7/27/18
Hello, everyone! As it says in the title, I intend to write a self-insert piece of fanfiction for my first ever story. I'm kind of experimenting here, so if I break any rules I sincerely apologize. I only have the prologue ready to post. I hope to have chapter 1 done in a day or two. Please let me know if you see any mistakes and give a suggestion on how to fix it. I may be a bit on the slow side to implement the fix, but please rest assured that all suggestions are definitely appreciated. I'll probably revise the title of the thread at a later date. Hoping for regular updates, but that may not end up happening... I hope this is an enjoyable experience for all of us.
Here's the link to the CYOA I chose as a base for this part of the story. General CYOA thread | Page 1232
1/26/19
Hey, sorry about the insane delay. My muse decided to work on other ideas. More specifically, I was coming back to most frequently a Warframe story, a Final Fantasy story and a Fire Emblem story. All of them are Self Inserts (I have a looked at a lot of jumps and made choices for them). Recently my Fire Emblem story has been getting a lot of steam, so I've been running around collecting information on how each of the games go (playing a lot of the remakes and trying to plot what I'd do in response). I'll try to be more consistent on updates, but I really need opinions on how to proceed in terms of writing. Also college is taking the life out of me.
Prologue:
Hmm? This doesn't feel like my bed. Why the hell am I sleeping on grass? My eyes snap open, as I quickly rise to my feet in alarm. Looking around I cannot see any signs of civilization. Gentle hills covered in grass and a nearby dirt road make up my surroundings. A second look reveals a backpack nearby with a letter pinned on top (okay there's a rock placed on top of the letter to keep it on the bag). The envelope is addressed to me. Within it are two sheets of paper.
Hey "Rohit Singh" congratulations your idle daydreams have been granted by yours truly. Hope you've brought your A game because you aren't going home unless you entertain me properly, good luck not dying. For your adventure here, I've copied out the choices you made from the Pokemon Card CYOA. This one's kind of a freebie but expect the danger to start ramping up soon.
Pokéball Trainer Card – sends me into the Pokémon world to be a trainer
Meowth – 100,000 Poké ($1000) of local currency every week
Audino – Perfect Health, (no worries about getting sick)
Vigoroth – you no longer require 8 hours of sleep; you still can if you feel like it
Lucario – Awakens your latent Aura, Aura is a force similar to fighting spirit or Ki. In addition to making you a formidable fighter with practice, it allows you to sense emotions like a novice telepath could. I choose to believe this allows me to eventually fight like a Lucario (learn any move in their move set).
Walrein – Allows me to withstand extreme temperatures with ease. (I choose to believe it allows me to do things like go to the top of a snowy mountain in shorts and a t-shirt with no ill effects.)
Diancie – Keystone Watch and Charizardite X
You should get a handle on your Aura pretty quickly, even if it will take a you a while to master it. In addition, I've given basically the starting supplies that every trainer gets in the games, plus a free Pokenav for you to use in place of your phone. You're only a little bit away from Lumiose where the good Professor Sycamore has decided to invite you to finish up your trainer registration and give you a starter and Pokedex.
Okay I know I've been dreaming idly about an event like this, but this is still freaking me out.
*smack* Okay this is getting me nowhere. I take a deep breath and then decide that whether this is real or not, I might as well make the most of it and seriously advance as though my life depends upon it. Which it very well might… I don't have any Pokémon, though I do have a few Pokeballs. According to the map, I'm just south of Lumiose City. Might as well start traveling, the sooner I meet the Professor the sooner I can start seriously traveling and gathering all my favorite Pokémon. As soon as I come to this decision the first letter crumbles into dust just leaving behind a formal looking letter. Upon closer inspection it looks like an acceptance letter from a college, only from Professor Sycamore and much shorter. Also, there's a map showing how to get to his lab stapled to it.
I read through the letter as I walk along the road in fear of missing something important to try preparing for a talk with Sycamore. Hoping for the best I walk towards an uncertain future, hopefully this guy will be satisfied with me curb stomping enemies and not actually endanger my life…
Location: Lumiose City, Kalos (Day: 01 Time: ??? Date:???)
Rohit looked about clearly disgruntled. He was lost after all. Spending two hours trying to reach your destination without clear progress would frustrate anyone, especially if the journey was on foot. Fed up with trying to make sense of the map, there's only one thing to do: Ask for directions (the horror).
As Rohit desperately gathered his courage (and racked his brain for ideas on how to approach someone), a girl his age (current physical age 10) bumped into our protagonist.
"___! I'm so sorry!" ??? blurted out.
"Don't worry about it," Rohit automatically replied.
"I'm so, so sorry! I was in a rush to reach Professor Sycamore's lab an-and I lost my balance⸺"
"Seriously don't worry about it. Hmm? Did you say that you're heading to Professor Sycamore's lab?" Rohit interrupted. He was desperate to make her stop bowing and blabbering apologies. "I'm trying to find my way to his lab too. Can you please show me the way?"
"Huh? You're headed to the lab too? Sure, no problem! My name's Serena. What's yours?"
"My name is Rohit. Thanks for agreeing to lead me to the lab. I've been wandering around lost for the last two hours."
"No problem. I'm happy to help. Are you going to receive a Pokémon from the Professor too?" Serena asked as noted his age as similar to her own.
"That's the plan. According to this letter here the Professor is willing to give me a Pokémon to start my journey," Rohit responded as he showed her the acceptance letter from the lab.
"That's really cool. What Pokémon do you want? I want a Fennekin."
"Really? I like Fennekin too! My number one choice would be an Eevee or Riolu, but failing that I'd love to have a Fennekin."
The duo passed the next half-hour walking to the lab exchanging meaningless pleasantries and talking about their favorite Pokémon. All too soon for Rohit's tastes they arrived at the lab and had to cut their conversation short to speak with Sycamore.
With a sense of excitement and slight nerves, Rohit held open the door for Serena to go in first (meaningless chivalry is meaningless). They looked around the entryway to try and determine where they were supposed to go. After a moment they walked up to the receptionist. They were then directed to fill out a few final registration forms and wait for Sycamore or one of his assistants to arrive and guide them through the lab.
"So, we finally meet!" Sycamore said exultantly. "Fantastic! You're here! Come this way, won't you?" Sycamore led Serena and Rohit into the elevator before hitting the button for the third floor. "It truly is wonderful to meet you, Serena! Your mother has told me ever so much about you. And you my fine friend, I'm afraid I haven't had much of a chance to learn about you before your arrival here, do tell me a little about yourself." The ride in the elevator was over before either kid had a chance to respond to the Professor. "Here is where we keep the Pokémon for beginners and Pokédexes. Follow me and we'll get you both sorted out, so that you may start on your Pokémon Journeys. Come, I'm sure you're both excited to meet your new partners."
In the room there was a machine in the back that held several Pokéballs next to a table with several Pokédexes laid atop it. Serena's eyes seemed to sparkle as she saw them. Rohit picked up his pace a bit and stood in front of them. Both of them fidgeted as they waited for Sycamore's next words.
"There are many exciting things in this world just waiting to be discovered. Friends to make, rivals to compete with and new things around every corner. On this journey I hope you indulge your curiosity and learn about both the world and yourselves. Now then, which of you will go first?"
Rohit and Serena looked at each other before Sycamore even finished his question. As excited as Rohit was he thought it would be unbecoming of a full-grown adult to force a child to wait under these circumstances, also some lingering chivalry (or is that chauvinism?). Rohit took a step back silently to indicate that Serena should go first.
"Umm… me first, Professor," said Serena.
"Very well. We currently have a Fennekin, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur to choose from. Who will you choose to start your journey with?" Sycamore asked as he showed images of the six on a screen, that extended from the machine with the pokéballs.
