traversing the game becomes substantially easier with this set and the set bonus also feels very strong.

Froggy gear

Because Speed up elixirs achieve the same result as the mountaineer gear, and the fact its trivial to vertically progress now anyways without climbing in the first place, I would say this set is the only climbing set actually worth getting. The set bonus also actually matters.

Depths gear

Pretty much the tankiest set of gear in the game, highly relevant for multiple use cases, this is my "default" set I wear when I dont have anything else I care about. Especially since you do the vast majority of your farming in the depths.

Glide Set

I like this set as well, but the set bonus is kinda mid. I mean its kinda neat to land without taking damage but its sort of a "so what" bonus, I feel zero desire to upgrade this set at the fairies.

Yiga set

You need this set for the quesline or whatever, which is neat I guess, but its sort of a unitasker "one and done" situation. I suppose it also "replaces" the Stealth set as well but its largely speaking just a reskin of it, so I dont know if I even "count" this one.

Everything else

Feels largely unrewarding, at least all the "new" sets. The three "special weather" attack boost sets feel so extremely niche and pointless. Furthermore they dont even apply down in the depths and in many of the places where you really would want to actually utilize a damage boost.
Mystic set is just genuinely a bad idea to use, I havent seen a use for it. Compared to just fully upgrading an actual tanky set of gear at least... or you know, just dont get hit.
Miner set is pointless.
This includes:

• Mystic Set
• Miner Set
• Frostbite Set
• Ember Set
• Charged Set
• Arguably Yiga set (see above)

So arguably over half of the "new" sets are pointless/unrewarding/does nothing

Old Sets

Aside from that, the vast majority of the "sets" this time around are just the same stuff from BotW, which is sort of meh. It makes it feel like I am just playing a very very very big DLC for BotW (that also forces me to go out and refarm the items again), rather than "Oh hey a bunch of new stuff"
And on top of that, a lot of the challenge was stripped away. You just buy the sand/snow shoes now, rather than work for em, etc etc.

Cosplay stuff

This is the worst offender though and endlessly frustrating. It feels like a very big chunk of the "endgame" for ToTK just took all the DLC gear from BotW and repurposed it as rewards for the endgame.
In BotW, most of the "challenging" stuff in the game was also how you get the good gear. The labyrinths for example were how you got the barbarian gear.
This time around though, the labyrinths are effectively three challenges in one. As I started doing the first one and got near the end I was like "Oh shit, this is a lot of work, I bet some good shit comes from this!"
Imagine the letdown after all that work and I open the chest and its yet another piece of cosplay gear. The ganondorf set, seriously?!
Now I dont even want to do the last labyrinth, I look at it and I know the reward is just, effectively speaking, 600 rupees. Why do I care? I dont, it seems pointless.
At the absolute minimum, why didnt they bother making the cosplay gear actually good? Upgradeable?
The Miners gear makes me extremely unhappy, I was expecting the set bonus to be something cool to justify its very weak base effect, but the set bonus is totally useless, SMH

Like, my wife playing, she's just so right doing the paths pre-made by the game and all.
She's just screaming in fear when she asks me to do something, and i start to do the Jet pack parkour all around the map, going from top of the mountains to the most near-death possible situation, but still, reaching the objective in one piece.

I need help making the decision on whether to move out or not. I am going into my senior year of high school and my family is moving to another state. I cannot currently drive nor do I have a job but have my permit, am close to getting my license, and am going to get a job soon no matter of my living situation. I am aware that I am not financially ready to get an apartment but I do have someone I can be roommates with at least until I enter college and can enter dorms. The real problem with moving and the reason why I'm considering moving out is that I have pretty severe OCD which takes out a lot of day. The way it works makes it so I would be near completely normal if I left the home. It has affected the way I study in school as well as what I generally do in my free time as I don't get much anymore. I do not believe that I could handle moving because I do not want my stuff being messed with along with my private places being disrupted ( I currently have my own bathroom but could not view another as clean for usage of someone else in family has to use it as well). In short, I'm considering moving because I can not emotionally handle a move but am not currently financially stable enough to provide for myself (I would have a roommate and my mother would help me by sending me money every now and then but I would still need to find a job and split bills)

Hello there fellow Angelenos
Trying to see anyone’s favorite camping spots for Friday-Sunday Trips.
My favorites are Mammoth and Big Sur however camping there sells out 6 months ahead and I failed at getting any spots.
I do drive a Prius (that has taken me everywhere) so it’s pretty capable but yeah no 4x4 trails please
So requirements/preferences are: - 2WD accessible -shaded if possible or near water source (lakes, rivers) - allow fire pits/bonfire -toilets (flush or vault) -trash cans
I can do dispersed camping but Do prefer actual camp sites that take payment and have utilities
Any local spots would be greatly appreciated!
Got milk?

Someone help me understand the reasoning behind placing ranked rift onto asymetrical maps, and then not flipping the spawns on end of round.
Altar of Flame should not be a rift map... one side gets to keep spawning behind their rift, meaning you need to wipe the team a couple times to be able to B-line to their rift, meanwhile a single team wipe results in you spawning nowhere near your rift and conceding.
Midtown leaves one rift completely open, making for a ridiculously difficult rift ignition, while the other gets three lanes, and if you die, you will be spawned in the middle of the map unlike the opposite side.
Please help me make sense of it!

I haven’t been formally diagnosed but my mental health doctor ran a bunch of tests in February. My thyroid is healthy but the inflammation markers were at 18. She said it should be closer to 3.
She said I had most of the symptoms but not enough for a full diagnosis 🤷‍♀️
I decided to change my diet completely. Lowered my protein intake cut out grains and nearly dairy. I took a leaky gut supplement and It feels as though my depression finally had a break. In 7 weeks I cut out my SSRI.
I quit metformin this week. It hasn’t been helpful.
Now I’m ready to lose weight. I put on 90 pounds in 2021/2022. I finally have actually energy and wake up most days in a healthy mood.
I’m trying to get back into weight lifting but walking makes me tired.
All of this to say: does anyone here have the MTHFR gene where medications like metformin and or SSRIs don’t actually help? What do you do?
Idk if I have it but, I’m going to get tested for it. I’ve been on SSRIs since I was 8 and have had nearly every type out there. None of it helped.

