Widdershins

No, no, that's the point. If you want the formula to reflect the number of dimensions that the figure has, they have to be similar pieces you break it up into. Otherwise you'd be able to break it up into any number of pieces, like you said, and your definition of dimension would be skewed all over the place. The core criteria for fractals are that they have to be self-similar (otherwise the formula won't work) and they have to have a dimension as given by that formula that doesn't match what their dimension 'should' be.

Most human-constructed fractals are quite regular, like the Sierpinski triangle and the Mandelbrot set, but there are other forms of self-similarity that don't mean rigid fitting together of identical pieces. Clouds, trees, lightning bolts - all of those things form fractals, because they're randomised but have the same 'form' at all levels of their structure. A tiny wisp of mist behaves like a scaled-down full cloud, the branches of a tree split off in the same way the trunk does, and the lightning bolt branches and branches and branches again with the same zig-zagging pattern. The man Mandelbrot himself observed that fractals are far more common in nature than any sort of normal geometrical figure. They're ordered, as with many things, but break distinctly from the order of, say, a bland rectangle. Curious constructs indeed. 

Wait, so... you could say.... A Species of Order?!

That Order is defined by what order your looking for, that, like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder!

  ...the iris is a pretty decent fractal too, come to think of it. Ironic.

  So, in essence, what you're saying is that by using the same parameters, to find the same proportions, finding more of the same in the same makes a Fractal! A natural repetition of sorts!?

 I'm going to have to look up Mandelbrot sometime. I named my Vivillion after the set, on account of it looking terribly like one. Assuming its what I think it is.

Oh, certainly. If there's one thing maths is good for, it's classifying species of order. Much like, come to think of it, your analogous programme for Pokemon.

Indeed; 'finding more of the same in the same' is what self-similarity is all about. If the part is like the whole or the little is like the big, if the parameters of the full apply to the pieces or if the proportions of the smaller are a repetition of those of the larger - if you can find more of the same in the same -, you've either got a fractal or a good approximation to one. 

Also, I took the liberty of looking up a picture of the Mandelbrot set for you.

A constant zoom effect shows its self-similarity:

And this is it displayed on the graph axes that make it mathematically meaningful:

All that infinitely nested detail fits inside the simple rectangle between -2, 1, i, and -i (where i is the square root of negative one or the so-called 'imaginary unit'). The process for obtaining the Mandelbrot set is actually very simple, too. All you have to do is, starting with z(0) = 0, iterate the following formula to find all the values of z(n) up to z(infinity) for a given value of c:

If z(n) tends towards infinity as n increases, the value of c is excluded from the Mandelbrot set. For example, c = -1 gives:

z(1) = z(0)^2 - 1 = 0^2 - 1 = 0 - 1 = -1

z(2) = z(1)^2 - 1 = -1^2 - 1 = 1 - 1 = 0

z(3) = z(2)^2 - 1 = 0^2 - 1 = 0 - 1 = -1

z(4) = z(3)^2 - 1 = -1^2 - 1 = 1 - 1 = 0

The formula's output repeats itself, so z(n) doesn't tend to infinity and -1 is thus part of the Mandelbrot set (in fact, you can see in the above diagram that -1 falls squarely inside the first circle of the set). Fractals are a very shiny species of order, no Pokemon pun intended.

Sobble is my favourite out of the gen 8 starters  

Hey @AmarisNsane! Long time no speaky!

 I think what's caught me so much before as seeing them as just starters, the first ones you see & no more important than the local rat etcetra. Past two generations, the starter has meant a lot to me, so was hoping for the grass starter this time around.

… I don't monkey.

*shudder*

I'll have to see how things turn out. This time, actually watch the spoilers & ads. Sobble's cute n' all, but not much yet of a set theme to latch on to. Unless Scorbunny gets fluffier with some adorable floppy ears, I'll still be on the fence. And the monkey will really have to wow me!

 I'm hoping for whichever starter winds up looking more 'feminine.' That's usually what gets me, the levels of cute!

Not to brag or anything, but i can punch with the power of hatred and self deprecation.

Isn't that most punching power though?

No, most punching is done with the power of myth. So mythpunchers.

rflmao

No need to apologize, it's your own life above everything else. I hope you get better as soon as possible. 

No worries. We are here when you feel better. Feel better soon!

Take as much time as you need and then some. We enjoy interacting with you but never at the cost of your health. 

Oooh :O Nice plushies  

@Odyssey Bomseel feels a bit dumb though... just fire seal. Like, I can't imagine how you'd explain that naturally happening. Just, seal went to fire, has black fire bombs now. Lol!

 Bellboyant looks quite pretty... but not really Pokemon's kind of style. They try not to have animal grow into an inanimate object. ....wait... Lucario.  Eh, feels more like an anime critter, y'know? Pretty, but too pretty!

 I like Turbann though! The side evolution of the Slowbro line!

@SolarFlare13

 Really? Others are saying Water Dragon? Only other one we got of those is Kingdra!

  ...and Britain is kind of known for its dragons too.