Serena stepped up, pointed towards Fennekin, and said "I choose Fennekin."
Sycamore nodded and walked up to the machine to retrieve Fennekin's Pokéball. After he gave it to Serena along with her Pokédex (neatly labeled, so that it could double as an ID), Serena released her new Pokémon. Fennekin yawned and shook her coat out before tilting her head as she gazed up at the human in front of her (Serena). While Serena was introducing herself to Fennekin (and cuddling her), Sycamore asked Rohit to step up and choose.
"Amongst the Pokémon available there's only one choice for me. Charmander is my favorite of the lot. I'm kind of surprised that a Charmander is available here though. I thought they were only given out in Kanto."
"Ah, I got several to help with my research into mega-evolution. Would you be willing to help me out with that?"
"Depends on exactly what you want me to do."
"Travel the world and seek out Mega-Evolutions. Come back here periodically to let me scan your Pokémon who have achieved Mega-Evolution, so that I can see if I can learn more about the phenomenon, of course! I may ask you to battle me or one of my assistants to gather data on the differences in performance. If you're worried, you can always choose to say no to a specific task."
"Seems reasonable enough, I'll probably need your help gathering mega-stones, though. What ones do you have? I have a Charizardite-X!"
"Truly?! I, of course, have Garchompite, a mega-stone that seems to be Charizardite, stones that may be Blastoisite and Venusaurite, and a few that I don't have any ideas about!" Sycamore answered Rohit's enthusiasm with his own.
"We'll have to catch and raise a lot of Pokémon if we want to check each stone. You'll take care of the ones not on my team, right?"
"Of course, besides being living creatures in their own right, they'd be our valuable aids in this research. Wait did you say Charizardite-X? What do you mean by that? Is it different from other Charizardite? How did you figure that out, you don't have any Pokémon, right? Also, I wasn't aware that there are any confirmed cases of Charizardite yet," The Professor said perplexed.
"The one who gave it to me said it was Charizardite-X," Rohit shrugged, "If there's anything for or against what I just said I didn't know that." Rohit finished as he played the I'm-just-a-ten-year-old card for all it was worth.
"I see… well, whatever the case I'm sure that we'll see something fantastic from the you and Charmander in the future. Oh! Serena, I'm sorry about ignoring you just now. I tend to get a little preoccupied when I think about my research. I suppose that it's a trait that most researchers share."
"Ehhh? Don't worry about it Professor." Serena reassured him. "Are we all finished here at the lab?"
"Ah, I suppose you're both excited to start your journeys," Sycamore mused. "Yes, everything is set. Bon voyage, my friends."
Serena bade Sycamore farewell and started for the elevator with Fennekin secured in her arms.
"I'll be in touch, Professor. Hmm… Oh yeah! My Pokénav's number is XXX-XXX-XXXX! What's yours? Actually, just put your number in my Pokénav right now." Rohit said handing over the device. Moments later Rohit realized he still hadn't greeted his new partner, so he brought out his new Charmander.
Charmander blinked up at the strange human in front of her. Rohit crouched down in front of her and held a hand out before introducing himself. "Hi, Charmander. My name is Rohit. If you're willing then the two of us are going to go on a journey together. What do you say shall we grow stronger as a team?" Rohit spoke to Charmander softly, but clearly. Charmander growled her agreement, then noticed that Serena was carrying Fennekin and demanded to be carried as well. Bemused Rohit did just that.
Pokémon in hand, Rohit joined Serena in the elevator.
"Thanks for helping me find the lab, Serena."
"I was glad to."
They made small talk in the elevator for a while and walked out of the lobby together. After they made their way outside, Serena mentioned that she'd be heading to Santalune City and asked Rohit if he wanted to travel with her. Rohit politely thanked Serena, but declined saying he wanted to see the city and stock up on supplies. Rohit and Charmander did walk Serena and Fennekin to the South Gate before heading to the closest Pokémon Center, while they headed south to Santalune City.
More Notes!
Professor Sycamore's first two lines are dialogue taken from Pokémon Y
Does anyone have any idea what I should use for Serena right after she crashes into me (where I put the blank line)? Also, any help with the dialogue would be greatly appreciated. It's been driving me nuts for weeks now. Has this slowed the pace way too much, considering how little happened in this chapter? I thought that I should make sure to not gloss over the meeting with Professor Sycamore and Charmander. Did I go too far in the other direction or did I neither go far enough nor cover things that needed to be in this chapter?
Opinions on First vs Third Person?
Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I really couldn't think of a better way and I've been sitting on this for way too long. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Should I post partial Timeline to get feedback on it or not?
Honestly, I was originally looking for an image from Pokémon Y, but this is probably more fitting as a homage to the first Pokémon game I ever played, Gold Version.
Note: I vote that Charmander's tail flame is like Ponyta's flames, doesn't burn unless she wants it too. Using Italics to convey thoughts. Future letters will be in a different font.
Location: Lumiose City, Kalos (Day:02, Time:6:59 am, Date: Friday, March 9, XXXX)
Rohit awakened curled up around Charmander, snuggling into his new and adorable companion. Hmm. Where am I? Oh yeah, I'm in Kalos and I've fulfilled my childhood dream to become a Pokémon Trainer. Well, time to get up. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was 7 am. "Charmander, it's time to get up," Rohit said while gently shaking her awake. Charmander awoke with a yawn and stretched a bit before turning to Rohit. They both hopped out of bed and ambled about getting ready before heading downstairs to eat. After a quick meal the pair left the city.
After parting ways with Serena and reserving a room at the Pokémon Center yesterday, Rohit spent the day just walking around with Charmander in tow, chatting all the while. During their wanderings the duo found a store specializing in camping equipment and the like. Consulting with the shopkeeper Rohit bought some basic supplies with the 3,000 Poké that was in his wallet.
Supplies in hand, Rohit started towards Santalune City as well in the hopes that the Pokémon would be weak enough that he could train up Charmander, not that he intended for battle to be the only way his Pokémon trained, but experience (actual live combat experience) is important.
Nearby chirping caught Rohit's attention as he walked down the road. Upon investigating the noise, Rohit found a Fletchling. Excited to encounter his first wild Pokemon, Rohit attempted to dash forward to challenge the bird. Attempted because in his excitement he tripped over an exposed root and fell flat on his face. The Fletchling looked his way, blinked… then collapsed in laughter.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," Rohit groused. He got back up, dusted down his clothes a bit and then sent out Charmander. The Fletchling sobered up pretty quickly after that and then Rohit declared his intent. "Fletchling, I will catch you and add you to my team. Charmander use Ember!"
Charmander shot out a dozen little fireballs (more sparks, really) at Fletchling who dodged by taking to the sky. Fletchling flew in on a direct course for Charmander.
"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Charmander spewed smoke from her mouth, irritating Fletchling's eyes and giving Charmander a chance to sidestep and take a swipe at Fletchling. Charmander clipped Fletchling's wing sending her (both Pokémon are female) sprawling in the dirt, stunning her.
"Use Ember!" Charmander quickly followed up with an Ember and blasted the poor Fletchling into a tree. Rohit saw his chance and chucked an empty Pokeball as hard as he could. Fletchling was enveloped in a beam of red light. The ball fell to the ground and twitched thrice before going dormant.
"Yes! We caught our first Pokemon! Charmander you were amazing!" Rohit shouted as he ran over and scooped up Charmander. After a minute of nuzzling and celebrating, Rohit walked over to his newly filled Pokeball and picked it up. He smiled and murmured a welcome to his new Pokemon before putting the Pokeball away and returning to the path.
Charmander opted to walk alongside him as they continued onward to Santalune City. Not long after, Rohit was stopped by a young trainer, his name was Joey.