GO Battle League Season 15 is upon us, and along with it, our now-customary move rebalance! What's new, what's improved, what's good, bad, or ugly coming out the other side? Let's dive right in and see!
As per usual, Niantic has made us wait until the 11th hour for information on this coming season. (Thanks, Niantic... love you too! 😝) As is NOT usual for them of late, the rebalance taking place at the start of this new GBL season is massive, with no less than thirty three Pokémon being directly affected. Needless to say, this is going to be a lengthy analysis, so let's just dive right into it, shall we?
A FAIR WIND, OR GALE FORCE WINDS? It might seem odd to lead off with a move given to only two new recipients, but CLEFABLE is no ordinary recipient. It has faded further and further into obscurity over time as other Fairies have risen up around it, having dropped out of the Top 5 Fairies in Ultra League and almost out of the Top 10 in Great League. It's still decently bulky, and still comes with the awesome Meteor Mash, which is not only cheaper than most charge moves found on various Charmers (that don't rhyme with "Aloe Van Pine Nails"), but is very widely unresisted and, critically in themed Cups where Clefable is eligible, super effective versus fellow Fairies, often delivering a knockout blow. The problem, of course, is that like other Charmers, you're unlikely to reach it in multiples, since Charm only generates a way below average 2.0 Energy Per Turn (EPT), tied for worst energy generation in the game. It also has Psychic for coverage, or Moonblast for big STAB damage, but the likelihood of reaching any of those in a critical spot is rather low since Charm is just SO slow to get there. So it has sat, languishing, as other interesting Charmers have come along and is now, at best, just part of a growing pack of similiar Pokémon.
That ALL changes with the addition of Fairy Wind and its 4.5 EPT. Not only does this allow it to finally break away from the pack and make its own unique mark, but it works REALLY well with its moves. Spamming a Meteor Mash every 6 seconds (or thanks to carryover energy, just 5 seconds between the second and third Mash) sounds pretty good to me! And indeed, as compared to Charm, you can see immediate improvement in Great League, with new wins against Noctowl (!!!), Azumarill, Froslass, Diggersby, Alolan Ninetales, and somehow even Fairy slayer Shadow Victreebel by slamming it with two Meteor Mashes. Even after all that, though, it remains underwater overall as far as win/loss record goes, though beating Medicham and Noctowl and all else that you'd expect of a good Fairy give it some great corebreaking potential.
For the eye-popping numbers, we actually turn to Ultra League, where Clef turns from this into this. Yes, that IS more than double its former win total (and a jump from under 30% winrate to now 60%!), with those new wins coming versus Walrein, A-Ninetales, Sylveon, Aurorus, Cobalion, Dubwool, Snorlax, Drapion, DDeoxys, and even resists-all-of-Clefable's-moves Escavalier! And if its relatively high XL cost is scaring you, fear not... you can build a hundo to 2499 CP and miss out only on Walrein and Greedent, for what that's worth. Put simply, Clefable is one of the biggest winners in this rebalance, moving from a previous rank of #145 in Open UL all the way up now to #28, with Tapu Fini being the only Fairy ranked higher!
More of a footnote is TOGETIC, which now also learns Fairy Wind, and boy did it need that. Previously having to rely on the mostly awful Hidden Power (in which case you usually had to hope to get lucky with Flying type H.P.) or the subpar Extrasensory, it was left looking quite pitiful. But now, at least it could be spice in the right meta, maybe.
WIGGLYTUFF did not get Fairy Wind, but it is receiving Disarming Voice, a move I've been wishing would be more widely distributed for years. A Fairy-type clone of moves like Psyshock, Magnet Bomb, and Foul Play, it's a more-than-passable move, and quietly the cheapest one that Fairy has available...15 less energy than Play Rough and Moonblast, and better Damage Per Energy {DPE} than the former. Anyway, seeing as Wigglytuff currently relies on Play Rough, Voice likely now slots in as its replacement for a little more shield pressure and new wins like Azumarill and Lickitung. The needle doesn't move too much, but the improvement is still appreciated!
PRIMARINA also gets Voice, but it doesn't really help it... yet. Prima IS a little underrated in Master League, where its Water typing is much more help (resisting Ice, Fire, Water) than hindrance (very little Grass and Electric around to exploit it). But it won't really take off until it also eventually gets Hydro Cannon... sometime in 2025? At that point, it will appreciate having cheap Disarming Voice alongside Cannon more, I think.
LONG STORY SHORT, Fairy Wind Clefable is one of those rather rare overnight sensations that could see an immediate usage spike in Ultra League and as a nice corebreaker in Great League (the pickup against Noctowl really pushing it over the top). It really appreciates the extra energy to spam charge moves, and has just enough variety between Meteor Mash, Psychic (the move!), and Moonblast to keep the opponent guessing and shielding when they really don't want to. The other Fairies with new toys (Togetic and Wigglytuff especially) appreciate small bumps in performance, but are unlikely to suddenly appear where they weren't already.
DRILL RUNNIN' 🔥 As with Fairy Wind, there are only two new recipients of Drill Run, but both are very interesting.
We'll start with ALOLAN SANDSLASH. It sees some play already in both Great (including the Shadow variant and Ultra Leagues, usually with former Community Day move Shadow Claw to give it a unique profile, and spammy Ice Punch and typically Bulldoze for coverage. Bulldoze has excellent coverage (primarily versus Rocks, Steels, and Fires that give A-Slash a lot of trouble otherwise), but isn't a very good move (60 energy for only 80 damage). Drill Run is a strict upgrade, dealing the same 80 Ground-type damage for only 45 energy, a big savings.
Looking simply at simulation numbers, Drill Run doesn't seem to be a great improvement in Great or Ultra, with just occasional new wins popping up like UL Scizor or GL Alolan Marowak in certain shielding scenarios. But this goes beyond the numbers. Those who already use and love A-Slash will greatly appreciate the extra pressure that comes with Drill Run, as it can now be sprung for just 5 more energy than Ice Punch, making each shielding decision that much sweatier for the opponent. Even without STAB, Drill Run still deals quite a bit more damage than Ice Punch versus neutral targets, so this isn't just for strict coverage either. In every way, this makes Alolan Sandslash better, and better at covering its backside. I think players that don't already use A-Slash may come to better appreciate and respect it now too, and perhaps not just in Limited metas!
Perhaps even more interesting (and, frankly, unexpected) is DEWGONG, the poor WateIce type that has NEVER had a move rebalance other than taking its two best moves (Ice Shard and Icy Wind) away. Niantic has finally given it a LOT of love in this update, with Drill Run providing new coverage, and new move Liquidation finally giving it a viable Water move too. (Water Pulse and Aqua Jet are both terrible, folks... so much so that I've always recommended Blizzard as Dewgong's second move. For example, did you know that it tends to lose to Alolan Marowak with super effective Pulse but actually wins with resisted Blizzard?!) Anyway, I do think you want to definitely keep Icy Wind, so then your choice becomes Drill Run to have a shot at things like Froslass, Toxicroak, Lanturn (with Water Gun), and the aforementioned Alolan Marowak, or Liquidation to better outrace Skarmory and Alolan Ninetales? Either way, you get things like Azumarill and Dunsparce now, and still beat things that don't show in those sims like Swampert and Sableye by remaining fully commited to Icy Wind spam. And while you don't see a lot of new Rock or Steel or Fire wins popping up, Drill Run especially gives them all serious pause, forcing them to shield where they really never had to worry about it much before. (Because, again, Water Pulse is awful.)
So not really a great case for Liquidation here, but this is at least a way to transition into covering that move more fully next!
LONG STORY SHORT, both Dewgong and Alolan Sandslash immediately get better (and get better coverage) with Drill Run in the mix. I think it will be their preferred secondary/closing move going forward, and both will see a bump in play.
LIQUIDATION... GOING OUT OF BUSINESS ALREADY? So about that new move Liquidation. It's a good if not fantastic move, an exact clone of Crunch... same cost (45 energy), damage (70), and potential debuff (30% chance to reduce the opponent's Defense). Not game breaking, but very, very solid.
But the real question is... do any of the things that recieve it really want it, and if so, do any of them notably improve in PvP?
I'm gonna save you some time (and me some characters!) by immediately pushing many of its recipients right off the raft.
I think CLOYSTER actually prefers to hold on to a big closer like Hydro Pump rather than Liquidation, preferring to soften things up with Icy Wind and then go in for the kill. Pass.
Similarly, all of the following prefer to keep existing movesets: SAMUROTT (Hydro Cannon/Megahorn), CARRACOSTA (Body Slam/Surf), BEARTIC (Ice Punch/Aqua Tail), EELEKTROSS (Dragon Claw/Crunch). All remain fringe at best.
VAPOREON basically views Liquidation as a sidegrade to existing Scald, though Liquidation is NOT Legacy as Scald is, so it's worth it for any Vapes that don't have its old Community Day move. But Vaporeon remains mostly on the outside looking in at better Water types in various Leagues. No real boost here.
GOLDUCK sees a slight bump with Liquidation, but remains just a spice play, at best.
There is a reason you have never seen FLOATZEL in PvP... it has terrible charge moves. Bad, bad moves like Swift and Aqua Jet, with Hydro Pump as a passable closer but stymied due to average-at-best energy gains from Water Gun or Waterfall. Liquidation is in some ways just what the doctor ordered, but uh... Floatzel still sinks in PvP.
ARMALDO remains a lost cause as well. If you want a GOOD Rocky Bug, use Crustle. If you want a spice one, go with the new Kleavor. If you want to just tank your ELO, THEN maybe consider Armaldo. That's about it though, even with the new move.
Man, quite a bummer, right? Decent move, but really nothing that gets it stands to benefit in a way that will impact PvP. So moving on then to... wait, what? I missed one? Oh... OH! So I did. And thankfully, we can end this section on a good note... because GOLISOPOD just became a bit more interesting.
Remember that when it was first released, it was a completely lost cause, with Fury Cutter, Metal Claw, and Waterfall as its clumsy fast moves, and underwhelming X-Scissor, **Aerial Ace, and somehow even worse Aqua Jet as its only charge moves. That left it in a very sad state. Eventually, it acquired Shadow Claw, which made it at least slightly interesting. And now comes the charge move it's been begging for, with Liquidation elevating it into spice territory, at the very least. Now you can potentially beat things like Charizard, Nidoqueen, Alolan Sandslash, Alolan Ninetales (Powder Snow), Talonflame, Cobalion, and Sylveon that you couldn't before, though even as bad as Aerial Ace is, giving it up means you generally now lose some Grasses like Venusaur and Virizion. Still though, things are looking up for Golisopod!
LONG STORY SHORT, while Liquidation is actually a nice addition to Water's arsenal (a clone of Crunch, including the debuff chance), the only thing that gets it initially that really looks to benefit is Golisopod. Stay tuned to what may get it down the road, though... most of its current recipients just have more problems than Liquidation alone can solve.
THE LEAF AGE BEGINS? Probably haven't seen Bullet Punch in PvP much, have you? Scizor and Metagross use it, and uh... that's about the extent of it. But it's actually a pretty good PvP fast move, with the average 3.0 Damage Per Turn (DPT) but above average energy generation (3.5 EPT). And now here comes Leafage, an exact clone of Bullet Punch for the Grass typing. The number of things that get it is quite a bit smaller than Liquidation (only three evolutionary lines), but I think this is a clear case of quality over quantity in Leafage's favor.
I could write an entire article on the injustices done to DECIDUEYE in Pokémon GO. All its interesting moves in MSG, and here it sits with underpowered Shadow Sneak, overpriced Energy Ball, and big but risky closer Brave Bird, and all locked behind low-energy Razor Leaf or arguably worst fast move in the game Astonish. #JusticeForDecidueye! While I do still hope for an eventual and LONG overdue buff to Astonish, for now the addition of Leafage should be a big help, right? Weeeeeeeell..... I mean, yes, it is most certainly better, and will become even a bit moreso when it eventually gets Frenzy Plant. But clearly, it's problems are not JUST the fast moves. Heck, pre-evolution DARTRIX (who has also been trapped behind Razor Leaf) even looks better than Deci in the here and now, thanks in large part to having Seed Bomb as a more workable second charge move to set up Brave Bird. It does seem that even though ROWLETT also gets Leafage, it may still prefer to keep existing Razor Leaf down in Little League, where Razor Leaf can admittedly be particularly dominant.
LURANTIS (and Little League pre-evolution FOMANTIS) operates nicely right now as sort of a Jack of all trades with Fury Cutter (and its Bug damage output) powering up Leaf Blade and Superpower (well, Grass Knot in Fomantis' case). Superpower allows for some nutty wins like Bastiodon, Galarian Stunfisk, and excecuted properly, even Registeel, clearly showing Lurantis' appeal. So does Leafage help or disrupt the good Lurantis has already got going? Eh, I think we're gonna call it a sidegrade, though a tasty one for sure. Lurantis does give up a couple things where the effectiveness of Fury Cutter wins the day (Cresselia, Shadow Victreebel) and loses a little speed, which flips Shadow Alolan Sandslash to a loss. (Luratnis cannot hit a Leaf Blade AND followon Superpower in time with Leafage like it can with Fury Cutter.) But Leafage is able to carve out new wins like Shadow Alolan Ninetales and Pelipper with superior neutral fast move damage (as opposed to resisted Bug damage), and also can outrace Walrein far more reliably. So not an upgrade, but a nice sidegrade like this can add some disruption into appropriate metas just fine.
Speaking of disruption, let's check out ABOMASNOW. Obviously it runs more as an Ice than a Grass, humming along nicely in multiple metas with Powder Snow and Weather Ball (Ice) and Energy Ball for a big Grass closer when the situation calls for it. And more than likely, it will mostly continue in that configuration moving forward. BUT, Leafage may be preferred in certain metas now, at least, and not just because it now slams the door on Water types (instead of sometimes merely scraping by with Powder Snow). In Great League, where ShadowBama is usually preferred, Powder Snow continues to shine out, but it's worth noting that while Leafage is an overall downgrade, most of the wins it gives up are versus Flyers (Altaria, Noctowl, Skarmory, Mandibuzz), with new losses to Umbreon and Venusaur as the most notable exceptions. Leafage DOES make some new key contributions like Powder Alolan Ninetales and Galarian Stunfisk that may come more to the fore in Limited metas with, say, fewer Flyers? Just saying. In Ultra League, the biggest knock against Leafage is that it drops the Giratinas (as compared to Powder Snow), but otherwise Leafage makes a pretty strong case with pickups of Poliwrath, Walrein, and Alolan Ninetales (with Powder Snow OR Charm). I think Leafage deserves some real consideration at Ultra League level!
LONG STORY SHORT, no huge improvements to be found with Leafage, but it does earn a rightful place as a robust sidegrade consideration for the Lurantis and Abomasnow lines (particularly with Ultra League Aboma). It's an upgrade for the Rowlett/Dartrix/Decidueye line, though Deci itself remains middling at best until it one day gets Frenzy Plant (or just some more synergistic charge moves in general!). Leafage SHOULD start popping up here and there in PvP soon, moreso than Liquidation likely will.
JUST A BRUSH FIRE, REALLY Honestly, I expected a number of things to get Mystical Fire after it recently entered the game, but for now, Niantic chose to distribute it to only two new Pokémon:
As I mentioned in my analysis on Mystical Fire back during Delphox Community Day, DRIFBLIM is an intriguing choice. Mystical Fire and existing Blim coverage move Icy Wind share the same stats aside from typing, so this is almost the very definition of sidegrade... against neutral targets they do the exact same thing, so it just comes down to effectiveness. If Blim is facing something burnable (like a Steel, Ice, or Bug type), it will prefer to have Mystical Fire. For things weak to Ice, like Flyers and Dragons and Grounds, obviously it will want to be packing Icy Wind instead. (Grasses are weak to both Fire and Ice, so usually no change there, aside from things like Abomasnow with a subtyping that favors one or the other... in that case, Mystical Fire is double super effective and Icy Wind is merely neutral.) I'm not going to bother with the sims, as they're close to indistinguishable at a high level, but I WILL note that Mystical Fire can potentially beat Galarian Stunfisk at Ultra League level, and more definitely beats G-Fisk AND A-Slash, Skarmory, and even Registeel at Great League level, none of which Icy Wind can realistically hope to replicate. (Its only standouts are things like Gliscor.) Yes, giving up Icy Wind means completely abandoning hope versus things like Ghost-resistant Pidgeot and especially Noctowl, but overall? I think Drifblim might be getting much hotter soon, in several senses of the word! 🔥
Not nearly as exciting, I admit, but note that LITWICK also gets Mystical Fire. It's really only for Little League use, and has been an interesting but lesser-used Fire type, falling behind things like Vulpix, Growlithe, and Tepig thanks to them having some good neutral coverage, while Litwick has been stuck with just Flame Charge and two other rather Fire charge moves. Mystical Fire slots in as a nearly straight upgrade with pickups that include Wynaut, Vullaby, Obstagoon (for LL Cups where it's allowed), and... Vulpix, regardless of which fast move 'Pix is using. Something to look forward to in the next Little League rotation!
LONG STORY SHORT, Mystical Fire IS likely the default coverage move of choice for Drifblim going forward, just because of the number of burnable things (as opposed to freezeable things) in its respective metas, Great League especially. Except to see Blim soar up a little higher than it has in a while. It's also a nice upgrade for Litwick, who should finally emerge as a true Fire contender in Little League formats.
ODDS AND ENDS Going to put everything else together in this last main section, but don't mistake that to mean they're less important... quite the contrary! Just doing this because these are all one-offs, as opposed to the changes above which directly affected multiple Pokémon recipients.
Before I dive into the specific move additions, let's briefly review the existing moves that are being buffed or nerfed in this update.
Icicle Spear - 60 power → 65 power. Obviously this only affects WALREIN (for now), and is obviously a strict upgrade, since the cost and all else remains the same, just more damage. Specifically, at a high level, I see Walrein picking up things like Skarmory and Umbreon (non-Shadow) and Trevenant, Pelipper, and Azumarill (Shadow) in Great League, and stuff like Shadow Alolan Ninetales and Virizion in Ultra League. So yeah... you didn't need me to tell you this was an improvement, but maybe that helps you decide how much of an improvement and whether you want to turn back to Wally if you ever turned away before. I'd say Great League in particular has reason to fear it a bit more again.
Poison Fang - 40 power → 45 power. More things affected by this than Icicle Spear, but obviously most of you just want to know about NIDOQUEEN, so in the interest of time and... well, interest, we'll just highlight her for now. Again, you don't need me to tell you this only makes things with Poison Fang better, but HOW much better? Honestly not too much changes in Great League (as far as straight wins a losses go, though this is undoubtedly scarier now!), but in Ultra League, I see new wins for Queen versus things like Charizard, Pidgeot, Cresselia, Dubwool, Obstagoon, AND Guzzlord, among others, so this is no small tweak! Might Nidoqueen be "back"? Only time will tell. Admittedly, what made it SO scary in the past was the cheaper cost of Poison Fang, and that hasn't changed, so I don't see it returning to full dominance like she once enjoyed. I also think she was treated rather harshly even before this buff... she didn't fall off quite as hard as many made it out to be. This will reveal that more fully... she's not so much "back" as much as I think she never really left. Also keep in mind things like GOLBAT/CROBAT and SALAZZLE/SALANDIT** that stand to benefit from this as well!
Rollout - 4 power → 5 power. So low power that I can tell you this won't be a big shift, but obviously it DOES help. DUNSPARCE picks up a potential win over Shadow Alolan Ninetales (hey, Rollout is super effective, so....), and MILTANK a new win versus Shadow Swampert, of all things, and sometimes (Water Gun) Lanturn when utilizing Ice Beam instead of my personal recommendation of Thunderbolt (which beats Lanturn as well). It tends to prefer Tackle in Ultra League, though newly buffed Rollout is MUCH improved now with new wins versus Cresselia, Drapion, Umbreon, Alolan Muk, AND Walrein. Perhaps Tackle won't be the default now? As for ALOLAN GOLEM, Volt Switch just remains a much better move in nearly every scenario and meta. Stick with that, I say, and get all the Rock damage you need from the charge moves instead. 🪨
Mud Bomb - 55 power → 60 power. The two big ones that come to mind are TOXICROAK and WHISCASH, the latter of which honestly needed a boost like this. However, this small a bump looks and feels like more of a "win more" where they already won more than anything. The only notable new win I see (at the high level this massive rebalance is demanding of little old me!) is Toxicroak versus Trevenant, though I think that's more due to Trevenant's nerf (which we'll get to in a moment) than Toxicroak's resisted Mud Bomb dealing a tiny bit more damage. (And upon further review, it may be neither of those and instead just come down to move timing.. but leaving Trevor in here as it's a good setup for later.) The big winner here is actually QUAGSIRE, who FINALLY gets a charge move cheaper than 55 energy to reach the same spam potential as its fellow Mud Boys. It's hard to show how this improves things in simulations, as they actually tend to favor Earthquake in many situations (such as in 1v1 shielding, where Quake shows additional wins against things like Azu, Sable, Swampert, and Umbreon), but the difference is more obvious when you go 2v2 shielding, and the extra spam of Mud Bomb shows out with new wins that include Froslass, Jellicent, Toxicroak, Shadow Alolan Ninetales, and Shadow Walrein. I actually don't know if this will actually bump up Quagsire's useage or not, though it's shot up about 60 slots to #15 in PvPoke's rankings. Not sure if that will match reality, but I DO think it's time to see if you have a good PvP Quag to perhaps take out for a spin and see. It certainly has some exciting new potential it's never had before!
Seed Bomb - 55 power → 60 power, Energy Cost Increased. The only thing on this list that's not a straight upgrade, getting the same damage boost as Mud Bomb but increased cost to go with it... mostly, I feel, as a backdoor way to bring Trevenant down a bit. (And indeed, PvPoke has dropped Trev 25 slots from #10 to #35 in Ultra League, and down nearly 70 slots in Great League from Top 10 to outside the Top 70!) I certainly don't think Trevor will be going away -- it still breaks several cores across multiple Leagues -- but this is undoubtedly a hit. In Great League, it looks like it's now at a disadvantage against things it used to be able to beat like Walrein, Talonflame, Alolan Marowak, Sableye, and even Toxicroak. The hit is a bit less severe in Ultra League (where it can hang in longer to somewhat compensate for the increased energy needed), but it does still lose former wins like Jellicent and the re-buffed Nidoqueen. Most of the rest of the collateral damage will be felt in Little League, where several notable things have Seed Bomb (like Bulbasaur, Exeggcute, Oddish, etc.). Note much of note in bigger Leagues, though it IS noteworthy that WHIMSICOTT is getting Seed Bomb for the first time. And yes, I think it DOES become the favorite in most circumstances over existing Grass Knot, despite the latter being a "better" move (50 energy for 90 damage) and using that to get a couple unique wins still like Diggersby and Lickitung, because Seed Bomb brings new bait potential to set up big Moonblast wins over Cresselia, Pelipper, Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Trevenant. Not sure Whimsie is suddenly going to bust out in Open Great League or anything, but I think it's very safe to say it just became a bit scarier and more versatile in Limited metas for sure.
And there are all the actual move "rebalances". Now to wrap it up real quick with a final list of existing moves now assigned to new Pokémon!
PROBOPASS is in some ways similar to Defense Deoxys, in that it has long had three charge moves that seemed almost interchangeable in overall performance. Rock Slide is pretty standard for Probo, and most folks also run it with Thunderbolt, but it's so lackluster than even Magnet Bomb has always hung around as a viable alternative. Well that changes now, as its bulk allows it to make good use of new addition Zap Cannon. I think it and Rock Slide are the new standard, along with Spark to power them out, and that combo brings in new wins over Sableye and Umbreon, along with wider margins of victory over things it just scraped past before like Cresselia and Bastiodon. Probo used to escape them both with less than 10 HP, but now waddles away with quite a bit more than that. Not sure if this will send it up the charts (Bastiodon itself is still usually preferred), but it IS a more intriguing alternative now.
Speaking of funky Rock types, HEATRAN can learn Earth Power now! But uh... you still don't want it, sorry. At least give it Incinerate, Niantic... c'mon!
A MUCH more interesting Rock type is CRADILY, now getting some more speed with Rock Slide as a new alternative to Stone Edge. In my first blush analysis on the day of these many announced changes, I speculated that Cradily may want both Rock charge moves going forward, as it still beat things like Lanturn and even Swampert without needing Grass Knot. But in hindsight... nah, I think you want to instead just swap out Edge for Slide and be done with it. Keeping this short and sweet, here are some of my findings when comparing these side by side (by side): Grass Knot is absolutely needed to beat Diggersby, and is obviously the surest way to beat Waters and Ground (and/or Rock) types in general (including having ANY shot at beating up things like Galarian Stunfisk and Bastiodon). The raw power of Stone Edge is still the best way to punch out things like Alolan Ninetales, Lickitung, and Shadow Victreebel. But the speed of Rock Slide (10 less energy than Edge) adds the potential to now handle stuff like Cresselia, Alolan Marowak, Sableye, Venusaur, and most notably, Noctowl. That's right... Cradily now becomes a handy way to handle Lanturn AND Noctowl, among many others, and can also beat popular Sableye as well. Corebreaker potential on the rise. Dilly dilly!
Look, URSALUNA continues to disappoint and likely always will until it gets a better fast move than Tackle. I know it, you know it, basically everyone but Niantic (and maybe TPCi) knows it. But as I wrote when Luna was first released, Ice Punch at least gives it the most bite of the three main elemental Punches, and until now it was the only one Ursaluna could not learn. Now it can! That gives it a bit more reach in Master League (the one League where it currently has any real play at all) with all the Dragons already. Specifically, Ice Punch allows it to now consistently beat Garchomp and Landorus, so that's nice. But come on, Niantic. Give the people what they want!.
Let's be honest: the addition of Brutal Swing to the arsenal of TYRANITAR is more a cause of celebration for raiding than it is for PvP. (New top Dark type in PvE, I hear!) But yes, it DOES help in PvP too. Tyranitar has the size to work in Master League, but even with Brutal Swing, it's still an awkward fit. The one place I have seen it pop up here and there is actually in Great League, albeit in Limited metas only. While those opportunities are relatively rare, I am happy to report that Brutal Swing is a noted improvement over former best Crunch, adding on wins you would expect of a Dark type (Sableye, Cofagrigus, Jellicent) and a few you might not expect (Drapion, Toxapex, and finally it can beat Altaria!). Still more niche than meta, but at least it's an improving niche!
And finally, we come to humble little EMOLGA, and the first non-Community Day recipient of Acrobatics. Long-time (or even some short-time!) readers have surely seen me write many times about Aerial Ace. It's a passable move -- barely -- dealing 55 damage for 45 energy. Boooooring, but it usually works JUST enough to not be total trash. It's a move I would LOVE to see buffed a little at some point, but it's also a move currently assigned to a massive number of Pokémon, and unlikely to change unless Niantic wants to REALLY shake up PvP. And like way too many Pokémon, poor Emolga has long been stuck with dull old Ace as its only Flying move, leaving what should be an exciting option languishing in obscurity. But now, finally, this mighty mouse may be about to soar! Just look at the HUGE names it can now beat: Medicham. Lickitung. Sableye. Shadow Swampert. Trevenant. Shadow Alolan Ninetales. And Cresselia and even Froslass for good measure. Those are some really big names, folks. Did Emolga just go from being afterthought behind Zapdos to passing it completely? I think it may have! If, like me, you've been holding on to a good one and just biding your time... well, that time is now, my friend! ⚡
Speaking of time, though... it's up! The new season is here! So we're gonna wrap it up right here for now. I hope this was as helpful a read as it was LONG. 🙃
Until next time, you can find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Best of luck this season, and catch you next time!

