[Pokémon] I Should Not Be

[Akustar]

So yeah, I'm writing my first fan fic. Which means I've really run out of things to do with my sad sad life. But I'm doing it regardless. Any comment regarding my writing is welcome, except I guess soul-crushingly self-esteem destroying insults. Anyways, it'd be great if I could improve...

Plus, I'm really interested in any comments on the writing style. I'm really experimenting with first person here, and I'm not sure how well it comes out. I'm a bit worried it came out too clunky and obfuscated to really understand what's going. And I'm not sure if it lets me characterize the POV character well, so comments about that would be wonderful.

Anyways, on with the story...

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Prologue

I am such a loser. Every kid thinks they'll be something great when they grow up. A powerful corporate executive, a renowned Pokemon master, or maybe a world-famous researcher. Of course, that's what I thought too. And here I am, sitting at a musky desk in a city I hate, giving thirty Safari Balls to any brat who has 500¥ to spare.

That'd be all fine if it weren't for the fact that all these brats who waltz in here just flaunt off how great their lives are. Yes, I can tell you're seven years younger than me and have been too more places than I ever will. **** you. You don't have to flaunt it. They're practically taunting the green-eyed monster in me.

And they always come in with high spirits thinking that they'll come away with some rare Pokemon. But these balls are practically worthless. I don't even have to be here. I'm probably what they call over-employment. Hell, I'm even on the night shift.

All I do is prevent people from stealing Safari Balls. Which has never ever happened because who the heck would want more than thirty? If they were actually effective at catching Pokemon, do you think the Marsh could actually turn a profit?

And speaking of that, this isn't even the Safari zone, why do they still call them Safari Balls? Other than the fact that Marsh Balls sound like some kind of genital fungus.

And how the hell did I get stuck with this job anyways? Well, besides being too much of a moron to move onto anything after graduating from high school. Or being capable of holding a job involving anything more complicated than giving little kids my balls.

But whatever. No use complaining about stuff that won't ever change. Well, I guess it does change every once in a while. Every once in a while, someone who isn't a bratty ten-year old walks in. And every once in a while, they chat me up. Not often because I'm just a clerk, but it appears there certainly are trainers with sadder and more lonelier (as hard as it to imagine) lives than me.

He was an old man. And well...he looked exactly like you expected an old man to look like. He had balding white hair, a hooked nose, and was draped in what I can only really describe as old people clothes. If I actually cared about fashion, it would send me into shock. Why an old man would want to go catching in the night befuddled me. When he walked in, he looked pretty friendly though. He walked straight up to me for some reason, and looked me in the eyes.

"You know what Kid, I've seen your that look you've got in your eyes before."

Oh. He appears to be trying to psychoanalyze me or something. I wonder who he thinks he is.

"You probably look at these younger kids who walk in with their Pokemon and sometimes think 'geez, I wish I could see them battle."

I flatly replied, "No. Not really. No."

He made some weird elbow movement that made it obvious he was trying to cajole me into something, "Come on, kids shouldn't be afraid to give things a whirl. Be open-minded! That's what youth is all about."

Like hell he knew anything about youth.

"...Sir, are you going to buy a Safari Ball or not?"

He frowned, "Oh, I will. Don't rush things. That's the problem with kids these days. Always rushing things. Now, my grandson sent me tickets to watch the Sinnoh League."

I nodded incredulously, "Uh-huh. Sure. You do know the Sinnoh League was last month."

He frowned again, "Well...not the Sinnoh League-League. Just the preliminary rounds for next year's league. Well, it's still the Sinnoh League. You know what I mean, right? I even got tickets for the ride there. But you know, I'm busy, you know."

I love how he compares the two. Playoff tickets are far more expensive than preliminary tickets. Which still is far more than my family could ever afford, but still. And why is an old man so busy in the first place. And one more question.

"Ok, ok, I can tell you want to give them to me. But WHY me in particular?"

He brandished a paradoxically youthful smile before answering, "Well...you know, kids shouldn't be so mopey-"

I cut him off, "I am not mopey."

He rolled his eyes a bit, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Plus, you were the first person I found who I could talk to and not run away."

Who the hell taught this old geezer snark? Maybe he's like that stupid emo ninja on TV and copied it from me. And once again, he shows me the downsides of a desk job.

He continued, "And it's not like the Marsh would collapse without you. You could probably take a paid leave and nobody would complain."

Ouch. I know that I play no positive role whatsoever in this world, but he didn't have to go and say it like that. The geniality makes it worse.

I sighed and capitulated. Old man used old people prodding. It was super effective. Kay has fainted, "Yeah, fine, I'll go. You win, gramps."

He smirked though, "Oh, my grandson also left me a package. The serial's with the tickets and stuff, if you've got time, pick it up for me."

Oh, I knew there was a catch. There's always a catch. It's probably some horribly disgusting food that only old people like imported from out of Sinnoh. Something that nobody would want to steal. Why else would he entrust it to a complete stranger? But if I take it, it'll stink up my whole trip back. Oh well, I can always say I lost it or something.

I sighed again, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Thanks...I guess"

His face brightened up as he tasted victory, "Alright. Great then. Have fun. Anyways, I'll have thirty Safari Balls while you're at it.

The old man plopped down 500¥. I went through the much-practiced motion of grabbing a pile of balls (probably not actually thirty) from under my desk and handing it to him. He took his Safari Balls and walked through the park entrance. So I guess he was some kind of trainer after all.

Anyways, it was a slow day (or night), so I just killed my time by solving a crossword puzzle. Not many people show up during the night anyways. I never actually saw him leave, but I guess I was just preoccupied. Or maybe he really is a ninja.

I decided to pop a look at the tickets again. There are bus tickets, tickets to one of those ships in the harbor, and tickets to get into the stadium. And thankfully a hotel reservation. And of course, a delivery receipt.

It was pretty boring again, so I just started rearranging the tickets into random piles when I started to feel a little dread hovering above my head. Did the letters on that ticket just change a bit? Nah, it must have been my imagination. You know, isn't that what all the mooks in stealth games say before they get killed?

Maybe ninja old man was back. In full ninja garb. But seriously, I think I ate something bad. Oh wait, that would mean I actually ate something today, which my budget would not permit.

Oh yes, those words are totally swirling. And I don't feel too good. That's not surprising because, wait, that doesn't make sense. Words don't swirl. Wait, what the hell } ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉ ҉̔̕̚̕̚҉M ~ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ # O҉ (STRANGE?) ̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ # ̎̏̐̑ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ M ͡҉҉G̔̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ THIS ҉҉ IS̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ #͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ NOT ◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝ ͡҉O҉ ̵̡̢̢̛̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟ ̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎ ̏̐̑̒̓ ̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̕̚̕ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ͡ ͡҉҉ C̓̔̿̿̿̕̚۩ ◊} O҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̊̋̌̍̎̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̿̿̕̚̕̚ M͡҉ E҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ S~ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ~ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ # ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ # ̎̏̐̑ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ M ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎IT'S͡҉O ҉ HERȄ̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ͡҉O ҉ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝ ͡҉O ҉ ̵̡̢̢̛̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟ ̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎ ̏̐̑̒̓ ̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̕̚̕ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ͡ ͡҉҉ ̓̔̿̿̿̕̚۩KIMOI KIMOI ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡KIMOI ҉KIMOI} ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉ ҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ~ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ # ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ # ̎̏̐̑ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ M ͡҉҉G̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̕̚WHY ARE ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ SO MAN̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̋̌̍ Y̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝ ͡҉I SHOULD̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ NOT BE ҉ ̵̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚̕̚̕̚͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡IS̡̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟ ҉҉ THIS͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ME ̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓ ̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̕̚̕ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ͡ ͡҉҉ ̓̔̿̿̿̕̚۩ ◊} OH̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ GOD̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝ ̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕ ̚̕̚͡ ͡҉ ҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ~ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘Z̙̜̝̞̟̠ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ # ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ # ̎̏̐̑ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ͡҉҉̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ M ͡҉҉NO҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̒̓̔̊̋MOMMY◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉◊ख़҉̵̞ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝ ͡҉O҉ ̵̡̢̢̛̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟ ̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎ ̏̐̑̒̓ ̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̕̚̕ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ͡ SAVE̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ME͡҉҉ ̓̔̿̿̿̕̚۩ ◊ H҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̕̚E҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̕̚C҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̕̚O҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̕̚M҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑NOH҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ NO̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡NO̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡NO҉҉ NO ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡NONO ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚ ҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍ E҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡ ̒̓̔̕̚S҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒ ̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿ ̕̚̕̚͡I ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ AM҉҉ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇ ̊̋̌̍ COMING ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ ̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡ ҉҉ FOR̒̓̔̕̚O҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̒̓̔̕̚O҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ ̒̓̔̕̚O҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙ YOU̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇

