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Gym Leader Clair - Blog Posts
Pokemon GSC/HGSS: The Dragon Clan
No one except the Dragon Clan knows exactly where they came from. Unlike most of historical Johto, the Clan prioritises keeping extensive records regarding their history, including the everyday proceedings of the Clan and the surrounding area. However, these records are highly protected, so no besides record-keepers, the Elder, and individuals with permission from the former are allowed to access them.
Long ago, their community was used as a rest stop for travelers flying between Johto and Sinnoh (no inter-region land routes existed back then). However, the outsiders that wanted to stay were not allowed to take up residence within the clan, so they had to build their own town nearby—this would eventually become Blackthorn. In modern times, commingling between the Dragon Clan and the outside world is much more common, but non-clan members (anyone who hasn’t been born to an existing clan member) still cannot live in the community. Most mixed families will choose to live in Blackthorn or the immediate surrounding area as a result, even though there has recently been pushback against what some believe to be an outdated tradition.
On a similar note, while visitors are welcomed in the community, no non-clan members are allowed to access the Den itself without a special token---a Silver Wing carved out of a Dragon Fang---given out by the Elder or a trusted representative. This is because it houses the dragon egg/hatchling incubation areas, historical records and cultural/religious texts, and the Clan Elder’s living quarters. More importantly, it’s a sacred space dedicated to Lugia, who the clan believes to be the ultimate dragon pokemon.
Roughly a century and a half before GSC/HGSS, the Dragon Clan was forced to integrate into Johto after going through some hardship. It’s legally considered part of Blackthorn and therefore has to follow Blackthorn laws, but otherwise considers itself independent and self-governing.
Additionally, the community is fairly self-sufficient, growing most of its own food and having a generally closed economy that operates mostly through bartering. However, money is still exchanged between the Clan and Blackthorn. Clan members usually buy necessities while Blackthorn residents and tourists often visit to purchase artisanal products, especially jewelry. Dragon Clan jewelry is considered some of the most valuable onm the Sinnoh/Kanto/Johto continent, partly because the Clan is the only group of people who is legally allowed to harvest materials from dragon-type pokemon, and partly because the Clan’s jewelers are some of the best at their craft. The jewelry is even said to exude different properties based on the material used—Dragonair pearls, for example, are said to impart both elegance and power upon the wearer. Silk also used to be popular, though it's now an endangered tradition since the Spinarak populations used for production have largely migrated towards warmer climates.
The community itself is built around the entry lake to the Den, located a couple miles north of Blackthorn. The residential area is built closest to the lake, with businesses and shops found more towards the south of the community. The very outskirts are dedicated to dragon rearing, mostly consisting of pastures and shelters reserved for the pokemon as well as sheds to store necessary resources. The rice fields, which produce the community's main source of food, lay further up the steep slopes of the mountain. More housing is scattered between the community and Blackthorn, where most of the mixed families reside.
Both Blackthorn and the Clan community feature gassho-style architecture. However, while Blackthorn has mostly modernized to resemble Johtonian interiors with features such as sturdier interior walls and full wooden doors, the Clan’s homes are still structured like traditional minka.
The Dragon Clan hierarchy basically works on a system of prestige. The more you contribute to the clan, the more prevalent you are in the community. This doesn’t mean much in terms of actual power, as the only real position of authority is the Dragon Clan Elder, but it does mean you get all the nice benefits that come from being well-respected such. (this might sound weird but the best way I can think to explain it is that it's like raising the most money for your PTA bake sale and getting voted for PTA president in the next election. maybe the school admin gets the last say on what happens in the district, but you still have a ton of sway and people who will listen to you regarding district matters)
Although candidates for the next Clan Elder are traditionally kept within the family, there’s no official rules for the selection process—no birth rights or anything like that—meaning that impressing the current elder is very important if someone is aiming to claim the position next.