First, I want to say that I see a lot of potential and that's why I'm talking about this. Shitty games and especially VR ones are a dime a dozen, and I wouldn't pay any mind but I'm actively frustrated with this one because of the potential. Just wanted to connect with the community and express these feels and see if anyone else relates.
Going in, I had no expectations, no experience with Boneworks, no hype, no pessimism going in - just a blank slate with no expectations. I'm kind of just really not liking it. I WANT to like it but god this game is janky and sickening - and yes, I have my VR legs.
First, the nausea. I haven't had any amount of motion sickness (Aside from some very mild sickness from HL2 VR in the airboat section, but that was mostly just really fun) since the first couple of times I played pavlov back in january and first started using the analog stick for locomotion. After that I got super used to it - and I use smooth locomotion in every game and smooth turning with little to no discomfort. Bonelab though - my god every time I play, I want to fucking hurl after 30 mins. I have no idea why but it's so much less comfortable than any other VR shooter I've played. Also absolutely nauseating for some reason is when my arms get stuck in an object and the object is glued right near my fucking face until I can somehow get my hand out. Until I can reset a level or get my hand free, I'll have a whole-ass box or cabinet or garbage can spazzing out and stuck near my face. It's happened both on PCVR and in the Quest 2 version by the way.
Second, character movement and the guns - I kind of really hate that the guns and movement are all physics based, I think. Pavlov VR and Contractors VR feel awesome - the guns aren't weighted and move 1:1 with your hands and it just feels nice to operate. No jankiness with reloading and the hands position themselves nicely on the weapons. In Bonelab, my left hand always looks like it's breaking to hold the front of the gun, reloading shells into a shotgun is a messy affair, and weapons feel oddly positioned and a whole lot less satisfying. Also, the movement acceleration and delay between pressing the stick and getting up to speed feels pretty baaaad.
Lastly, even without the hype train bringing me down, having that fun starting section only to be dumped into an open area thats like "okay, go fuck around with some stuff I guess" just decimated any and all momentum I felt in the story. First section had me sincerely invested in what was happening, and now I'm kind of just bored because I'm less interested in random minigames and more interested in Monogon, what they did, what is the world I'm in, what happened, why is the staff all missing, who is the radio guy who seems to be watching me and why did he give me a knife to let me survive the execution in the beginning, etc.
Kind of want to try Boneworks but the nausea factor of Bonelab is scaring me right now. Sigh.

This is an ongoing tale but I've been wanting to share its progression for quite a few days now, plus it has been going on for quite some time now. You can look up the sort of property I work at from my post history, though the only necessary piece of information for this tale is that this is in Europe.
Do take a seat, I'm not keeping it short.
The cast goes as such: Me - yours truly, FDA Anna - an FDA coworker of mine Ray - returning problem guest from abroad
Our tale begins on a cold winter night, the month I can't quite recall. I've got the night shift, 7pm to 7am, still waiting for some arrivals. In walks Jay with a reservation from Hostelchairs, CC guaranteed but not pre-paid. As we're going through the paperwork he asks if I could guess where he's from. I'd just finished scanning his passport when he asked that but I did not think to look at the passport itself or the data that we just received in our system, going only by his last name I took a wild guess and nearly hit a bullseye - the general area he's from tends to have languages and cultures overlap way past country borders. Moving on, while still making small talk I ask how he would like to pay for the room - he insists he's already paid. I double check both our system and Hostelchairs but he's only ever given a guarantee. We have a little back and forth about this but eventually he pays out and heads for his room.
Months later he pops in again, this time with a membership to our brand and starts staying rather regularly - every two or three weeks, always for 5 or so nights. Some time goes by and my coworkers begin telling me how he always comes by the front desk to chat, especially when Anna is in. I jokingly mention he might have a crush on her - she is an attractive young woman after all. This is where the end of the fun begins. A few days go by and Anna says that Ray found her on social media, started messaging her, too. She's declining any and all advances he's trying to make but he keeps on trying. It's at this time we start getting to know more about him. It was pretty obvious he was in our city for business since he always came and went in expensive looking suits and always had a really nice car pick him up in front of the hotel. Turns out he's a CEO of at least one company, co-founder in some others and the heir to another pretty big company in his home country. And he's begun to try his luck more and more often, and more and more agressively. The moment we realized trouble might be brewing was when he had one of his associates - his goons, we call them - bring a 250$ bouqet of roses to Anna while she was working at the front desk. This associate didn't even ask if she'd accept them, just asked if she was indeed Anna and shoved the bouqet in her hands, turned around and left.
She went on to try and shut him down on a near daily basis now, to no avail.
Some more shenanigans happen, he hosts a couple of his own events at our confetence rooms (because they've been kicked out of all their previous locations) but nevertheless, let us fast forward to just a little over a month ago. I wasn't present for this part of the story, I've only heard it from my coworkers.
Anna was just relieved after her night shift and was leaving, when just outside the door he got in front of her and wouldn't let her go on her way, always stepping in front of her when she tried to get past him. He wanted her to get in his car, go somewhere with him for a date and let him take her home. Drew noticed and told him to leave her alone, which provided sufficient enough at the time.
After all this, Anna did not think it necessary to bring all this to management's attention because she didn't want to be the talk of the company and because from her own perspective she was handling it just fine - or at least this is what she told me.
After another time skip of three weeks, I go to relieve Anna from the night shift - Ray is seemingly just checking out. Turns out he'd been there for at least 10 minutes when I got there and stayed there for 15 more. As she was handing the shift over he kept interrupting us with questions to Anna, mostly regarding why he can't find her on social media anymore - and repeatedly asking for her number after being told flat no-s each and every time. It was the fifth time he'd asked when I couldn't just listen to it anymore and told him 'Look, if she said no then she said no. Knock it off.' He looked baffled for a moment then turned around and went to stand at the lobby windows for a solid 15 minutes. During these 15 minutes Anna went and changed from her uniform and came back to relax in the back office located just behind the front desk until she were to leave for her train. Not long after she entered the office Ray came up to my desk and started going off on me mostly about how:, -he's a customer, and a VIP at that (yeah, you always book through whichever 3rd party you find cheapest, not exactly a VIP), -he's very good friends with my GM (GM has never even seen this man, he probably meant our coworker from Sales who arranged his events) -he's going to own this company very soon (it's in Chinese hands at the very end of the chain, good luck getting it from them) -none of what's happening around me is my business (it literally is, especially if it concerns the safety of my colleagues) -I should just stick to doing my job and nothing else (see above) -and that he never wants to see me again. (I'm assuming he meant he's going to get me fired. Spoiler: not happening)
Now, this guy is not that threatening, I'm a 5'9" guy with some pounds to spare. He's a good few inches taller than me, and he was trying his very best to scare me with his body language, too - and he did manage to trigger my fight or flight response. I am sorry to say that I did not give him the decking I believe he deserved but it did take pretty much all my willpower to stand still and not do anything stupid.
After his rent he left the lobby - but this is not the last we heard of him that day, though, seeing as this post is already a wall of text, I'll return to tell the remainder at another time.

I need help making the decision on whether to move out or not. I am going into my senior year of high school and my family is moving to another state. I cannot currently drive nor do I have a job but have my permit, am close to getting my license, and am going to get a job soon no matter of my living situation. I am aware that I am not financially ready to get an apartment but I do have someone I can be roommates with at least until I enter college and can enter dorms. The real problem with moving and the reason why I'm considering moving out is that I have pretty severe OCD which takes out a lot of day. The way it works makes it so I would be near completely normal if I left the home. It has affected the way I study in school as well as what I generally do in my free time as I don't get much anymore. I do not believe that I could handle moving because I do not want my stuff being messed with along with my private places being disrupted ( I currently have my own bathroom but could not view another as clean for usage of someone else in family has to use it as well). In short, I'm considering moving because I can not emotionally handle a move but am not currently financially stable enough to provide for myself (I would have a roommate and my mother would help me by sending me money every now and then but I would still need to find a job and split bills)

On console whenever the player is taken by Rockpox or frozen you need to wiggle the left stick from left to right. The motion is fairly strict, meaning the player needs to be pretty accurate when breaking free of these status effects. Due to arthritis from a life of working in the mines, this action is nearly impossible as is. My joints just don't work that way. I usually have to set the controller down and use the palm of my right hand and sometimes I just let it kill me, bc that motion can make things worse.
I think changing this to any direction would be a good and easy fix. Alternatively, a hold option would be ideal.
I love glacial, but at this point I just avoid it and any/all Litho missions, unless required. Seeing the new enemy, who can cover an area in Rockpox - I feel like this will be a bigger issue for me and others with similar battle scars going forward.
Does anyone else struggle with this? Hopefully a Dev sees this just to get the idea out there and on their minds. Thanks!

