Time to finally showcase one of my favorite TSF artists!

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TSF Showcase 2024-33
Pokémon TSF Series (Season 1 – 2.5) by Vel

I have been putting this off for far too long, so let’s finally talk about one of my absolute favorite TSF artists, Vel! 

…Now, how do I introduce someone like Vel? Well, for one, they are an incredibly prolific creator with a speed and output that exceeds about any other artist I could name. Since he came onto the scene in early 2020, he has produced approximately 4,000 pages of artwork. So at least two pages a day. That’s a pace that would break most artists, let alone mangakas, and with output like this, you’re always going to have something to gawk at.

How does he do this? By being very… efficient in how he draws things. Flat colors, basic backgrounds, and enough details to properly capture whatever character they are drawing, but not a whole lot more. In the past, I have praised artists before for their level of detail or professional approach. While I appreciate the magnitude of work they put into their comics, I also am a firm believer in focusing on the most important elements to get things done faster and avoid creative fatigue. And Vel is a great example of this, as he focuses on what he needs to for a given work and does just that. But not in a way where it feels like he’s cheaping out or taking the lazy way out. He knows the minimum viable product, and delivers, while keeping things cute at a minimum.

At the very least, this approach allows him to explore more ideas with his work, and if there’s one thing evident from following him for the past few years, it’s Vel’s devotion and love of TSF. This is true for most TSF creators, by virtue of being TSF creators, but from the sheer variety of story concepts he explores, you can tell Vel is the sort of guy who’s always thinking about TSF on at least some level. And this devotion is carried forward with the creativity and ambition of his more narratively robust work.

Also, Vel is into crossdressing and looks suuuper hot when he gets gussied up. Like, ‘how are you not trans if you look this good as a girl’ levels of hot! (For clarity’s sake, Vel is not trans as far as I am aware, represents himself using an androgynous yet male persona, and goes by TSF bunnyboy.)

Now, I would love to jump into Vel’s premiere work, Pokémon TSF Series. The work that earned him a following, and the work that introduced me to him, but finding and locating this work… is a bit confusing and overwhelming, and for a few reasons. Vel’s works are primarily released via his Pixiv account, where he posts his works in English and Korean. (Vel is from South Korea, his English is understandable, but he makes fairly frequent errors.) Sometimes as separate ‘manga’ and sometimes within the same ‘manga’ with the English followed by the Korean. It’s not a great approach— I wish Vel made two accounts— and it gets even more complicated as certain illustrations only wind up on Vel’s Twitter. As somebody who likes to maintain image collections on my hard drives, cataloging Vel’s works is kind of a chore. 

And all this confusion is compounded because his Pokémon works span a goldarn multiverse of different canons. You have… actually, let me break this down with bullet points.

• The main series, dubbed Pokémon TSF Series is broken up into the following components:
  • 5 seasons of storylines, written in Korean and English, each language uploaded as a separate manga on Pixiv.
  • 14 side stories that are released irrespective of seasons, which are basically disconnected to the events of the main story. Parts 1 to 7 were released as separate English and Korean uploads, while parts 8 to 14 were released in both languages as part of a single upload.
  • Smaller supplemental illustrations that are also considered part of the series, despite not really fitting into any chapter. (I put them all at the end of a season, like they are a bonus comic or concept art at the back of a manga.)
• The Pokémon Commission Jota series, written by a Korean writer who goes by Jota. It is a completely separate continuity broken up into chapters, seasons, and two side stories.
  • The Jota series was also only released in Korean for season 1 chapter 3, 4, 5, and 6. Season 1 chapter 1, 2, 7, side 1, and all over season 2 were translated, just not the middle part, which is frustrating as that’s where a lot of the lore is.
• The Pixiv Fanbox Plan series that was later renamed Pokémon/Possess/# and Pokémon/Swap/# and are included in the TSF Derivatives category.
  • This is completely unrelated to a 2021 commission called Pokémon/Possess/1 and a 2020 commission called Pokémon/Transform/1, neither of which became dedicated series as far as I could tell.
• A Korean only 3 page commission called Pokémon/Swap/1 and its sequel Pokémon/Swap/2, which was released in English. 
• The TSFSingularity Pokémon Commission series from 2020 to 2021 that was spread across seven chapters and one side story.

This is just… WAY too complicated for what should be a straightforward series. He actually tried renaming them, but he wound up creating works with the same titles, and as a casual reader, what am I supposed to gather from something called Pokémon/Possess/3? Just call it Pokémon Possess Lusamine Phantump or something. Cripes, this is why I procrastinated covering this series for over a year…

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TSF Showcase 2024-33.1
Pokémon TSF Series Season 1 – Assembling The PokéPosse!