"Hey you! My Ratatta is in the top percentage of Ratattas! I challenge you to a battle!" screamed the excitable (annoying) munchkin. "Go Ratatta!" The Pokeball flew through the air and unleashed its payload a Ratatta that formed out of the light. "Use Tackle attack!"
His Ratatta hastened to ram into Charmander before Rohit had a moment to process the start of the battle. Charmander was also caught flatfooted and was bowled over by the tiny rat. Upset, Charmander slapped Ratatta with her tail causing him to flinch back, slightly singed.
"Charmander! Use Scratch!" Rohit cried, only to discover something very important.
Charmander was way ahead of her trainer and already furiously scratching Ratatta. After several attacks, Ratatta was already breathing laboriously.
"What?! Ratatta, come on buddy! You can beat that overgrown lizard!" Joey cried. Charmander most assuredly did not appreciate the comment… Those who witnessed the beating were convinced that Ratatta was lucky to come out only a little cooked rather than dead. She was still annoyed as she walked away with Rohit, leaving a youngster with the shattered remains of his delusion of adequacy. Even Rohit was metaphorically walking on eggshells around Charmander after that incident. Thankfully for Rohit's nerves, Charmander calmed down after a good thirty minutes of fuming. It was also good luck for a young trainer who challenged the pair with her Litleo. She dashed up to them with her Litleo sprinting to catch up.
"Hey are you a new trainer? Want to have a battle?" She queried in one breath. Rohit looked to Charmander to see how she was feeling and could see by the fire in her eyes that she was raring to go.
"Very well! We accept your challenge! Is a one vs one okay?"
"Sounds fine to us, right Litleo?" Litleo growled his approval and so the match was on.
Charmander and Litleo squared off against one another waiting for the signal to begin. When it began, Litleo sprinted forward in a Tackle that missed when Charmander ducked and Scratched his underbelly. Rohit was quickly coming to realize that at the very least his Charmander wasn't going to act like Pokémon did in the anime where they didn't dodge or move unless specifically ordered to by their trainer, but would act on their own unless given a command by someone they trusted. Neither Litleo nor Charmander could really use their Fire-Type Attacks (just Ember) because their opponent resisted Fire. Left with only a single real physical Attack, the two Fire-Types brawled. There was no real technique to it, they merely followed their instincts and sought victory with every breath. Cheered on by their trainers they fought with a zeal worthy of champions. They interspersed their use of Moves with ordinary attacks, biting, scratching, tackling and smacking each other to force their foe into submission. Seriously though, it was less a fight and more two brats crawling around in the dirt trying to hurt one another. It was over almost as quickly as it began, with Charmander emerging battered, but victorious.
"Litleo! You did great out there. We'll work harder and do better next time." She sighed. "Hi, my name is Anne. What's yours?"
"I'm Rohit."
"Cool. Ahh… do you want to exchange numbers? I'll give you a call when I'm ready to battle again."
"Sounds like it'll be fun to me. Just we'll need to be in the same area in order to battle though."
And so, Rohit obtained the phone number of his first random trainer with every intent of using her as a stepping stone to become stronger. Though he hasn't quite consciously thought of it, he is projecting some of his in-game experiences onto this trainer. He'll be in for quite the wake-up call when he loses for the first time to a "random trainer".
Between the battles, conversations and exploration of the route, evening fast approached. Rohit decided to try and setup camp and stay the night outside of the city as practice for those times where he has no choice, but to camp out. Carefully, he approached the problem of erecting a tent. However, it was to no avail as he simply ended up entangled in the material without much to show for it. With his attempt at camping ended in failure, Rohit trudged into the city.
Hidden in his room at the Pokémon Center, Rohit moped about his embarrassing failures. For the near future, Rohit would have to ensure that he remained near cities or towns, severely curtailing his ability to explore and track down elusive Pokémon to add to his team.
After a few minutes of watching her trainer mope, Charmander started poking Rohit because he wasn't paying enough attention to her. After a bit, Rohit rolled out of bed and started to scratch Charmander's belly while musing about their next steps. Charmander occasionally nodded along, but honestly, she was just paying enough attention to ensure that Rohit didn't stop scratching.
Notes!
So, what do you think about the appearance of Youngster Joey and his prided Ratatta? Should I do this with other trainers? Any requests for who you'd like to see me battle? Do you have any particular teams you'd like me to face? If so, feel free to put down the archetype and team you'd like me to face in the comments (don't forget their movesets, I know that I've decided there is no hard limit on how many moves a Pokémon may have, but it'll make it easier on me by removing the absolute need to research all of them). Just please try to avoid including legendary Pokémon. I'll accept non-legend Ubers (and get royally smashed by them, you know what, I'll accept non-uber legends like Articuno who certainly has multiples if we're going by the anime [I'm going for some monstrous hybrid of the games and anime with maybe a sprinkling of Manga thrown in], but please don't include legends that thematically absolutely cannot have multiples of in existence, especially not Arceus [WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THEM GOD?!?!]). Most trainers will probably have randomly generated teams, but if I get enough entries, I'm willing to give it a go facing off against you guys. If you tailor the team to roughly Rohit's level when you submit it, then I'll try to put them in the next chapter, otherwise you'll have to wait till Rohit is at a point where he'd be willing to challenge high-level trainers, win or lose.
I'm sorry about any places where things get weird or seem to be following a different format. I wrote this in small segments over the course of a couple of weeks and was constantly fighting with myself over what or how to write. I'm posting this in the hopes of getting feedback and trying to motivate myself to write more for chapter 3 (about 400 words so far). Also I would like to wish you all a belated happy New Year. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Note: Changing styles again, hopefully I'll get some feedback on what works best before I actually work on the next chapter.
Location: Santalune City, Kalos (Day: 03, Time:7:28 am, Date: Saturday, March 10, XXXX)
Upon waking up, I quickly got ready for the day before running to Santalune Forest. The previous night, I'd spent a got half an hour researching what Pokémon should be nearby with my Pokedex. For the majority of my non-competitive teams, I usually end up using a Pikachu on the team at least for a little while. In my Pokémon Y playthrough, I do in fact have a Pikachu with a Light Orb on my main team. Having doublechecked, I know for certain that while rare, Pikachu can be found in Santalune Forest. I was eager to add a Pikachu to my team even just in the short term, simply for the nostalgia.
When I took a break at the edge of the forest to catch my breath, I saw a Fletchling, reminding me that I still needed to introduce myself to my own Fletchling. I walked off the side of the road for at least a little privacy and released both Fletchling and Charmander. Charmander immediately turned to me and walked over, while Fletchling took a moment to shake her feathers out. After patting Charmander on the head, I walked over and crouched down to address Fletchling.
"Hi, Fletchling. My name is Rohit and I'm your new trainer. I hope that we can become friends." After I said my piece, Fletchling thought about this turn of events for a bit before acquiescing and giving us a chance to become friends. Now with two Pokémon in tow, I set out into the forest chatting along the way.
I noticed a Weedle close to the entrance of the forest and strode forth to capture it out of habit. The battle didn't take very long on account of Charmander's overwhelming advantages. For a moment I was making plans revolving around teaching the little devil False Swipe once he'd evolved into a Beedrill to make catching Pokémon easier. Then I remembered that I had Charmander use Ember to faint the low level Weedle before capturing him and stopped planning such useless things. I was disappointed for a bit and wondered what I should do my new Weedle before coming to the conclusion that I could use him for Sycamore's research into Mega-Evolution.
I took Weedle to the Pokémon Center and left him there to recover from getting thrashed by Charmander. When we returned to the forest, I returned Charmander, so that I could actively use Fletchling and allow her to grow stronger. Also, I wanted to save Charmander for in case I encountered a Pikachu.