Guide available! Go here.
**Series beginning is **here.
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Once we had taken down the camp, I loaded the cart with the animal carcasses using my Hands of Air. While I was strong, there was no way I was lifting a female Dire Bear. Once our quarry was loaded onto the cart, I helped my Haarthuu friends up as well. They all situated themselves in the front seat, and I took my place behind the handle.
“Off we go!” I exclaimed and pushed off from the ground. It was difficult to get the cart rolling, but once I did, keeping it there wasn’t too much strain.
We continued in this way for about five hours, which is when we came to a hill that I would be unable to climb with the cart, and I doubted my companions would be much help. I had stopped and was leaning against the handle, breathing hard and heavily.
“Well, I can’t climb this, and I don’t have it in me to tunnel through. What should we do, Liss-ran?” I asked, panting.
Liss-ran sat there in a slight panic. “Um, I’m not sure. If there were Uror nearby, I’d say to convince one of them to help?”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s it! I’ll call Walter,” I said happily.
I closed my eyes and leaned on the cart.
“Walter?”
“Yeah, Boss? You okay? You sound beat.”
“I’m fine. Just kinda tired. Where are you located right now? I could use some help.”
“Yeah? Let’s see…. I’m about an hour or so away from where you are right now. What’s going on?”
“I’m pulling a cart through the woods back to Haruma. I’ve hit a hill that I can’t pull it over. It’s too loaded down, and I’m not strong enough.”
“Ah. I see. Well, I can be there in an hour. Or should I send someone else?”
“Well, this cart is narrower than the last. It may be a bit uncomfortable for you.”
“Okay. I can send a kid over to you. They’ll be able to carry you and pull the cart.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, boss. She’s on her way right now. From a different herd, so she can get to you faster.
“Okay. Should I give her some of my magic so she can communicate with me, or are you the only member I will be able to speak with? I don’t know how this all works.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. She’ll be able to understand you, and will take you home no sweat. If she decides to stick around, I might uhh… claim her. Have your woman try to bond with her.”
I laughed and let the matter drop. “Okay Walter. Thanks man. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. Oh. We’re leaving the week after last frost. Heading to Klearm. If you could meet us in Haruma beforehand, I’ll make sure you’re fed well and your coat is nice and shiny.”
“You got it, Boss! Looking forward to it!”
I pulled my Pack off, and removed a large piece of leather, as well as my tools. “Gonna need these in a few. We have a female Uror heading our way. I’m going to make a harness and a saddle for her once she gets here, and we will be on our way. Sound good?” I announced.
Four heads looked at one another, then at me. “How did you manage that, Ivor?” Liss-ran asked incredulously.
“Uh, I just reached out to Walter, the Uror that brought us here. Apparently when you bond yourself to a Uror, you can speak with them from great distances. He’s an hour away. The female should be here much quicker. She’s from a more local herd,” I explained. “I won’t be able to speak with her the same as I do Walter, but I was instructed to see if Elizabet would like to try and bond with her.” I concluded.
“Okaaayyy….. If you say so, Ivor. I guess we get to see a different Uror,” Liss-ran said, shaking her head.
I rested there, cutting some strips from the leather for makeshift reins, belts and straps. I also took the time to fashion buckles from the Duplicated knife blade I had in my Pack. About fifteen minutes after I had finished making those, a shaggy Uror trundled up and halted beside the cart. She snorted and stamped a paw on the ground, seemingly eager to get this over with.
“Hello, my lady! Thank you for answering Walter’s call to help us. I trust he has explained the situation to you?” I said to the shaggy beast.
She tossed her head twice, which I took as an affirmative. “Excellent. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to fit you for a harness so we can hitch you to the wagon. Would you mind if I got to work? I’ll do my best to make it as comfortable as possible. If it pinches or is uncomfortable, please snort twice,” I said, receiving another toss of her head.
I smiled and got to work, crafting the harness from memory and sizing it to fit the much smaller female. After a few mistakes, she and I fell into a routine, and I had the harness crafted in short order. Once I explained the concept of the saddle to her, I began the process of making that, with similar results. All in all, it took us the better part of an hour to finish the work.
“There we are. Hmm. You know, I can’t just call you ‘Uror’ or something like that. May I call you Lady?” I asked.
The shaggy beast was still for a moment, and then tossed her head twice. “Excellent, Lady! I am Ivor, and we are going to Haruma. I will direct you, if that’s okay?” Another head toss and she began to strain against the weight of the cart. I quickly climbed up, and we were off.
With the assistance of Lady, we made short work of the hill in front of us. I let her choose the pace, and we were slowly, but steadily, on our way to Haruma once more.
“Liss-ran? How long do you think we have until we get home?” I asked.
“At this rate?” she said, taking stock of our surroundings and pace. “We should be there around dinnertime, I’d say.”
“Awesome. Just in time to have some of Gon-rash’s amazing cooking. This day is getting better and better!” I said happily, shrugging my Pack back onto my shoulders.
We rode and chatted for another hour or so, and I saw how lifted everyone’s spirits were. Even Tren-sun was cracking jokes and smiling.
After an hour or so, Kilik-ma called out, “Hey Ivor. What kind of entertainment does your world have?”
“Entertainment? Well, we have books, plays, theater, dance, songs, musical bands, and a form of entertainment that absolutely doesn’t and hopefully will never exist on Chaia, television,” I said. “Why?”
“Well, Liss-ran was describing your music to me when we were hunting, and I was curious to hear some.”
“Oh. Well, that device is back in Haruma, actually. I left it with Elizabet for safe-keeping, so I can’t use it right now to show you my music,” I said regretfully.
“Oh. Okay,” Tren-sun said, sounding dejected.
“But I’m feeling pretty good, so how about I sing a song for you?” I ventured.
Four voices replied in the affirmative, and even Lady tossed her head. Looks like I was committed. I racked my brain, trying to think of a decent one that I actually knew all the lyrics to, when a shiver ran through me. That’s it! I took a deep breath and began…
“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?....” My rich baritone rang out through the forest, echoing off the trees and the mountain beside us.
As I was atop Lady and had my eyes closed, I was naturally unable to see the stunned reactions on the faces of my companions, as I was also facing away from them.
As I sang, the very air around us changed. The scent of snow that I had grown accustomed to had multiplied, finally depositing its bounty of crystalline glory across the entirety of the forest. Unnoticed by me, some of the buckles had been Duplicated, and now hung on the reins as small tinkling bells.
A smattering of small, blue birds had taken flight shortly after I began, wheeling their way south. The Haarthuu watched, openmouthed, as they took flight, as there had been no birds in those trees before.
Feeling joy course through my core, I opened my eyes to a forest covered in a blanket of fluffy snow. I continued, nearly trancelike, with my song, seeing the images from my mind’s eye blossom into being in a clearing to our left.
Two people made of snow, resembling myself and Elizabet, were building another snowman, giving him a defined beard and a book. These snowy puppets acted out the lyrics to the song I was singing, bowing and dancing about.
The scene shifted, and there was a fireplace made of snow, complete with dancing flames made of snow within. Two puppets, easily the size of a dire bear, pantomimed speaking and were then covered by a snowy blanket.
Once more, we saw an empty field, with the same three puppets from before. They danced and glided about the field, “speaking” to the snow-preacher.
As my song concluded, we saw the two puppets walking arm-in-arm beside the cart, and then they collapsed into a pile of wet snow once I closed my mouth.
As I came back to my senses, I realized I was sweating profusely, and my stomach was protesting loudly.
“Ivor. What. Did. You. Just. Do?” Liss-ran asked breathlessly.
I sat there, panting. Trembling, I reached into my coat for the jerky that I had taken to keeping there. I began stuffing piece after piece into my starving gullet, trying to stave off the unconsciousness that loomed on my horizon. I swallowed more and more of the meat, my mouth eventually going dry. I slung my Pack to the front, and pulled out the pitcher and drank deeply of its cool bounty.
My thirst slaked, my hunger staved off for the moment, I turned and looked at Liss-ran.
“I have no idea. It looks like I can’t be singing things like that. I hope I haven’t royally mucked up the weather…” I said in a shaky voice.
“Was that the Ancient Tongue?” asked Piri-thak.
“Huh?”
“Ivor, we couldn’t understand a word of that. Are you telling me that you didn’t realize you were singing in the Ancient Tongue?” Liss-ran asked gently.
Realization hit me like a truck. I sang the weather into existence. It was effortless and easy. I didn’t even register that I was doing so until after I was done and the shakes hit. What’s more, I sang what I saw in my head into existence. All the images I would see when I heard that song manifested in this world as snowy puppets and props. Even the bells that were on the harness were exactly as my mind’s eye saw them. I could only guess that I may have created a new species of bird. I felt mortified.
“No… I had no idea I wasn’t singing in your language. Well. Now to deal with the fallout. Is this the normal time the snows would begin, Liss-ran?” I asked quietly.
“Thankfully, yes. It’s a week early, but nothing too far out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t worry too much about altering the weather. Those birds, though. That may be a different story. There _were _only twenty or so,” she replied.
I nodded and closed my mouth. This was a new lesson, and one that I needed to ensure stayed present in my mind. I zipped my coat up against the wind, and Lady trudged on.
As the skies darkened, we could see the main road that led into our home. Kilik-ma jumped down and raced ahead, probably to let the village know we were back a little early.
About ten minutes after he left, we had a throng of people rushing out to meet us. At the forefront were Elizabet, Talah-ma’at and our boys.
“Hi everyone! We’re a little early, I know. We’ve got some goodies in the back of the wagon, and a lot more in my Pack. Let’s get Lady into the city, and we’ll unload everything, okay?” I called out.
The crowd of maybe thirty individuals parted and walked beside us like an honor guard, leading the Uror into the central hall of Haruma. Once inside, I called the gentle beast to a halt, and dismounted. I unhooked her from the cart and began to remove her harness when she snorted twice.
“Lady? Is something the matter?”
The Uror walked out of the twin shafts of the cart and turned to face us. Or, more specifically, she faced Elizabet. She looked directly at her and tossed her head.
“Present your magic to her, Elizabet. See if she’ll take it,” I said softly.
Slowly, Elizabet raised a trembling hand and a small, iron-gray sphere rose from her palm and hovered four inches above it. She approached the shaggy beast with her outstretched hand, and waited.
Lady stepped forward and gently plucked the sphere from Elizabet with a delicate tongue. She stood there chewing on it for a moment, and it was then that I heard Elizabet gasp.
“She said her name is Lola. And that she’ll follow us wherever we go. And that you…” she trailed off and turned to stare at me with an arched brow. In a low, dangerous tone she said, “What. Did. You. Do?”
I knew that tone. I sighed and shook my head. “Thanks, Lola. I was going to get around to that shortly.” I said in a wry voice. I looked Elizabet in the eye. “I appear to be able to control the weather to a degree. I don’t know to what extent it goes, but…. I sang a song into existence,” I said, defeated.
Elizabet looked confused. “You… Wait, you can sing?”
Liss-ran piped up. “His voice is rich and deep, too! It was nice,” she said with a little giggle.
“And loud. He has some lung power, he does,” Tren-sun added.
“Does anybody else wish to make her even more upset with me than she already is?” I asked in a loud, exasperated tone. “No? Thank you.”
“Try it again, Ivor. Tell me what you did,” Elizabet said firmly, crossing her arms beneath her prodigious chest.
“Yes, genius. Tell us what wonder you pulled out of your ass this time,” Blainaut said, coming up from behind Elizabet.
“Oh, gods. Not again,” I said, hanging my head.
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Master List

Once we had taken down the camp, I loaded the cart with the animal carcasses using my Hands of Air. While I was strong, there was no way I was lifting a female Dire Bear. Once our quarry was loaded onto the cart, I helped my Haarthuu friends up as well. They all situated themselves in the front seat, and I took my place behind the handle.
“Off we go!” I exclaimed and pushed off from the ground. It was difficult to get the cart rolling, but once I did, keeping it there wasn’t too much strain.
We continued in this way for about five hours, which is when we came to a hill that I would be unable to climb with the cart, and I doubted my companions would be much help. I had stopped and was leaning against the handle, breathing hard and heavily.
“Well, I can’t climb this, and I don’t have it in me to tunnel through. What should we do, Liss-ran?” I asked, panting.
Liss-ran sat there in a slight panic. “Um, I’m not sure. If there were Uror nearby, I’d say to convince one of them to help?”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s it! I’ll call Walter,” I said happily.
I closed my eyes and leaned on the cart.
“Walter?”
“Yeah, Boss? You okay? You sound beat.”
“I’m fine. Just kinda tired. Where are you located right now? I could use some help.”
“Yeah? Let’s see…. I’m about an hour or so away from where you are right now. What’s going on?”
“I’m pulling a cart through the woods back to Haruma. I’ve hit a hill that I can’t pull it over. It’s too loaded down, and I’m not strong enough.”
“Ah. I see. Well, I can be there in an hour. Or should I send someone else?”
“Well, this cart is narrower than the last. It may be a bit uncomfortable for you.”
“Okay. I can send a kid over to you. They’ll be able to carry you and pull the cart.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, boss. She’s on her way right now. From a different herd, so she can get to you faster.
“Okay. Should I give her some of my magic so she can communicate with me, or are you the only member I will be able to speak with? I don’t know how this all works.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. She’ll be able to understand you, and will take you home no sweat. If she decides to stick around, I might uhh… claim her. Have your woman try to bond with her.”
I laughed and let the matter drop. “Okay Walter. Thanks man. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. Oh. We’re leaving the week after last frost. Heading to Klearm. If you could meet us in Haruma beforehand, I’ll make sure you’re fed well and your coat is nice and shiny.”
“You got it, Boss! Looking forward to it!”
I pulled my Pack off, and removed a large piece of leather, as well as my tools. “Gonna need these in a few. We have a female Uror heading our way. I’m going to make a harness and a saddle for her once she gets here, and we will be on our way. Sound good?” I announced.
Four heads looked at one another, then at me. “How did you manage that, Ivor?” Liss-ran asked incredulously.
“Uh, I just reached out to Walter, the Uror that brought us here. Apparently when you bond yourself to a Uror, you can speak with them from great distances. He’s an hour away. The female should be here much quicker. She’s from a more local herd,” I explained. “I won’t be able to speak with her the same as I do Walter, but I was instructed to see if Elizabet would like to try and bond with her.” I concluded.
“Okaaayyy….. If you say so, Ivor. I guess we get to see a different Uror,” Liss-ran said, shaking her head.
I rested there, cutting some strips from the leather for makeshift reins, belts and straps. I also took the time to fashion buckles from the Duplicated knife blade I had in my Pack. About fifteen minutes after I had finished making those, a shaggy Uror trundled up and halted beside the cart. She snorted and stamped a paw on the ground, seemingly eager to get this over with.
“Hello, my lady! Thank you for answering Walter’s call to help us. I trust he has explained the situation to you?” I said to the shaggy beast.
She tossed her head twice, which I took as an affirmative. “Excellent. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to fit you for a harness so we can hitch you to the wagon. Would you mind if I got to work? I’ll do my best to make it as comfortable as possible. If it pinches or is uncomfortable, please snort twice,” I said, receiving another toss of her head.
I smiled and got to work, crafting the harness from memory and sizing it to fit the much smaller female. After a few mistakes, she and I fell into a routine, and I had the harness crafted in short order. Once I explained the concept of the saddle to her, I began the process of making that, with similar results. All in all, it took us the better part of an hour to finish the work.
“There we are. Hmm. You know, I can’t just call you ‘Uror’ or something like that. May I call you Lady?” I asked.
The shaggy beast was still for a moment, and then tossed her head twice. “Excellent, Lady! I am Ivor, and we are going to Haruma. I will direct you, if that’s okay?” Another head toss and she began to strain against the weight of the cart. I quickly climbed up, and we were off.
With the assistance of Lady, we made short work of the hill in front of us. I let her choose the pace, and we were slowly, but steadily, on our way to Haruma once more.
“Liss-ran? How long do you think we have until we get home?” I asked.
“At this rate?” she said, taking stock of our surroundings and pace. “We should be there around dinnertime, I’d say.”
“Awesome. Just in time to have some of Gon-rash’s amazing cooking. This day is getting better and better!” I said happily, shrugging my Pack back onto my shoulders.
We rode and chatted for another hour or so, and I saw how lifted everyone’s spirits were. Even Tren-sun was cracking jokes and smiling.
After an hour or so, Kilik-ma called out, “Hey Ivor. What kind of entertainment does your world have?”
“Entertainment? Well, we have books, plays, theater, dance, songs, musical bands, and a form of entertainment that absolutely doesn’t and hopefully will never exist on Chaia, television,” I said. “Why?”
“Well, Liss-ran was describing your music to me when we were hunting, and I was curious to hear some.”
“Oh. Well, that device is back in Haruma, actually. I left it with Elizabet for safe-keeping, so I can’t use it right now to show you my music,” I said regretfully.
“Oh. Okay,” Tren-sun said, sounding dejected.
“But I’m feeling pretty good, so how about I sing a song for you?” I ventured.
Four voices replied in the affirmative, and even Lady tossed her head. Looks like I was committed. I racked my brain, trying to think of a decent one that I actually knew all the lyrics to, when a shiver ran through me. That’s it! I took a deep breath and began…
“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?....” My rich baritone rang out through the forest, echoing off the trees and the mountain beside us.
As I was atop Lady and had my eyes closed, I was naturally unable to see the stunned reactions on the faces of my companions, as I was also facing away from them.
As I sang, the very air around us changed. The scent of snow that I had grown accustomed to had multiplied, finally depositing its bounty of crystalline glory across the entirety of the forest. Unnoticed by me, some of the buckles had been Duplicated, and now hung on the reins as small tinkling bells.
A smattering of small, blue birds had taken flight shortly after I began, wheeling their way south. The Haarthuu watched, openmouthed, as they took flight, as there had been no birds in those trees before.
Feeling joy course through my core, I opened my eyes to a forest covered in a blanket of fluffy snow. I continued, nearly trancelike, with my song, seeing the images from my mind’s eye blossom into being in a clearing to our left.
Two people made of snow, resembling myself and Elizabet, were building another snowman, giving him a defined beard and a book. These snowy puppets acted out the lyrics to the song I was singing, bowing and dancing about.
The scene shifted, and there was a fireplace made of snow, complete with dancing flames made of snow within. Two puppets, easily the size of a dire bear, pantomimed speaking and were then covered by a snowy blanket.
Once more, we saw an empty field, with the same three puppets from before. They danced and glided about the field, “speaking” to the snow-preacher.
As my song concluded, we saw the two puppets walking arm-in-arm beside the cart, and then they collapsed into a pile of wet snow once I closed my mouth.
As I came back to my senses, I realized I was sweating profusely, and my stomach was protesting loudly.
“Ivor. What. Did. You. Just. Do?” Liss-ran asked breathlessly.
I sat there, panting. Trembling, I reached into my coat for the jerky that I had taken to keeping there. I began stuffing piece after piece into my starving gullet, trying to stave off the unconsciousness that loomed on my horizon. I swallowed more and more of the meat, my mouth eventually going dry. I slung my Pack to the front, and pulled out the pitcher and drank deeply of its cool bounty.
My thirst slaked, my hunger staved off for the moment, I turned and looked at Liss-ran.
“I have no idea. It looks like I can’t be singing things like that. I hope I haven’t royally mucked up the weather…” I said in a shaky voice.
“Was that the Ancient Tongue?” asked Piri-thak.
“Huh?”
“Ivor, we couldn’t understand a word of that. Are you telling me that you didn’t realize you were singing in the Ancient Tongue?” Liss-ran asked gently.
Realization hit me like a truck. I sang the weather into existence. It was effortless and easy. I didn’t even register that I was doing so until after I was done and the shakes hit. What’s more, I sang what I saw in my head into existence. All the images I would see when I heard that song manifested in this world as snowy puppets and props. Even the bells that were on the harness were exactly as my mind’s eye saw them. I could only guess that I may have created a new species of bird. I felt mortified.
“No… I had no idea I wasn’t singing in your language. Well. Now to deal with the fallout. Is this the normal time the snows would begin, Liss-ran?” I asked quietly.
“Thankfully, yes. It’s a week early, but nothing too far out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t worry too much about altering the weather. Those birds, though. That may be a different story. There were only twenty or so,” she replied.
I nodded and closed my mouth. This was a new lesson, and one that I needed to ensure stayed present in my mind. I zipped my coat up against the wind, and Lady trudged on.
As the skies darkened, we could see the main road that led into our home. Kilik-ma jumped down and raced ahead, probably to let the village know we were back a little early.
About ten minutes after he left, we had a throng of people rushing out to meet us. At the forefront were Elizabet, Talah-ma’at and our boys.
“Hi everyone! We’re a little early, I know. We’ve got some goodies in the back of the wagon, and a lot more in my Pack. Let’s get Lady into the city, and we’ll unload everything, okay?” I called out.
The crowd of maybe thirty individuals parted and walked beside us like an honor guard, leading the Uror into the central hall of Haruma. Once inside, I called the gentle beast to a halt, and dismounted. I unhooked her from the cart and began to remove her harness when she snorted twice.
“Lady? Is something the matter?”
The Uror walked out of the twin shafts of the cart and turned to face us. Or, more specifically, she faced Elizabet. She looked directly at her and tossed her head.
“Present your magic to her, Elizabet. See if she’ll take it,” I said softly.
Slowly, Elizabet raised a trembling hand and a small, iron-gray sphere rose from her palm and hovered four inches above it. She approached the shaggy beast with her outstretched hand, and waited.
Lady stepped forward and gently plucked the sphere from Elizabet with a delicate tongue. She stood there chewing on it for a moment, and it was then that I heard Elizabet gasp.
“She said her name is Lola. And that she’ll follow us wherever we go. And that you…” she trailed off and turned to stare at me with an arched brow. In a low, dangerous tone she said, “What. Did. You. Do?”
I knew that tone. I sighed and shook my head. “Thanks, Lola. I was going to get around to that shortly.” I said in a wry voice. I looked Elizabet in the eye. “I appear to be able to control the weather to a degree. I don’t know to what extent it goes, but…. I sang a song into existence,” I said, defeated.
Elizabet looked confused. “You… Wait, you can sing?”
Liss-ran piped up. “His voice is rich and deep, too! It was nice,” she said with a little giggle.
“And loud. He has some lung power, he does,” Tren-sun added.
“Does anybody else wish to make her even more upset with me than she already is?” I asked in a loud, exasperated tone. “No? Thank you.”
“Try it again, Ivor. Tell me what you did,” Elizabet said firmly, crossing her arms beneath her prodigious chest.
“Yes, genius. Tell us what wonder you pulled out of your ass this time,” Blainaut said, coming up from behind Elizabet.
“Oh, gods. Not again,” I said, hanging my head.