Pokémon TSF Series is one of those online comic series that was never meant to be a series. It was originally meant to be a one-off idea by Vel, who hadn’t played Pokémon since Gen 3 when starting this comic. However, the initial few pages got a lot of attention, at least by the standards of a no-name artist, and it was right at the start of the pandemic— April 2020. So the idea evolved into a far more ambitious story that kept introducing idea after idea before reaching the local conclusion of all narratives. …No, not intergalactic space battles, the other one. But that’s a long way away and before getting to that, we need to go back to the comic that started it all!

Pokémon TSF begins by briefly describing the origins of its initial protagonist, a Gengar who, long ago, befriended a green-haired boy who served as his best friend, growing alongside him. However, their bond is weakened when the green-haired boy starts dating Gloria, the protagonist of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Gengar feels betrayed, is upset that humans and Pokémon cannot love each other, and decides to get around this by becoming human and possessing Gloria. Doing so gives Gengar access to both their ghost/psychic powers and a human form, while rendering them immune to Poké Balls. …Or monster balls as they are referred to here, as that’s their name in Japan and Korea

With their new body, Gengar proceeds to rape their trainer, assuming their new life as Gloria, flawlessly impersonating her by feeding on her memories by using dream eater. Which was Gengar’s signature move in the early generations, when it really should have always been Drowzee’s, because… Drowzee eats dreams. That’s been the lore since day one. And if they keep eating dreams, then Gloria might just suffer from complete amnesia.

Hearing this horrifies the green-haired trainer— who I’m going to call Greg (for GREen Guy), because he doesn’t have a stated name— so he searches for help. This being the Galar region, Greg goes off to the ghost-type gym leader, the mark-wearing Allistair.

Allistair tries to defeat Gengar with his own blue-eyed Gengar— which would be such a better shiny than the official one— but Gengar has access to a champion team and whoops him with Zamazenta. Upon winning, Gengar shoves the blue-eyed Gengar into Allistair’s body, forcing them to possess him. It works, and before blue-eyed Gengar can get too pissed off, Gengar reveals their ultimate goal. To create a new utopian world where humans and Pokémon can live in true harmony. A world where humans can become Pokémon and Pokémon can become humans, and a world without any of these pesky Poké Balls.

Allistair’s Gengar is enticed by the idea, but unwilling to join, so… Gengar rapes them! More specifically, they jerk off Allistair’s Metapod, us a “psychic condom” to prevent them from ejaculating, and then offer them the sweet release. But rather than just keep Allistair’s body as it is, Gloria decides to feminize their new ally by putting them into a dress and garters. Which… yeah, I saw this coming. When Allistair was first revealed for SWSH, I immediately suggested that artists would ‘femboy’ him. And… that’s what happens here.

Also, as an aside— I’m going to do that a lot in this showcase— I have to ask if this is TSF or not. I’m assigning the main Gengar as being initially male, because if they aren’t, then this is not TSF. But Allistair’s Gengar is canonically male, yet is presented as being female with how they react to Allistair’s body. Too overwhelmed by this human male urge and needing a sweet release, before enjoying the female clothes they are thrust in. And yes, it is still TSF if a girl becomes a femboy, because you cannot be a femboy without physically being a boy! Learn the lore!

Chapter 3 kicks off with a perverted guy who screams “I wanna sex” in public when seeing Dawn on a big screen TV. So you know it’s gonna be good. Gengar, seeing a TSF opportunity in the making, points out that if they want to have sex with someone, he should get a Ditto to transform into them. …And that Dawn is still a minor, so he shouldn’t have sex with her. Specifically, Gengar says ‘not 19’, because Koreans treat a newborn as being 1-year-old, so the age of majority is 19. Or rather was 19, as South Korea adopted international age as the standard in 2023. …I did not know that.

The perverted guy then finds a Ditto who explains that they can only transform into a human if they merge with one first. This chucklehead believes them, gets covered in Ditto’s boundless goop, and gets transformed into a copy of Dawn, specifically a naked one. Embodying his sexual fantasy, the pervert then masturbates to his phone camera, going at it for a full hour before getting tuckered out and Ditto takes over. Yanking the clothes from their mouth and transforming the essence of the pervert into a choker. That might seem random, but keep this chapter in mind, as this is an important plot point for season 3. 

With Ditto now a member of the Sisterhood of Utopia, chapter 4 is more of a side story that circles back into the main plot. One that follows a young man who is swimming buddies with the Galar water gym leader, Nessa. He’s sick of being beaten by her, tries training in the ocean, and nearly drowns in after getting a muscle cramp, only to be saved by a Manaphy. 