 

[Akustar]

Well, I figured I engage in far too much telling and too little showing. And to an extent, first-person is...enabling that. So I'll make a shift in the first actual chapter to another perspective. I probably can't get away with it, but I hope it will be...a better work now. Because I think that first section was just a rambling rant.

~~~
Chapter One

Well, Kay did it again. He sleepily blinked his eyes as he reminisced about the last (and only) time he got caught sleeping on the job. He pined about how that one time cost me nearly an hour of my life. Which mads him wonder how he can work the night shift for three months, and not becoming nocturnal.

Talking to nobody in particular, Kay sighed, "I think they call it the graveyard shift because it probably WILL kill me one day."

Kay checked his watch. His favorite watch and the one everyone accuses him of stealing. He fumed in his head, "It was on the ground. You can't steal something on the ground. I guess I could have looked for the owner, but some random guy would probably just lie about he owned it, and steal it from ME."

The watch read five-twenty. He then checked the schedule on the wall. His shift ended at six, and the next wouldn't start until nine. He started taking off at five fifty-five a few months ago, but steadily slid down the ladder of truancy to five-twenty.

It was still dark outside, but Kay was confident. He had been walking this route for three months. It really wasn't hard at that point. Though Kay loathed to remember his first night walking home. As he walked down the street, he started wondering if there was a connection between his work ethic and the fact that he'd never gotten a pay raise. Or the fact that he needs to clear my desk out by next Friday.

"Nah.", as he dismissed his nagging thoughts.

His rationale was simple, "It's probably because no one shows up at night. Though maybe they do and I'm just sleeping when they come..... Nah."

He was not happy about the awful timing of his tickets though. He glanced at the ferry ticket once again and started counted off the hours he had until the boat arrives. The ferry would leave at four in the afternoon, so he figured he had about nine hours or so to prepare

After ten minutes of seemingly aimless shambling, he got to his home, a two-bedroom studio flat on the second (and tallest) story of a small tenement. The tenement was surprisingly clean-looking, despite its location in what was not considered the best part of town. He thought the shady reputation to be wholly undeserved though.

"So yeah, I need to take off work a bit earlier. My grandmother from Slateport is supposedly pretty sick, so I'll be sailing up there to make sure she gets better. Thanks." Kay prided himself on his smooth delivery of that lie as he pressed the red button to end voicemail recording.

"I'm leaving for a trip soon. An old friend called me up to take a trip with him, so I'll be gone for a while. I put the grocery list on the counter next to the sink and last week's earnings on my bed. And please don't wake me up today, I need all my sleep. - Kay"

Kay didn't see his mom very often despite living with her, because as a waiter at the Seven Stars Restaurant, her waking and working hours coincided pretty closely with Kay's sleeping hours. He prided himself on his perfect handwriting as he ended another string of lies. He then slapped the note onto their antiquated refrigerator before mentally preparing for the ordeal ahead.

Kay hated digging through the dreaded "closet of endless junk", as his mother named it, and yelped a bit as his hand brushed against something vaguely sharp. He didn't even want to know what it was. While withdrawing his left hand from the pile, he cheered inside as his right hand found an old dusty suitcase in the closet. He smiled, because that meant he won't have to uh...permanently borrow (without permission) a suitcase from the neighbors. He sighed and started spending the next few minutes trying to shove the spilled-out contents of the closet back into it.

He thought it pretty sad that all of his clothes were able to easily fit in one suitcase before he plunged onto his bed and into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

---

For someone who loved sleeping at work so often, Kay was quite the light sleeper. Yeah, you wouldn't be wrong if you accused him of ditching work early every day, but he was never late at the very least. The ferry docked with the pier as he strolled into the Pastoria port. Perfect timing.

The ferry was actually much smaller than Kay expected. Then he slapped himself on the head. What the heck was he expecting? The S.S. Anne? When he thought about it, it became pretty obvious. If the ferry went as fast as they advertise the new ones to go, it'd get to the Sinnoh League by dawn.

He looked around. There weren't even dozen people waiting to board the ferry. It gave Kay a bad feeling. But after nearly twenty minutes of walking, damn bad feeling. He WAS going to be the first one into a seat. He quickly flashed his ticket and scrambled up onto the deck of the ship.

He pouted to himself, "...why do they make us climb up onto the deck and then descend into the cabin...?".

He then did so and saw himself in a nice aisle-way that reminded him of a train he went on as a child. He contemplated in just sitting in any random old seat, but he glanced the image of a guard in the corner of his eye, and searched for the seat that he was actually assigned to.

Luckily, it was a window seat, and the second one from the window: all the benefits of sitting near a window combined with the ability to stick his legs out in the aisle. The seat closest to the window appeared to be occupied by a woman, with chest-length bright teal hair, who was staring out the window. Her hair appeared fairly neat at first, but as Kay approached her, he could see a few kinks here and there in it.

The seat made a squishy whine as he plopped into it, causing the woman to turn around. As she did so, Kay noticed she was actually younger than he expected, and also just slightly taller than him.

"Hey! It looks like someone is actually sitting next to me for rest of the trip! And I was just starting to get bored!", she chirped.

Her enthuaism was a bit odd to Kay. "Um...o..k. Say, do you know why there are already passengers here?"

She looked a bit puzzled as she responded, "...wait, what?"

Her puzzlement threw Kay onto the defensive, "Oh, I got the tickets and stuff from someone else. Not sure how it all works."

"Oh, someone else bought you the package? Lucky you!". For some strange reason, she clapped her hands at that, "The ship ticket, and hotel, and the admission ticket, and all of that came in a package! Everyone else here is on the same package, though we're all from different places! Some people are from Kanto, and some from Johto, and I'm from Hoenn, and oh! Lucky you!"

She somehow clapped her hands together again, and probably took the first breath Kay saw her take. The ship started moving, but neither of them really paid heed. Before Kay had a chance to interject, the woman continued again, "Oh my, if we just left the port in Pastoria, and you just came on, does that mean you're from Sinnoh?"

Kay was starting to think that she wasn't a very bright person, "...um...yeah. I'm actually from Pastoria; I walked over here."

The woman clapped her hands for the third time, "Lucky you! You know, I'm from Verdanturf, oh, if you don't know, it's just outside of Mauville, and when I got to Mauville, I realized that I didn't have a bike so I couldn't go on the Cycling, oh, that connects Mauville and Slateport, oh, and Slateport is where the ship docked, so I had to convince this poor little boy to give me a ride on his bicycle to Slateport, and it was all a hassle and-"

As she stopped to take a breath, Kay quickly tried to get in a word to spare himself from more superfluous information. Plus, he really didn't want to know HOW they shared a bicycle, so he decided to change the topic. "So uh...I'm Kay Donia. What's your name?"

She clapped her hands together for the fourth time as Kay wondered why she performed this motion ad naseum, "Wow! That's like my name too! Oh yeah, I forgot to say, my name is Kay! I wonder why my parents named me that. I wonder if it's short for something. Maybe I had like a grandfather named Kay. Do you have any relatives named Kay? I should go check when I go back home!"

As Kay♀ took another breath, Kay♂ seized the opportunity to spare himself from more chatter, "...you have a last name...right?"

Kay♂ always liked to know people's last names, even if most people didn't use them outside of legal matters. She replied, "Um...it's Mori. You know, there's a really funny story about that name but I'm coming up a little blank right now...it's funny, I remember telling Ken, oh, you know, the bicycle boy I mentioned, this story..."

Kay♂ honestly didn't know why he was still talking to her. He guessed she was entertaining in her own way, and she slowly became slightly less irritating for some strange reason, "Do you do this a lot? I mean, why are you going this far for a preliminary round?

She smiled before replying with a bit of mock indignation, "Hey! Don't knock the prelims. They're pretty interesting too. Plus, some people are even coming from Kanto..., anyways, the prelims use different super fun rules!"

He was actually slightly interested. Well, not really. But he had nothing better to do. "Ah. I'm not a Pokemon person. Enlighten me on the differences?"

She seemed excited...again, "Oh, well, there a few. Not major differences, actually scratch that, they're pretty major. I mean, it doesn't change the battles that much, but it changes the strategy a lot. Well, that sounda kinda weird when I say it like that. Gah, I've confused myself; lemme restart. Anyways, in the prelims, you're only allowed to use three Pokemon. Which is kinda good since a lot of people don't have the standard six. You register your three Pokemon before the first round, so anyone can actually look up which Pokemon you're using. But you get to choose what order you send them out. But you can't switch them out or deviate from the order,"

Kay♂ was amazed again at how long Kay♀ could talk without actually taking a breath, "So if you get a Pokemon knocked out by a fire Pokemon, and you have a grass and then a water Pokemon listed as next, you need to send out the grass Pokemon first. So some battles could be decided by simply the order you choose. It's really fun to see people play pre-battle mindgames because of that, especially when they try to research their opponents. So you know what I mean?"

Kay♂ caught most of it. If Kay♀ was speaking at a normal pace, he probably would have gotten all of it. He really wasn't interested, but Kay♀ seemed adept at making normally boring things seem somewhat interesting, "Uh...yeah, I guess. So you're going because you think it's interesting?"

Kay♀ looked a bit excited again, "Oh, well not really. I would normally just watch it all on TV, but my little brother is actually competing! Isn't that exciting?"

"...maybe? Is he a Pokemon trainer or something?"

Kay♀ looked a bit uneasy before she started speaking a bit, "Um...well...not really. He caught his Pokemon about a month and a half ago. Well, I uh...kind of caught them for him. But he's a pretty quick guy. I bet he's already chummy with them."

Kay♂ was able easily to imagine the little brother being squashed and humiliated in the first round, but it was probably not polite to bring that up. It was at this point that Kay♂ caught the three Pokeballs hooked onto her waist. He raised his eyes to pose another question, "Wait, you caught him a few Pokemon? Does that mean you're a Pokemon trainer? You do know a lot about the League after all. And how young is your brother anyways?"

Kay♀ looked like she was about to chuckle, "Oh no. I was a Coordinator for a really short time and did a little stuff after that, but I'm not any kind of trainer. And I don't really do any of those anymore either. I just watch battles a lot of TV because I have nothing else to do. And he's not that much younger than me; he hates it when I call him my little brother. So I keep on doing it. He's only six months and seventeen days younger though. Oh, and you should go watch him with me!"

Kay♂ didn't even want to wonder how that age difference was even possible. So he answered, "Heh, but isn't the stadium somewhat on the large side. Heck, if I didn't show up, it's not like you could tell."

Kay♀ looked like she would burst out laughing, "Good try, but remember? The ferry tickets and League tickets came in a package. And, so did the hotel reservations. So guess who has the seat next to you in the Stadium? And guess who has the room next to yours in the Hotel?"

Kay♀ stuck her tongue out at Kay♂. He on the other hand, silently groaned, "Oh. Joy. Isn't that just great. I just can't wait."