 Of course, thought they've said before that if the starter trio had secondary typings... those have to help with the Rock, Paper, Scissors theme they're going with effectiveness moves.

That's why I love Bomseel haha, it's a quirky idea. I like to think it balances meteorites on its nose. As for Bellboyant, I like the idea of its whole bell schtick, and of course it's definitely pretty. It reminds me of Luna from Sailor Moon a lot, so maybe that's why it might not feel like as Pokemon like as the others I suppose. Turbann is great, that one feels like missed potential in some ways. 

But... but where does a seal get meteorite bombs from?!!?

 I can see... like, seals moving to some volcanic lava lake, but...that's Fantasy genre there! Lol

@SolarFlare13

Hmm, typing is a bit difficult.

 If we're sticking with the cycle of effectiveness (and really, there's no reason Game Freak has to) I rather like the Fighting-Ice-Flying... but then that'd stick Scorbunny with being fire/flying...

But I can tell Sobble has the kind of build Mudkip grew up with, so It'll only get bulkier & pudgy!

 I'm hoping for Water/Dragon or Water/Ice.... but the whole ghost typing feels like it fits better with its water cloak hiding ability.

...Hmm. Chosen as one of the first things you think about when it comes to the British Isles... a shy, hard to find, large, aquatic reptile?...they wouldn't! 

 Lochryness: the rare lake dragon nobody could find, because it turned out to be a chameleon this entire time! Combonation of the words Loch Ness & Lachrymose! (tearful!)

I have a feeling Sobble's final evolution is gonna be water / poison. Why? well...most reptiles are poisonous and if you take a look in the trailer, Sobble used Acid Armor to conceal itself, which is a poison type move...and what other typing is a liquid substance? Poison 

...and I have a feeling Scorbunny's final evolution is gonna be fire / ground (bunnies like to dig holes in the ground)  and Grookey's final evolution is gonna be grass / fighting  (he carries a wooden stick with him) 

Which starter are you gonna pick? 

 Well, they clearly took a hint from the only other pokemon that's famous for melting its body into water. Vaporeon... a pure water type. Though Muk is known for Acid Armor too.

 Trouble is... Water/Poison is a pretty common typing. Kind of makes you feel your starter is a bit less special.

  Aaaand, Scorbunny's a runner. Doesn't seem like the sort to settle down to build a den.

 Kind of want to it to turn into a Fire/Electric or Fire/Fairy Bunny Paladin. 'S gotta be flashy!

 In fact... kind of want them to all wind up with a fairy typing, lol!

 I'm going with Sobble too. The other two are just a bit too active for me, hee!

Aww, did I kill the conversation?...

Stone Cold Steve Widdershins

You didn't kill the conversation, you just perpetually stunned us.

Alternatively: You didn't kill the conversation, the conversation killed you. 

What I'm most worried about... is how painfully LINEAR  that map looks... I want open exploration... not heavy lines at my back the entire game...

Shame on you! You can't hit a lady with glasses!

   ...literally, everybeing knows the Glasses Girl aura puts up a force field.

Megane Mare! 

You ever hear someone use the insult "Four eyes"?

It's like, 1952 called. they want their word plays back.

... why do I feel a sudden urge to call The Police?

Well, he does have some clumsy romances with students he probably shouldn't.

Are you sure you didn't call me in as a dual-type adviser too? 

I can confirm all of this science, though. Antifreeze-blooded fish are definitely a thing that exists. Apparently polar bear livers are extremely toxic, too, due to ludicrous amounts of Vitamin A in them causing a very unpleasant and self-explanatory affliction called 'hypervitaminosis A' if eaten. Rather similar to carbon monoxide poisoning in terms of symptoms, and involves plenty of peeling flesh, but I'm not sure how it would lend itself to poison-type attacks.

 Hmm... Well.... issue with an aquatic snake...

 I know the franchise, if anything comes even near the water, it gets water typing slapped right on it! We're already fairly drenched in Water/Poison types... but a water snake would be pretty cool too! Could always use Dhelmise's screwball logic that the Water just happens to be where its found and the pokemon could just as easily maneuver on land. Which... beats me why we're capable of taking all the fish pokemon out for battles on land, but... I digress...

 Tentacruel isn't directly a one-to-one translation, but Malamar is clearly squid & Octillery is clearly also derived from Octopi. Plenty of room there for finagling! ...though I might be a bit bias in having more cute tentacles around!

 That's sorta the crux there though. It's important to point out both Poison & Ice as more integral to the creature rather than its method of locomotion. Heck, I'm surprised they didn't try to slap on a Flying typing onto Inkay!

 Hmm... that's an idea... but I'm not sure how feasible attaching crystal to a viscous-form goobody. Alolan Muk has its embedded pebbles and there's now Melmetal... but those appear to be a seperate foreign object lodged in the materia...This'll have to be more a topic for Duality, more experience on gooeyness from thy.

 And of course, You'd be a "Math/Science Type Advisor Pokemon!"