Once an elder is chosen, they belong to the entire clan, quite literally. They move away from their family unit to their own special housing from where they are expected to lead the clan with a just, impartial hand. In return, the clan takes care of them—their home is kept tidy and comfortable, their food is prepared and served everyday in a timely manner, and their every possible need is handled by the members of the clan.
Unless the elder assigns a specific task, chores (mostly revolving around clan upkeep and community service) are decided upon collectively by the clan. Everyone except for the youngest of the young and oldest of the old are expected to contribute, as the more hands there are available to help, the more the burden can be shared. Assignments are not permanent, and clan members may reassign work or trabe jobs with each other for the betterment of the community.
Aforementioned public sway comes in handy here, as more esteemed individuals typically delegate themselves the most prestigious jobs (aka whatever gets them closest to the Elder and/or takes the least effort while still making them look good) while everyone else divides the less desirable jobs among themselves. There’s technically nothing stopping anyone from protesting such a system, but making too much of a fuss might mark you as a troublemaker in the community’s eyes.
Unless owned by a specific person or family, most of the dragons of the Dragon Clan are considered wards of the entire community, some more wild and some more domesticated. Whether personally owned or not, all dragons live out in the pastures and/or the lake, free to roam the town as they please (pokeball use is very rare within the clan).
Almost all members of the clan will help take care of the dragons at least once in their lives, usually as children and always under the guidance of the pokemon's official caretakers, called dragon tamers. Although major injuries are somewhat rare among tamers, the possibility always exists, so children and tamers-in-training are always supposed to be watched over very, very closely.
Aragoto is a sacral art, saved for important cultural ceremonies. They most often occur as religious rites, but they may also be performed at festivals as well. Productions always tell the story of a historical event; though contemporary historians may argue that these plays are more akin to fable than real-life events, the Clan views it as completely accurate to their heritage. To be chosen as an actor is an honor of the highest regard, and to make a blunder while performing is the highest disgrace (well that's a little exagerated but still). Therefore, actors will often dedicate most if not all of their free time to perfecting their roles before an upcoming performance.
Kumadori, though an important part of aragoto, is not restricted to the practice. It’s most like a culturally significant face paint, applied at home before attending festivals, ceremonies, and celebrations alike. Most clan members will have their own personalized kumadori, though to choose any decorative colors other than red and black is extremely rare due to the associated meanings.
Although full kumadori is not normally worn in day-to-day fashion, many clan members like to reference it in their own makeup and consider it to be a source of personal pride. The most famous examples include Lance and Clair of the Indigo League, who wear partial kumadori as part of their League uniforms. Additionally, Clair is one of very few clan members in the entire clan's history to purposefully wear blue kumadori outside of aragoto.
The Blackthorn Gym has traditionally been run by the Dragon Clan. Although there are select people who may find this unfair, its historically been one of Johto's most successful gyms, and there's no rules against nominating another clan member as the next gym leader as long as they are approved by the Pokemon League.
Drinking is heavily frowned upon within the clan, so ingrained in their culture that most clan members who move away will continue to abstain long after they leave. Of course, the reason why is obvious: they've willingly surrounded themselves with some of the most notoriously dangerous and unpredictable pokemon, and to accidentally slight one of these beasts could very well end with catastrophic consequences. Most clan members will end up with the occasional knick and scar, sure, and the dragon tamers will often wear their injuries as badges of honor, but no one wants to end up as the next cautionary tale. Unfortunately, accidents still happen with every new generation, even within the Elder's own family…
To celebrate the beginning of the Johto Enjoyer Community (or the JEC), we're starting off strong with a bingo card!
Unlike many other bingos, each square has a task instead of a prompt. The goal here is to encourage everyone to participate in a part of the fandom they might not otherwise---artists can try their hand at writing, fic writers can figure out how to organize moodboards, board creators can practice their drawing skills, and so on! But don't worry, all the minimum requirements (listed at the bottom of this post) are very low, so every task should be accessible to every person regardless of skill level or circumstance!