Now, Manaphy is a Pokémon who, as a TSF fan, I am obligated to love, and I also just love them just in general. Manaphy is the body swap Pokémon, a pretty cute plushie friendly design, and while a jack-of-all-trades stat-wise, they have a pretty flushed move pool. Surf, scald, dazzling gleam, energy ball, shadow ball, ice beam, psychic, and tail glow all make it a fun Pokémon to use in the games. And using one in a campaign was easily the best part of BDSP. If only body swapping was a bigger part of its movie…

Rather than just jump into the thick of things though, this 48 page chapter is more of a slow burn, showing the boy take on the telepathic Manaphy as his best friend, ditching Nessa in the process. This pisses her off, as she wanted to start dating him. She voices her frustration to ‘Gloria’ who, after learning of Manaphy’s involvement, hatches a harebrained scheme. Nessa sends the boy to an isolated island for the evening, where he plays with Manaphy all day long, like best buds wanton do. But as the two go to sleep, Nessa strikes and seals Manaphy in a box, hoping that she can seduce the boy and fill the Manaphy-shaped hole in his heart.

Little does Nessa know— and she really should, girl’s a water trainer— Manaphy switches bodies when under duress and… switches itself with Nessa. …Huh. Manaphy is often depicted as the primary instigator of TSF in Pokémon, or at least body swaps. However, this is the only instance where I have seen Manaphy swap bodies with themself and someone else …and I like it! Manaphy finally gets in on the action, and good for them! They can finally know the joys of opposable thumbs! And titties!

Now with the body of her best friend’s crush, and general ignorance of how humans are supposed to act, Manaphy proceeds to yank off their friend’s shorts and have sex with them. But that’s not important. What is important is that Nessa is stuck in a Manaphy and lands into Gengar’s hands. We don’t see what exactly happens to Nessa in this chapter, but a later ‘extras’ chapter clarifies that Gengar sucked out Nessa’s memories from Manaphy’s bodies and transferred them into Nessa’s bodies. Because Gengar can do things like that. Which I guess turns Nessa in Manaphy into a baby brain. I’d ask how she could function, but Pokémon come equipped with pretty good programming from birth, and Manaphy’s always been depicted as a baby, so I guess it’s fiiiine.

Chapter 5 sees a character finally fight against Gengar and their crew, and it’s none other than the pseudo-rival-turned-gym-leader Marnie. She has appeared as a background character, observing the sudden disappearances and changes within people, and after stealing Greg’s phone, she stages an ambush. …But Gengar is a revolutionary, not some ditz, and quickly counters this ambush, having Ditto transform into Gloria before rushing in on Zamazenta. Who, for the record, ultimately agrees with Gengar’s Utopia Project, in part because they’ve been such good and kind trainer. Gengar probably made them some of that Charizard Class curry. 

Marnie is cornered, yet rather than just force her to be part of her utopia project right away, Gengar is wise enough to tell that Marnie is a closeted lesbian with a thing for Gloria. So, they grant Marnie her greatest desire, first with a kiss, and then a night of… unseen delights. But during the after-sex breakfast, Gengar just shoves a Sinistea into her face and forces her to chug, robbing her of her own bodily control as another ghost type joins the fray. 

I’m not sure if it would be more or less cruel if Gengar did not lead Marnie on like this. On one hand, they give her one night of delight before stealing her body. On the other, they gave her hope that things could be better, only to suffocate it away. Regardless, Marnie gets what is probably the most twisted end of all the human characters. In the extras, Marnie is urinated out of her own body, her mind, soul, and memories stored in Sinistea fluid. You might expect the Sinistea possessing Marnie to drink this fluid to absorb Marnie’s memories… but Gengar has another idea. To turn the fluid into a double-ended dildo. Meaning that the Sinistea possessing Marnie got Marnie’s memories by fucking them out of her. That’s some next level sadism right there.

Before getting into the next chapter, the question of who is who is getting complicated, so I’m going to use my usual mind(body) naming convention to help readers keep track of things. So I will refer to the Sinistea possessing Marnie as Sinistea(Marnie).

Chapter 6 is… also more of a side story, focusing on introducing a character who will become very important come season 3 and establishing key details for the main cast. Gengar(Allistair) and Ditto(Dawn) are a couple. Sinistea(Marnie) started running a maid café. And Ditto technically does not have a passport, as they did not steal an identity. Why not just hypnotize someone into making a forgery? Which is something that Ditto can definitely do? No clue!

Anyway, the core of this chapter sees Ditto(Dawn) and Gengar(Allistair) head to the Battle Tree in Alola. Not to do anything battling related, just to meet up with Cynthia. Wait… okay, yes, they did make a model for Cynthia— and Grimsley for some reason— for the endgame content of Sun and Moon. Kind of a weird justification— she could have just visited Galar, but I guess it seemed like an appropriate location for a Mimikyu possession. 

After a lot of setup, Ditto(Dawn) is talking to Allistair’s Mimikyu on the beach one night. As a Mimikyu, their schtick is that they feel unloved by others and want to be showered with the same acclaim as that yellow rat. Or, in lieu of that, Cynthia’s good too. Disguising herself as Allistair, Ditto weaken’s Cynthia’s guard by playing into her dorky curiosity. Ditto claims to have a dual personality, and gets her to close her eyes just long enough to yoink the Mimikyu over her face. Thus resulting in a takeover that does not see a Mimikyu-headed Cynthia running around, but rather one with a Mimikyu hand puppet.

