What Oddish Fanfiction Captures The Bittersweet Reunion Of Serena And Ash In Post-Kalos Journeys?

When I'm in full-on candy-hunting mode, my brain goes into siege-planning: where to catch the most Oddish, how to stack candies, and then a rapid-fire evolution session in the Pokémon screen. First off, evolution itself happens right in your Pokémon menu — you don't have to bring Oddish to any special location — but getting the candies fast is the real location-based game. Oddish evolves to Gloom for 25 Oddish Candy, and Gloom can turn into Vileplume for 100 Candy or into Bellossom for 100 Candy plus a Sun Stone. That Sun Stone is the key item if you want Bellossom, so keep an eye on Research rewards, PokéStop gifts, and in-game shops during events. If you want to collect candies fast, hunt where Oddish spawns: parks and grassy neighborhoods are gold mines. I have a favorite city park that basically becomes an Oddish factory during cloudy weather (grass-type weather in 'Pokémon GO' boosts spawns), and evening walks there usually pay off. Events like Spotlight Hour or Community Day can turn a place that usually has one or two into a full-blown swarm — that’s prime time to use Pinap Berries and stockpile candies. Lures and Incense can also help if you’re stuck near a busy square; drop one and sit with a thermos and some headphones while catching everything that pops up. Tactical tips that helped me evolve a bunch in one sitting: always use Pinap Berries when you can (they multiply candy from a catch), catch every Oddish you see (transfer duplicates for +1 candy), use your buddy to earn candy while walking, and save Rare Candies for emergency boosts. If you’re short on a Sun Stone for Bellossom, prioritize spinning PokéStops on your commute and completing small field research tasks — they often give evolution items during themed events. Finally, when you’ve got enough candy, evolve in batches while a Lucky Egg is active if you need EXP too — it doesn’t speed the evolution itself but multiplies the XP return if you’re leveling up. I love doing a mass-evolve session on a rainy afternoon with music and snacks; it feels oddly satisfying to watch a whole pile of Oddish turn into Gloom and beyond.

I still get a little giddy whenever I think about evolving Pokémon, and Oddish in 'Pokemon Sword and Shield' is one of those straightforward but satisfying cases. Oddish evolves into Gloom when it reaches level 21 — that’s the automatic, level-based evolution. Once it’s Gloom, it won’t evolve any further by leveling; instead you choose its final form with an evolution stone. If you want Vileplume, use a Leaf Stone on Gloom. If you prefer Bellossom, use a Sun Stone. The stones can be used at any time after Gloom exists, and if you ever regret evolving, you can always trade for another Oddish or breed one later. Also remember you can cancel evolution by pressing B if you change your mind mid-flash — saved me once when I wanted a specific move set. Small tip from my playthrough: if you’re trying to learn certain moves from leveling, hold off evolving until you get them, then stone-evolve.

My brain lights up whenever someone asks about Oddish in 'Pokémon GO' because that little blue plant has one of those evolution branches that actually makes you think about choices. Here’s how it works in simple steps: catch or hatch an Oddish, gather candies, and evolve it into Gloom for 25 candies. From there, Gloom is the fork in the road — you can evolve Gloom into Vileplume for 100 candies, or into Bellossom for 100 candies plus a Sun Stone. The key detail that trips people up is that you can’t skip straight from Oddish to Bellossom; the Sun Stone applies when evolving Gloom, not Oddish, so you need the intermediate Gloom first. I personally like to hoard a few Oddish when there’s a grass or community day event, because candies pour in and sometimes new moves drop during events. If you’ve got a shiny Oddish, the shiny coloration cascades through evolution, so a shiny Oddish becomes shiny Gloom and then shiny Vileplume or shiny Bellossom depending on which evolution path you pick — something I always double-check before throwing that Sun Stone on because shiny scarcity makes them special. Also, if you’re deciding which final form to keep, think about what you want: Vileplume brings that grass/poison twist and is useful in certain raid and gym matchups, while Bellossom is pure grass with sometimes more niche utility. Check moves and IVs before burning 100 candies — nothing hurts more than evolving a mon right before you realize it has mediocre moves. Little player tips from my oddball collection: use Pinap Berries when catching Oddish to speed up candy collection, set Oddish as your buddy if you’re trying to build candy slowly for a rainy day, and watch for events that give extra candy or introduced new charged moves (they’ve historically rotated special moves for grass community days). If you want to minimize regret, save evolving until you can appraise IVs and, if possible, wait for a move re-roll window during an event. I usually keep one Vileplume and one Bellossom for variety — it’s a small stash strategy that keeps battling flexible and my Pokédex happy.