~~~

Well, if you made it this far, I applaud you. I find it very impressive if someone can read this without losing interest.

Also I don't know if me writing in third-person actually works or not, so I'd really love comments about it, and whether you think it worked better than the first-person perspective. Plus, it'll disprove the nasty feeling I have about me being the only person who will read this. :p

Also, if you see any grammar errors I make constantly, or something you find weird or inconsistent about characterization, or anything else I did wrong, please tell me. I'd prefer the second chapter to actually be better than the first.

Also, yes, I know, Chapter 1 was pretty boring. I promise Chapter 2 will be more interesting, and I'd like to think of Chapter 3 was potentially very interesting. No clue when I'll get them up (or if anyone cares that I do), but I think it will definitely come before the end of this week.

 

[Eliminator Jr.]

I haven't read your second post yet. I read the first one a few days ago but was in a hurry so I didn't get a chance to comment on it. I haven't read the second post yet because my eyes are tired, my ears are ringing from a gig and I'm exhausted, so I'm probably going to bed now. But in regards to your first post - really well done, you kept me interested the whole time. Sorry, I'm not good at giving feedback, but just so you know someone's reading :)

Are we supposed to see something at the end of the prologue? I'm just getting squares and a few words.

 

[Krystallyn]

I liked chapter 1 a lot more than the prologue. It was really good. You write better in 3rd person than you do in 1st. I'm waiting to read more, so please write quickly!!

 

[Akustar]

I haven't read your second post yet. I read the first one a few days ago but was in a hurry so I didn't get a chance to comment on it. I haven't read the second post yet because my eyes are tired, my ears are ringing from a gig and I'm exhausted, so I'm probably going to bed now. But in regards to your first post - really well done, you kept me interested the whole time. Sorry, I'm not good at giving feedback, but just so you know someone's reading :)

Are we supposed to see something at the end of the prologue? I'm just getting squares and a few words.

Thanks! And uh...you're supposed to get a bit more than squares but you're not really losing too much. If you ever get around to reading Chapter 1, I'd really like to see which type of style you liked better.

I liked chapter 1 a lot more than the prologue. It was really good. You write better in 3rd person than you do in 1st. I'm waiting to read more, so please write quickly!!

Thanks! I decided to write Chapter 2 in third person after seeing this, so I can can always thank you again when I finish it. :)

Anyways, I got majorly sidetracked this week because some random stuff came up, but I started on Chapter 2 this morning and I'm about 80% done (not including proofreading). I'm pretty sure I'll get it up before the weekend ends.

And of course, I wouldn't mind if someone gives me a primer on what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Giratina ♀]

So, when I entered this thread, I was expecting another dark angst-fest just from the title. It wasn't; rather, it was a pretty amusing story with plenty of visual gags and a writer with a nice grip of their characters' actions. You're far better than I am at first-person perspective (honestly, I enjoyed Kay's perspective from the prologue more than the third-person stuff in Chapter One), and I must say that the visual gag you did with the glitchy lettering was nothing short of awesome, but I'm just going to use quotes to add my thoughts on Chapter One. I'm guessing this story has something to do with MissingNo.?

He pined about how that one time cost him nearly an hour of his life.

When there's no actual thoughts, you don't reference the character in first person. However, if the sentence went more like this...

His thoughts drifted to a sour note. 'That time had cost me nearly an hour of my life!'

...or something like that, it would be okay, but still.

Or the fact that he needs to clear his desk out by next Friday.

"Nah," he thought as he dismissed his nagging thoughts.

Okay. So it looks like you tried to switch from first to third person and convert everything. I know how hard it is; I had actually converted the first chapter of my own story from first to third person, and even just C&Ping a few paragraphs into the new text took a while to convert to proper perspective. But you've gotta be more careful when you run it through; little perspective mistakes like these can jam themselves in.

come... Nah."

An ellipsis is three periods, not five.

so he figured he had about nine hours or so to prepare.

Period at the end.

He thought it pretty sad that all of his clothes were able to easily fit in one suitcase before he plunged onto his bed and into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

This could be divided into two sentences; one, Kay pondering how lame he was, and two, getting into bed and promptly conking out. It makes the story flow better.

I liked the Kay-female and Kay-male thing; it seems to me you've got a good grasp of how to use formatting to your advantage. It reminds me of that Series of Unfortunate Events book... series... thing. But it's fun. However, the only consistent grammar errors I can see can be fixed by brushing up on the uses of commas (in general use and in relation to quotes), periods, and ellipses. I saw no typos - but, then again, I am a total failure at picking out typos anyhow - but I have to say that your third-person narrative sounds a little... clunky. That might be just from convering it from first- to third-person, but it takes some serious skill to write with such snarkiness and write well with such snarkiness; I myself am trying to reach that level, and I don't mean to be rude, but I think if you're going to write that way it'd be better to stick with first-person Kay. I think the reader can really get a better grasp on something when Kay is describing it in his own manner, not a manner that sounds exactly like Kay but is an omnipotent narrator.