I understand the logic behind it, but it’s a conspicuous possession that just seems inefficient next to every other one shown so far. People would ask why a public figure would have a hand puppet like this, and this Mimikyu does not have a particularly strong or impactful personality beyond being a bit unnerving and playful. It’s a bit of a missed opportunity, and a weak end to the first season. Though, in all fairness, there isn’t much of a divide between the first and second season, with season two just being part two of the same storyline. 

If the world count is not enough of a dead giveaway, I think it is a very strong start to this story, one with a lot of creative applications, though it does start feeling a bit takeover-of-the-week with how it introduces and handles characters. However, things will start revving up big time as the first arc nears its end. 

…But before getting into season 2 and all the fun that entails, I need to address something that has been lingering over this whole showcase.

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TSF Showcase 2024-33.1.5
Interlude: Is Pokémon Pedophilia or Not?

Before I continue onto season 2, I want to make a brief aside regarding the ages of these characters. Canonically, a large portion of the cast of Pokémon are children. 10-year-old protagonists have been a recurring joke for decades at this point. The series aged them up to 14 with Black and White, settled on 11-year-olds for the Sun and Moon protagonists, and bumped up again to 15 for Legends Arceus. There’s really no difference in how the series depicts a 10-year-old or a 15-year-old— which is weird if you think about it— but it’s generally safe to assume that they are all minors.

By this logic, Gloria, Dawn, probably Allister, maybe Nessa, Marnie, and whoever else could be considered children, and this story could be seen as one frothing with sexual depictions of minors, right? Well, you definitely can make that conclusion, but I do have some counter-arguments. 

It is generally very difficult to assign someone’s age purely based on how they look or their height. Some men continue to look like little boys well into their twenties. Some 21-year-old girls look like they’re 12. Pokémon games tend to do very little to differentiate tweens to teens and young adults in terms of designs. And while some characters do have official heights, some of their heights… just do not make any sense or match how they look in-game.

Pokémon characters are designed, to some level, to be seen as relatable and identifiable to people of a wide spectrum of ages. 8-year-olds can see them as kids a bit older than them. College kids can see them as people roughly their own age. And 30-somethings can just see them as being whatever age.

This is also a fan work that takes place an ambiguous amount of time after the original work. So one could say that 3, 5, or 7 years have passed and that the characters look roughly the same age and have similar proportions because they are anime characters. But even if that seems like a stretch… there’s very little about the depiction of these characters that makes them overly seem like children. They aren’t in school uniforms, they don’t have stubby prepubescent proportions— they all have adult-sized boobs— and the way they are drawn compared to canonical adults is… basically the same.

The problem with underaged cartoon characters being thrown into sexual situations is more the fact that they resemble children, rather than the number the creator assigns to them. …Also, if you want to consider all Pokémon protagonists to be underage… that opens up one nasty can of worms. Because there has been more erotic content produced for Pokémon than any other IP ever created. I don’t have a source for that, but I do have eyes. And these eyes have seen some shit that makes this look like a damn puppet show by comparison, so I’m willing to give it a pass.

Also, brief spoilers, but I’m going to have to come back to this topic later on. Because while I can defend season 1 and 2… I can’t really do that for season 3.

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TSF Showcase 2024-33.2
Pokémon TSF Series Season 2 – Let’s Go Utopia!

An interesting note to make about season 2 is that Vel wrote it after his big brother, who did not know about the comic, bought Vel a Switch and a copy of Pokémon Sword. Which was a thing siblings did for each other during the pandemic. Or so I’m told. This means that there is a stronger focus on locations and characters from Galar in season 2, while season 1… could have just been written based on what people were sharing on Twitter and Pixiv leading up to release.

Season 2 begins with… a red herring. A short prologue of Gengar(Gloria) meeting with N from Pokémon Black and White. A character whose bonds and connections with Pokémon makes him a deeply interesting character for a TSF story that sees Pokémon and humans switch places like this. After this cameo, he does not show up again, at all. Fortunately, N is a major character in the Jota Commissions, so at least there’s that.

Chapter 1 opens with Gengar(Gloria), now sporting a spiffy new outfit, paying a visit to Bede, the other pseudo-rival-turned-gym-leader. Gengar(Gloria) battles him, lands a perfect win, but rather than to show off her skills as a trainer, she pulls aside Bede’s Hatterene, having sensed that she harbors a not-so-secret love for her trainer and dearly wants to be with him. She says any love between a Pokémon and human is hopeless, but urges Hatterene to get close to him, and use a special TM on him, Draining Kiss. She warms up to Bede, staying out of her Poké Ball, and when Bede is at his most helpless, in the shower, we get a Psycho homage! Except instead of a knife, it’s a pair of fairy lips!