It's a nice day out and we're not under a time limit, so we wandered aimlessly through the woods paying just enough attention to make sure we roughly know where the entrance to the forest is. There was some light poking through the canopy in places, enough to allow people to see all around with no issues. There were scattered bug Pokémon throughout the forest that made for great practice for Fletchling.
We journeyed through the forest till we encountered not a Pikachu, but another trainer.
"Hey you! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Bug Catcher ??? shouted. Oh, great. A Bug Catcher. I'm going to have to deal with multiple Weedles.
I sighed before responding, "Fine. Let's see what you've got. Fletchling, you ready for this?"
Fletchling nodded decisively, before she came down to wait in front of me, fidgeting with barely restrained energy. My opponents arm drew back before he chucked his Pokéball as hard as he could.
"Go! Caterpie!" He shouted, "Use Tackle and destroy that wimpy bird!"
While Caterpie was moving faster than the Pokémon we'd encountered in the forest so far, It was nothing impressive and Fletchling dodged out of the way with ease.
"What?! How could you miss that lam– ?!"
"Use Peck. Just finish this battle so we can get back to what we were doing."
Fletchling dove out of the air and strafed Caterpie, rapidly dwindling its health. After three attacks Caterpie had already lost consciousness.
"How is this possible? GRRR. That's okay, there's no way you'll be able to beat my second Pokémon! I choose you, Pinsir!" Out of his Pokéball came the large and aggressive Pokémon. And boy did it look angry.
"Okay, now I'm actually impressed… A bloody Pinsir on my second day as a trainer," I murmured under my breath. "Fletchling, you okay to stay in or do you want to tag out?" I called to my ally. Fletchling chirped her desire to stay in the fight. She circled around once, before landing in front of me and glaring back at the overgrown bug in front of her. Pinsir clacked his… well pincers, together menacingly as he tried to loom over my brave, little bird. All was still for a moment, then both sides were off like a shot. Pinsir barreled down towards Fletchling trying to catch her with a Vice Grip.
"Fletchling, use Quick Attack to dodge into the sky!" I ordered.
Fletchling dutifully followed the order and avoided even being clipped by Pinsir's charge. Lacking any ranged moves, this low-level Pinsir glared impotently at Fletchling. Though there were some close calls this battle could hardly be called impressive or difficult. Fletchling merely kept up her hit and run attacks and Pinsir was left unable to respond, especially as the few times he came close we just used Quick Attack to change the timing and evade.
"Nooooo! How could you possibly beat my Pinsir?! You cheated didn't YOU!"
"How exactly could I cheat in a battle out here?"
"You're not a beginner at all are you?! You must have been training that bird for years!"
"Hate to break it to you, but I caught Fletchling yesterday. If you pay attention, you'll see that she's pretty tired actually." Anyone who payed attention could tell. Fletchling was practically panting and occasionally nearly collapsed, so I returned her for now.
"Lia-"
"Look, kid I don't care anymore, you lost so deal with it. It's not like I challenged you anyway. Later." And on that note, I tuned the brat out and walked away. He didn't stop shouting till long after I'd left. It's not like I took his money or something.
After another thirty minutes of walking, I found a convenient log for me to sit on while we stopped for lunch. Then I realized that I hadn't bought any food when I went shopping for supplies. Forlorn, I began the long trek back to Santalune City for lunch.
I wasn't walking long when a boy in a cape showed up. His outfit was bizarre. I could understand the cape (even if it was purple with red on the inside) given that Lance lives in this world (probably), but why a bowtie, dress shirt and waistcoat combined with purple sweat pants and a purple headband. Well as weird as his outfit was, he seemed like a nice enough person.
"My name's Cloud, would you like to battle? It'd be a 2 vs 2 battle." See, he decided to politely ask me for a battle rather than attack my Pokémon like a barbarian to force me into a battle.
"Mine is Rohit. The practice couldn't hurt. Okay, I'm fine with a 2v2 battle. Let's go Charmander!" I shouted as a threw Charmander's Pokéball. Fletchling can take a break for now, while Charmander takes care of business.
"I choose you, Rayquaza!"
Wait. What?! A Rayquaza!!! There's no way I can challenge that with a Charmander. While I was panicking about impending death by dragon, the beam of energy quickly resolved into an orb, not a dragon. When the lightshow ended a Voltorb could be seen on the ground. I sighed in relief once I realized what I was facing.
"You almost gave me a heart attack. You got me good with that one." I chuckled.
"Heh, heh. Glad you enjoyed the joke."
"What part of heart attack sounds like enjoyment?"
"This. Rollout."
"Sonnuva– Charmander dodge!"
Voltorb sounded his agreement and rolled straight for Charmander. The sudden attack caught us off-guard and Charmander's leg was clipped despite her attempt to leap out of the way as Voltorb tore on by. She landed with a thud, in pain and quite angry. Charmander pushed herself back onto her feet and began to turn around so she could attack Voltorb.
Charmander jerked as the command registered in her mind, just in time for her to take a Voltorb in the back (still using Rollout). The good news (for Charmander) is that now Voltorb was in front and needed more time to turn.
"Ember! Let's see if we can't get a burn going!"
Furious and with Blaze active, Charmander blasted Voltorb, knocking the it for a loop. She kept it up as she stalked closer to her prey, so she could make it regret attacking her. Unfortunately, that worked in Cloud and Voltorb's favor.
"Self-Destruct!"
"Shit! Charmander, move!"
Charmander leapt back as Voltorb started to glow. However, it was too little, too late to dodge the explosion completely. She did manage to avoid the worst of it and weather what she failed to dodge, leaving a shaking and exhausted Pokémon standing on the field opposite an unconscious one.
"I'm surprised you got that lucky. I suppose the first match goes to you, but there's no way your Charmander will be able to beat my next Pokémon now. Go, Dunk Master!"
Dunk Master? What is this one going to be? In a bright light, the Pokémon was unveiled as a Celesteela. Wonderful, a freaking Ultra Beast. This one's Steel too, so Fletchling probably just barely avoids being useless. Charmander isn't in good condition and all of its Base Stats are undoubtably higher. Even if this thing were Level 1, I… I don't think we'll be able to win here. I should bow out, let my Pokémon recover and then start taking this more seriously. This isn't like in games where the path forward is so simple my victory is assured. Charmander and Fletchling have been working hard, it's through their natural ability that I've won till now. I have a lot to learn, don't I? I'm surprised my internal mon–
"Air Slash!" Fuck.
"Charmander!" I cried as blades of air sped towards her. She managed to barely dodge out of the way by falling to her right. "Okay, we give u–" [Charmander growling?]
Charmander glared at me, keeping eye contact as she rose to her feet, grimacing and stumbling the entire way. What drives you to go this far? Is it pride? Either way there's not much more we can do? If you really want to battle till the end, you better not regret this in the morning.
"Are you giving up?" I glanced over to him, before looking back at Charmander a question in my eyes. The answer I found in hers determined mine.
"Not yet. We'll see this one through to the end. Charmander, get ready. If you want to win, we have no margin for error." Our expressions smoothed out before taking on a determined countenance. Charmander firmed up her stance and growled ready for round two, valiantly ignoring her injuries.
"Alright, let's continue then," Cloud smirked.
"Charmander, use Ember!" This time Cloud and his Pokémon were caught off guard by the sudden transition into battle. Even caught flatfooted Dunk Master was hardly singed. Well, that's unfair. Even a surprise attack was worthless. Celesteela just shrugged off our best move. We'll make him "bleed" for it, but defeat isn't just probable, it is certain. Is there anyth–
"Dunk Master, use Toxic!" Charmander received a face full of toxic gunk to fast for her to react. After that well our fate was sealed. When Dunk Master used Leech Seed on Charmander, that was just rubbing salt in the wound. With the last of her strength robbed, Charmander collapsed and ceased her struggle to escape from the entangling vines. I returned her and looked forlornly at her Pokéball.