...And before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy, nobody else in my own story can reach the randomness level of my narrator. >D

 

[Akustar]

Thanks for the primers Giratini! They were very helpful. Also, sorry for being later than I said I would be. If you want, you can blame Giratini because after I saw her comments, I went back into my rough draft and fixed tons of mistakes (which of course took extra time). So thanks for the help again! ;)

Anyways, I started this section in third-person, so any commentary about it worked out would be wonderful. Also, I'm not confident at ALL in my ability to write battles, so some comments and hints about that would be even greater. And I'm also curious about if I'm using my characters well (or if they're even good characters), so commentary about that would be nice as well. Thanks!

~~~
Chapter Two

She came in the morning. Much to Kay♂'s dismay, he felt something cold and hard press into his cheek. The bed squeaked as his body went upright as quickly as it possibly could.

He immediately scratched his left cheek and turned to the source of his miseries, "WHAT!?!"

Kay♀ was standing there, apparently having already prepared for a day out. Kay♂'s scratching hand moved to his head, "Ugh, what time is it?"

Before Kay♂ could discover the answer to that, a nagging thought floated into his head, "Wait...wasn't the door locked?"

Kay♀ nonchalantly smiled and proudly brandished a variety of strange tools, "It was! But it's okay! And don't worry! I just lockpicked them! Nothing bad! You know, this hotel has really annoying locks. They had a bunch of security pins so I couldn't actually tell when I..."

Kay♂ felt violated. Something about Kay♀ being able to access him while he slept deeply disturbed him on far too many different levels. He resisted shuddering as he gripped his blanket closer toward himself.

As he shoved those thoughts aside, he started to wonder why his watch didn't go off. Then he remembered why, muttering to himself, "...oh...time zones...dang."

His hands slowly found their way to his hair, where he made a shocking discovery. Interrupting Kay♀, he interjected, "Wait...agh, my hair is a mess! And I need to change! Wait outside or something!"

He was in the middle of picking his pillow and tossing it toward Kay♀ when she thankfully started to leave.

Now the real work began.

---

After Kay♂ completed the Herculean chore of fixing his hair and properly dressing, he hesitantly opened the door. Kay♀ was leaning against the wall of the hotel hallway reading some kind of booklet. She noticed him before he could respond.

She held out the booklet, "Oh Hi!"

Kay♂ grumbled to himself, "Wow. Is she seriously pretending this is an accidental encounter?"

Before Kay♂ could reciprocate with a half-hearted greeting, she continued, "Anyways, I found the schedule this morning! Woke you up because it's actually the first match of the day! Isn't that exciting? Which means it's in less than an hour. Don't worry though, we don't have to rush! Our seats are reserved! Hey, wouldn't that be bad? If there were reserved seats and nobody showed up to sit in them?"

Kay♂ groaned. Not responding to her, he dashed back into his room. He reappeared in half a minute with his tickets in hand. As he emerged, she gave off a slight giggle as if to mock his forgetfulness. He ignored it and started reading the print on the back, "Wait, we only get two free matches?"

Kay♀ clapped her hands again as if to congratulate his ability to read, "What? Of course they wouldn't give us every match for free! It's not like anyone wants to see every match! Not in live at least! We need breaks and stuff. To eat lunch and stuff. Food is very important you know. We get a big discount on every extra match we purchase, so don't worry about it!"

Kay♂ frowned when he realized he would be likely unable to pay either the lunch or extra tickets. Unless he somehow found a way to convince Kay♀ to pay for him. He started strategizing in his head but gave up after his thoughts drifted to another subject, "Wait, can I see that booklet?"

Kay♀ handed it to him as he opened it and dug in. Apparently, only the first round was preset; matchups in further rounds would be randomized after the battle. He flipped to the schedule and found the schedule for the first battle. It listed two names, Pascal of Mahogany Town and Eniko of Celadon City. Among those two, Pascal seemed far more likely to be a boy's name.

While walking toward the arena, Kay♂ turned toward Kay♀ to have a lingering query answered, "Say, what do you actually GET if you win the preliminaries? Anything that so many people can win can't be THAT great."

Kay♀, not slowing her pace, smiled, "Well, it saves a lot of effort. Win here, and you don't have to go through Sinnoh collecting gym badges and stuff! You just automatically qualify for the Pokemon league. That sounds really convenient; I'd hate to have to walk around for months collecting badges. Just getting from Verdanturf to Slateport was awful. Just awful. I really couldn't do it again. And I don't know if I can find anyone with a bike to hitchhike off. Wait, how am I going to get back? Cycling down the road with someone on your back is a lot easier than the other way around. That would be pretty bad for the person I hitchhike off. Ugh, does that mean I'm gaining weight? It shouldn't be my fault that there's so many sweet things to eat! And wait, what if nobody wants to give me a ride UP Cycling Road? That'd be a disaster! Oh well, I can deal with it later."

Kay♂'s thoughts stirred again as he reminded himself of his least favorite part of talking to Kay♀, "God, I wish I could tune her out but she might stick important information in the crevices of her rambles."

"Anyways, I think this year, the committee qualified a thousand and twenty-four trainers, so since there's four rounds, that means a hundred and twenty-eight people get to skip the gyms. The competition usually isn't that hard, because there's so many first-time trainers every year. Like my little brother for one!"

Kay♂ thought it was a good idea to get as many answers out of her before they relapsed into rambling mode, "So does everyone who loses go scouring for Gym Badges?"

"No, some just go here to give Pokemon battling a shot and stop. Others try, but give up really quickly. Usually, the same number of people qualify through gym badges and prelims. Probably because the Gym Leaders keep good track of how many badges they give out and stuff."

Made enough sense to Kay♂. Before he could fit in another question, Kay♀ went off on another tangent, "You know, the reason that some people don't like watching the preliminaries is because I think a lot of the battles degenerate into an experienced trainer annihilating a new trainer, or two new trainers ordering their Pokemon to use tackle on each other repeatedly. But you know, there are competitive battles. And they're always fun."

Hey, this looked like it could actually be useful commentary.

"Er...yeah, sounds right I guess. Your brother's Pascal, not Eniko or anything, right?"

She nodded. Kay♂ continued, "Well, then how do you think Pascal will do?"

She looked a bit uncomfortable, and scanned the ground a bit before continuing, "Well...you know...well...he works hard at it. I think he'll stick to training. He just...gets a bit overconfident sometimes. And he gets along with his Pokemon great but um...he doesn't really ever get along with other trainers well. Um...you'll see when you meet him."

Kay♂ noticed that she said 'when you meet him'. Not 'if you meet him'. To state the least, that was ominous.

---
The two Kays found their seats quite easily. Kay♀ had a surprisingly better sense of direction than her personal demeanor implied.

According to the booklet Kay♂ had his head buried in, although in the past, most Pokemon league battles were fought with the trainers on the field itself, new safety measures placed the trainers in elevated platforms that Kay♂ figured were about four meters tall or so. He decided to take his free-of-charge binoculars and zoom into Pascal's platform.

Pascal was probably a few inches taller than both Kays and looked absolutely nothing like his sister. His red hair was disheveled and stood up in a bizarre manner that made it appear as if he had just woken up, or that he just never cared about his hair. And the combination of his hair with his almost doll-like black eyes created a somewhat eerie effect.

The first word that came to Kay♂'s mind was "shabby". Adding to that argument, Pascal was clad in a wrinkled flannel sweatshirt and a dusty pair of jeans that was probably one size too big for him. Regardless of his appearance, he seemed enthusiastic, because he was also leaning forward against the safety railing in a position that Kay♂ thought was probably kind of dangerous.

Kay♂ thought Pascal only looked fourteen or so, but he remembered Kay♀ mentioning that Pascal wasn't much younger than she was. Either someone was older than they looked, or someone much younger than they looked. Or as Kay♂ concluded, both were true. He was going to ask for Kay♀'s age later. It was probably a bad idea, but he was curious.

He seemed as if he was both casual and awkward. It was really hard to see what it was though. It have been the slightly bent over gait, but more likely the strangely content expression on his face that reminded Kay♂ of a Slowpoke.

It would be hard to find a woman who looked more diametrically opposed to Pascal. The woman, named Eniko according to the booklet, sat cross-legged in a comfortable-looking seat on the platform. Her hair was jet black and slightly curled, but seemed so static and neat that it looked more like a wig glued onto her head than her actual hair.

Although her movements (or lack thereof) made her seem very placid, she had teal saucer-bowl eyes with pupils constantly darting across it. But in contrast to her eyes, it seemed as if her face were stuck in a perpetual frown. The woman seemed somewhat on the young side, so Kay♂ figured that she was in her early twenties.

Kay♂ felt a little jealous of her. Not because she seemed like a competent trainer, which she didn't and which Kay♂ did not value, but because she seemed far better off than Kay♂. She was clad in a very expensive looking blouse and an equally expensive looking skirt that looked longer than her actual legs. But despite their obvious price, they looked far more gawky and kitschy than elegant or graceful.

Her left index finger was also rubbing against what looked like an expensive (and gawky) necklace, and Kay♂ thought he could see something shimmering from her ears. They probably would have shimmered more if she had not erected a parasol on the platform to shield her from the sun.

The referee seemed a bit tired when he probably gave off a speech he had already given off half a dozen times today. Although in the past, referees generally oversaw the battle on the field itself, a multitude of nasty...accidents in the past had forced the League to situate the referee in the same box as the announcer.

Regardless, his amplified voice reverberated through the stadium, "This will be a three on three battle between Pascal of Mahogany Town and and Eniko of Celadon City. As always, no substitution from your preset battle orders. Any Pokemon withdrawal will thus disqualify that Pokemon. Contestants, please confirm your Pokemon choices. Contestant Pascal, in no particular order, you have chosen Girafarig, Mareep, and Venonat. Correct?"

Pascal opened up with his voice also amplified, "Yup."

The referee turned toward the woman on the opposite platform, "Contestant Eniko, in no particular order, you have chosen Oddish, Frosslass, and Ralts. Correct?"

The woman simply nodded.

Kay♂ thought the process to be a waste of time. It was not as if you could change which three Pokemon you used.

"One of you, please choose a side of a coin."

Pascal quickly answered, "Heads."