Hatterene drains the life out of her trainer, sucking every last ounce from him until he is a drained husk of a human, a bloodless corpse, and as she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees that… she became a human! …And even more of a trans icon with her white, pink, and blue hair. Hatterene feels terrible about doing this, saying that she killed her trainer, but Gengar(Gloria) explains that Bede is not actually dead, he simply lives inside her and, if she wants to, she can transfer Bede’s soul into her to make her pregnant. Which is not how pregnancies work, but… maybe it is in Pokémon? It would fit in with all the other physics breaking lore!

Chapter 2 is a sequel to the Marnie stuff from season one, beginning with her brother, Piers, contacting the regional professor, Sonia, in order to figure out what’s wrong with his sister. Sonia is apprehensive of this being an issue, thinking she is just going through puberty— okay, so she is a minor, and everybody else probably is too, goldarn it… Anyway, Sonia is eager to investigate and proceeds to go Marine’s maid café, but incognito. Specifically with Sonia in flannel and Piers crossdressing. Except Vel, classically trained crossdresser, doesn’t even give Piers a stuffed bra or anything. Maybe that’s part of the gag?

It’s an awkward stakeout, but it works, and when Sonia finally sees Marnie, sliding down the stairs with a Jigglypuff microphone in hand, she accepts that… something’s up. Unfortunately for them, Marnie is possessed by a ghost and ghosts are not fooled by simple disguises. She plays along, acting like the two are just regular guests, giving Sonia just enough time to let her Yamper loose so she and Piers can infiltrate the hidden passageway of this café. A passageway leading to a room full of regular old cups. They hide as a maid enters, releasing a Polteageist and using it to pour ghost fluid into the cups and turning them into… Sinistea. 

…Yeah, that is not how that Pokémon works. Polteageist produces delicious tea that can produce chills and death, which could be interpreted as a ghostly possession. Sinistea is tea that absorbs life force and tastes awful. And both are born from spirits possessing pots or cups of tea. They are a Pokémon made for a TSF story about a rural town inhabited by the spirits of people who died there in the 60s and steal the bodies of tourists. Hell, you could even make it work as a maid café, just have it be full of college girls who stopped there to spend the night and got possessed! It practically writes itself!

Tangent aside, Sonia and Piers get caught, tied up to a pair of chairs, and are interrogated by Sinistea(Marnie). She could have her Sinistea sisters possess them, but instead decides to use the Manaphy Gengar(Gloria) gifted to her. And… yep, Nessa is completely baby brained after getting her memories sucked out. Wide eyes, permanent smile, and form completely devoid of a soul. 

The Manaphy formerly known as Nessa then uses Heart Swap on Sonia and Piers and you know the drill. The two are shocked and confused by their predicament, but after being force fed some of Sinistea(Marnie)’s fluids, they are under her control. …Hold up, does that mean Sinistea(Marnie) made them drink the double-ended dildo juice containing Marnie’s soul? Because if so, that’s dope as fuck! 

Regardless, Sonia and Piers get swapped into each other’s bodies, unable to resist Sinistea(Marnie)’s demands as she giddily films them stripping and, soon enough, having sex. They resist at first, but with their bodies telling them to keep on going, they eventually relent, succumbing to the sensations demanded onto them, and getting lost in the throes of coitus. They even get little hearts for eyes and everything!

The chapter finally ends with the return of the Mimikyu possessing Cynthia, who fulfilled their purpose by giving Gengar(Gloria) a Master Ball, containing the final tool needed to bring the Utopia Project to life.

Chapter 3 sees Gengar(Gloria) gather an audience at Wyndon Stadium and announce her plans for Utopia to a crowd of people. To end the divide between humans and Pokémon, to create a world where there are no Poké Balls. And to prove she’s not all talk, she reveals that her plan’s nearly completed. The former champion, Leon, has been beaten and bound. Gengar(Allistair), Manaphy(Nessa), Sinistea(Marnie), and Hatterene have all taken down the other four gym leaders. And while the crowd try to fend her off with their own Pokémon, Gengar(Gloria) is able to speak to their hearts. Explaining that they cannot be truly loved by their masters if they remain as mere Pokémon. Her speech isn’t all that convincing, but she’s quickly interrupted by the appearance of Mimikyu(Cynthia), riding on a Palkia. 

This Palkia has just cast a barrier around the Galar region, isolating it from the rest of the world. The people of Galar can leave, but outsiders cannot enter without the power of Palkia’s Lustrous Orb. This protects the region from any outside interlopers, and the next step is to free the land of these pesky Poké Balls. Palkia already destroyed the factory, so now all she needs to do is free every Pokémon in the region. …Which sounds kind of impossible, since there have to be millions of these things around, but whatever. It’s necessary to create an equitable society!

However, before she can enact this final step, she is interrupted by Hop, Gloria’s former rival. After returning from The Crown Tundra at the start of the chapter, he was informed of what was going on by Greg, and took it upon himself to be the last defender of the status quo. He barges into the stadium on his Zacian, brings out his whole party, and makes a last stand. determined to bring an end to Gengar’s plans and bring back Gloria. 