"Umm. Are we continuing or not?" Cloud asked after a minute of me spacing out.
"Sorry, my only other Pokémon is a Fletchling and she's pretty tired, so we won't be able to put up much of a fight. While I'd like to continue if only so I don't leave you hanging, I don't think I can countenance battling when we don't stand even a slight chance. Your Celesteela just glowed from Beast Boost activating didn't it?" When Cloud nodded and looked vaguely impressed, I sighed.
"You know about Ultra Beasts? You might be a beginner, but you sure are well informed."
"Eh. What can I say? I've always wanted to go out and be a successful Pokémon Trainer. The more I know the easier a time my team and I will have. It keeps me from doing things like sending a Flying-Type against a dual Steel/Flying Type. I'm going to head back into the city to stay at the Pokémon Center. Thanks for showing me just how far I have to go if I want to compete."
"No problem. Hope you'll battle me again someday."
I left waving to Cloud and feeling kind of depressed by how easily we got bested. Well, now I feel like an idiot. This isn't the games. I don't have nice little numbers determining everything and certainly don't have the advantage of knowing exactly how strong my enemies, no opponents, will be beforehand. The Elite Fours, Gym Leaders and Champions will all be way stronger than us. We're not very strong right now, but we'll definitely get stronger. Charmander isn't the only one who's competitive after all. What's that blue glow?
I halted in my tracks. Looking at my hand I could see a blue, incandescent aura outlining my hand and arm. It dissipated as I took note of it. After scratching my head for a minute and wracking my mind for any idea what it was, I facepalmed as I remembered something important. The Lucario Card gave me access to Aura, so now I just need to figure out how to use it. Pikachu or Riolu first? One will round out my team dealing with Water-Types and granting me access to Thunder Wave, the other will probably help me figure out Aura.
I resumed my trip to Santalune City with a spring in my step, excited to potentially be able to perform super human feats.
Notes!
Noticed that I swapped tenses for a bit from past into present. Hope I managed to fix that mistake. ClearbutCloudy thanks for being the first person to offer up a team. I hope that I managed to do them justice in this chapter. If you want me to change the trainer name and archetype, please let me know. This won't be the last we see of Cloud. Took the appearance from Pokémon Gold.
[Juggler Cloud's Troll and Awe]
Rayquaza (Voltorb): Self-Destruct, Roll Out, Spark, Taunt
I'll fill in the last four slots with random Pokémon if you don't decide to fill in the rest of the team, ClearbutCloudy.
Low level battles seem like there won't be much in way of tactics or variety as just about everyone is forced to just charge in like an idiot and try to land attacks up close and personal or one side firing non-stop at the other who is stuck frantically dodging.
Can anyone tell me what sound a Voltorb makes? A Celesteela? Should I be using their names in place of words or other sounds or should I say that they are making sounds like in the games? I think the latter makes more sense especially as it seems like Pokémon in the anime do the same in some case (i.e. Charizard), but I legitimately have no idea what sounds an ice cream cone would make to use Vanilluxe as an example (what words would I use to describe their cries from the game?).
I was hoping to get this out on the 26th of February, but… well you all know how that went. Though to be fair this is about double the length I'm aiming for in each chapter (1000). Anyway, I really do hope you all enjoys this, and I started a new story where an idiot (me) with no real sword training is going to be forced to rely on one to survive. Please leave any comments below and if you have any teams you'd like me to face let me know. Any help making the story better like advice on the dialogue (which I know I need help with) would be appreciated.
Location: Santalune City, Kalos (Day: 06, Time: 5:53 am, Date: Tuesday, March 12, XXXX)
Well the last day has been productive… maybe. I had once again spent a portion of the night trying my hand at meditation. I know my grandmother said that achieving a few minutes of a meditative state is pretty good for a beginner, but thus far I've failed to manage even a single minute. Anime and Manga made it look so easy to grasp your internal energy. Even total idiots were capable of learning that or using meditation to attune to their power. Dammit, I guess I'll have to hope that when I have a Lucario, I'll be able to learn from him, or her, how to wield Aura. At least, my team has been growing. I thought as I glanced at my Pokémon, Charmander lying in the bed, Weedle curled around the bed post and Fletchling napping on the back of the chair in the room. They'd spent hours each day getting into skirmishes with wild Pokémon while we continued to search the forest. My search for a Pikachu to round out the team hasn't succeeded yet. The search has been so fruitless so far that I double checked my Pokédex to make sure that Pikachu actually live in Santalune Forest.
A few rays of sunlight caught my attention as the sun began to rise above the horizon. I got up from my place on the floor and looked out the window to watch as the view changed as dawn broke upon the city, bathing the streets, trees and buildings in hues of red and yellow. As I watched the sunrise, the peace of the moment was broken by sleepy chirps.
"Fletch~, Fletchling," Fletchling greeted me as the sunlight awakened her from her slumber. She was slumped and bobbed for a bit before shaking out her feathers and stretching.
"Good morning," I greeted softly. I looked over at both Weedle and Charmander to find them still fast asleep. I walked across the room to fetch my belt, pausing slightly as Fletchling took flight to land on my shoulder. After putting my belt with my Pokeballs back on, I returned both Charmander and Weedle before collecting my bag and vacating the room. I handed over the key to the room as I left the Center to start yet another day of searching for Pokémon to add to my team.
I really wanted a Pikachu to add to my team, not only are they adorable, but I've used them on many of my teams. Every team I've made has had at least one Fire, Water and Electric-Type Pokémon. More importantly, I had no intention of moving on without Thunder Wave and the only way I was going to get it anytime soon was by catching a Pikachu. My most successful competitive teams practically spammed Thunder Wave, so I've grown to love the Move.
I've finally managed to learn how to set up a tent and camp out, so I wanted to try doing that for a couple of days to avoid having to retread the same ground over and over again. It was probably going to drive me nuts, but I wasn't seeing much in the way of alternatives.
I stopped my musing to focus on the journey. Just like Lumiose City, Santalune City was a lot larger than it was in the games. While not particularly confusing, I had only been here for a short while. Between my decent memory for where I'd been and the signs pointing the way to the forest, I made it to the edge within 20 minutes.
The sun still hadn't risen by the time, I'd made it to the forest, but without any games or money it's not like I had anything else to do. It was once again time for another day of searching.
At 7 a.m. on the dot, something bizarre happened. Useful, but bizarre. A cloud of dust approached me from off in the distance, which resolved into a Meowth that ran up to me on 2 legs with a carrier bag slung over his shoulder, while wearing a mailman outfit. While my team and I gaped at him he felt around in his bag before retrieving an envelope with my name on it. He handed it off to me before sprinting away again, making us all cough as the dust got into our lungs.
"Hey, uh guys, did a Meowth in a mailman outfit just run up to us in the middle of a forest to hand deliver a letter?" I asked dumbfounded.
Charmander, Weedle, and Fletchling all nodded back and assuring me that either we were all hallucinating the same thing, or that really did just happen. When I opened up the envelope, rather than a letter I received cash. Though it took me a moment, I remembered that I'd picked the Meowth card way back when, which means that every 7 days I get paid a fixed sum of local currency. I'd actually have a pretty easy time affording TMs and the like later on.
I shook my head at another dream come true, getting paid without having to work, and refocused on breakfast. Afterwards I cleared up camp, so that I could resume my search.
While I was musing on my quest for the Holy Gr– I mean Pikachu, I crashed into something… okay, I crashed into someone. After a few moments of waiting for my brain to catch up, I realized that I'd crashed into Serena, who was currently on the ground…
"Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry! I was not paying attention to where I was going. Here, let me help you up," I frantically said, hand extended in front of her face.
