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Hi there- long time no see. I used to use a different account here; due to a series of circumstances (essentially forgetting my password and using this name at other forums- hey, it's been two years) I've dropped it and have been using this name. Some of you might remember an old story entitled Ionem that I regretfully never finished. The idea with that story was to approach the world of pokémon in a realistic way- to examine what it would be like if pocket monsters existed within our reality. It's been two summers since I started writing that story, and after getting wrapped up in college, work, etc- I've begun to try again.
Goldenrod picks up the themes that I presented in Ionem and continues with them. In fact, the story will feature characters and major storyline points from the old story. The main character shifts- as does the setting and the major conflict, but Jake Lake's story will still be told.
Without further ado, let me present to you the first chapter.
The street lamp in front of the Goldenrod City police station flickered three times before going out for good. The gray sidewalk remained well-lit; the nightlife of Goldenrod was active. A neon sign on the other side of the road cast a green glow over the aged pavement. Every so often, a car would drive by, dowsing the steps and the two figures standing on them in white light for a moment before letting them fade back into the eerie green.
"Fuck cancer. It can have me." The detective flicked burning ash from the end of his cigarette, following the falling embers with an absent gaze.
"It's not the cancer I care about," said the other. "You know the rules. No smoking on station property."
Detective Aquarius Encer took another deep drag, smiled with crooked teeth at the other officer, and slowly exhaled the smoke into his face. The younger, thinner officer stepped back and tried to hide a cough. Encer barked a rusty laugh at him; another wave of thick smoke flew towards the young man. "Go back inside and alphabetize your case files, Goldstein. Let a real man enjoy the night."
Herbert Goldstein sighed loudly and turned to go back into the station, muttering about asking the captain for a new partner. Encer knew that it wouldn't happen. The two had been paired for nearly a year now, and had made a surprisingly strong team. They hated each other personally, but while on the job, Aquarius Encer and Herbert Goldstein were the best pair of detectives that Goldenrod City had seen in a long time.
Encer inhaled again, crossing his eyes to watch the paper burn. A shuffling noise sounded from a distance down the street. The detective instinctively turned towards the source- a teenage girl was trying unsuccessfully to pull a fat hairy creature away from a dumpster. No doubt the beast had found some food worth digging up. Encer watched them for a moment before the girl turned to look at him. Their eyes met briefly. The girl seemed unsettled by Encer's appearance. He was used to the reaction- he was a stocky man with a thin worn jacket that barely fit over his stomach- a stomach that had been slowly and steadily expanding as the detective aged into his mid-forties. He had thick hair all over his body except at the top of his head, where his receding hairline revealed a bare forehead that contrasted terribly with his perpetually unshaven jaw. The detective turned away quickly, pretending to not have noticed the girl. He dropped his cigarette to the ground and put it out with his boot. "Disgusting monsters," he muttered before heading back into the building.
The officer sitting at the front desk, and old man who had retired from active patrolling, smiled at Encer as he walked in. "Been watching them through the window myself," he said and pointed to a side window, though which there was a clear view of the girl and her pokémon. She had given up and was leaned against a brick wall, patiently waiting for it to finish its meal. "Not a big fan of raticate," the old man continued. "Nasty little thieves."
Encer smirked. The old man at the desk was probably the only other person in the Goldenrod police department that shared his opinion about pocket monsters. "Raticate, huh? So that's what it is." The detective had a reputation for having little to no knowledge about the creatures that inhabited the world. In the past, Encer had gone out of his way to avoid dealing with pokémon. In recent years, though, he'd resolved to accept them as a part of life- though he didn't have to care for them.
Encer and Goldstein shared an office with two other pairs of detectives. The six of them were the best officers in Goldenrod, and had worked hard to earn their office separate from the desks of everybody else. Goldstein and another detective were the only two still around when Encer walked in and sunk into his chair. Pierce Winter had the most experience out of anybody still active on the force. A burly man in his early fifties, he was well-known for having a short temper but otherwise amiable personality. Encer had a respect for Winter that he didn't hold for anybody else on the force- not even the captain. The two detectives had a long-standing rivalry, though. The department often joked that Winter refused to retire until Encer was gone himself. There may have been some truth to that.
There came a sudden sharp rapping on the door to the office. Encer groaned; he knew that knock. The captain opened the door and waltzed in before anybody could answer him. He was a tall man with a permanently-serious expression and hair that seemed too black and too full for a man of his age. "We have a case," he announced. It was his typical way of greeting the top detectives. Goldstein stood up from his chair and looked ahead at the captain, waiting for more details. Encer reclined a little bit in his chair. Winter didn't look up from his old typewriter.
"The Smeargle Slasher's done it again," the captain said, dropping a small pile of papers and photographs in front of Detective Encer and motioning to the grisly picture on top. "He left the Smeargle-face sticker on the victim's forehead again, as you can see. The cause of death is the same as the other two- slashed across the throat and left to die without breath."
Encer picked up the photos of the crime scene and shuffled through them. One of the images was a very close shot of the bloody wound. The detective whistled. "Pretty." He passed the pile to his partner, who looked through the photographs very quickly before handing them to Winter.
The captain continued. "Since this is the third murder like this, we're making this case a top priority. We need to catch this bastard before he hits again." He stood quiet for a moment as Winter finished analyzing the images and placed them calmly on the desk by his typewriter. "We know that this is going to hit the press soon- most likely by tomorrow morning. I want to get a good head start on this tonight before we have to deal with all that garbage." He reached behind him and gripped the doorknob. "Everything you guys will need to know is in those papers there." Without another word he turned and closed the door behind him.