The presentation is a bit… underwhelming, a sign that Vel is not really an artist versed in creating dynamic action but the effort here to create something dramatic is appreciated. He is really good at making something more cute and expressive, but as the scope gets bigger, his weaknesses become more apparent. Still, he tried, and a little effort goes a long way!

This leads into the final battle, where Gengar(Gloria) showcases their immense might before Hop’s team, their powers only enhanced by a human body as they take on five versus one. His party’s decimated and the two legendary hero wolves are at a stalemate. 

Hop has two choices for what he could do here. Both of which Vel chose to draw, meaning there are two endings for chapter 4. The happy ending where Hop stops Gengar(Gloria), and the bad ending where the utopia project is successful. If that sounds like the titles were swapped, that’s the joke.

The happy ending sees Hop pull out a trump card by using Ice Rider Calyrex. Which is a slightly odd choice, as the Shadow Rider Calyrex is a ghost type and was more favored due to its absurd speed. Point is, it is a psychic legendary with enough power to penetrate Gengar(Gloria)’s defenses and exorcize her from Gloria’s body. The Gengar’s form morphed into something neither human nor Pokémon, indicative of how much she has acclimated to her new vessel. She panics, rushing back to her body, only for Zacian to come in with a behemoth blade, killing her.

Things then jump ahead to a few weeks later. Hop and his allies have tried to mend and reverse what Gloria has done, but… their efforts have not been the most successful. Sonia is left feeling uncomfortable in her own skin after the manipulation of Sinistea and her time as Piers. The four gym leaders who aligned with Gengar went missing. And Gloria… is rendered a husk of her former self.

She is bound in a wheelchair, her eyes devoid of life, and is several months pregnant with a child. Unable to speak. Unable to do anything. So, Hop tries to talk to her. About when they were young. About better times. Hoping that she can remember. Not knowing that Gengar ate all her memories, that they can never come back, and that… Gloria can never wake up, can never return to normal. For while her body still lives… it is without a soul. (I know Hop says that she still has her soul, but I don’t believe this twerp. I know a soulless husk when I see it!)

At the end of chapter 1, Gengar mentions that Gloria’s soul was placed in the body of her unborn child. It was all part of Gengar’s plan to give birth to Gloria and now, with Gengar gone, there is nobody left to control her body. They can care for her, look after her, and guide her through pregnancy until the remains of Gloria are reborn. Yet, even then, that is not the Gloria they knew. The one they knew… was consumed by Gengar. Gengar was a different entity, yes, but she carried Gloria’s memories, became her in body and mind, and gained her personality. Without personality, without memories… what even is a person? What good is their soul? What are Hop and Greg doing at this point beyond clinging to a vain, pointless, hope?

Furthermore, by stopping Gengar, they ushered in a wave of turmoil. Some humans agreed with Gengar and want to secure more rights for Pokémon. To treat them as more than mere animals, mere pets, and mere servants. While others are filled with paranoia that the long-standing social order has been undermined. They no longer know who is a Pokémon and who is a human. No longer have the hierarchy they accepted as a natural law for so long. 

Gengar publicized a discontent that has been growing in this world for decades, possibly centuries, and rather than letting her bring forth utopia, they rejected her. Yet, even now, even at this juncture, Hop does not regret his decision, reaffirming, if only for his own pride, that he made the right choice. That this is the happy end.

That’s how it could have ended, but what if Hop acted more in-character and tried to talk to his best friend? To save her with the power of bonds? Well… he would lose! 

Gengar, accessing Gloria’s memories, teases Hop over this turn of events, saying that it always turns out this way, that he’s never beaten her once. However, Hop is still a troublemaker, so, for the time being, she puts him to sleep so she can bring about her plans and create… utopia!

Two months later, the utopia has begun! Humans and Pokémon are enjoying the streets together, freely changing bodies around, working together to build a better Galar, and things are as peaceful as Gengar(Gloria) made them out to be. However, there is one man who still bears a grudge even when faced with this reality. A man who ventures out to a remote cottage where a pregnant Gengar(Gloria) looks out at the sea. It’s Leon, and as he greets Gengar(Gloria)… he pulls out a fucking gun!

I lost my SHIT when I first saw this! I know that guns have to be part of the world of Pokémon, too many Pokémon are gun-like for that not to be the case, but it’s nothing fancy. Just a regular-ass handgun, and he points it directly at Gengar(Gloria)’s head, ready to blow her brains out. However… Gengar(Gloria) is not scared. She already did what she wanted to. She brought forth utopia. Things went so well that she even removed the dimensional wall. So, if that is what Leon wants, she will accept death. …Even if that means killing her unborn children.

However, Leon cannot justify killing her. If word got out, that would only make things worse. Instead, he is just grateful that the monster who irrevocably changed his world is isolated. Just a pregnant woman looking out at the ocean, awaiting the birth of her… darling.