"It's fine, I'm okay," Serena responded as she dusted her skirt after standing once more. She gave me a wry look as she continued, "We really need to stop running into each other."
"Yeah…" I softly agreed, chagrined by my gaffe. My gaze was locked on my shoes as I felt all of three years old as opposed to my XX years or even current physical age of 13.
"So… what are you doing out here in the woods?" My head snapped up to see her peering at me curiously.
"I heard there are Pikachus in this forest, so I came to add one to my team. Also, I wanted to spend some more time training my Pokémon before I challenge the gym."
"There are Pikachus here? Well, I can definitely understand wanting to train more before challenging a gym. Fennekin and I challenged the Gym Leader thinking that we could handle a few Bug-Types, but we got crushed. I'm out here trying to train and catch some new Pokémon to help too."
"Ouch, what was she using as her team?"
"She had a Vivallion and something called a Surskit."
"Bubblebeam, take a lot out of Fennekin?"
"How'd you know?"
"Surskit is a Bug/Water Dual-Type native to Hoenn. I've seen a few examples of the species in action before and have an idea of what they call learn. I know a lot of different Pokémon and bits and pieces of how best to train or battle them."
"That's cool. Any ideas for how I should tackle the gym?"
"Assuming that the same Pokémon are used against you next time, I'd recommend picking up an Electric-Type or a Flying-Type. Vivallion is part Flying after all and so will share Surskit's weakness to Electric-Types, while Flying-Types have an advantage against Bug-Types without any weakness to Water-Types like your Fennekin. Also, their STAB-Moves won't be neutral effective against Surskit unlike Fennekin's Fire-Type Moves."
"… Sounds like a plan. There are plenty of Fletchlings around, so catching one of them to train should be easy enough. Thanks. I'll let you get back to your search then. Talk to you later," Serena said as her face transitioned from confused to understanding.
"Bye," I responded as I waved farewell. I watched her leave before I took a deep breath and resumed my search.
It was my third day in the forest. My team and I were kind of just loafing around camp. I was getting antsy about going back to civilization and the general comforts of a modern society, but stayed because I was still determined to capture one of my favorite Pokémon. Sure, I was probably going to dump him or her for a Jolteon as soon as I could, but I still wanted to have a Pikachu.
Wait. These are living, breathing animals with emotions and thoughts of their own, not pixels on a screen. If I end up with a lot of Pokémon, I'm going to have to rotate them around. I can't just dump them in a box and leave them to rot, that would be incredibly cruel. Well, at least I shouldn't run out of money anytime, soon right? I'm going to have to change my plans…
I'd originally jotted down the names of about 4 dozen Pokémon I wanted to capture during my ten years here. So many cool Pokémon that I will now never capture. Dammit.Should I shelve my plans for a Pikachu? There are a lot of Electric-Types that are arguably better than a Pikachu or Raichu…
Suddenly a sharp crack resounded through the air. Startled my Pokémon and I scrambled to our feet and turned to face the direction of the noise. We were just in time to watch as a Pikachu faceplanted on the ground. We stared for a few moments, before Pikachu stirred and gingerly raised up its face. We knew the exact moment he noticed us because he made a sheepish expression as he rubbed the back of his head before standing up and shaking himself off.
"Pikachu," he said with a silly grin on his face.
"Pikachu!" I exclaimed as I pointed at him. Operating on instinct, I took a leaf out of Ash Ketchum's book. "I challenge you to a battle! Charmander, I choose you!"
"Char!" She shouted as she readied herself for battle.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, startled by my sudden declaration. He even went so far as to take a step back and bring an arm in front as though to shield himself from our aggression. He found his spine before long though and shook his head before taking a fighter's stance with sparks flying from his cheeks. Charmander squared up against him and prepared to battle once more.
"Charmander, Ember!" She dutifully carried out my order and sent multiple small fireballs Pikachu's way. He leapt away from the first volley, but he was struck in mid-air by Charmander's follow up Ember.
He recovered admirably and sent a Thundershock Charmander's way before landing. Charmander was taken aback (most foes she's faced couldn't take a hit from her) and took it head on. Thankfully the worst hadn't happened and Charmander was not paralyzed.
Both Pokémon took a moment to recover and size up their opponent again after the exchange of attacks.
"Charmander, keep your distance and keep hammering Pikachu with Ember!" I called out worried about the possibility of Pikachu having Static as his ability.
"Char!" She responded before she resumed her attack on Pikachu. Fire sped on towards Pikachu only for him to glow and charge with great speed. He'd used Quick Attack and charged straight through the flames to force us into melee. Their heads collided and poor Charmander reeled back, dazed by the blow. Pikachu landed just fine and readied for another Quick Attack.
"Smokescreen!" Charmander was a bit confused, but followed the order regardless. Pikachu got a lungful of smoke and started coughing his lungs out. Charmander then Scratched away at Pikachu three times in quick succession before unleashing another Ember. Pikachu was rendered unconscious before he had a chance to recover from his coughing fit. I threw a Pokéball immediately and added a fourth member to the team.
I grabbed Charmander in a hug. I attached the ball to my belt before hurrying over to add Fletchling and Weedle to the hug.
"We're heading back to the city! We'll take tomorrow off to just hang out! Just give me a minute to pack all this stuff away, so we can leave!" I yelled excitedly before I started packing up. It took me a bit to get everything packed away properly, I'm still learning about camping after all, but we were soon on our way back into town. I'm going to need to do some work on paring down my list of Pokémon and look up information on how to train and care for them. I can hardly wait to just relax with my Pokémon tomorrow. No outdoors for me tomorrow.
Notes:
As you can see, on advice from ClearbutCloudy, I've decided to bite the bullet and use Pokémon names to indicate when they are talking. I'm going to be pretending that they're still communicating with growls, squeaks, etc. though, so unless I get a lot of complaints, I'll probably (in general; at least some of the time) just put the Pokémon's name in quotes once to indicate speaking. Sorry for the delay, but end of semester and along with finals kept me from being able to write much. Also, I got distracted by more ideas, like where to send myself next. So far, I'm leaning towards Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wilds.
Also, I have a backlog of games that I've been sitting on for years without finishing that I've recently started working through once again, like Xenoblade Chronicles, or Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance. I'll soon be getting a copy of Kingdom Hearts 3, which I know has been out for like half a year, to play through so that a later jump in the world of Kingdom Hearts will hopefully not have a huge pause in the middle as I pla— I mean conduct research for the story.
After Having Obtained Kingdom Hearts 3:
Yeah, this has been on the backburner so much that I've had to alter this note at the end several times. I've actually finished Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 3. It was a lot of fun, there were issues with the story, but I have no complaints about the gameplay. Heck I liked the story, I just thought there were small things they could've done to make it better. If you disagree, don't worry, I'm easily entertained and very good at suspension of disbelief.
I've spent the last while working a summer job, so that took not only a lot of time, but also made me want to spend what little time I had on whatever I felt like to decompress. I did spend some time on this, but nowhere near as much as if I hadn't needed to go to work.
Right now, I'm waffling about how to write this story as in using 3rd person or first or what not. Still working on it, but I can't help feeling dissatisfied with how I'm writing this. Also, I can't understand what I was thinking when I chose the Diancie card anymore. I should've chosen Slurpuff because it fits better (makes me more like the game protagonists. Who needs to eat, sleep or use the bathroom?). Which of course would mean I'd have to go back and change the scene with Sycamore (no more Charizardite to talk about after all).
Even Later:
I got Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I've been dedicating practically all of my time to that. Bernadetta is my favorite character. She's not my strongest (that would be Edelgard or Lysithea), but well I think she's just adorable. I promised to put her Dad back under house arrest and really wish he was a boss on a map somewhere... I've finished both the Church route and the Black Eagles route at this point (over 100 hours spent playing), just started on Blue Lions when my thumb began to hurt whenever I moved it.