Stats: 6'1", 31 years old, Black, Single/Monogamous, Childfree (I have no kids and never want any), Agnostic, and Politically left-leaning (Covid vaxxed/boosted, BLM, LGBTQIA+, women's rights, etc.) A rare drinker and a non smoker. Originally from Georgia, currently living outside the Atlanta area. A freelance Graphic Designer, previously worked in Digital Marketing, looking to get back into a full time career.
I'm a regular, but small-time, cosplayer in the local Atlanta anime/comic convention scene. Recent cosplay photos here and past cosplay photos here. I don't consider myself an anime or manga nerd anymore, but cosplay has pretty much been my thing for a while.
I'm a chill, laid-back, mild-mannered, inquisitive, easy-going introvert with mostly "chill" hobbies that consist of reading books, creative writing and journaling, collecting art posters/prints/wall art, movie watching, gaming (casually on my Xbox Series S and Switch), watching game shows, completing word searches and puzzles, and watching almost anything professional wrestling related. Occasionally, I'm up for outdoor activities like bowling, swimming, playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, go-kart racing, and attending carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks.
Enough about me! All that said, it'd be dope to find a woman with similar values (childfree, monogamous, liberal, non-religious) who I could meet, get to know, and maybe date long-term if we vibe and end up connecting well after some time. Someone I can hang out and go out on dates with, do activities with, show off to friends and the fam, share photos of food with, support in my cosplay hobby as well as my other interests while I support her in her interests... basically become a couple and go through life together. Long distance isn't something I'm totally against as I'm not really tied down to Georgia, but people in or near the state of Georgia are preferred. And while I do think common interests are great to have, we don't necessarily have to have every single interest that I have listed in common. Just a couple common hobbies will do.
So if I sound like your type of guy, don't hesitate to chat me up or shoot me a DM! A photo/selfie of you and a short introduction will get my attention! I do use Discord so we can move our conversation there if we hit things off.

Currently playing France with about a force limit of 50 ships, without any naval buildings or any focus on navy at all. I have an ally, Spain, with a force limit of about 120 ships, the British have a force limit of 100. What comp or strategies could I use to beat the British navy and land troops on the island? Me and spain have nearly unlimited money and GB is somewhat struggling financially.

I started my reread too early and I’ve been bouncing off the walls waiting for the final entry into the series. So I thought I’d recap on our shared journey and bring us all together in harmony.
Although we all know what happened to Harmony.
From the bottom up:

#11 Skysworn

It’s a little weird putting this last since it has one of my favorite openings in the series, but really just because it’s last doesn’t mean it’s bad. It does a good amount of work introducing stuff, we get the phoenix and redmoon, and the Akura clan, Mercy joins the gang, Ruby gets yoinked out, Oz’s Marble gets revealed, it’s not that stuff doesn’t happen, it’s just there’s no sense of purpose in the book. After the Jai Long fight, but after that the only real goal in the book is Yerin wanting to fight Redmoon hall, and then they don’t. All of our main characters are totally sidelined and we’re all sitting around waiting for ghostwater. Even though there’s great individual scenes, it just sort of meanders for the last two thirds of the book so number 11.
Best parts: Jai Daishou’s quest for revenge is seriously one of my favorite bits. Also Lindon just smashing the kid for the Kotai clan. After three books of Lindon hiding and fawning, seeing him go against someone on his own level for once is such a rewarding payoff. He needs a shell though.

#10 Reaper

This is my Skysworn problem all over again. One of the best endings in the series, but it ends a book that kind of wanders around a bit. I don’t mind the dungeon crawl but it gets a little repetitive for me as they go room to room without really giving character payoffs. It’s good to see the evolution of the dynamic between Eithan and Lindon/Yerin, but that change happened over the last two books. Nothing really shifts in the group dynamic and all the accomplishments feel incidental. Lindon makes a big deal about not leaving anyone behind and then immediately is like “Psych!” But also everyone leaves in order to help out in the Valley and they don’t. In fact the whole war in the Sacred Valley feels pretty. . . .meaningless. Like did anything really happen there in the first place? And are we caring about Jai Long or not? It’s nice to see Yerin and Lindon relax for a bit and the Twin Stars sect is fun, but it feels like not quite the right amount of it to be totally satisfying.
Everyone just feels underused. Mercy has always been a few levels behind the gang but managed to contribute important emotional intelligence and insights, here she just feels wasted. Yerin gets some fine slashy slashy bits, but nothing really challenges her this book. Dross’s bits probably are more fun on audiobook, but these personalities kinda grate on me. Also knocked down some extra points for the lack of Fisher Gesha. Dreadgod’s Gesha is right, you have all this time off and a broken Dross and you don’t stop in for a chat? Even Lindon’s advancement feels a little weird with Reigan Shen just scattering out natural treasures for the ambience. Meh.
I actually had this ranked higher but while writing this I had to bring it down. There’s some cool fights, but it just feels like grinding for XP until the end. The Eithan/Shen showdown is great and again the ending is spectacular. But otherwise not as satisfying as the average book.
Best Parts: The Destroyer Has Come (YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!). Also “Let him kick you.”

#9 Unsouled

Unsouled usually gets ranked near the bottom for folks and I really wanted to rank it higher, but it’s hard to compete with the full gang. It’s definitely a book that I need to tell people they have to get past the halfway point, so I suppose that’s a point against it. But also what a great turn in the middle. Will does such a good job setting us up for the generic fantasy genre before going “Oh you thought these were the stakes? A Kid Who’s DifferentTM needs to impress the schools in the Sacred Valley? F*** those stakes. The WORLD IS SO MUCH BIGGER” And honestly the ways he absolutely massacres those tropes are so good. When he joins heaven’s glory and they set him up with rivals that do not matter and months long objectives we never even bother with. The series would not work if we didn’t spend this time with the Unsouled Lindon and watching an actual interesting protagonist cheat to win and beat up kids and grovel his way to survival. It also does such a good job introducing us to the theme of there’s always a bigger pond. It helps make each step of the journey feel that much bigger and more awe inspiring because in this book Will made us feel like these hillbilly antics were actually powerful and impressive feats of the sacred arts. Great intro, lots of good character stuff, bottom of the ranks. Also looking back at it, how did a bunch of jades kill a sage?
Best Parts: Lindon in the Ancestor’s Tomb watches Elder Whitehall enter and look around for traps and feels his first bit of pride in the series. It’s a small moment but it sticks with me. Also Yerin when she enters and is all “The Disciple greets her master.” Also them robbing the lesser treasure hall.

#8 Soulsmith

7 and 8 flip flop a lot for me depending on my mood. Soulsmith is going here today because I think it takes the longest to get going. Besides that though there’s a lot to love in this one. Eithan and Gesha get really terrific, cinematic introductions and there’s a great sense of pacing and stakes in this one. Everything feels tough for the ol’ baby-head man and we get to see both the strengths and limitations of his scheming. Kral/Jai Long are also a really nice set of complex, relatable antagonists. I always appreciate how Will will let you get to know the bad guys and see them as the heroes of their own stories (but just messed up enough to cheer their deaths). Despite the slow start this book is always better than I remember and has a lot of heart in it. It is funny on this read seeing how Ethan is at the beginning. We think about how much Cradle changed him, but really it was Yerin and Lindon. That’s really fun storytelling.
Best Parts: Lindon advancing vs the Sandviper kid advancing sequence is something I always think about when I look back at the series.

#7 Dreadgod

This book slaps. Everyone gets a good amount of spotlight time and the Silent King is a great villain (RIP). On this reread I don’t mind the Jai Long death as much, but I still would’ve liked a scene with Kelsa and Jai Chen afterwards. This end to Jai Long arc kind of makes me wonder about the amount of time we’ve spent on his redemption arc, but if someone has to pay the piper, I’m glad it wasn’t little blue. The rest of the crew really gets to shine even with Eithan off world. The dynamics that have grown over the course of the series are really humming by this point and it’s nice to see different pairings. The heists are fun and the Redmoon Hall stuff is great. So why isn’t this higher on the list? Well Mercy feels a little too much damsel in distress. Once the Silent King is dead, the rest of the book feels a little lower stakes. Even with all the monarchs against the gang it doesn’t feel like there’s too much danger in that last fight. Also again needs more Fisher Gesha. \
Best Parts: That silent king battle is so good. Also the dreadnought city stuff is good. Basically anything to do with the Silent King. “Pew pew”

#6 Uncrowned

Just a few years after the Seven Year Festival Lindon takes the competition stage again. Imagine what he could do to the foundation level Sacred Valley 10 year olds now. These Tournament arcs are always a super fun part of Shonen Animes. And it is a great time the whole way through. Do characters learn things and change? Not so much. But does it have a scene where Lindon absolutely wrecks the Akura Clan’s top underlords? Absolutely. The book does such a good job building up Sophanaroth as the tournament’s boogeyman. That last Yerin/Lindon fight is everything. It’s a break from the serious work of the other books which is why it’s out of the top five, but man I could read the heck out of it.
Best Parts: Anything with Akura Fury, that opening scene with Lindon being tested followed by Yerin vs Eithan.
Odd Part: Sort of feel like this book’s emphasis on Yerin sensing the Way and Lindon not being able to is less misdirection and more…just kinda weird. Like…did Will change his mind? Coulda set Lindon up a little bit and would have made the beginning of Wintersteel feel a little more natural. But eh, no biggie.

#5 Ghostwater

Okay, okay, put away your pitchforks. I know this is a #1 for a lot of people. I get it. I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong. But the thing I love about the series is the great interplay between the characters and they’re all separated here. As a Lindon solo-quest it’s terrific: He does steroids, he does homework, he hangs out in a library, and he goes fishing. It’s great.
My main complaints: Harmony as a villain is a little flat. Every book in this series does a great job setting up the antagonists as fully realized characters, but here Ekeri gets that spotlight and Harmony is just sort of brooding ominously in the distance. Mercy and Yerin spend most of the book on the sidelines hiding. The Endless sword stuff we get with Yerin is nice, but it would’ve been nice to have them bond a little more.
So I know you’re wondering “Hey, Max, if you have so many complaints why is it ranked so high?” and the answer is simple: DROSSSSSSS BAAAAAAAAABY. We also have Fisher Gesha blasting emissaries out of the sky.
More importantly we see Lindon pushed against the ropes and for the first time relying on his own strength and ability to get out of it. Will had such great self-control in letting Lindon be terrible and weak for so long before he gets his legs under him and we get to see him level up not just through pounding the juice, but through his own hard work and ingenuity. It’s such a satisfying chapter in Lindon’s story.
Best part: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I think I put my book down and screamed.

#4 Bloodline

When I first read this book it was mid-pandemic and I hated it. Well, “Hate” might be a strong word but it was tough to get through. Now with a little distance I can recognize that I felt that way because Will did such an amazing job capturing so much of the mood of going home and dealing with folks not taking the whole thing seriously. Look I don’t want to make the comment thread political here, so sub out whatever thing you hate about going home that’s it. On this reread I just had to respect Will for the way he wove it into iteration 110. I think everyone had an idea of what it would be like for Lindon to go home and I don’t think anyone totally expected what we got.
There’s clear stakes, a huge pressing danger, really keen emotional cuts, and the book just felt completely unpredictable. We got to see Ziel and Mercy fight off some of their personal demons and we got to see Lindon really deal with failure in a deeply personal way. The writing in this book is some of the best in the series and it really drove home the sense of scale seeing places that loomed so large in Unsouled looking so dismal and small in this book. A lot of heart in this one, brah.
Best Part: “No. This is the path of the White Fox.”