A coin animation appeared on the "big board" among many other things. Among them, Kay♂ noticed a small portrait of both contestants, with three empty black boxes under them, and a circle containing animations of the three Pokemon they chose respectively

The coin turned on the screen for about ten seconds, before finally landing. On tails.

"Tails. Contestant Pascal goes first. Contestant Pascal?"

Kay♂ grumbled to himself, "They already pre-select their Pokemon! Stop wasting our time and get on with it!"

Pascal didn't even acknowledge the referee as he threw his Pokeball off his platform, revealing his first Pokemon, a Mareep.

"Contestant Eniko?"

Eniko nodded at least before throwing what appeared to be an oversized Pokeball off her platform. A flurry of stars and hearts exploded for about five seconds before Kay♂ could actually identify her first Pokemon: an Oddish. He wondered how much money she blew on Seals.

"The battle may commence....now!"

---

Pascal, unsurprisingly, took the initiative, "Thundershock!"

It wasn't an unsurprising choice because Pascal obviously didn't have a very diverse moveset to choose from. The bolt arced toward Oddish: and missed, painting a smoking black mark onto the wall behind Oddish. For some strange reason, the Oddish didn't even try dodging.

"Go for it again!"

Mareep shot another bolt toward Oddish. This one hit home. The Oddish stumbled back, with a smoking black mark on her forehead much like the one on the wall behind it. Once again, she made no attempt to dodge.

Kay♂ wondered what Eniko was actually doing. As he looked into her platform, he saw her busy sipping on a cup of some unidentified liquid and staring out at the animations on the "big board". He muttered sarcastically to himself, "What a dedicated trainer."

Pascal looked somewhat satisfied by the hit, "Gogogogogo. More!"

Mareep launched another Thundershock at Oddish, but not before Eniko finally set her cup down on what appeared to be a makeshift cup-holder.

She seemed as if she had lost herself in thought for a second before she started speaking, "That was long enough. Arany, fire your Solar Beam."

An overpowering beam of green light blasted toward Mareep before Kay♂ could even wonder why an Oddish would know Solar Beam. It smashed into the comparatively tiny Thundershock, instantly evaporating it, still on its path toward Mareep.

Pascal frowned in understanding, "Damn! A TM *****. MAREEP, TO THE RIGHT!"

The Solar Beam missed Mareep by barely a few centimeters as she complied and slid to the right. However, it still blasted the wall behind Mareep, spraying Mareep with a variety of charred building materials that used to be a wall, smacking her onto the ground. The referee popped a good look at Mareep to see if she was still conscious.

Pascal stomped on his platform, "It's not over yet! Aude, zigzag ahead!"

Mareep, jumped out of the rubble, apparently hurt but not done for. Mareep then charged forward with a speed that even surprised Pascal. Even though she was on the other side of the arena as Oddish, she was quickly closing the gap.

Eniko gripped her necklace, "Gah! That should have ended it. Charge up Solar Beam again!"

Kay♂ never even knew a Mareep could move so quickly. Even while zigzagging, the gap between the two Pokemon became smaller and smaller. Mareep was already more than halfway across the stadium when Oddish seemed to finish charging. Eniko seemed as if she was gnashing her teeth, "Agh! Fire to the left, no right, no center! Gah, just get that Mareep somehow somewhere someway!"

Oddish seemed confused as to where to fire. Even with her Solar Beam essentially ready to fire, where should she aim? Mareep wouldn't be easily hit. She aimed toward the center of Mareep's path.

Pascal brandished his right index finger at Oddish, "Add Solar Beam to your momentum! Tackle Oddish..."

The Solar Beam fired again.

"...now!"

The Solar Beam missed again. This time, it blasted into the ground only a few meters behind Mareep, helping propel Mareep even faster through the air toward the Oddish.

Eniko was clearly not as collected as she was before. She appeared to be breathing angrily and Kay♂ even thought he spotted sweat on her forehead. She angrily grabbed her cup, "Ugh, Arany, use um...what's left? Gah! Don't stand around! Do something!"

Her face light up as a thought wormed into her head, "Ahah! Grass Knot! Use that!"

Four meters in front of the Oddish, two vines came streaking out of the ground and wrapped around the Mareep's right leg. The vines quickly tore almost immediately in half, with one half still wrapped around the Mareep's leg, clearly failing to stop his momentum.

Oddish yelped right before Mareep came careening toward it. And a shattering crash was heard as the Mareep's tackle made contact.

Unfortunately, it was not the Oddish the Mareep had made contact with. Rather, the Mareep had smashed into the ground right next to her target.

Although the stadium went silent for a second as the dust cleared, Kay♂ already figured Mareep would miss. He found himself engaging in Kay♀'s most annoying habbit: talking out loud to nobody in particular, "The grass knot didn't need to stop the Mareep. Just grabbing onto one leg would apply enough force to alter the angular momentum of the Mareep and alter its trajectory to the point where the Oddish was no longer at its endpoint."

Kay♀ gave Kay♂ a very strange look and remained silent.

As the dust finally completely cleared, the referee took another look at Mareep. This time, his hunches were correct, "Mareep is unable to battle. Oddish is the winner!"

---

Pascal's face drooped as he slowly realized his last minute gambit had failed, "Urgh, you were so close."

He awkwardly scratched his back and shrugged his shoulders before returning Mareep to his Pokeball. He then took his second Pokeball out of his pocket and enlarged it.

He tossed the Pokeball onto the field where it opened up to reveal his Girafarig.

Eniko's Oddish appeared to be breathing heavily and seemed to move slower that it started. Kay♂ mouthed off to the woman next to him, "It looks injured, but that tackle didn't even hit."

She smiled, "Just cause Aude's Thundershock looked like it didn't hurt didn't mean it didn't."

The referee opened up again, "Once again, contestants...commence the battle!"

It looked as if Eniko gingerly stuck her right index and middle fingers down her throat. Then Pascal's voice seemingly rang out again, "Noel! Tackle that Oddish!"

Girafarig broke out into a charge in the Oddish's direction. Kay♂ turned to look at Pascal, and Pascal looked horrified, "Wait, no! I didn't say that! Stop!"

Eniko's voice, somewhat more gravelly than usual, rang out, "Arany! Seize the battle! Squirt it right in the eyes!"

Kay♂ gave a strange face, "Okay...looks like someone's a bit too enthuaistic about the wrong things."

But it was at that moment Kay♂ realized what was going on.

Girafarig started to slow down its charge toward the Oddish as he heard the REAL Pascal give out orders. But it was too late. A purple nasty gob of goo splattered into the Girafarig's face right as it started to turn. The Pokemon yelped.

Pascal's face scrunched up in anger, "No fair! That's practically cheating!" The referee shook his head to deny that assertion. Pascal simmered on his platform. A cheap shot, but still legal.

Even Kay♂ could see why the Girafarig was in trouble. It was obvious that there was no way the Pokemon could see until the goo fell off.

Eniko yelled at the Oddish, "Alright, let's take this opportunity. Run up to it and absorb it dry!"

Despite this clear turn for the worse, Pascal seemed unperturbed, "Alright, Noel. Trust me. Fire your Confusion two and a half hours to the left!"

The Girafarig complied and merely pivoted to the left seventy-five degrees before firing its Confusion off. Straight into the Oddish's face.

The surprised Pokemon merely collapsed onto the ground where it stood. The referee quickly scanned the Oddish, "Oddish is unable to battle. Girafarig is the winner!"

---

Eniko silently returned her Oddish. Kay♂ couldn't hear what she muttered under her breaths, so he just read her lips. "...Kehely and Szuny usually ignore me..."

She gingerly picked up a Pokeball and held onto it. And held onto it. And held onto it. After a few seconds, the referee gave her a strange stare.

"Contestant Eniko. Please release your second Pokemon."

He garnered no response from her. She merely continued to stare at the Pokeball. On the other side of the stadium, Girafarig had finally shaken off the last piece of goo from its face.

He sighed, "I repeat, Contestant Eniko, please release your second Pokemon."

Once again, his words garnered no response from the woman.

His voice stiffened, "Contestant Eniko, you have fifteen seconds to release your second Pokemon before you are disqualified. Fifteen...fourteen...thirteen..."

Eniko did not turn to look at him.

"Five...four...three..."

Without a cue, Eniko interrupted his counting and threw her second Pokeball into the field, revealing once again another seal-derived blizzard of stars and hearts.

Kay♀ turned to the right, "She's stalling."

Kay♂ was confused. He saw no reason why stalling would help in a Pokemon battle.

"Once again, Contestants...commence the battle!"

Pascal smiled. The type match-up was strong as the purely-psychic moveset of a Ralts would be highly ineffective against Noel. Yet, Noel's repertoire of normal-type moves could wreak havoc.

"Alright Noel! This time, tackle that Ralts!"

The Girafarig didn't budge.

Pascal cried out again, "Noel? Use tackle on the Ralts!"

When Kay♂ looked closer, it seemed as if the Pokemon had a slight purple hue. And as he noticed such, the Girafarig then collapsed onto the floor.

Eniko laughed. In a rare moment of volubility, she continued, "Heh, hey boy? Want some advice? Don't confuse acid and toxic again. Oh! And people don't stall for no reason."

Pascal's face scrunched up in anger for a second time and looked hopefully at the referee to put an end to Eniko's "tactics".

That hope was not met, "Girafarig is unable to battle. Ralts is the winner!"

Pascal merely continued simmering in anger. Kay♂ on the other hand, found himself somewhat impressed by Eniko's somewhat-sneaky but strangely admirable (to him at least) tactics.

He sighed as he stared wistfully at his last Pokeball and reluctantly released its contents onto the field. "Alright Mael, you're up!"

The Pokeball opened up to reveal a Venonat. The middle aged man sitting behind Kay♂ and holding betting stubs in favor of Pascal summarized up the situation succinctly, "well, there goes my money."

 

[Porygon-Z]

This is really excellent and it's a really good read!
I'm subscribing to this thread! :)

P.S. I love the concept of the battle format! People should totally use that on wifi sometime for fun!

 

[Krystallyn]

I loved this last chapter. I am incredibly impressed with how you were able to use battle format such. I really suck at writing battles. I can't wait for the next chapter.

I love how Kay(male) knew the attack was going to miss, even though he's not a trainer. It's like what I do with my family when we go bowling.

Keep writing!! I'm your biggest fan!!

 

[Akustar]

Thanks for the encouragement! Sorry, but the next chapter got a lot more delayed that I thought it would be because of a variety of personal stuff. I hope to get it up by the end of this weekend though. :)

 

[Porygon-Z]

It's a shame you stopped writing this, I was really enjoying the read. :(
I hope you get back into it some time. :)

 

[Krystallyn]

It's a shame you stopped writing this, I was really enjoying the read. :(
I hope you get back into it some time. :)

So do I! This was one of my favorite stories. ♥

 

[Akustar]

Author's Note: Yay for completely unexpected updates. Yeah, I suck with updating. I really don't know what happened, I ended up getting really busy with a lot of different things and never getting back to this. But yeah, I churned this out, and I'll definitely work to get back to a seemingly regular update schedule. I'm shooting for every week (at the least).