TLDR: I'm not dead yet! I got distracted by new games. This bit wasn't flowing very well. I spent some time thinking of the next jump(s) keep things moving. Any suggestions? Also do you think Pokémon should be allowed to have multiple abilities? I was wondering if I should give Pikachu both Static and Lightning Rod.
My Thoughts on Next Jumps: LoZ: BoTW (I think this is a great place to learn how to fight) RWBY
Kingdom Hearts
Other: someplace you'd like to recommend?
*paraphrased from The Fairly Oddparents no actual breathing problems or physical illness have been suffered by the author
Location: Santalune City, Kalos (Day: 19, Time: 10:17 am, Date: Monday, March 24, XXXX)
I was feeling a bit nervous as I stood before the doors of the Gym after breakfast. The past 10 days had been spent training for this moment, but I was worried that I hadn't done the greatest job preparing my Pokémon for the battle ahead. The only thing I was certain of was that playing the games hadn't prepared me for the reality of living in the Pokémon world. I'm not really an outdoorsy type of guy after all.
Anyway… because these battles aren't simple turn-based combat with as much time as I want to make decisions, I'm not sure what I can really do to prepare my team. I'm sure they've all got potential because even with me stuck at the helm they're winning battles, but considering I don't have convenient meters showing me their progress, it's difficult for me to quantify how training is going. Also, training has become far more complicated than just pressing a button to faint a random encounter.
Thank Arceus that the Pokédex is now actually a hi-tech encyclopedia. The information on taking care of my Pokémon has been truly lifesaving. Well, that and the ability to pester Nurse Joy for instruction on the proper care of Pokémon.
As I dithered over whether or not to enter the Gym, Serena spotted me. Feeling mischievous, she stealthily approached me.
"Hey, Rohit! What are you doing here?!" Serena happily shouted. She startled me so badly that I ended up jumping and falling over. She laughed, clutching her gut for several long moments, while I just stared at her. Once she'd gotten her laughter under control, she walked over and held out her hand. A wry grin adorned my face as I accepted the hand up.
"It was funny, but I don't think it was worth busting a gut."
"Well, you're wrong," She said with the certainty of I don't know, it was very self-assured though. "You dodged the question. What are you up to right now?" she asked with a pout.
"Ah, I'd come to the Gym to challenge Viola, but when I got here… Well I wasn't able to enter the building," as I spoke my face gradually drooped into a frown as I castigated myself for my cowardice. Charmander and the others were all excited to take on the Gym and here I was not even willing to try.
"Hey what's with the frown? So, you've got a little stage fright, so what? Don't beat yourself up about. Just take a deep breath and go in with one of your Pokémon. You don't have to be afraid because you're not alone." Serena finished with a smile so big she closed her eyes. Getting a pep talk from a 10-year-old kind of feels ridiculous given that I'm XX years old, but sometimes all you need is a kind word to take the next step. I started smiling again before continuing the conversation.
"So, what's new and notable with you?" I asked with a silly grin on my face.
"I earned my badge yesterday! Pidgey really came in handy for defeating that Surskit of hers. Thanks for the advice, it worked like a charm!" Serena earnestly said, practically bouncing with glee.
"Oh, congratulations on your badge! What are you thinking of doing next?" I said, both happy for her success and slightly jealous that she'd taken the lead in badges. I squashed the jealousy, it was just a fleeting thought, a gut reaction. Nothing that needed to be acted upon or cared about.
"I'm heading to Lumiose City. From there I'm going to Cyllage City for my second Gym Battle. I was just about to leave when I spotted you looking so nervous. Do you have any advice for tackling that Gym?" she asked looking at me expectantly. I mulled it over in my head for a bit, deciding what words to say.
"I know that he is a Rock-Type specialist. I'd recommend picking up a Fighting-Type, Water-Type, or a Steel-Type. Failing that, Rock-Type Pokémon generally are great at dealing with Physical Moves, but struggle when hit with Special Moves. If you had to pick between hitting them with Aqua Tail or Scald, use Scald unless you're Pokémon just isn't built for using Special Moves."
"Hmm… Thanks for the advice," Serena said absently. "Wait a second aren't Grass-Types good against Rock-Types too?" She asked peering questioningly at me. I thought for a bit, then decided even though the Second Gym Leader probably uses an Amaura and a Tyrunt, it wasn't guaranteed and so she might do just fine with a Grass-Type.
"Grass-Type Pokémon would also have an advantage. I guess I generally don't think about Grass-Type Pokémon unless I'm facing one. That was a good catch though by the way."
Our conversation ended with that and we stood there as we thought about things. I wondered would the gym leaders use the same Pokémon that they used in the game? I should probably be a bit more careful about treating this whole adventure like it's just another playthrough.
"Hey since we started our journeys at the same time, do you want to battle?" Serena asked.
"Sure, it'll be a good chance to see just how strong my team has become and to get an idea of where we stand compared to Viola." We walked away from the Gym making small talk as we searched for an appropriate location to battle. Finally, we settled on reserving a practice field by the Pokémon Center.
"Alright, is a 2-vs-2, okay?" Serena asked beaming, Pokéball in hand, tossed up and down.
"That's fine by me. Shall I start us off?" I asked smiling in return as I grabbed the Pokéball with the Pokémon I wanted to start with.
"Nah, let's just send 'em out on three! One… Twoooo… Three!"
We both threw our Pokéballs towards the center and unleashed our Pokémon. Serena had chosen to start with her Pidgey, I on the other hand chose my newest Pokémon, Pikachu.
"Aww, this is gonna suck, isn't it?" Serena asked rhetorically frowning, dismayed to be starting with a type disadvantage.
Pikachu in the meanwhile was stretching and grinning like he just woke up from a very restful nap. He turned towards me still grinning and greeted me.
"Pika Pika"
"We'll be battling Serena and her team today. You ready?"
Pikachu responded with a firm nod and leaned forward, cheeks sparking in anticipation of the fight. I set an alarm on my Pokénav and we waited for the countdown to finish. 10… 9… 8… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… *ring*
Serena reacted quicker than I did.
"Pidgey, barrage with Quick Attack! Don't give him a chance to fire off an Electric Attack!"
"Pid!" Pidgey cried determined to win despite being at a disadvantage. He then glowed white and took off with absurd speed. Pikachu, sadly, was caught flatfooted and got a face full of tiny bird.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in distress. His body was flung back several feet by the impact. Pidgey immediately wheeled around in flight to come back for another assault.
"Roll! Pidgey is coming back!" I shouted. Luckily Pikachu did in fact listen to me and rather than waste time getting to his feet simply rolled off to our right. Pidgey blitzed past where Pikachu was in a second Quick Attack. Honestly, Pikachu probably might've gotten away with just laying prone, but let's not tempt fate, also this helped with getting back up seeing as Pikachu was laid flat on his back. Either way, Pikachu quickly rose to his feet and about-faced to get eyes on Pidgey. Pidgey had just finished wheeling towards us when Pikachu got eyes on him. "Let's repay that with Thundershock!"
"Dodge!" came Serena's cry as a lance of electricity with many branches extending from it sped towards Pidgey. Pidgey jerked to his left, but was unable to completely dodge the unfocused burst of electricity and was zapped by a most of the attack.
Pidgey screeched in pain, frozen in place for a moment as his own momentum struggled with the force from Pikachu's Thundershock. Then he bounced along the ground towards his trainer as the attack finished its job. When the Pidgey finally came to a stop, he was clearly knocked out.