#3 Underlord

This is probably the cleanest bit of storytelling in the series. Yerin needs to advance or die and the Yerdon (Lirin?) dynamic finally gets a chance to develop. This book just has a lot of heart and emotional weight and a great buy-in. I feel pretty bad for our Seishen kingdom antagonists in this one, which I think means Will did a good job in setting up their rivalry. Although the gang is often in mortal peril, it never feels as dangerous as it does here. I think Yerin’s character has really evolved in this book and seeing her vulnerable without losing her identity, that’s tough to do. Seeing Lindon really find his post-ghostwater swagger is also great to watch. Everyone really feels well developed here. We’re at peak Mercy, and her advancement in this book is the most compelling part of her arc so far. I think that this is also a really important Eithan book. I feel like it is the first book where he starts engaging with the team as friends rather than pawns in his celestial chess game. He’s warm and human and has some really funny bits. Orthos’s departure gets me every time too. The twist with the Akura team selections got me so good when I first read it. I have nothing bad to say about it. Premium Cradle.
Best Parts: Lindon opening his void-key in the vault. Eithan discovering Dross. And it’s a small moment but Charity losing her concentration as the gang runs into the portal during her speech is so good.

#2: Blackflame

The dragon advances. I remember the exact moment in this series when I started being a Cradle ambassador and forcing all my friends to read these books. It was Sandviper Kral’s funeral scene. It was here where I really understood how deeply Will understood the conventions in this genre and how good he is at flipping them on their heads. I was cheering on the book two villain after ten pages. This book beginning to end reinforces how unusually good this series is and how good Will is at letting any character have the spotlight. You could make the case that this is anyone’s book:
In other books Yerin might check the box as “Tough girl character” but here she has genuine pathos and real protagonist issues to work through. Learning to let go of her master and forge her on path ahead? Yaaaaaas (uncrowned) queen.
Jai Long could have been a scary forgettable MCU villain, but he really has agency and purpose and reading it from his perspective you kinda get it. Now has the ancestor’s spear and is going to finally restore his honor and capture the avatar destroy the Jai Clan only to be caught by Jai Daishou and forced into his service? Compelling af.
Little Blue could have just been an amorphous little blob in a terrarium the whole series, but in this book she…gets tiny little legs and stuff.
But really it’s an Eithan book. In other stories he’s just Master Roshi, the wacky comic relief mentor figure, but this legitimately is his story. The main conflict is his political war with the Jai Clan and the real climax is his fight against Jai Daishou. Yes he’s a big goofy trickster, but we see the cracks in his armor through his dynamic (and unexpected vulnerability) around Cassius. We get to see him sweat a little. We get little flashes of the person he becomes over the series. In Will’s blog, he talks about how this story started as a little short about the Janitor who is the embodiment of death, and you can see how much he loves writing this guy come across in this book. It’s also just cool and fun throughout. Plus it has a majestic turtle in it.
Best Parts: “I’ll tell your Remnant.”

#1 Wintersteel

I will fight you all day about this. ALL the character dynamics are dialed up to 11 in this one. We get the best development in Yerin and Lindon’s relationship, Eithan and Yerin and Lindon’s relationship, Mercy and Malice’s relationship, Mercy and Lindon’s dynamic, Yerin and Ruby’s dynamic. Just every strand on the spiderweb of human connection is vibing real hard. Because we’re closer to the end of the tournament and penance is hanging over the results the competition feels higher stakes, we have a dreadgod stirring, big political webs, dates! Everything.
I have a friend reading this right now and she’s texting me every 2 hours with an all caps: “THIS IS ABOUT POINTS” or “HOLY SH*T EITHAN’S FIGHT!!!!” Every two hours. And she’s right to do so.
It’s just hit after hit of stuff you didn’t know you needed. Everything is paying off, Yerin’s blood shadow, Eithan’s self-control, Lindon’s hunger.
I can’t. I can’t even.
Best Parts: Eithan vs Sha Miara, “I wanted to see the look on your face,” “I’m going to punch a hole in the sky,” the Points Sage, Ruby petting the bunny. Heck this whole book is the best part.
Anyway, since this is about points, upvote before you completely blast me in the comments.

Hi there,
I'm a 27-year-old guy from just outside Orlando, Florida and I am seeking a real connection with a dominant woman who knows what she wants, and how to get it. Feel free to reach out if this stands out to you, I'd love to talk. I live alone and have been described by close friends as silly and compassionate, inclusion is one of the most important things in my life. I'm seeking a female-led relationship, the type of dynamic I am looking for is a life partner who is firmly in control, to what extent we can determine what works best for us. I would be more than happy to be your life partner who defers to you on the bigger decisions though I would love for you to have me in mind when making them. I recognize you are a real person so a total power exchange isn't always realistic.
About me:
Basic stuff: I work a full-time job but also have a side hustle writing, I promise this is not nearly as exciting as it sounds but it is an increasingly lucrative thing that I'm looking to make my full-time focus sooner than later, still figuring out when sooner is though. I'm 5'7, about 140 lbs, here's a recent picture of me for reference. And as I recognize this is important to some people, I do not drive, my eyesight is very poor and as a result, I cannot legally drive, this, however, does not stop me from living an entirely independent life, most people don't actually know/can't tell until I tell them that I cannot drive.
Personal Interests: I love hanging out with friends and doing who knows what, I will admit that I am a bit of a homebody but my greatest joys in life are typically with other people, doing pretty much whatever. I am sober as in I do not drink or smoke but totally cool if you do as long as it is responsibly. I love going to thrift stores, eating great food, and really just exploring. I'm pretty nerdy in that I would say my single favorite thing to do is learn be that via YouTube videos, Reading or just getting out and trying something new, Psychology however is what interests me most and I could spend hours and hours talking about the weird ways people act and why. I also really enjoy movies and would love to know your favorite, I love anything funny or scary, and the Shrek series has a special place in my heart. Also love staying active, recently got back into going to the gym and an avid NBA followefan.
Kinky Stuff
I am relatively inexperienced but I am someone who learns quickly and has done a thorough amount of research, enough that I feel that I can confidently serve a woman, the biggest part of all of this to me is the sense of belonging, the feeling of being owned by someone who wants the best for me and thus inspires me to want to be the best possible version of myself for them. I do not take this role lightly and it would be a privilege to be yours.
Some of the things I would love to try are but not limited to:

• Pegging
• Bondage
• Impact play
• Humiliation/Degradation
• Worshipping my partner
• CollaLeash

The things listed above are things I know I would enjoy but are certainly NOT requirements, the emotional aspect of this all is really what I crave so please don't let a mismatch there discourage you from messaging me.
The Person I'm looking for:
I'm looking for a dominant woman either In Orlando or located somewhere in North America with the intention of this becoming an in person thing, I'm very open to relocating for the right situation and while I do like Orlando there isn't anything keeping me here. My ideal partner would be someone emotionally intelligent and capable of communicating in a healthy, consistent way, nothing excites me more than knowing exactly where I stand with you, for better or worse. (So I can improve to better serve.) Body type is unimportant to me as all women are beautiful in their own unique ways, as long as you take care of yourself you are my type. Age and your experience level are mostly unimportant to me as long as you're 20+ and know what it is you're looking for. Just to reiterate the connection is what is most important to me, knowing that someone has my best interest at heart and I have theirs, knowing that while I am still very much a person with real feelings but I want to be yours, completely.
Thank you for taking the time to check this out, I look forward to speaking to you soon.

I 36F have been dating my bf 36M now for a year and I cannot stand his dog. I tried getting along with her at the beginning of the relationship but now I have learned to hate her. He has mentioned in his past relationships she was also an issue to his exs. We are talking about moving in together but I can’t stand the fact that I’d have to live in the same house as her. He is so attached to the dog it’s unbearable. His dog behaves badly. There are no boundaries in his house when it comes to her. She is allowed on the couch, dining table, bed, EVERYWHERE!!! She uses the bathroom and vomits on the couch and he still allows her to get on it. I love dogs and have had dogs of my own but I have never been exposed to this type of extreme attachment. She hates when he shows me any affection or the other way around. She has bit me and attacked me multiple times to the point where she has drawn blood and he still makes me feel guilty for not liking her. He has had her for over 5 years now and I feel like I’m intruding on their relationship when I’m around. We can’t even be intimate without him stopping to go check on his dog, or go to feed her. We are never able to be gone for long periods of time whether it’s shopping or out to enjoy the day because he misses her. At this point I feel like I don’t want to be anywhere near her. She has chewed up my shoes, peed next to my belongings and has pooped near my things. She isn’t like a regular dog who wants to go outside to play or do her own thing, her main focus is my bf and how to get next to him by any means necessary. There is no separation between them and I’m am unsure how this relationship will work. Anytime I bring it up it causes an argument but I also can’t live like this. What should I do?

I'm guessing this is a common story: I'm a working woman with a job I enjoy and room to grow professionally in my org and larger field. I pursued a graduate degree, finished about a year ago, and have only been working in a "big girl job" for about a year, and my spouse is currently in grad school after supporting me through my degree, so I'm the primary breadwinner. I love what I do and I'm well regarded at work, and I'm interested in pursuing a promotion. The timing is somewhat uncertain, but it's likely that I could move up in the next 6-9 months if I play my cards right.
I've also always wanted children and I'm feeling the urge to try for a baby. I waited until I was done with school (all 23 years of it), but now I'm 30 years old, have a PhD, own a home, and will be in the same city for at least the next 5 years. My employer has good parental leave, my spouse has paternity leave available, and although we live far from family we have some supportive community around us and at least one potential grandparent willing to come and stay with us if/when we have a baby.
On the one hand, I'm early on in my career and there is an opportunity for promotion that I have a real shot at getting in the near-mid term. On the other hand, I've been wanting to be a mother for as long as I can remember and have put it off for a really long time. I wonder whether I should push for this next professional achievement and wait "just" another 9-12 months. Then again, I wonder whether it makes sense to wait given that there's never a "right" time to have a baby.
Add to this concern that I'll be "mommy tracked" and never move up from my satisfying but relatively junior position--is this my only shot to advance my career? I don't think I'd want to gun for a promotion with a tiny baby, so maybe I should wait to get further along before growing my family? But then, is that a slippery slope into waiting forever for the next big milestone?
Curious to know how others have navigated this. Thanks, all!

GO Battle League Season 15 is upon us, and along with it, our now-customary move rebalance! What's new, what's improved, what's good, bad, or ugly coming out the other side? Let's dive right in and see!
As per usual, Niantic has made us wait until the 11th hour for information on this coming season. (Thanks, Niantic... love you too! 😝) As is NOT usual for them of late, the rebalance taking place at the start of this new GBL season is massive, with no less than thirty three Pokémon being directly affected. Needless to say, this is going to be a lengthy analysis, so let's just dive right into it, shall we?

A FAIR WIND, OR GALE FORCE WINDS?

It might seem odd to lead off with a move given to only two new recipients, but CLEFABLE is no ordinary recipient. It has faded further and further into obscurity over time as other Fairies have risen up around it, having dropped out of the Top 5 Fairies in Ultra League and almost out of the Top 10 in Great League. It's still decently bulky, and still comes with the awesome Meteor Mash, which is not only cheaper than most charge moves found on various Charmers (that don't rhyme with "Aloe Van Pine Nails"), but is very widely unresisted and, critically in themed Cups where Clefable is eligible, super effective versus fellow Fairies, often delivering a knockout blow. The problem, of course, is that like other Charmers, you're unlikely to reach it in multiples, since Charm only generates a way below average 2.0 Energy Per Turn (EPT), tied for worst energy generation in the game. It also has Psychic for coverage, or Moonblast for big STAB damage, but the likelihood of reaching any of those in a critical spot is rather low since Charm is just SO slow to get there. So it has sat, languishing, as other interesting Charmers have come along and is now, at best, just part of a growing pack of similiar Pokémon.
That ALL changes with the addition of Fairy Wind and its 4.5 EPT. Not only does this allow it to finally break away from the pack and make its own unique mark, but it works REALLY well with its moves. Spamming a Meteor Mash every 6 seconds (or thanks to carryover energy, just 5 seconds between the second and third Mash) sounds pretty good to me! And indeed, as compared to Charm, you can see immediate improvement in Great League, with new wins against Noctowl (!!!), Azumarill, Froslass, Diggersby, Alolan Ninetales, and somehow even Fairy slayer Shadow Victreebel by slamming it with two Meteor Mashes. Even after all that, though, it remains underwater overall as far as win/loss record goes, though beating Medicham and Noctowl and all else that you'd expect of a good Fairy give it some great corebreaking potential.
For the eye-popping numbers, we actually turn to Ultra League, where Clef turns from this into this. Yes, that IS more than double its former win total (and a jump from under 30% winrate to now 60%!), with those new wins coming versus Walrein, A-Ninetales, Sylveon, Aurorus, Cobalion, Dubwool, Snorlax, Drapion, DDeoxys, and even resists-all-of-Clefable's-moves Escavalier! And if its relatively high XL cost is scaring you, fear not... you can build a hundo to 2499 CP and miss out only on Walrein and Greedent, for what that's worth. Put simply, Clefable is one of the biggest winners in this rebalance, moving from a previous rank of #145 in Open UL all the way up now to #28, with Tapu Fini being the only Fairy ranked higher!

• More of a footnote is TOGETIC, which now also learns Fairy Wind, and boy did it need that. Previously having to rely on the mostly awful Hidden Power (in which case you usually had to hope to get lucky with Flying type H.P.) or the subpar Extrasensory, it was left looking quite pitiful. But now, at least it could be spice in the right meta, maybe.
  
• WIGGLYTUFF did not get Fairy Wind, but it is receiving Disarming Voice, a move I've been wishing would be more widely distributed for years. A Fairy-type clone of moves like Psyshock, Magnet Bomb, and Foul Play, it's a more-than-passable move, and quietly the cheapest one that Fairy has available...15 less energy than Play Rough and Moonblast, and better Damage Per Energy {DPE} than the former. Anyway, seeing as Wigglytuff currently relies on Play Rough, Voice likely now slots in as its replacement for a little more shield pressure and new wins like Azumarill and Lickitung. The needle doesn't move too much, but the improvement is still appreciated!
  
• PRIMARINA also gets Voice, but it doesn't really help it... yet. Prima IS a little underrated in Master League, where its Water typing is much more help (resisting Ice, Fire, Water) than hindrance (very little Grass and Electric around to exploit it). But it won't really take off until it also eventually gets Hydro Cannon... sometime in 2025? At that point, it will appreciate having cheap Disarming Voice alongside Cannon more, I think.
  

LONG STORY SHORT, Fairy Wind Clefable is one of those rather rare overnight sensations that could see an immediate usage spike in Ultra League and as a nice corebreaker in Great League (the pickup against Noctowl really pushing it over the top). It really appreciates the extra energy to spam charge moves, and has just enough variety between Meteor Mash, Psychic (the move!), and Moonblast to keep the opponent guessing and shielding when they really don't want to. The other Fairies with new toys (Togetic and Wigglytuff especially) appreciate small bumps in performance, but are unlikely to suddenly appear where they weren't already.