~~~
Chapter Three

It was then when the true breadth of her "tactics" hit Kay♂. Pascal wasn't someone who randomly screamed orders. That woman could imitate voices. And give fake orders. Fake orders into spurts of toxic. Kay♂'s thoughts were cut off though as the referee wasted no time,

"Once again, contestants...commence the battle!"

The Ralts teleported a short distance before firing off a bolt of confusion, but as soon as Venonat turned in its direction, it teleported yet again, firing yet another confusion bolt from behind Venonat.

Pascal gave out an urgent yell, "MAEL BEHIND YOU!"

Venonat jumped to the side, but not quick enough to fully avoid the bolt. Kay could see a discolored side of Venonat's body that was apparently grazed by the shot.

Kay♂ thought a bit out loud, "Hm. Confusion is going to hurt a lot if it hits."

"...I'm just surprised Venonat even withstood that graze.", Kay♀ was surprisingly succint during this battle.

Kay nodded. The battle drew slowly into monotony as Eniko repeated the same tactic. Again, and again, and again. Her Ralts would teleport, shoot off a bolt of confusion, and teleport again before Venonat could even see where it came from.

He was honestly impressed by the Venonat. Even as more blue rays streamed across the stadium, Venonat was somehow dodging those attacks. But it seemed as if every dodge by Venonat was just a bit slower than the preceding one. And everytime the Venonat began turning toward the Ralts, she had already teleported away.

Pascal's face contorted into a slack-jawed stare as he stared at his watch. Was he already admitting defeat? The woman, on the other hand, smirked as if she were an animal who had cornered her prey. Then Pascal snapped his neck to adress his Venonat.

"...Ten o'clock. Tackle."

As bizarre as his request was, his Venonat complied and went careening straight toward the wall behind the purple Pokemon, dodging yet another confusion attack in the process.

Kay♂ almost sighed inside, "...what is he doing?"

The first person to notice was Eniko. It was almost comical as her confident smile morphed into a countenance of horror. Ralts had materialized only two feet in front of Venonat, directly in his trajectory. Kay could almost make out the woman uttering several colorful expletives before a deafening crunching noise filled the stadium.

A low hush swept through the arena as the Ralts, still with the blue shimmer of teleport on it, flew through the air, made a loud crash landing, and rolled across the stadium, mashing up a dust cloud on the way there. After the dust cleared, the referee scanned the situation.

"Ralts is...," the referee took a long stare at the felled Pokemon, "unable to battle! Venonat wins!"

Kay♂ could see Eniko nervously laughing, "W-what...? T-that's not possible. Kehely must have screwed-d up..." Her voice trailed off.

Pascal narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Heh. Hey girly, want some advice? People don't look at their watches for no reason. Oh, and if you're looking at where your Ralts is going to teleport to, try not to make an image of your eyes isn't reflecting off my watch."

Eniko gnashed her teeth and grimaced, "Tsch. How dirty."

The irony of that statement was lost on neither Kay.

"Contestant Eniko, please release your last Pokemon. And please, no delays this time."

It appeared that even the referee had tired of her. She gave him a nasty glare, before silently releasing her third Pokemon. A Frosslass.

Kay♀ spoke with surprisingly little emotion, "This battle is over. Pascal takes it. Skill trumps money."

Kay♂ interjected in confusion, "Wait...what? Not even including the type disadvantage, it seems a bit earl- oh. I see."

Kay♂ should have seen it earlier. The Frosslass wasn't hovering normally. She bobbed rather unsteadily in the air. A typical side-effect of forcing an untrained Pokemon to evolve with a stone. Kay♀ nodded as she became aware that Kay♂ had figured it.

Kay♂ spoke, "I doubt she even captured the Pokemon. Snorunts are pretty rare, and they certainly don't roam in Kanto." He grimaced as that line of thought led to its natural conclusion, "Probably bought a Snorunt and a stone from a poacher."

Apparently, Pascal had figured out too. He drew himself up, brimmed with confidence, and looked at his opponent, "Don't smile. Don't think I don't know types. Mael, use foresight. And double team."

What happened next couldn't even be called a battle. Various Venonats, most of them not actually real, smashed into the Frosslass repeatedly as it helplessly flailed in the air.

Eniko's eyes darted across both sides, "......sheer cold."

Kay♂ thought to himself, "Must be that hopeless, to bet all stamina left..."