There's even a prize: a free full-body illustration like styled like Kris above for any pokemon/character (not just within the Pokemon universe) of your choosing, drawn by yours truly! Of course, you can join in without going for the prize, but in order to be eligible, take a look below...
The Rules:
The winner of this event will be chosen by raffle. Every confirmed bingo will earn you one raffle entry. That means that the more bingos you complete, the higher chance you'll have of winning!
To get a bingo, you must complete the tasks of five squares in a row, horizontally or vertically (not diagonally). Each bingo must have five original attempts, even if you've already covered a square in a previous bingo. All task attempts must be centered around Johto in some way, though mentioning other regions is by no means strictly prohibited.
To submit a bingo to the form, you must upload an image of your bingo marked on the card provided below. Then for each task, you can provide either an image (required for the Leave Some Love task) of your attempt or a link to where you've posted it online. You can only submit one bingo per form. Once I've confirmed your bingo, I'll add your entry to the raffle pool!
Not every task attempt has to be posted for the world to see. If you're feeling shy about a particular task, it's perfectly acceptable to submit it directly to the form---remember, you can post privately on Tumblr and no one will be able to see it unless you share the link! However, if you do decide to share it publicly, please use the tag #jec kickoff bingo.
You do not have to be a member of the community to play---This event is open to everyone!
The submission form will close at 2:00 AM CST on March 17th, so you only have two weeks as of posting to participate in the raffle!
Submit your bingo through this link!
The Categories:
(don't worry, all you really need to read here is the colored text. all the plain text is just examples to serve as a jumping-off point!)
Leave Some Love - compliment a blog/piece of work! Try leaving a nice comment under a Tumblr post, other social media posts, or even an AO3 work. Feeling a bit shy? Anonymously message someone who posts regularly about Johto. If you're brave, you might make a public call-out post targeting your some underrated people in the community (as a whole, not just the JEC). There's no one way to do it, but do try to be genuine about your compliments! It's no fun for anyone if you just say is "hey i like your stuff" and leave it at that. Please be mindful of how you submit your compliments---images are required for this task. Also, I can only confirm anon asks before they've been sent.
Draft a Drabble - write a fanfic that is at least 100 words long. For those not in the know, a drabble is a piece of fiction that is exactly 100 words long. Though, it's not a strict definition, as some drabbles may be a little more or a little less. Any subject is allowed as long as it's a creative story---you could write about an event, for example---so don't worry about limiting yourself to characters if that's not your thing!
Dig in the Details - write an analysis on any topic of your choosing. Want to pick apart a character's personality based on their manga dialogue? We'd love to hear it! Got an idea for the best possible competitive team using all Johto pokemon? Go for it! Just really need an excuse to complain about why the level curve is so bad? We've all been there! An essay would likely be the easiest way to do this, but there's no singular best method---you could even make a powerpoint presentation if you wanted!
Pick a Pocket Monster - choose any pokemon to discuss! Whether its your overall favorite, a particular partner you had on one of your playthroughs, or even your most expensive trading card, we want to hear everything that makes this pokemon stand out to you over the rest.
Doodle a Darling - draw a pokemon, character, item, location, or any other subject of your choosing. Drawings do not have to be full illustrations (though they certainly can be), nor is skill/quality a point of judgement here. If you feel like going the extra mile, you could even explain why you chose your particular subject!
Curate a Collection - create a compilation of media based on a certain subject. This might be a moodboard, collage, pinterest board, music playlist, fic rec, or even a gif set! Please keep in mind that as per our community's rules, you may not use any fanworks that you have not created yourself. Make sure to credit the sources of other pieces of media when appropriate.
Fix it with Fanon - share a headcanon/theory/etc. you enjoy! You might know how to fill a plothole from the manga, have an idea on how to fix a weird game mechanic, want to share your favorite AU, or even have a fakemon you designed just for Johto. As long as it's a fandom-original idea, it'll fit the bill!