Detective Encer eyed the photocopy of the sticker that had become the murderer's signature. The cartoon Smeargle looked back at him, grinning widely and taunting Encer with its wide white eyes, daring him to solve the case.
Goldenrod picks up the themes that I presented in Ionem and continues with them. In fact, the story will feature characters and major storyline points from the old story. The main character shifts- as does the setting and the major conflict, but Jake Lake's story will still be told.
Without further ado, let me present to you the first chapter.
GOLDENROD
Chapter One
The street lamp in front of the Goldenrod City police station flickered three times before going out for good. The gray sidewalk remained well-lit; the nightlife of Goldenrod was active. A neon sign on the other side of the road cast a green glow over the aged pavement. Every so often, a car would drive by, dowsing the steps and the two figures standing on them in white light for a moment before letting them fade back into the eerie green.
"Fuck cancer. It can have me." The detective flicked burning ash from the end of his cigarette, following the falling embers with an absent gaze.
"It's not the cancer I care about," said the other. "You know the rules. No smoking on station property."
Detective Aquarius Encer took another deep drag, smiled with crooked teeth at the other officer, and slowly exhaled the smoke into his face. The younger, thinner officer stepped back and tried to hide a cough. Encer barked a rusty laugh at him; another wave of thick smoke flew towards the young man. "Go back inside and alphabetize your case files, Goldstein. Let a real man enjoy the night."
Herbert Goldstein sighed loudly and turned to go back into the station, muttering about asking the captain for a new partner. Encer knew that it wouldn't happen. The two had been paired for nearly a year now, and had made a surprisingly strong team. They hated each other personally, but while on the job, Aquarius Encer and Herbert Goldstein were the best pair of detectives that Goldenrod City had seen in a long time.
Encer inhaled again, crossing his eyes to watch the paper burn. A shuffling noise sounded from a distance down the street. The detective instinctively turned towards the source- a teenage girl was trying unsuccessfully to pull a fat hairy creature away from a dumpster. No doubt the beast had found some food worth digging up. Encer watched them for a moment before the girl turned to look at him. Their eyes met briefly. The girl seemed unsettled by Encer's appearance. He was used to the reaction- he was a stocky man with a thin worn jacket that barely fit over his stomach- a stomach that had been slowly and steadily expanding as the detective aged into his mid-forties. He had thick hair all over his body except at the top of his head, where his receding hairline revealed a bare forehead that contrasted terribly with his perpetually unshaven jaw. The detective turned away quickly, pretending to not have noticed the girl. He dropped his cigarette to the ground and put it out with his boot. "Disgusting monsters," he muttered before heading back into the building.
The officer sitting at the front desk, and old man who had retired from active patrolling, smiled at Encer as he walked in. "Been watching them through the window myself," he said and pointed to a side window, though which there was a clear view of the girl and her pokémon. She had given up and was leaned against a brick wall, patiently waiting for it to finish its meal. "Not a big fan of raticate," the old man continued. "Nasty little thieves."
Encer smirked. The old man at the desk was probably the only other person in the Goldenrod police department that shared his opinion about pocket monsters. "Raticate, huh? So that's what it is." The detective had a reputation for having little to no knowledge about the creatures that inhabited the world. In the past, Encer had gone out of his way to avoid dealing with pokémon. In recent years, though, he'd resolved to accept them as a part of life- though he didn't have to care for them.
Encer and Goldstein shared an office with two other pairs of detectives. The six of them were the best officers in Goldenrod, and had worked hard to earn their office separate from the desks of everybody else. Goldstein and another detective were the only two still around when Encer walked in and sunk into his chair. Pierce Winter had the most experience out of anybody still active on the force. A burly man in his early fifties, he was well-known for having a short temper but otherwise amiable personality. Encer had a respect for Winter that he didn't hold for anybody else on the force- not even the captain. The two detectives had a long-standing rivalry, though. The department often joked that Winter refused to retire until Encer was gone himself. There may have been some truth to that.
There came a sudden sharp rapping on the door to the office. Encer groaned; he knew that knock. The captain opened the door and waltzed in before anybody could answer him. He was a tall man with a permanently-serious expression and hair that seemed too black and too full for a man of his age. "We have a case," he announced. It was his typical way of greeting the top detectives. Goldstein stood up from his chair and looked ahead at the captain, waiting for more details. Encer reclined a little bit in his chair. Winter didn't look up from his old typewriter.
"The Smeargle Slasher's done it again," the captain said, dropping a small pile of papers and photographs in front of Detective Encer and motioning to the grisly picture on top. "He left the Smeargle-face sticker on the victim's forehead again, as you can see. The cause of death is the same as the other two- slashed across the throat and left to die without breath."
Encer picked up the photos of the crime scene and shuffled through them. One of the images was a very close shot of the bloody wound. The detective whistled. "Pretty." He passed the pile to his partner, who looked through the photographs very quickly before handing them to Winter.
The captain continued. "Since this is the third murder like this, we're making this case a top priority. We need to catch this bastard before he hits again." He stood quiet for a moment as Winter finished analyzing the images and placed them calmly on the desk by his typewriter. "We know that this is going to hit the press soon- most likely by tomorrow morning. I want to get a good head start on this tonight before we have to deal with all that garbage." He reached behind him and gripped the doorknob. "Everything you guys will need to know is in those papers there." Without another word he turned and closed the door behind him.
Detective Encer eyed the photocopy of the sticker that had become the murderer's signature. The cartoon Smeargle looked back at him, grinning widely and taunting Encer with its wide white eyes, daring him to solve the case.
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