Back in my handheld days with a scratched-up copy of 'Pokémon Silver', finding a shiny felt like pure, dumb luck magic — and Oddish was one of those little surprises that could make you jump out of your chair. If you want the short technical bit up front: in Generation 2 the chance of encountering a shiny Oddish (or any shiny wild Pokémon / bred egg) is 1 in 8,192. That’s the direct probability that the Oddish you meet or hatch will already be shiny before you ever press the A button to evolve it. Why 1/8,192? Gen 2’s shininess is determined by hidden DVs (Deter Values) rather than the later PID/TID system, and a Pokémon is shiny only if those DVs line up in a very specific way. Concretely, Attack, Defense, and Speed DVs each must be exactly 10 (which is a 1/16 chance for each), and the Special DV must be one of eight particular values (8 out of 16, or 1/2). Multiply that out: (1/16)^3 * 1/2 = 1/8,192. So whether an Oddish evolves into a shiny Gloom (and then a shiny Vileplume or shiny Bellossom) depends entirely on whether that Oddish was already shiny — evolution itself doesn’t change the shiny status. A few practical details from my own grind sessions: evolving a non-shiny Oddish won’t suddenly flip it to shiny — if you want a shiny Vileplume or Bellossom in Gen 2, you need to start with a shiny Oddish or get a shiny Gloom already. Breeding didn’t boost your odds either; eggs hatched in Gen 2 had the same 1/8,192 rate. Trading doesn’t alter shininess either, so you can safely trade a shiny Gloom to a friend and it’ll stay shiny on their game. Also, remember Gloom evolves to Vileplume with a Leaf Stone and to Bellossom with a Sun Stone (Bellossom being Gen 2’s brand-new option), and both evolution paths preserve the color variant. If you’re in the mood for old-school shiny hunting nostalgia, my favourite way back then was late-night walking through the grassy patches in 'Pokémon Gold' with the volume low and my hopes high — I still get a spark of excitement when I picture the tiny green Oddish palette. If you’re trying for one now, go into it knowing it’s a pure roll-of-the-dice situation in Gen 2, and maybe bring some snacks; those 8,192 odds can feel like a test of endurance. If you want, I can share a few modern tricks and tools people use nowadays to track encounters and make the grind feel less brutal — or we can just swap shiny catch stories.

I've seen some wild takes on Brock and Misty's dynamic in 'Pokémon' fanfiction, especially in oddish works that dive into their unresolved tension. Some writers frame it as a slow burn, where Brock’s unrequited crush evolves into something deeper—maybe Misty starts noticing his loyalty or his quiet moments of vulnerability. Others flip the script entirely, making Misty the one who’s secretly pining, but too stubborn to admit it. The best fics explore how their rivalry could mask deeper feelings, like how they constantly bicker but always have each other’s backs in a crisis. Oddish interpretations often lean into humor or angst. There’s one fic where Brock’s flirting becomes a coping mechanism for his insecurities, and Misty’s insults are her way of keeping him at arm’s length because she’s scared of getting hurt. Another story reimagines their post-Journeys reunion, with years of unspoken tension finally boiling over. What makes these stories work is how they flesh out the gaps left by the anime, giving them emotional weight without betraying their characters.