Hmm. But its not actually literal Antifreeze? Like, you can't just wring the fish out over your engine block? ...there's a mental image for you...

 ...but this goes back to my prior topic. There's a bit of half logic to follow with Pokemon. Something like the Pokedex saying that "This creature developed its toxic blood to live in colder climates, and has since used this quality to make itself disgustingly toxic to any would-be predators." But I feel implied that we'd have to somehow weaponize the toxic blood to have it qualify as a Poison.... typing...

OMG! Arctic Horny Toad! You think Game Freak would go for a pokemon that literally squirts its blood out at its opponents in battle?!!? 

They say that there's only two true arrangements of matter: crystalline and viscous. Anything that one might call 'solid' that doesn't have a rigid crystalline arrangement of molecules is in fact viscous - just with very high viscosity. Hence, integrated transitions from true crystals to viscous material aren't chemically feasible. Not all ice is true crystal, admittedly, but even so you'd be hard-pressed to form any sort of graduated phasing from ice to gloop. Generally, also, with ectoplasmic entities, their outer membrane must be kept almost entirely intact at all times for them not to leak out their innards, so they'd have to surround the chunks of ice embedded in their surface with membrane underneath and around, as foreign objects.

The question, then, clearly, is why they'd carry around chunks of ice held gingerly in their outer membrane. In answer, I propose 1) for the purpose of being a readily available source of water, since ectoplasms contain a lot of water and thus would need replenishment regularly if on land due to dehydration/evaporation, and 2) for the purpose of temperature regulation, since ectoplasms can't just 'pump blood through veins near the surface' like us mammals do and thus would probably benefit from objects constantly on hand to sink excess heat into. If it produced enough heat to need any significant quantity of ice for this reason, though, it would strongly imply that its metabolism is very high and therefore that it would need a lot of food to maintain its energy. Much glomping would be required, in short.

I think it is actually antifreeze of a similar nature to what we put in car engines. Something like ammonia, maybe? I could be wrong, though.

I very much like the Arctic horny toad idea. Those amphibians are terrifyingly great. 

When I was young I would go into the hub world of super Mario sunshine and run errands, which consisted of bringing fruits everywhere like a delivery boy. I did something similar in Majora’s mask.

That same play sesson:

 She turns to me... some while after I made my own attempt at reassuring her that dying in the game can be fun too.

  "Hey Uncle! Wanna see me die again?!!?"

And, deep inside, Widdershins is in a pink, sparkly cloud of ecstatic joy, wiping a tear of Liquid Pride.

 I've taught a Five-Year-Old how to find hilarity in suicide! I couldn't be prouder!!

Lol

What about Sheogorath?

Sheogorath is pretty much Discord in Skyrim. While I don't know his magic, that seems alot like Chaos, randomness. I've got a much more set definition on what Madness is. It's something frightening but friendly. 

 Though I am dickering on whether Insanity would fit better... which seems to fit the design spirit.

But can discord give me the wabbajack so I can sell it at a reasonable price?

insanity seems to be more violent. Chaos is just another word for what happens when you leave me in charge of something. And madness is madness.

And... this is... some sort of part-by-part post at a time story being told by several forum accounts? To... explain some sort of voting of community members over which characters they like the most? ...eh... What is this implied goal? Pretty much the only direction I've had to know it exists is these banners.

 If I was trapped in a dream, my first impulse would not be to achieve a goal or work to some climax. Dreams are experience.

it's an ongoing event that started last year, there are teams(https://mlpforums.com/clubs/) that people voted of who they'd consist of, then joined the one they liked most, and then the matches started, polls appear every now and then (we have one at the moment which is what the banner represents) it's nearing it's climax as only 4 teams stand now of the initial 32
there's also a giveway of a console(xbox ps4pro or Switch) that will happen at the end of it, you take part by commenting on the matches while being part of a team

People just tell me to vote for something so I do it. I thought that was the whole point.

If Faulkner can get away with making a character who, even at over 50 feet away is a head taller than a full grown man and sets his broken leg in concrete, anything can work.

@Stone Cold Steve Tuna

 ...How does that work?

 I mean, I get the concrete leg bit... but the perspective thing...

@Duality

  No, no. Not DisOrder. Not an uncontrollable assortment of data & stimuli, to whit, basically Life. No, Confusion. A failing of awareness, the losing of self, the... the....

  … what were we talking about again?

Think of it as Chaos being the bouquet. While Confusion is the intonation & language of the flowers inherent in the flower arrangement. The Forest from the Trees. Brain versus Mind. Soul or Spirit.

 Also, Kinda like the idea of him hating symmetry, yet having his own brand of it all the same & in spite of his efforts.

 …How many times are we going to edit this comment?!!?

It doesn’t get explained. You just kind of have to accept it because the novel is more surrealist in nature than anything else.  And is literally all about trying to bury a woman who died and is starting to stink up the place. And bananas.

Exactly, if anything Valentine's one of the perfect times to celebrate the good things about yourself. Or you know, talking about how much you love Pokemon works too. It certainly works for me