DRILL RUNNIN' 🔥

As with Fairy Wind, there are only two new recipients of Drill Run, but both are very interesting.
We'll start with ALOLAN SANDSLASH. It sees some play already in both Great (including the Shadow variant and Ultra Leagues, usually with former Community Day move Shadow Claw to give it a unique profile, and spammy Ice Punch and typically Bulldoze for coverage. Bulldoze has excellent coverage (primarily versus Rocks, Steels, and Fires that give A-Slash a lot of trouble otherwise), but isn't a very good move (60 energy for only 80 damage). Drill Run is a strict upgrade, dealing the same 80 Ground-type damage for only 45 energy, a big savings.
Looking simply at simulation numbers, Drill Run doesn't seem to be a great improvement in Great or Ultra, with just occasional new wins popping up like UL Scizor or GL Alolan Marowak in certain shielding scenarios. But this goes beyond the numbers. Those who already use and love A-Slash will greatly appreciate the extra pressure that comes with Drill Run, as it can now be sprung for just 5 more energy than Ice Punch, making each shielding decision that much sweatier for the opponent. Even without STAB, Drill Run still deals quite a bit more damage than Ice Punch versus neutral targets, so this isn't just for strict coverage either. In every way, this makes Alolan Sandslash better, and better at covering its backside. I think players that don't already use A-Slash may come to better appreciate and respect it now too, and perhaps not just in Limited metas!
Perhaps even more interesting (and, frankly, unexpected) is DEWGONG, the poor WateIce type that has NEVER had a move rebalance other than taking its two best moves (Ice Shard and Icy Wind) away. Niantic has finally given it a LOT of love in this update, with Drill Run providing new coverage, and new move Liquidation finally giving it a viable Water move too. (Water Pulse and Aqua Jet are both terrible, folks... so much so that I've always recommended Blizzard as Dewgong's second move. For example, did you know that it tends to lose to Alolan Marowak with super effective Pulse but actually wins with resisted Blizzard?!) Anyway, I do think you want to definitely keep Icy Wind, so then your choice becomes Drill Run to have a shot at things like Froslass, Toxicroak, Lanturn (with Water Gun), and the aforementioned Alolan Marowak, or Liquidation to better outrace Skarmory and Alolan Ninetales? Either way, you get things like Azumarill and Dunsparce now, and still beat things that don't show in those sims like Swampert and Sableye by remaining fully commited to Icy Wind spam. And while you don't see a lot of new Rock or Steel or Fire wins popping up, Drill Run especially gives them all serious pause, forcing them to shield where they really never had to worry about it much before. (Because, again, Water Pulse is awful.)
So not really a great case for Liquidation here, but this is at least a way to transition into covering that move more fully next!
LONG STORY SHORT, both Dewgong and Alolan Sandslash immediately get better (and get better coverage) with Drill Run in the mix. I think it will be their preferred secondary/closing move going forward, and both will see a bump in play.

LIQUIDATION... GOING OUT OF BUSINESS ALREADY?

So about that new move Liquidation. It's a good if not fantastic move, an exact clone of Crunch... same cost (45 energy), damage (70), and potential debuff (30% chance to reduce the opponent's Defense). Not game breaking, but very, very solid.
But the real question is... do any of the things that recieve it really want it, and if so, do any of them notably improve in PvP?
I'm gonna save you some time (and me some characters!) by immediately pushing many of its recipients right off the raft.

• I think CLOYSTER actually prefers to hold on to a big closer like Hydro Pump rather than Liquidation, preferring to soften things up with Icy Wind and then go in for the kill. Pass.
  
• Similarly, all of the following prefer to keep existing movesets: SAMUROTT (Hydro Cannon/Megahorn), CARRACOSTA (Body Slam/Surf), BEARTIC (Ice Punch/Aqua Tail), EELEKTROSS (Dragon Claw/Crunch). All remain fringe at best.
  
• VAPOREON basically views Liquidation as a sidegrade to existing Scald, though Liquidation is NOT Legacy as Scald is, so it's worth it for any Vapes that don't have its old Community Day move. But Vaporeon remains mostly on the outside looking in at better Water types in various Leagues. No real boost here.
  
• GOLDUCK sees a slight bump with Liquidation, but remains just a spice play, at best.
  
• There is a reason you have never seen FLOATZEL in PvP... it has terrible charge moves. Bad, bad moves like Swift and Aqua Jet, with Hydro Pump as a passable closer but stymied due to average-at-best energy gains from Water Gun or Waterfall. Liquidation is in some ways just what the doctor ordered, but uh... Floatzel still sinks in PvP.
  
• ARMALDO remains a lost cause as well. If you want a GOOD Rocky Bug, use Crustle. If you want a spice one, go with the new Kleavor. If you want to just tank your ELO, THEN maybe consider Armaldo. That's about it though, even with the new move.
  

Man, quite a bummer, right? Decent move, but really nothing that gets it stands to benefit in a way that will impact PvP. So moving on then to... wait, what? I missed one? Oh... OH! So I did. And thankfully, we can end this section on a good note... because GOLISOPOD just became a bit more interesting.
Remember that when it was first released, it was a completely lost cause, with Fury Cutter, Metal Claw, and Waterfall as its clumsy fast moves, and underwhelming X-Scissor, **Aerial Ace, and somehow even worse Aqua Jet as its only charge moves. That left it in a very sad state. Eventually, it acquired Shadow Claw, which made it at least slightly interesting. And now comes the charge move it's been begging for, with Liquidation elevating it into spice territory, at the very least. Now you can potentially beat things like Charizard, Nidoqueen, Alolan Sandslash, Alolan Ninetales (Powder Snow), Talonflame, Cobalion, and Sylveon that you couldn't before, though even as bad as Aerial Ace is, giving it up means you generally now lose some Grasses like Venusaur and Virizion. Still though, things are looking up for Golisopod!
LONG STORY SHORT, while Liquidation is actually a nice addition to Water's arsenal (a clone of Crunch, including the debuff chance), the only thing that gets it initially that really looks to benefit is Golisopod. Stay tuned to what may get it down the road, though... most of its current recipients just have more problems than Liquidation alone can solve.

THE LEAF AGE BEGINS?

Probably haven't seen Bullet Punch in PvP much, have you? Scizor and Metagross use it, and uh... that's about the extent of it. But it's actually a pretty good PvP fast move, with the average 3.0 Damage Per Turn (DPT) but above average energy generation (3.5 EPT). And now here comes Leafage, an exact clone of Bullet Punch for the Grass typing. The number of things that get it is quite a bit smaller than Liquidation (only three evolutionary lines), but I think this is a clear case of quality over quantity in Leafage's favor.

• I could write an entire article on the injustices done to DECIDUEYE in Pokémon GO. All its interesting moves in MSG, and here it sits with underpowered Shadow Sneak, overpriced Energy Ball, and big but risky closer Brave Bird, and all locked behind low-energy Razor Leaf or arguably worst fast move in the game Astonish. #JusticeForDecidueye! While I do still hope for an eventual and LONG overdue buff to Astonish, for now the addition of Leafage should be a big help, right? Weeeeeeeell..... I mean, yes, it is most certainly better, and will become even a bit moreso when it eventually gets Frenzy Plant. But clearly, it's problems are not JUST the fast moves. Heck, pre-evolution DARTRIX (who has also been trapped behind Razor Leaf) even looks better than Deci in the here and now, thanks in large part to having Seed Bomb as a more workable second charge move to set up Brave Bird. It does seem that even though ROWLETT also gets Leafage, it may still prefer to keep existing Razor Leaf down in Little League, where Razor Leaf can admittedly be particularly dominant.
  
• LURANTIS (and Little League pre-evolution FOMANTIS) operates nicely right now as sort of a Jack of all trades with Fury Cutter (and its Bug damage output) powering up Leaf Blade and Superpower (well, Grass Knot in Fomantis' case). Superpower allows for some nutty wins like Bastiodon, Galarian Stunfisk, and excecuted properly, even Registeel, clearly showing Lurantis' appeal. So does Leafage help or disrupt the good Lurantis has already got going? Eh, I think we're gonna call it a sidegrade, though a tasty one for sure. Lurantis does give up a couple things where the effectiveness of Fury Cutter wins the day (Cresselia, Shadow Victreebel) and loses a little speed, which flips Shadow Alolan Sandslash to a loss. (Luratnis cannot hit a Leaf Blade AND followon Superpower in time with Leafage like it can with Fury Cutter.) But Leafage is able to carve out new wins like Shadow Alolan Ninetales and Pelipper with superior neutral fast move damage (as opposed to resisted Bug damage), and also can outrace Walrein far more reliably. So not an upgrade, but a nice sidegrade like this can add some disruption into appropriate metas just fine.
  
• Speaking of disruption, let's check out ABOMASNOW. Obviously it runs more as an Ice than a Grass, humming along nicely in multiple metas with Powder Snow and Weather Ball (Ice) and Energy Ball for a big Grass closer when the situation calls for it. And more than likely, it will mostly continue in that configuration moving forward. BUT, Leafage may be preferred in certain metas now, at least, and not just because it now slams the door on Water types (instead of sometimes merely scraping by with Powder Snow). In Great League, where ShadowBama is usually preferred, Powder Snow continues to shine out, but it's worth noting that while Leafage is an overall downgrade, most of the wins it gives up are versus Flyers (Altaria, Noctowl, Skarmory, Mandibuzz), with new losses to Umbreon and Venusaur as the most notable exceptions. Leafage DOES make some new key contributions like Powder Alolan Ninetales and Galarian Stunfisk that may come more to the fore in Limited metas with, say, fewer Flyers? Just saying. In Ultra League, the biggest knock against Leafage is that it drops the Giratinas (as compared to Powder Snow), but otherwise Leafage makes a pretty strong case with pickups of Poliwrath, Walrein, and Alolan Ninetales (with Powder Snow OR Charm). I think Leafage deserves some real consideration at Ultra League level!
  

LONG STORY SHORT, no huge improvements to be found with Leafage, but it does earn a rightful place as a robust sidegrade consideration for the Lurantis and Abomasnow lines (particularly with Ultra League Aboma). It's an upgrade for the Rowlett/Dartrix/Decidueye line, though Deci itself remains middling at best until it one day gets Frenzy Plant (or just some more synergistic charge moves in general!). Leafage SHOULD start popping up here and there in PvP soon, moreso than Liquidation likely will.

JUST A BRUSH FIRE, REALLY

Honestly, I expected a number of things to get Mystical Fire after it recently entered the game, but for now, Niantic chose to distribute it to only two new Pokémon:

• As I mentioned in my analysis on Mystical Fire back during Delphox Community Day, DRIFBLIM is an intriguing choice. Mystical Fire and existing Blim coverage move Icy Wind share the same stats aside from typing, so this is almost the very definition of sidegrade... against neutral targets they do the exact same thing, so it just comes down to effectiveness. If Blim is facing something burnable (like a Steel, Ice, or Bug type), it will prefer to have Mystical Fire. For things weak to Ice, like Flyers and Dragons and Grounds, obviously it will want to be packing Icy Wind instead. (Grasses are weak to both Fire and Ice, so usually no change there, aside from things like Abomasnow with a subtyping that favors one or the other... in that case, Mystical Fire is double super effective and Icy Wind is merely neutral.) I'm not going to bother with the sims, as they're close to indistinguishable at a high level, but I WILL note that Mystical Fire can potentially beat Galarian Stunfisk at Ultra League level, and more definitely beats G-Fisk AND A-Slash, Skarmory, and even Registeel at Great League level, none of which Icy Wind can realistically hope to replicate. (Its only standouts are things like Gliscor.) Yes, giving up Icy Wind means completely abandoning hope versus things like Ghost-resistant Pidgeot and especially Noctowl, but overall? I think Drifblim might be getting much hotter soon, in several senses of the word! 🔥
  
• Not nearly as exciting, I admit, but note that LITWICK also gets Mystical Fire. It's really only for Little League use, and has been an interesting but lesser-used Fire type, falling behind things like Vulpix, Growlithe, and Tepig thanks to them having some good neutral coverage, while Litwick has been stuck with just Flame Charge and two other rather Fire charge moves. Mystical Fire slots in as a nearly straight upgrade with pickups that include Wynaut, Vullaby, Obstagoon (for LL Cups where it's allowed), and... Vulpix, regardless of which fast move 'Pix is using. Something to look forward to in the next Little League rotation!
  

LONG STORY SHORT, Mystical Fire IS likely the default coverage move of choice for Drifblim going forward, just because of the number of burnable things (as opposed to freezeable things) in its respective metas, Great League especially. Except to see Blim soar up a little higher than it has in a while. It's also a nice upgrade for Litwick, who should finally emerge as a true Fire contender in Little League formats.

ODDS AND ENDS

Going to put everything else together in this last main section, but don't mistake that to mean they're less important... quite the contrary! Just doing this because these are all one-offs, as opposed to the changes above which directly affected multiple Pokémon recipients.
Before I dive into the specific move additions, let's briefly review the existing moves that are being buffed or nerfed in this update.

• Icicle Spear - 60 power → 65 power. Obviously this only affects WALREIN (for now), and is obviously a strict upgrade, since the cost and all else remains the same, just more damage. Specifically, at a high level, I see Walrein picking up things like Skarmory and Umbreon (non-Shadow) and Trevenant, Pelipper, and Azumarill (Shadow) in Great League, and stuff like Shadow Alolan Ninetales and Virizion in Ultra League. So yeah... you didn't need me to tell you this was an improvement, but maybe that helps you decide how much of an improvement and whether you want to turn back to Wally if you ever turned away before. I'd say Great League in particular has reason to fear it a bit more again.
  
• Poison Fang - 40 power → 45 power. More things affected by this than Icicle Spear, but obviously most of you just want to know about NIDOQUEEN, so in the interest of time and... well, interest, we'll just highlight her for now. Again, you don't need me to tell you this only makes things with Poison Fang better, but HOW much better? Honestly not too much changes in Great League (as far as straight wins a losses go, though this is undoubtedly scarier now!), but in Ultra League, I see new wins for Queen versus things like Charizard, Pidgeot, Cresselia, Dubwool, Obstagoon, AND Guzzlord, among others, so this is no small tweak! Might Nidoqueen be "back"? Only time will tell. Admittedly, what made it SO scary in the past was the cheaper cost of Poison Fang, and that hasn't changed, so I don't see it returning to full dominance like she once enjoyed. I also think she was treated rather harshly even before this buff... she didn't fall off quite as hard as many made it out to be. This will reveal that more fully... she's not so much "back" as much as I think she never really left. Also keep in mind things like GOLBAT/CROBAT and SALAZZLE/SALANDIT** that stand to benefit from this as well!
  
• Rollout - 4 power → 5 power. So low power that I can tell you this won't be a big shift, but obviously it DOES help. DUNSPARCE picks up a potential win over Shadow Alolan Ninetales (hey, Rollout is super effective, so....), and MILTANK a new win versus Shadow Swampert, of all things, and sometimes (Water Gun) Lanturn when utilizing Ice Beam instead of my personal recommendation of Thunderbolt (which beats Lanturn as well). It tends to prefer Tackle in Ultra League, though newly buffed Rollout is MUCH improved now with new wins versus Cresselia, Drapion, Umbreon, Alolan Muk, AND Walrein. Perhaps Tackle won't be the default now? As for ALOLAN GOLEM, Volt Switch just remains a much better move in nearly every scenario and meta. Stick with that, I say, and get all the Rock damage you need from the charge moves instead. 🪨
  
• Mud Bomb - 55 power → 60 power. The two big ones that come to mind are TOXICROAK and WHISCASH, the latter of which honestly needed a boost like this. However, this small a bump looks and feels like more of a "win more" where they already won more than anything. The only notable new win I see (at the high level this massive rebalance is demanding of little old me!) is Toxicroak versus Trevenant, though I think that's more due to Trevenant's nerf (which we'll get to in a moment) than Toxicroak's resisted Mud Bomb dealing a tiny bit more damage. (And upon further review, it may be neither of those and instead just come down to move timing.. but leaving Trevor in here as it's a good setup for later.) The big winner here is actually QUAGSIRE, who FINALLY gets a charge move cheaper than 55 energy to reach the same spam potential as its fellow Mud Boys. It's hard to show how this improves things in simulations, as they actually tend to favor Earthquake in many situations (such as in 1v1 shielding, where Quake shows additional wins against things like Azu, Sable, Swampert, and Umbreon), but the difference is more obvious when you go 2v2 shielding, and the extra spam of Mud Bomb shows out with new wins that include Froslass, Jellicent, Toxicroak, Shadow Alolan Ninetales, and Shadow Walrein. I actually don't know if this will actually bump up Quagsire's useage or not, though it's shot up about 60 slots to #15 in PvPoke's rankings. Not sure if that will match reality, but I DO think it's time to see if you have a good PvP Quag to perhaps take out for a spin and see. It certainly has some exciting new potential it's never had before!
  