"Return, Pidgey. Losing sucks, but you were great. We'll win the next one for sure." Serena said softly as she put her Pokéball away. She was frowning slightly, obviously a little upset over losing. She wiped away her frown though as she reached for her next Pokémon. She spoke as her next Pokéball fell through the air. "I was hoping you'd use a Fletchling or something. Fennekin! Come on out, we've got a battle to win!" The Pokéball popped open and the flood of light shaped into the Fox Pokémon, Fennekin. She shook out her coat then stared down Pikachu.
We stared tensely for a few moments at one another before Serena and I called out our orders at the same time.
"Pikachu, Thundershock!"
"Fennekin, Ember!"
Fennekin reared back and opened her maw to unleash a barrage of small fireballs at Pikachu, while Pikachu scrunched up his face and loosed a bolt of electricity towards Fennekin. Pikachu's attack arced up before slamming down onto Fennekin, while Fennekin's attack simply moved straight towards Pikachu. The result was Pikachu's attack cutting off as Fennekin's Ember blasted him back towards me. There was a slight pause as Fennekin and Pikachu reacted to the damage they'd taken. Pikachu cringed and cried out in pain as it became apparent that he'd been incredibly unlucky, he'd been Burned.
"Pikachu! Hang in there! If you can hit Fennekin with a Thunder Wave!" I called out, gritting my teeth in worry and frustration that Pikachu had been Burned.
"Fennekin, hit him with another Ember, then use Flame Charge!"
Fennekin having started fresh shook off the damage and responded before Pikachu did. Just as Pikachu started prepare for a Thunder Wave, he was struck by Fennekin's Ember. As soon as the attacked hit, Fennekin charged Pikachu quickly disappearing behind a cloak of flames. I was unable to do anything but watch as Fennekin smashed into Pikachu knocking out the mouse Pokémon. Then two things happened. The first is that Fennekin was engulfed in a brilliant white light that quickly changed its silhouette.
"You evolved! Way to go Braixen!" Serena cheered as the light faded clearly jubilant that her Starter had grown even stronger. As I went to congratulate her on taking the lead in our battle, Braixen flinched and her form was briefly wreathed in electricity, Pikachu's Static ability had activated! Braixen was Paralyzed.
"You did excellent Pikachu. I couldn't have asked for better." I whispered as I returned him. My next choice was pretty simple, so a gentle toss sent out my next Pokémon. Serena's face was rather crestfallen as she took in the fact that her Pokémon was in trouble.
"Char!" Charmander cried as she was unleashed onto the battlefield.
"You can do this Charmander! Braixen took a Thundershock from Pikachu and ended up Paralyzed!"
"Don't worry, Braixen! You've got the power advantage now for sure! Just hit that lizard a few times and we'll win!" Serena called trying to stave off any negative thoughts that really would spell their doom. "Braixen, Ember!"
"Charmander charge on through! Get up close and hammer her with Scratches!"
Charmander immediately raced towards Braixen, who was slowed as she readied her Ember attack. Even still Braixen gave a commendable effort and unleashed two dozen shots before Charmander closed the distance. Charmander needed to lean through the attacks, but she weathered them just fine before Scratching away at Braixen.
"Braixen, don't give up! Scratch back!"
Braixen moved so quickly in response that she seemed to have entirely shrugged off her Paralysis. Charmander valiantly fought back, but Braixen increase in power seemed to be enough to overwhelm her. Then we got lucky again and Braixen was stopped as her Paralysis flared up. Giving me a decent chance to give a new order.
"Charmander, Dragon Rage!" I called instantly seeing a new opportunity to put down Braixen for good. Serena and Braixen both seemed startled, and Braixen certainly tried to follow Serena's order to dodge, but despite the extra seconds taken generating the purplish flames, Charmander freely unleashed her attack on Braixen. Braixen remained standing after getting hit, but the accumulated damage from the Thundershock and Scratches she'd been hit with left her with too little strength to endure Dragon Rage. She fell down unconscious within moments granting the victory to myself and Charmander who roared her triumph to the heavens before being engulfed in light herself.
When the light receded there stood my new Charmeleon! Truly there was no way I was going to lose my first Gym Battle. I ran up to Charmeleon and grabbed her in a hug, grinning like a loon the entire time. Serena returned her Braixen and said something to her Pokéball with a soft smile before walking up to me.
"Congrats. Thanks for helping Braixen evolve. Still feeling nervous about your Gym Battle?" Serena said still smiling, honestly pleased that I was in much better spirits than when she found me this morning.
"Thank you. Both for helping me feel better and helping Charmeleon evolve. I'll battle the Leader tomorrow… Just thank you," I said giving her my heartfelt thanks for helping me. I shook hands with her before returning Charmeleon. We walked to Pokémon Center in silence, quietly contemplating how we could have done things better. We both know that the match could have gone either way, with Serena losing mostly due to bad luck. Even still, she too can probably improve after going over the battle to see what other choices she could have made. I know I definitely can improve from this near defeat at Serena's hands.
Author Notes: @Flutters Is Shy, thank you for your advice. I've tried to put it into practice here. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter after such a long hiatus.
TLDR: Got super distracted again and was struggling to write the next chapter. Also, I kind of wanted an in-between moment where I detail the day off that I supposedly take, but I couldn't get that to cooperate at all. Still not dead! I also started working on a redo that starts with the Pokémon Jump-chain document properly instead of this. I'm thinking about leaving this as a single world (in accordance with the actual rules) and keep writing while also starting a new Jumpchain. How do people feel about having more than just the team at the end of the Pokémon Jump (More than six Pokémon; doesn't really seem all that broken in most settings)?
Even later: I have in fact decided to start a new Jumpchain. I will try to continue this story as well as a standalone CYOA and to keep the two from being too similar will be avoiding using the same Pokémon in the two as much as possible. There will still inevitably be overlap between the two. Also, I'm planning on treating Charmander as more or less the same in both. Different timelines, same Pokémon.
3/21/2021
Resumed writing the battle. I believe that because of how electricity works, if Thundershock manages to get you with a fork of electricity (through the air), the rest of the attack will follow and conduct through you because air is a bad conductor. Ergo wouldn't a Pokémon or person be the path of least resistance? Didn't bother to check the science on this beyond double checking air's ability to conduct electricity being considered bad. Also, there's some level of control on the part of the Attack user otherwise Thundershock's accuracy rating wouldn't be 100.
3/22/2021
I've forgotten what advice, I got before. I'm just rushing this out as quickly as possible, so that I can update the story. Sorry @Flutters Is Shy. Will try to go back and reread that to incorporate your advice later.
4/15/2021
Went back on my thoughts again. I'm switching the Lucario Card for Slurpuff. I don't want to deal with how to incorporate Aura and fact that I'd be a viable combatant with what the story feels like it should be about. The journey with Pokémon. Not about me becoming Super Human. Trying to write this out properly, just made a major edit to my timeline for this fic. Where before the Gyms were finished in under 90 days, now it is stretched out to 131 days. Might go back to stretch it again to make more sense, but hard to say when or what will come of it.
This is brought to you by Silver Storm's cover of Bump of Chicken's song: Acacia (you know the song from the Gotcha special video).
4/24/2021
Still struggling to get this out. Finals are coming up again and I'm definitely behind on studying for them and everything else I need to do in real life. Hopefully I'll finish this now, so that it is no longer nagging at me.
5/9/2021
I definitely should have been studying, but oh well, this is finally done! While the Pokémon special video got me working on this again, this last bit was mostly brought to you by Sawano Hiroyuki's amazing music. I'm going to be dropping the bit where I display the date and time from my chapters because I just don't want to put in the effort keep track of that. I'll probably still say day X at the start of chapters to give a hint at how long it has been in story. It might be a while before I touch up the previous parts to remove the mentions of the Lucario Card and Aura.