Convince the Crowd - try to persuade everyone to agree with you on a certain topic! Maybe there's a pokemon type you believe trumps all others, or maybe you're really passionate about which movie it the best. You can also reply to points other people have made if you have an opposing view. Whatever you choose, be respectful when making your argument!
Knicks and Knacks - make an arts-and-crafts project themed around a topic of your choosing. The sky's the limit here---you could try your hand at little accessories like bracelets or pins, cobble together a short zine, make a paper doll, design cool profile icons or web stamps, stitch together an edit or meme, put on some cosplay, and so much more! As long as it's something you made with your own hands (so to speak), anything goes.
Script a Scenario - portray a situation using a medium other than standard illustration/writing. This could include playscripts, comics, texting fics, or even the photo booth feature in Pokemas! If you need to give a short written description to clarify what's going on, that's fine, but it shouldn't be the star of the show.
Free Space - Choose any of the above categories to complete!
The Minimum Requirements:
Images/GIFs - 500x500 px
Writing - 5-6 sentences or ~75 words
Moodboards/Pinterest Boards - 5 images
Collages - 5 main elements (not including minor decorations)
Playlists - 3 songs with a short explanation each
Fanfiction Recs - 3 works with a short explanation each
Made it through all that and still have questions? Feel free to leave them down in the comments and they'll be answered as soon as possible!
Good luck everyone, and mostly importantly, have fun!
Thinkin about aragoto as a (ceremonial?) Dragon Clan tradition, with kumadori as a generally less formal (maybe for celebrations/festivals) but still culturally significant custom....
And then also Clair incorporating it into her gym leader uniform?
Lance would probably also have some, but significantly less dramatic just because of personal preference. Like maybe just some eyeliner, something a little more obscure.
I think the ipponguma would also be a better fit personality-wise, but realistically he'd probably reference the nihonguma style just as part of the more "respectable" image he has to portray as champion.
Silver doesn't need another father. He's already got one of those, technically, but the man turned out to be a weak, cowardly bastard who couldn't face his own problems let alone raise a child. The way he sees it, there's no need to set himself for more disappointment. He's got a roof over his head and food to eat, and that's far more than he could ever depend on in the last... however many years he'd been living on the streets. Lance and Clair are annoying as hell, but while he's training in the Dragon Den, he doesn't exactly have much room to complain. Not out loud, anyways.
Lance doesn't particularly want to be a dad either. He's already got too much responsibility on his plate as Champion, and this kid clearly needs so much more emotional support than he feels like he can provide. Simply convincing him to move into his guest room was enough of a struggle, and it only really worked because Lance had promised Silver he could "earn" his keep. What the hell is up with that, anyways? He's not sure what Silver's past looks like, and he's not about to go prying, but the bare minimum he can do is make sure he doesn't have to rough it out in the woods anymore. At least Clair seems to be having fun training him...
Clair is more than ready to be an aunt. The other two refuse to admit to caring for each other, but unlike them, she's not afraid of something as stupid as her emotions. The brat's slowly but surely been mellowing out during his training, and her idiot cousin has actually been taking care of himself for once in order to be a "good example." Silver has even caught on to calling Lance "old man" like she does, on account of those ugly-ass reading glasses the all-mighty Champion has to wear, and she couldn't be prouder. Best part is, she doesn't have to spend a dime except to treat the kid every so often! That's a win in her book if ever there was one.
"wow i would really love to work on headcanon stuff---" denied. doodle instead.
Pokemon HGSS: Clair
Main Posts: Headcanons
Mentions: Mini Headcanons Silver/Lance/Clair Dragon Clan aragoto
Art: Doodles (pt. 1)
Pokemon Mini Headcanons
Realized it's been a solid minute since I've shared anything. so! here's some pokemon headcanon tidbits that have kinda been floating around in my head but I don't have anywhere to put them yet:
Barry is extremely tall. Like, at least six feet. Since he's very visibly the goofy type, it's not super intimidating until suddenly he's barreling down the street and nearly knocking people over in his wake. He's also incredibly clumsy, so it's kind of a bull(tauros?)-in-a-china-shop situation.