• Seed Bomb - 55 power → 60 power, Energy Cost Increased. The only thing on this list that's not a straight upgrade, getting the same damage boost as Mud Bomb but increased cost to go with it... mostly, I feel, as a backdoor way to bring Trevenant down a bit. (And indeed, PvPoke has dropped Trev 25 slots from #10 to #35 in Ultra League, and down nearly 70 slots in Great League from Top 10 to outside the Top 70!) I certainly don't think Trevor will be going away -- it still breaks several cores across multiple Leagues -- but this is undoubtedly a hit. In Great League, it looks like it's now at a disadvantage against things it used to be able to beat like Walrein, Talonflame, Alolan Marowak, Sableye, and even Toxicroak. The hit is a bit less severe in Ultra League (where it can hang in longer to somewhat compensate for the increased energy needed), but it does still lose former wins like Jellicent and the re-buffed Nidoqueen. Most of the rest of the collateral damage will be felt in Little League, where several notable things have Seed Bomb (like Bulbasaur, Exeggcute, Oddish, etc.). Note much of note in bigger Leagues, though it IS noteworthy that WHIMSICOTT is getting Seed Bomb for the first time. And yes, I think it DOES become the favorite in most circumstances over existing Grass Knot, despite the latter being a "better" move (50 energy for 90 damage) and using that to get a couple unique wins still like Diggersby and Lickitung, because Seed Bomb brings new bait potential to set up big Moonblast wins over Cresselia, Pelipper, Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Trevenant. Not sure Whimsie is suddenly going to bust out in Open Great League or anything, but I think it's very safe to say it just became a bit scarier and more versatile in Limited metas for sure.
  

And there are all the actual move "rebalances". Now to wrap it up real quick with a final list of existing moves now assigned to new Pokémon!

• PROBOPASS is in some ways similar to Defense Deoxys, in that it has long had three charge moves that seemed almost interchangeable in overall performance. Rock Slide is pretty standard for Probo, and most folks also run it with Thunderbolt, but it's so lackluster than even Magnet Bomb has always hung around as a viable alternative. Well that changes now, as its bulk allows it to make good use of new addition Zap Cannon. I think it and Rock Slide are the new standard, along with Spark to power them out, and that combo brings in new wins over Sableye and Umbreon, along with wider margins of victory over things it just scraped past before like Cresselia and Bastiodon. Probo used to escape them both with less than 10 HP, but now waddles away with quite a bit more than that. Not sure if this will send it up the charts (Bastiodon itself is still usually preferred), but it IS a more intriguing alternative now.
  
• Speaking of funky Rock types, HEATRAN can learn Earth Power now! But uh... you still don't want it, sorry. At least give it Incinerate, Niantic... c'mon!
  
• A MUCH more interesting Rock type is CRADILY, now getting some more speed with Rock Slide as a new alternative to Stone Edge. In my first blush analysis on the day of these many announced changes, I speculated that Cradily may want both Rock charge moves going forward, as it still beat things like Lanturn and even Swampert without needing Grass Knot. But in hindsight... nah, I think you want to instead just swap out Edge for Slide and be done with it. Keeping this short and sweet, here are some of my findings when comparing these side by side (by side): Grass Knot is absolutely needed to beat Diggersby, and is obviously the surest way to beat Waters and Ground (and/or Rock) types in general (including having ANY shot at beating up things like Galarian Stunfisk and Bastiodon). The raw power of Stone Edge is still the best way to punch out things like Alolan Ninetales, Lickitung, and Shadow Victreebel. But the speed of Rock Slide (10 less energy than Edge) adds the potential to now handle stuff like Cresselia, Alolan Marowak, Sableye, Venusaur, and most notably, Noctowl. That's right... Cradily now becomes a handy way to handle Lanturn AND Noctowl, among many others, and can also beat popular Sableye as well. Corebreaker potential on the rise. Dilly dilly!
  
• Look, URSALUNA continues to disappoint and likely always will until it gets a better fast move than Tackle. I know it, you know it, basically everyone but Niantic (and maybe TPCi) knows it. But as I wrote when Luna was first released, Ice Punch at least gives it the most bite of the three main elemental Punches, and until now it was the only one Ursaluna could not learn. Now it can! That gives it a bit more reach in Master League (the one League where it currently has any real play at all) with all the Dragons already. Specifically, Ice Punch allows it to now consistently beat Garchomp and Landorus, so that's nice. But come on, Niantic. Give the people what they want!.
  
• Let's be honest: the addition of Brutal Swing to the arsenal of TYRANITAR is more a cause of celebration for raiding than it is for PvP. (New top Dark type in PvE, I hear!) But yes, it DOES help in PvP too. Tyranitar has the size to work in Master League, but even with Brutal Swing, it's still an awkward fit. The one place I have seen it pop up here and there is actually in Great League, albeit in Limited metas only. While those opportunities are relatively rare, I am happy to report that Brutal Swing is a noted improvement over former best Crunch, adding on wins you would expect of a Dark type (Sableye, Cofagrigus, Jellicent) and a few you might not expect (Drapion, Toxapex, and finally it can beat Altaria!). Still more niche than meta, but at least it's an improving niche!
  
• And finally, we come to humble little EMOLGA, and the first non-Community Day recipient of Acrobatics. Long-time (or even some short-time!) readers have surely seen me write many times about Aerial Ace. It's a passable move -- barely -- dealing 55 damage for 45 energy. Boooooring, but it usually works JUST enough to not be total trash. It's a move I would LOVE to see buffed a little at some point, but it's also a move currently assigned to a massive number of Pokémon, and unlikely to change unless Niantic wants to REALLY shake up PvP. And like way too many Pokémon, poor Emolga has long been stuck with dull old Ace as its only Flying move, leaving what should be an exciting option languishing in obscurity. But now, finally, this mighty mouse may be about to soar! Just look at the HUGE names it can now beat: Medicham. Lickitung. Sableye. Shadow Swampert. Trevenant. Shadow Alolan Ninetales. And Cresselia and even Froslass for good measure. Those are some really big names, folks. Did Emolga just go from being afterthought behind Zapdos to passing it completely? I think it may have! If, like me, you've been holding on to a good one and just biding your time... well, that time is now, my friend! ⚡
  

Speaking of time, though... it's up! The new season is here! So we're gonna wrap it up right here for now. I hope this was as helpful a read as it was LONG. 🙃
Until next time, you can find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Best of luck this season, and catch you next time!

I suppose I’m glad Amy took her laptop to the campsite. Well, not glad obviously. It’s hard to be glad of anything when I know my life can now be measured in minutes, but thanks to her need to be connected to everything all the time I can tell our story in the time I have left.
I’m currently lying on my back in a hotel room which I am struggling to accept will be my tomb. The bed is comfortable, the lights are bright, the TV on the wall is huge. It all seems so friendly and welcoming. My heart is fluttering like I’ve been running, but it’s just fear. Adrenaline. It’s like my heart’s trying to act as alive as it possibly can, to squeeze a lifetime of beating into these last frenzied moments. It’s finding this as difficult to accept as I am, the fact that I will die here before the dawn slips over the horizon, when there’s really no reason why we couldn’t have carried on for another sixty or seventy years.
But there is a reason. And it’s a reason I need to tell you about, whilst I try not to listen to the desperate thumping in my chest, each rhythmic beat counting down to a grand finale I’ve come to almost accept is now inevitable. Almost. The occasional stab of hysterical fear still grips me, but there’s nothing I can do. Not against them.
They call them the Quiet Ones, or at least that’s what the old man told me. It’s the name the old folks gave to the shapes in the dark, the things that crouch in the shadow just beyond the edge of sight. They are the ones that creep unseen through the underbrush at night and dance beneath the moon away from the eyes of humans.
And so they would have remained, living alongside us in their dark, hidden world, if we had not broken the ancient laws –
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
It was a sunny morning as we drove up. I can hardly believe this was only two days ago; my friends were still alive then. I mustn’t think about how many times we could have turned back, how many words I could have used to change the plan.
I knew there was something wrong with that place. Of course there were no signs, no warnings of any physical kind to prevent us driving off the road three miles before the campsite and crashing off through the undergrowth. I almost feel that we were being drawn there, and perhaps we were. In fact, I’m sure we were.
The car was being scraped and brushed mercilessly by the overhanging trees, and more than once I asked Amy if she was sure this was even a trail let alone a road. She insisted she’d seen a sign of some kind along the road, though she couldn’t describe it. It was like a mixture of confusion and pride alone was keeping her foot pressed on the accelerator. We bumped and jolted along, the two boys grinning widely in the back, until at last the mud-track opened up into a clearing.
The grassy area was maybe fifty feet across, surrounded on all sides by thick forest. Old trees stretched up around us, their old and gnarled branches reaching like twisted fingers into the darkening sky. As I got out of the car, I realised how deathly quiet it was. I could hear nothing of the road we’d left behind, though it couldn’t be more than a mile or two behind us, and no birds fluttered above. It was like the world was holding its breath, or perhaps that the world itself was just…different…here.
I wanted to leave more or less the moment I stepped out of that car and looked up at those horrible trees. I’d looked up the campsite we were actually aiming for and it had showers, a club house, a coffee and bacon sandwich van in the mornings. This was a clearing in a forest, and I did not want to be there.
The boys, of course, loved it. We’d barely stopped before they started pulling the bags out and setting up the camp, almost falling over themselves to be the first to get their tent up. Amy and I watched them with that resigned, world-weary expression female friends of overgrown man-children tend to adopt when they get together and act – well, like overgrown man-children. I remember watching them yelling and shoving one another, enjoying themselves, and not quite being able to shake that horrible sense of foreboding. But nothing I said was taken seriously, and eventually I gave up, resigned to the fact that we were spending the weekend in that dark, quiet place literally in the middle of nowhere.
That night was when it started. We had a fire going, and Tom had his feet too close to it. He didn’t think anything of it, the night was cold and we were all trying to get as close to the flames as possible. But when he stood up to get a beer, he realised his left hiking boot had almost fallen apart. The heat had melted whatever rubbery glue held it together, and the sole was no longer attached. After a lot of laughter, swearing and general hilarity he threw the ruined boot off into the darkness. We didn’t know it at the time, but that was what had sealed our fate.
The next morning Tom was gone. We weren’t worried at first, thinking he’d just gotten up early and wandered off, but then Simon noticed the boot. Melted and ruined. The one Tom had thrown into the darkness. It was sitting, innocently enough, in the tent on his sleeping bag. But there was no sign of Tom.
We all assumed as the morning wore on that Tom had walked into town to buy a new pair of boots. But when he didn’t return by mid-afternoon, what had been a tense atmosphere soon became one of fear. Of course, there was no cell phone reception in that cursed clearing, so we were left with no choice but to search the woods and shout for him. We found nothing. No tracks, no Tom. As the light faded we tried searching with flashlights, but when Amy wandered away and fell into thick stinking mud, losing her flashlight in the process, we abandoned the search. Amy was near hysterical by this point, and I wasn’t far off myself. It was only because I had Simon with me that I was able to cope, and together we took Amy back and got her into our tent. The next morning, we decided, we’d leave in the car and ask around the town, nearly three miles away. Surely that was the only place Tom could have gone.
When I woke the next day Amy was gone. Just gone. On her sleeping bag, as if it had every right to be there, was her flashlight. The one she’d lost in the forest. It was caked in mud, as though it had been pulled from the quagmire by someone and returned to her. I was terrified by this point, but Simon insisted that she must have resumed the search for Tom as soon as the sun rose, and had no doubt walked into town after finding nothing in the woods. She’d known that was our plan anyway, so it made some (though not perfect) sense. We were desperate at this point, on the verge of panic, so I suppose it’s understandable that we weren’t thinking straight. We took Amy’s keys and left for the town; Simon’s face was stony and grim the whole way there. We barely said a word.
No one in town would speak to us about our friends. The villagers simply stared at us, made suggestions about other campsites, acted like they knew nothing. But in their eyes I could see something more. An understanding. A fear. Like they knew perfectly well what was happening but wouldn’t say. Simon said I was being paranoid, and had to drag me out of the police station by force when I lost my self-control and started screaming at the officer behind the desk. He’d barely even blinked, just given me a bland assurance that they’d look into it, without even a hint that he meant it.
The sun was setting by the time we walked with resignation into the little shop by the edge of the village. An old man, careworn and ragged, was about to close up when we arrived. As we silently grabbed sandwiches neither of us wanted, he asked if we were the ones he’d heard were asking about their missing friends. By then I’d given up hope, so those words were like a fire inside me and I almost threw myself over the counter. He smiled sadly, told us there was no chance of finding our friends. He explained to me what I now know; what I didn’t believe at the time.
The Quiet Ones have always stalked us, flitting between the shadows and murky unseen depths just beyond our world. Sometimes, in ancient forgotten places, their world and ours overlap. Out in the dark, untouched wilds, the forests and the mountains, some places remain where the barrier between them and us wears perilously thin. If we keep to our side, they must keep to theirs. But for the unwary fool who strays one dark night too far, beyond the wispy veil of our territory and into the Quiet, only horror awaits. Because the age-old pacts, struck millennia ago by our terrified ancestors, still hold even now. Those who violate their world belong to them; just as it has always been. Tom’s shoe, Amy’s torch. Both carelessly thrown into the darkness, both returned in place of their owners. A terrible balance restored; a terrible bargain fulfilled.
Simon flew into a rage before the old man finished speaking, shouting and threatening like a lunatic. He knocked a stack of papers off the counter as he lunged for the old man, but just then the police officer from the station arrived and curtly demanded that we leave.
I expected Simon to drive us away, to leave the hideous place far behind. But he was incensed, in an impotent fury that stole his reason. I pleaded with him to drive on, but he was just as angry with me for believing the old man’s lies. To prove a point he drove us back to the clearing, and leaping from the car ran into the woods, screaming and daring whatever demons lurked there to show themselves. I was too terrified not to follow, tears streaming down my face, my cries rebounding from the half-seen boughs of ancient trees. Simon was far ahead of me, his hysterical screams echoing into the woods, before they rose in a final horrified shriek and were abruptly cut off. I turned to run and fell in a blind panic. I flailed and thrashed, imagining spiny hands clutching at me, dragging me towards a gloomy otherworld from which I’d never escape. But I got up, and I ran. Somehow I made it back to the clearing, slammed the car into gear and drove away, still crying, heading back to civilisation without looking back.
Shortly after that I arrived here. A cheap hotel by the roadside. Warm and inviting. Thinking I was safe. But then I realised my watch was missing. My left arm was caked in mud, with scratches from where I’d fallen amongst the brambles and roots. I must have left it there. Or somewhere between there and here. The same place the boot had been thrown. The same place the flashlight had been lost. The place where Simon had crossed over and…not returned.
So they’ll be coming for me. I don’t have long. Just enough to warn you.
Remember me, and beware the Quiet Ones.