The flailing Frosslass propped itself against the side wall of the arena before unleashing a ferocious torrent of icy materials.

That was almost certain to miss the agile and double-teamed Venonat. Especially considering the badly battered Frosslass probably wasn't even capable of aiming in that state.

Kay♀ raised her eyebrows, "Hm. Two options float in my mind as of now..."

Kay♂ saw a shadow in the flurry of ice fall to the ground, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me..."

The referee grimaced, ".............Venonat......is unable to battle. Frosslass is the winner."

He hesitated unhappily, "As Trainer Pascal...has no more Pokemon capable of battling...Trainer Eniko is the winner, and moves onto the next round."

---

Kay♀ took the loss pretty well. Though to be quite fair, it wasn't her battling. Ignoring Kay♂'s lamentations, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him down toward some undisclosed location.

Kay♂ deftly extricated his hands, "Whoa, whoa, wait, where are we going?"

Kay♀ replied matter of factly, "...to go see Pascal...duh?"

Kay♂ sighed, "You could have just told me."

"I could have. But I didn't. Hee." Her way of brushing off his valid concerns almost irritated Kay♂. Almost.

The scene that Kay♂ encountered when they entered the trainer's room shocked him.

---

The two were cheerfully chatting with each other and smiling. It seems they had probably already dropped their Pokeballs to a healing courier. Eniko said something with a smirk that Kay♂ couldn't make out, causing Pascal to respond with faux anger, before they broke out in laughter.

They got along too well. It was creepy. Surprisingly enough, it was Eniko to first notice their approach, "Oh hello! You must be Pascal's older sister, Kay. He's mentioned you a bit."

"Oh, he did...?", Kay♀ had a worrying smirk on her face as she turned toward Pascal.

Kay♂ decided to pipe in before any resulting bubbliness caused him to gag, "...what was with the end...anyways?"

Pascal frowned in faux anger. It seemed as he had gotten over it. Eniko responded with a comically smug grin, "Pure luck! Wonderful stuff, isn't it!"

Kay♂ felt a teardrop on the back of his head, "This is how Pokemon battles are decided?"

Pascal was the first to realize something fishy, "...wait, who are you?"

Kay♀ interjected, "Oh, he's a friend! There's actually a very long and confabulated story about how we met each other."

"No. There really isn't. And it's convulated."

"So yes. I can explain that later."

Pascal gave her a similarly worrying smirk, "Ah. Friend. I see."

Eniko interjected again, "Say, I know this nice restaurant nearby, is anyone else interested in food?"

Kay♂ was hesitant. Which is probably why Kay♀ answered for him.

---

The topic of the lunch wasn't very interesting to Kay♂. It was mostly about esoteric Pokemon knowledge like TM prices. And Kay♀ explaining every minute detail of their meeting in excruciating detail.

Though the topic moved to the battle and eventually to imitating voices. And Kay♂ was slightly creeped out when imitated his voice.

She also tried to imitate Kay♀'s voice, but hilariously failed. Kay♂ suspected she could only imitate male voices.

More importantly, walking to the league center, Kay♂ was in agony.

Eniko gave him a strange look, "Hey, it wasn't that spicy."

Kay♂'s ability to talk was heavily impaired due to the nine ice cubes he had stuck in his mouth, but he tried his best to enunciate, "Ei fell dee pain ofs a thousantch childbarfs."

Pascal brandished a box with a smirk, "Hey, I think I just found out what to do with the leftovers."

Kay♂ reciprocated Pascal's "friendly and compassionate suggestion" with an equally friendly hand gesture. Eniko giggled at it, which he found deeply annoying.

"Hey, you're allowed to watch some of the next matches, right?", Pascal's sister questioned him.

"Uh...yeah...oh dang, I think I just missed Emil's match."

Kay♂ didn't like being left out of the loop, "...who?"

"Emil from Celadon. An Indigo Plateau League Champion. Went here last year and ended up being runner-up. Looks like he's giving it another shot. No idea why he's messing around in the prelims. Runner-up is definitely high enough to skip the prelim procedure."

Eniko morosely pointed our her hypothesis, "Maybe he just likes beating on newbie trainers. Knowing my luck, I'll face him next round."

Kay♂ didn't feel like mentioning her "luck" helped her score a one in ten chance one hit knock out against Pascal.

"Eh, don't worry. Let's all go watch Eniko's next match. I heard Emil's first round opponent never even showed up. You'll probably just get another default next round. You know, I wonder if they seed people who get defaults differently. No, actually, that's probably not going to happen, it's all randomized anyways. Isn't it exciting that way?" She gave nobody a chance to answer, "Well, I think it is. Anyways..."

Pascal gave Eniko a glance before capitulating to his sister and turning to Eniko, "...hmm...alright! I'll ignore my stolen victory and cheer for you!"

Eniko smirked at his backhanded declaration of support.

---

It was judgment time. Well, kind of. The lobby was packed with trainers and audience members trying to get a glimpse at the next round setup.

Match one started randomizing. It chose a young boy from Veilstone and an older woman Celestial Town. Kay♀ mentioned that the older woman was somewhat experienced, and that the young boy's prospects were not good.

Match two randomized. It chose two kids from Sandgem and Eterna respectively. Neither which Kay♀ recognized. Probably two new trainers.

Match three randomized. The first trainer showed up on the screen. He could almost feel Eniko shift a little. The trainer who showed up the screen was strangely more alluring on the screen than in person: Trainer Eniko from Celadon.

The second image quickly shifted through pictures of trainers until it started slowing down...and stopped.

"Round Two, Match Three: Trainer Eniko of Celadon City will be facing Trainer Emil of Celadon City".

Eniko immediately broke out into a bout of nervous and fake chuckles after uttering a barely audible and very succinct swear.

Pascal sported a demonic smirk, "Well, have fun and good luck."

 

[Krystallyn]

Oh, heck ya!!! Thank you SOOOOO much for that chapter. :) That was just the ultimate pwnage!!!! :) I am hyped for the next chapters!!!

 

[Silhouette]

I like your writing style, it's very intriguing. And you always keep your viewers coming back for more, unlike me. My chapters always get more and more boring as I go on. XD

Keep up the good work, I'm definitely coming back to read this.

 

[Akustar]

Yeah, it's pretty obvious I have the worst update schedule on Earth...

~~~
A veneer cracked. Pascal's comment was not returned by a smile. Eniko merely continued to chuckle in place.

Kay♂ extended his arm to her shoulder, "Hey, are you o-"

"Get away!", Eniko whispered angrily towards Kay♂. Even if he hadn't been taken aback by her outburst, her swiping arm would have knocked his back. She spun around to face him in a posture suggesting as if she were under attack, before loosening up her posture a little.

"Ah...sorry, I need to be...no..." Before even finishing, her voice dwindled off. She stormed away, quickly broke into a jog, and disappeared around a corner. She was gone before anyone could follow her.

Pascal frowned. He was certainly not expecting that reaction. He turned towards the rest, "Ahah...eer...that was an awkward..."

Strange grammar besides, it was a widely shared sentiment. Kay♀ decided to break the awkward silence, "Well, isn't it simple? The library is in that hall off to the right. Why don't we see if we can brush up on past leagues and see if we can help our beleagured friend?" She voiced friend with a strange tone, as if she was annoyed by Eniko's attitude, and was merely curious about who Eniko would face.

~~~

The first video they saw from the last Pokemon league would have been rather disheartening to Eniko if she were there. Emil appeared to be a rather lanky, red-haired body with a permanent scowl on his face. His opponent was a blue-haired girl, named Eden, from Pallet Town. Emil pulled out his signature Charizard to face a Raichu. Then a Lapras. And then an Onix. If Emil cared about type match-ups, he didn't show it. If anything, he seemed rather bored, acting as if the battle was a mere chore.

"Man, Eniko's completely screwed," Pascal was blunt as always.

The second battle went exactly the same way. A waste of twenty minutes. The third battle, although being much longer, didn't provide much more information. They started searching for a video game of one of his defeats, much later in the Pokemon league. But the entire lower shelf of playoff match video had already been checked out, almost certainly by other trainers.

"Ok, we're done here. Let's just search on the net," said Kay♂ in mere exasperation.

After logging into a terminal, he groaned. Apparently, it was possible to search up every Pokemon registered by an entrant, even though that didn't mean you could always predict which three a trainer would pick.

Charizard. Dragonite. Snorlax. Alakazam. Gyarados. Machamp. Kay♂ gave an impressed whistle.