Leaf is part of the team that revolutionized and maintains the PSS (not part of the original team though, she's too young for that), which is of course led by Bill. Where Bill came up with the, made the team, and did a bunch of hardware stuff, Leaf is in charge of software stuff and does coding for the different programs. As for the rest of the team. well. I don't know who they are bc I haven't gotten that far.
Also, Red's sign name for Leaf is Green, as in, literally the sign for the color (the same goes for Blue). Blue's often calls her Greenie as a result.
As Hoenn's Champion, Brendan is considered a very down-to-earth and blunt person, which is great and all until you remember he's from the ✨️bearimba pokeverse✨️'s equivalent of Florida and is basically Reigning Florida Man Supreme. He's definitely done some crazy stuff but it kinda gets shoved on the back burner (that definitely isn't partially because the media pushes his more serious side in order to fight the "all Hoennians are unhinged" allegations).
Lucas is legally deaf (deaf but not Deaf, he lost his hearing as a kid) and uses hearing aids. He can kinda sorta understand people without them, but it's less like he understands the words and more like he understands the sounds that are supposed to be word, so it's way more convenient to keep them in. Whenever he doesn't want to deal with Dawn's and Barry's shenanigans, he just turns them off, closes his eyes, and relishes in the relative peace and quiet.
He's also the one who gets transported back to Hisui during the final battle with Dialga/Palkia/Giratina. Long story short (bearimba DPPt/PLA rewrite when?), his hearing aids get destroyed in the process of getting transported and he's forced to go through the events of PLA at a huge disadvantage, mostly relying on his quick wit and vast knowledge of pokemon to survive the game.
Lorelei, Karen, and Clair are all besties, and they meet up regularly to have brunch and share the latest gossip (aka pooling together their resources to gather info on their enemies, discuss the most recent affairs in Kanto/Johto, and more, all under the guise of "girls' time").
Silver and Janine first meet when Silver gets accidentally caught up in a prank meant for the E4, for which Janine very vehemently apologizes (under threat from Koga) and Silver reluctantly forgives her (under threat from Lance). They get along surprisingly well after that, especially after they both get involved in the Kanto League as gym leaders, and they eventually become pretty good friends.
Team Rocket was kinda just a shady family business until Giovanni took over in his twenties. In the 30ish years he presided over the it, he managed to develop it into a massive, multi-level and multi-department organization with their fingers in just about every aspects of the Kanto economy before their collapse. (all things considered, it's kinda funny/pathetic how things ended---he had all this power, then just threw all that and his kid out the window because some teenager happened to beat him in a pokemon battle)
Indigo Plateau (the actual plateau itself, not the League building) is pretty unique in that it's literally a plateau in the middle of a bunch of mountains. which. isn't really how geography works. Story goes, it was originally a mountain that served as the battleground for a pair of ridiculously overpowered trainers, and it got leveled in the middle of all the fighting. In honor of the plateau's legend, there was a regularly held tournament for pokemon trainers to decide who was the best of the best in the region. Eventually, some guy decided to make it an "official" event, and that's how the Pokemon League got its start before it spread and became an international organization!
As much as I absolutely adore Dad Lance content, I feel like there's not nearly enough stuff about Clair and Silver! Give me the crazy aunt/weird nephew dynamic, the shift from stubborn grudge to genuine affection and respect, the constant heated bickering that seems serious to most people when it's really just harmless fun, the quiet moments of understanding each other as trainers who will never not have something to prove, the domestic scenarios where they're grabbing lunch after a match in the Dragon’s Den or trying to wrangle some especially rowdy dragon pokemon or working together to pick out a birthday gift for Lance!!!