I recently stumbled upon 'Thunderstruck Souls' on AO3, and it absolutely wrecked me in the best way. The fic dives into Ash and Pikachu's bond through fragmented memories post-Kalos, blending battle scars with quiet moments where words aren’t needed. The author nails Pikachu’s perspective—how his electrified fur static-clings to Ash’s sleeve as a metaphor for their inseparable connection. It’s raw, poetic, and way grittier than 'Electric Heartbeat', focusing on survival guilt after 'Pokémon XYZ'. Another hidden gem is 'Volt-Tangled'. It reimagines their first separation in 'Pokémon: I Choose You!' as a psychological limbo where Pikachu battles existential dread without Ash’s voice. The fic uses storm imagery brilliantly—lightning as both destructive force and lifeline. What got me was the chapter where Ash’s childhood scars (like the Spearow attack) become tactile memories Pikachu revisits during thunderstorms.

If you've ever raised an Oddish and wondered what comes next, here’s the straightforward lifecycle and a few things I’ve learned the hard way while farming Leaf Stones in-game. Oddish evolves into Gloom when it reaches level 21 — that’s unconditional, just hit the level and poof, it becomes Gloom. From there, Gloom has two branching evolutions: use a Leaf Stone on Gloom to get Vileplume, or use a Sun Stone to evolve Gloom into Bellossom. The Leaf Stone route is the classic one people think of when picturing that giant, Rafflesia-like flower from the pokédex pages. I usually hang onto a Gloom for a little while before using a Leaf Stone because Gloom learns some neat moves at higher levels (things like stronger draining moves or status moves), and some of those moves don’t carry over if you stone-evolve too early — so patience can pay off. Also, evolution by stone is instant and doesn’t require any extra level, so you can evolve Gloom the moment you get a Leaf Stone if you want Vileplume right away. Leaf Stones turn up in different places depending on the game: sometimes in caves, sometimes sold in shops, and sometimes as hidden items in routes. In older games like 'Pokémon Red' or later ones like 'Pokémon Sword', the mechanics are the same, even if the locations differ. If you like playing with team composition, Vileplume brings solid special defense and some nasty status options with moves like Sleep Powder and Sludge Bomb, while Bellossom tends to lean more into sunny weather synergies and special attack. Personally, I split my playthroughs: one save where Gloom becomes Vileplume for the classic look and poison coverage, and another where I try Bellossom for a sun-team run. Either way, the key facts are simple: Oddish → Gloom at level 21; Gloom + Leaf Stone → Vileplume (or Gloom + Sun Stone → Bellossom). Try waiting for the move you want, and then stone it — it keeps things fun and efficient for battle and breeding alike.

I get asked this a lot when folks are starting a fresh run of 'Pokémon Sword' or 'Pokémon Shield' — so here’s the short-but-clear scoop and a few friendly tips from my playthroughs. Oddish itself always evolves in the same way across both games: it becomes Gloom at level 21, and then Gloom has two possible routes. Use a Leaf Stone on Gloom to get 'Vileplume', or use a Sun Stone to get 'Bellossom'. There aren’t any Galarian or version-exclusive evolutions for Oddish in these titles, so the choice of final form is entirely yours rather than tied to which cartridge you picked up. Where it gets fun is the decision-making. I’ve delayed evolving Oddish a few times because I wanted a Gloom to learn a specific move before applying a stone — you can totally do that. In battle roles, Vileplume tends to lean toward that classic bulky, status-inducing grass type vibe, while Bellossom has a different feel and movepool leaning more into special attacking and support. If you’re into aesthetics or a team theme, that often decides it for me: I once made a whole floral-themed squad and picked Bellossom for the soft palette. Remember also that evolution stones and the ability to trade or breed give you flexibility — if one stone’s scarce early on, you can always come back later or trade for the form you want. Practical tip: an Everstone will stop evolution if you want to keep Gloom for a bit, and checking move tutors/TMs in the area helps you avoid losing a needed move on evolution. Personally, I usually evolve to Vileplume if I need a tank for raids and pick Bellossom if I’m doing a more niche or pretty-looking team — both have their charm, so go with what makes your team feel complete.