…But who is she referring to as her “darling?” Well, I think it’s time for Korea’s favorite game show:

Who’s In That Belly?!

Now, this is a nuanced question, open to interpretation, so let’s go through the options. 

Option A: Gloria

At the end of chapter 1, Gengar comments on putting Gloria’s soul in her body in a flashforward to her, pregnant with Greg’s child. It would be a fitting end to Gloria, to be reborn from her own body, as the child of her lover. But that’s a little blasé. 

Option B: Greg

Greg was a rowdy and untrustworthy partner and unless he was strapped down and taught to love his ghostly GF, he would be the worst. He already snitched on her to Hop and nearly caused an anti-utopia. Also known as reality! So shutting him up and putting his soul in the body of an empty, soulless zygote, would make sense as a way to keep him close.

Option C: Hop

We never see what Gengar does with Hop after she puts him to sleep. But would she really just let him exist to stir discontent in her utopia? Plus, with Gloria’s memories of Hop, she might have a soft spot for him. And what do you do with those you love? Birth ’em!

Option D: All of the above! 

Now this is getting extra-constitutional, but what if Gengar is pregnant with triplets and has Gloria, Greg, and Hop, all rocking in her tummy, ready to become part of her big family? It’s plausible, and for someone as ambitious as Gengar… I’d say it’s on brand.

Now, there are no wrong answers— except for A, B, and C. Option D just gives you each of those and turns these three into triplets who have to balance their fading memories with their new reality. Will they embrace this new world, or bring back the caste system? Now that’s a topic big enough for a mini-series! Pokémon TSF Series: The Utopian Generation!

…However, that’s not what Vel delivered. Instead, we get an epilogue where Vel explains his creative process, goals for the story, and demonstrates just how much thought went into this. That ending flowchart is a damn inspiring outline. The little tangents Vel goes on really shows how much heart, sweat, and tears he puts into his work. And the extras that aim to clarify and add more context to the story with retroactively added scenes? They’re brilliant little ways to enhance a story, showing how Gengar came up with the Utopian Project, how their operations worked, and compact little scenes that only add to the story. 

Fortunately, we’re not over yet, as the series promises to continue. With Ditto(Dawn) and Mimikyu(Cynthia) both boarding a boat to Sinnoh, as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were just announced. …However, that was still half a year away when season 2 concluded, and seeing as how the reception to this comic was very strong, Vel decided to produce a half-season in the interim.

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TSF Showcase 2024-33.2.5
Pokémon TSF Series Season 2.5 – Hex Maniac Comes to Town

Season 2.5 fills in the gaps between chapter 4 of season 2 and season 3. Showing what happened in Galar during that time, while introducing a new character. Coming straight outta Kalos, it’s Hex Maniac! 

Gosh, Hex Maniac has had one of the most enduring legacies for a generic NPC from any game ever created. And you can tell why just by looking at her. She absolutely nails the crazy goth girl look to a picturesque tee. And you know what people love to throw crazy goth girls into? Erotic situations! Even to this day, a decade removed from her last non-gacha appearance, she still shows up a fair bit in fan art, and is also surprisingly prevalent in TSF Pokémon art. Why? Because she’s iconic. And who doesn’t want to be a crazy goth chick? Cowards, that’s who!

Anyway, chapter 1 takes place in the immediate aftermath of Gengar(Gloria) launching her Utopia Project and capturing one of the unaffected Galar gym leaders, Raihan. He’s bitter about losing and how this utopia thing is playing out, so Gengar(Gloria) decides to… have a Reuniclus suck Raihan’s penis, convert it into a vagina, and then become a uterus, turning Raihan into a woman. …What the fuck? How does… why does… and they are apparently now a fused being who produces “TS cells” for humans and Pokémon? …This one is just a weird random idea Vel threw in here, and I have nothing more to add. Sorry.

Chapter 2 is thankfully more elaborate. Set one month after the utopia event, it focuses on a disgruntled guy who wants to beat the fighting gym leader, Bea, but no longer has any Pokémon. His hatred is enough to attract the attention of Hex Maniac, who makes a wicked debut here. Clad in shadows, mouth full of drool, swirly eyes on fleek, surrounded by ghosts.

She offers to help the guy get revenge by having him swap bodies with her Gastly— which I think means she killed him— and having him possess Bea. As a sensible sort, his first idea is to masturbate in her body and film revenge porn on her phone. But before he can really get into the throw of things… it’s monster gang rape time!

Cracking open the door, Bea’s Machamp and Grapploct— possessed by ghosts— come barging in, holding the creep in Bea’s body down. Machamp grabs every limb, Grapploct fulfills their birthright by doing some tentacle raping, but that is all to prime the guy for the Gastly in his body to come in, dick primed and ready. And as all of this plays out, Hex Maniac grabs Bea’s phone and keeps on filming, her goons pounding this guy until it all fades to black.