Kay♀ and Pascal crept up behind Kay♂ to look at the screen, giving a whistle.

"Yup, looks screwed to me," Pascal mentioned again.

Kay♀ shot him a sharp look, "Can't say that. Well, I guess you can. But you know, how many people really enter this competition expecting to win?"

Kay♀'s motives confused Kay♂. She was seemingly very pumped up about it. Then again, their tickets were valid for every game in the preliminaries, so Kay♂ simply assumed she was looking for someone to cheer for now that her brother had been knocked out of the competition.

"Could have verbally backtracked...more artfully," Kay♂ gave a rare snarky comment, provoked by Kay♀ not even bothering to cover her tracks. Something inside him felt nice about picking on people. "I'll bet you dinner tomorrow that she doesn't show up."

Kay♀ didn't even hesitate, "Deal. In fact, let's up the ante. For each of her Pokemon that get knocked out, I'll buy a meal. For everyone she knocks out, I want four. And you still get four if she doesn't show."

Kay♂ didn't even hesitate. He had seen people like Kay♀. People who step into things without really thinking. He really didn't want to take advantage of something like that, but it's not like it was a serious wager. "Deal."

~~~

Kay♂ didn't even feel like showing up to the match. He could have slept in for much longer, so he was in fact rather late. He ran up the stairs into the stadium, panting and imagining the relief that would assault him as soon as he found his seat. Luckily, his seat was near the stairs, and he immediately planted himself next to Kay♀ and Pascal.

Then he realized neither competitor was there yet. He had only just remembered Emile had a tendency of showing up "fashionably" late to every single battle. His thoughts were immediately dashed when the confident young man from the videos, looking essentially unchanged in a year, walked into his trainer's box and let it lift up.

Kay♀ then remembered how Eniko came extremely early to the last game. The conclusion seemed obvious to him: she wasn't going to show up and he would soon have a free meal on the way.

"Hm, I might actually be getting those meals," Kay♂ rubbed his stomach. He had skipped breakfast, but it was fine if he had a meal coming his way.

Kay♀ didn't really pay heed, "She's got five more minutes to show, you know." She silently read a pamphlet. The silence was rather unusual.

Kay♂ glared at his watch for three minutes, waiting for time to run out. A quiet murmur immediately disrupted him. Eniko had somehow showed.

~~~

Eniko didn't look particularly happy to be there. She had a grimy look on her face as if she had dirtied some makeup, failed to remove it overnight, and simply left it alone the next morning. Which had probably been what had happened. She looked unexcited to be there, but she still seemed practically enthusiastic compared to the even more morose Emile.

Emile seemed like a character. He was wearing a fashionable shirt and pants, something that would prevent him from sticking out on a typical street in Celadon City. His hair was a bright red, but he had a rather mundane, albeit neat haircut. He wore thin-rimmed and shiny spectacles that gave him a strangely intimidating presence even if there was nothing intimidating about him that Kay♂ could easily explain. He simply stood in his box.

She had been lifted into a similar box and took the exact same position she had in the last battle. She had weakly erected some kidn of parasol in the side of the box and sat herself on a similar chair in the exact same posture as last time.

A different referee called out from a speaker. "This will be a three on three battle between Emile of Celadon City and and Eniko of Celadon City. As always, no substitution from your preset battle orders. Any Pokemon withdrawal will thus disqualify that Pokemon. Contestants, please confirm your Pokemon choices. Contestant Emile, in no particular order, you have chosen Snorlax, Charizard, and Dragonite. Correct?"

He nodded. And left it at that.

"Contestant Eniko, in no particular order, you have chosen Oddish, Frosslass, and Ralts. Correct?"

Unchanged from last time. Kay♂ started to doubt that she had more than three Pokemon. She might have kept the same Pokemon in a hope that it would surprise Emile, but that seemed like too too dumb of a plan for anyone to seriously consider.

"...yes..."

She answered rather unemotionally.

"One of you, please choose a side-"

Eniko interrupted the referee. "Tails. Please."

There was a short pause as the referee probably didn't expect to be interrupted like that, "...understood."

After the entire useless process of choosing who shows their Pokemon off first, Emile released his first Pokemon.

Kay♂ wondered out loud, "Does she even have any type match-ups strong against a Charizard? Ice, grass, and psychic..."

Kay♀ looked strange, "Why do you assume..."

She was cut off when the first Pokemon was revealed. It was...Dragonite?

Kay♀ gave a small chuckle as her sentiments were vindicated.

"Contestant Eniko?"

Eniko nodded again before throwing her gaudy Pokeball. After the customary five seconds or so that it took the Pokeseals to clear up, Kay♂ was surprised at her choice. Frosslass? Talk about a great type match-up.

"The battle may commence....now!"

~~~

The battle didn't start off with a bang. Neither side did anything at first. If Emile was worried about the double type disadvantage his Dragonite had, he wasn't worried about it. The Frosslass, like last time, had visible difficulties even floating. Emile seemed to have a condescending smile as he waited for his opponent to make the first move. Kay♂ remembered that Emile had done this both times in the videos.

Eniko seemed fully willing to oblige, "Sheer cold."

Kay♂ nearly spat out his drink. She would try this stupid, risky, strategy right after trying it the last time? It seemed like a stupidly obvious strategy.

Emile didn't seem to even be paying attention. But his eyes flew towards the field as he heard his Dragonite, encased in ice, clatter onto the floor. His eyes betrayed a huge sense of surprise, but they quickly disappeared as he barked out, "Break out!"

Eniko seemed the more frantic of the pair as part of the ice immediately cracked. Kay♂ was shocked. The fact that a Pokemon with a double type disadvantage could survive an ice-type move so powerful (if it managed to hit) that it was usually considered a one-hit knock-out move was unbelievable.

Eniko immediately started repeating herself, "Ice beam! Ice beam! Ice bream! Seal up every crack!"

Despite the fact that her orders weren't terribly coherent, the Frosslass complied. Everytime a crack appeared in the ice, the Frosslass immediately paved over it with an ice beam. After a long struggle, the Frosslass's floating became even more unstable. It started wobbling even more intensely.

Despite that, the cracks stopped appearing. Emile didn't even wait for the referee, taking up his Pokeball and withdrawing his Dragonite.

The referee was somewhat surprised as he was preempted once again by a trainer. Regardless, he reacted quickly.

"Contestant Emile has withdrawn his Dragonite. As such, Dragonite is disqualified. Frosslass is the winner! Contestant Emile, please release your next Pokemon."

Kay♂'s jaw dropped. He had somehow already lost his bet. A deep sense of regret bubbled as he realized that he was probably somewhat foolhardy. He was comforted however by the fact that he could hear other audience members complain about losing even worse bets.

Emile wore an irritated scowl as he fingered his Pokeball. After scowling even more, he released his Pokeball. His signature Charizard had finally made its appearance.

"Contestants...commence the battle!"

Emile didn't even hesitate this time. He seemed determine to play seriously, barking out orders immediately. "Charizard! Flamethrower!"

The jet stream flame hurtled toward the Frosslass before Eniko said words that nobody expected, "Destiny Bond!"

Emile's face contorted in shock, but it wasn't enough to actually make the trainer misstep. Immediately in response to Eniko, he issued out orders again, "Change course, don't hit!"

Kay♂ was impressed. Instead of telling the Charizard to stop the flamethrower, something it could probably not do very well, Emile had the sense and experience to tell him to simply redirect the jet stream away. And Emile had been able to do this when everyone else in the stadium had been stunned into silence by the unexpected Destiny Bond. This guy was a successful trainer for a reason.

The Charizard somehow forced the jet stream to immediately shift mid-air away from the Frosslass. It smashed into the wall a short distance from the Frosslass, dissipating harmlessly in the air.

It didn't make a difference. The Frosslass collapsed onto the ground with a heap. Even a near-miss by a flamethrower would have been enough to knock out a Frosslass already pushed past its limits by repeated usage of moves it wasn't meant to use.

Emile scowled even more deeply as his Charizard gently laid down on the ground and lost consciousness. The audience was silent once again.

"Both Charizard and Frosslass are unable to battle."

In most trainer battles, the fierce battle between the first Pokemon would have just begun. And somehow, in a matter of a few minutes, Emile had lost most of his Pokemon. Kay♂ was dead silent, trying to ignore Kay♀'s self-satisfied smirk.