This is just merciless, relentless, and does a great job of introducing Hex Maniac as a unique force, because she does not do this for revenge. She even deletes the recording on Bea’s phone. She’s just full-on crazy and loves the chaos of body swapping, seeing people get pushed to their limits, and the only thing that jazzes her up more than this is the prospect of meeting her Savior. The one who destroyed the boundaries between humans and Pokémon and brought forth utopia. And now that she’s in Galar, she’s gonna find them, no matter what!

Also, I love how this event is never addressed again, and the outcome is kept ambiguous. Does this guy just stay inside Bea forever and undergo identity death and just become Bea, except she likes to have sex with her Pokémon who, inexplicably, now love kinky sex? Maybe not, but also maybe!

Chapter 3 and 4 see a return to the Sisterhood of Utopia, showing how the characters’ lives have progressed in this new utopian Galar. Gengar(Allistair) and Hatterene retired from their run as gym leaders to become models. Manaphy(Nessa) quit her job as a gym leader and regained her heart swap powers, because that’s more interesting than her losing them. While Sinistea(Marnie), Sonia(Piers), and Piers(Sonia) all continued to work in the maid café. However, that is all thrown into monetary chaos when Hex Maniac finds them, because she is a threat of mythical proportions. 

It is later revealed that Hex Maniac is actually bonded with the Pokémon Hoopa. The head swap Pokémon who really should have played a bigger role in ORAS, but TPC just looooves their limited events too much to make modern mythicals available via in-game events. Hell, they kept the mystery gifts in BDSP… Instead, Hoopa only got a bad movie, which should have been one of the best. We almost got Godzilla: Final Wars but with Pokémon, and they borked it up! …I go on tangents like that and wonder why I put this off for so long. 

Anyway, this turns Hex Maniac into a ghost and psychic master with the ability to perform some wild TF concepts. But in practice, all she really does is barge in and force two people to have sex for her own amusement. First she body swaps Gengar(Allistair) and Manaphy(Nessa) before using her powers to control them as she interrogates them over Gengar’s location. It’s cruel, bizarre, and well-executed, though it feels a bit too zany for it to have much weight behind it. The characters are already weird mismatches of different identities and memories, and Hex Maniac is too funny for there to be much tension here. There’s an absurd undercurrent here, but the story does not really acknowledge it. …Because Vel was waiting to do that in chapter 4. 

Chapter 4 is built around Hex Maniac barging into Sonia and Piers’s home and head swapping them… after they were previously body swapped. Meaning that they are… face swapped? Like in… SwapHouse by deltorii110? That’s not TSF, but all TFs are welcomed, I guess. However, the real tension comes into play when Hex Maniac decides to play with Sonia and Piers, making them strip and fuck. …Only for Sinistea(Marnie) to come barging in, kicking down the door, demanding that she stop playing with her slaves. 

With both being perverted ghost girls, they proceed to battle by controlling Sonia and Piers, making them fuck each other hard and wild, while complimenting each other’s powers. Vel knows exactly how silly this all is, and the execution here is just wonderful. Blending in the faux tension of these two while Sonia and Piers are thrown around as their pawns. 

However, Sinistea(Marnie) eventually realizes that Hex Maniac is just another fan of Gengar(Gloria). She’d be happy to introduce the two, but even she doesn’t know where Gengar(Gloria) is. and says she doesn’t know where she is, and the only one who might know would be Ditto(Dawn), who’s off in season 3 at the moment.

With no way of getting to her goal, Hex Maniac accepts that she needs to wait and proceeds to spend chapter 5… just goofing around with Gengar(Allistair). Explaining her backstory, showing off her head swapping power by lobbing off Gengar(Allistair)’s head. They leave their body unattended just long enough an Alcremie to come slithering onto its open neck hole and morph into a head. The Alcremie is thrilled by this, finally in the form of a human instead of a whipped cream abomination, but as she goes into a public restroom, she gets an erection and gets raped by a random jogger lady. They have sex in the restroom, Alcremie cums so hard her face starts to melt, and that’s the end of the season!

Yeah… this season is definitely more spur of consciousness and less regimented than the original two season run. It feels more like three isolated TF ideas, two follow up concepts, and one new character, all shoved into a blender. Now, it still works, the fun and havoc of the storyline still makes for an enjoyable read. It just does not have much of a greater point to make, story to tell, and… these characters never show up again in the following seasons. Great imagination, so-so narrative follow-through, but as always, I adore the ambition on display here. 

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Now then, I’ve already gone through about 440 pages of comics, and background information, but we are not even halfway done yet. Season 3 is just shy of 300 pages, season 4 is around 240, and the plot starts getting dense later on. With that in mind… I’m going to have to save the rest of this showcase for next week. I don’t like doing this, especially twice in a row— but I’m trying to maintain a weekly schedule here, and this alone is 8,000 words. 

That’s all for this showcase, but I will be back with a showcase of Pokémon TSF Series Season 3 and 4 next week. And trust me when I say…things are gonna get buck wild!