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Post by Dramatic Melody on Apr 2, 2018 12:20:04 GMT
Table of Contents:> Unpacking > 24 Months > Something Better / Last Trip of the Day > After Plasma > Questions > Dear Purrloin, [coming soon]
Hey. So I was thinking of how to bring over my old stuff here, and I realized that a lot of my one-shots revolved around a certain theme. So I thought, hey, what better way to bring them here then to just compile them into a neat little collection? So that's what After Plasma is, really—a collection of one-shots all dealing with, well, what happens after Team Plasma did their thing in the Unova region. I could go on and on explaining why I find this theme interesting, but I think girl-like-substance 's comment for one of my one-shots explains it much better than I ever will: [This was used with eldestoyster's permission.]So yeah, all those badly hurt people and Pokemon are just rife with opportunities for stories (as a lot of you have already realized on your own tbh), and these one-shots are my take on how this very unique villainous team affected all these different people from Unova. So I hope you enjoy reading them!
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Apr 2, 2018 12:22:43 GMT
Unpacking
“Hey, uhh, can you stay and help me?” “Help you with what?” “Well, with, uhmm, unpacking.” “What?” “With unpacking my bag. Because, well, I won’t need it anymore since—” “I heard you the first time. But what do you need my help for? It’s such a small bag.” “Oh, nothing. I just thought you were okay with staying over a bit more.” “I mean, yeah, I am, but…” “And my room’s much cozier than the Center.” “Of course it is, but the more I stay here, the less I get to do my job—” “It’ll be a lot less lonelier if I wasn’t alone in unpacking, and it’d be nice to have someone to talk to, and—” “Alright, alright, I’ll stay. You don’t need to get all dramatic about it.” “Really? You don’t have to go back to the Center?” “Nah, they can handle it. There’s not much happening at this time of day anyway. They won’t need more than two nurses.” “Thanks, Sal. That means a lot.” “Oh, come on, Ken. Don’t be like that. It’s just a bag.” “It’s not just a bag. It’s my trainer bag! It was as essential to my journey as Ampere!” “Okay, okay, it’s a special bag.” “Probably the most special bag in all of Unova!” “Let’s not go that far. So what’s inside the bag?” “Well, there’s the usual trainer gear, which I could probably sell for some extra cash. But there’s also... uhmm, where is it, I thought I—oh, this!” “A case for your glasses?” “No, no, it’s my badge case!” “Oh, that’s right. You went for the gym circuit. How many badges did you get?” “Four!” “Whoa, talk about being an overachiever! Obviously you battled Clay since he’s right next door, but how far did you go?” “Actually, I didn’t battle Clay. Ampere’s Electric-type attacks wouldn’t have done a thing to Clay’s Ground-types, so I told myself I’d challenge him when we were strong enough to overcome that weakness. And I didn’t want to go through Chargestone Cave since that would’ve been way too much for us. So I crossed Driftveil Bridge and worked my way from there.” “Ooh, so you went through the big cities first?” “Yeah! I can see why Clay wants to turn Driftveil into a tourist hub. Nimbasa makes you feel much more alive with the stadiums and the subway and the theme park. And Castelia? Man oh man, where do I even begin?” “Hah, I get you. Part of me wants to work in the Castelia Pokémon Center coz it’ll give me the most experience as a nurse. But a bigger part of me knows I’ll never have downtimes like this if I’m based there.” “But hey, if Clay pushes through with his plans to develop Driftveil, you’ll be as busy as the nurses in Castelia.” “Yeah, that’s true… But anyway, I didn’t ditch my job just to talk about my job. How did the gym battles go?” “They were great, and I get why so many trainers wanna take on the gym circuit. My first gym battle was really memorable.” “Ooh, was it against Elesa? I hear she’s a real tough trainer!” “She was. And Ampere didn’t want to embarrass himself by losing to his fellow Emolga, so he gave it his all against it. But we had to work extra hard to defeat her Blitzle. I don’t think I would’ve won if she used her Zebstrika instead, but hey, we did beat her! Elesa told me that I was one of the few trainers who beat her the first time, so that was an ego boost I didn’t expect to get!” “Wait, so you’re telling me you’re actually one of those training prodigies?” “No way! That win against Elesa was pure beginner’s luck. And the next three gym battles proved that. I thought I got lucky in the Striaton Gym by having to battle Cress, whose Simipour was weak to Ampere’s Electric-type attacks. But it took me seven whole tries before I finally got that Trio Badge.” “Wait, seven whole tries? I would’ve given up by the fourth!” “I thought I would, too, but I could feel it in Ampere that he really wanted to beat that Simipour. Thinking about it, I kept on going for him, really, even if it took seven tries.” “So what made the seventh try different from the others?” “Well, I used this… and this… and a whole lot of this…” “Potions and vitamins? Really?” “I know, I know. When I started my journey, I told myself I’d never use them in battles like that. They were cheap ways of winning, and it defeated the purpose of learning from battles. Plus, Ampere didn’t like the taste of some of them, especially the Carbos. “But beating Cress—I got desperate, okay? Like I said, it was the seventh try, and Ampere’s frustration only made mine much worse. That was a whole week of thinking about how we could beat that damn Simipour.” “Heh, I can only imagine how you felt when you finally beat it!” “Well, to be honest, it didn’t feel nice at all.” “Huh? Why?” “The whole potion thing spoiled the win for us. When Cress gave me the Trio Badge, I knew I didn’t earn it the right way. It was the first time I felt like I didn’t deserve to be Ampere’s trainer, so much so that, well–” “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself! You’re not the only trainer in the world who uses items in battle, you know. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” “I guess… Yeah, I can’t do anything about it now that it’s happened, right?” “Right.” “Right. Okay, what else is in here… Oh?” “What is it?” “Huh, I thought I threw this away…” “Can I see? Oh! Is that a Leaf Stone?” “Yeah.” “And you’re gonna tell me why you have one, right?” “Hah, of course. But, well, it’s a little embarrassing…” “Really? You’re gonna be embarrassed about telling me something? After all we’ve been through?” “And I thought I was the dramatic one. Well, it took me seven tries to beat Cress, right?” “Yeah.” “I was planning on catching a Pansage and evolving it just for that battle.” “Hah. So you wanted to beat him at his own game?” “Kinda, yeah. This was around my fourth or fifth loss against Cress. I figured, maybe these guys were giving me a hint with the kind of Pokémon they were using. Maybe I needed to catch my own Simisage or Simisear or Simipour so I could stand a chance against theirs.” “Makes sense. But why didn’t you go through with using it?” “Well, I didn’t use the Leaf Stone because I didn’t catch a Pansage.” “Huh?” “It was just a knee-jerk thing when I bought the Leaf Stone off some merchant who just happened to past by Striaton. I thought, hey, I could have a strong teammate to beat that damn Simipour just for 5,000 Poké? Seemed like a steal to me. And the merchant sure erased all my doubts with his smooth-talking. “But right after I bought the stone, I asked myself, was I really willing to add another teammate just for one badge? When I caught Ampere, I was determined to complete the gym circuit with him and him alone.” “Oh, so you weren’t planning to have a full team of six?” “Nope. Not even a team of two. I know, I know, all those experts on TV say that trainers should have a well-balanced team with several Pokémon covering each other’s weaknesses and blah blah blah. But I don’t think any other Pokémon would’ve come close to Ampere’s awesomeness. If you already have the most awesome Pokémon in the world, what else do you need?” “Heh, I can’t argue with that.” “And I did everything I could to let Ampere know just how freaking awesome he is. I spoiled him rotten! I bought him, oh, here, a lot of these Casteliacones because it was his favorite, and I would always reward him with one when he won in battle. I’d give him a whole bunch when we beat someone strong like a gym leader!” “That’s really sweet of you.” “That’s not even the end of it. We were about to leave Castelia and head to Nacrene when we passed by this merchant who was selling these Poké Dolls that looked like he made them himself. They were all really nice, but when I saw this, it was an instant purchase.” “Aw! That’s so cute! It looks just like a real Emolga!” “Ampere thought so too. He wouldn’t let go of it once he got his hands on it! I always liked watching him drift off to sleep since he would hug this doll so tightly. But it doesn’t stop there! When we got to Nacrene, I also got him—” “…Ken?” “I… g-got him…” “Ken? Is something wrong?” “N-no, it’s just… uhmm…” “Ken, what is it?” “It’s… w-well…” “Ken, is that Ampere’s Poké Ball?” “Y-yeah.” “Ken, it’s okay. It’s okay to feel bad about it. It’s okay to admit that you miss him.” “B-but… I shouldn’t…” “What?” “I shouldn’t feel bad. I should feel good about re— about it.” “What? Why?” “In Accumula, I attended this rally where there were these people wearing white armor or something ridiculous like that. I didn’t think much of it, but then this tall, green-haired man took the stage and spoke about, well, about liberating Pokémon.” “Liberating Pokémon?” “Letting them go. Setting them free. Separating them from cruel humans like me.” “Ken, you know you aren’t cruel–” “No, I am. Think about it. When I caught him in Route 6, I took him away from his family for my own selfish reasons. When I made him battle Cress’s Simipour again and again, I was subjecting him to so much pain just for a stupid badge. No matter how many Casteliacones I gave him, no matter how many Emolga Poké Dolls I buy for him, none of that would be enough to make up for all the shitty things I did to him. So the only right thing to do was to re—was to release him.” “Ken…” “No, I’m fine. Really, I am. In fact, I shouldn’t even be feeling bad about it because releasing him was the right thing to do. That green-haired man, everything he said made perfect sense. We call Pokémon ‘partners’ even if all we do is push them around. All we do is give them selfish commands when they’re supposed to roam free and live peacefully. Ampere doesn’t deserve any of that. Ampere doesn’t deserve someone like me.” “But he did, Ken. He did deserve you. And he couldn’t have asked for a better trainer than you.” “No, he d—” “Yes, he did. Ken, I’ve served thousands of trainers in the Center, and I could tell you story after story of trainers who treat their Pokémon like shit. Those are the trainers that green-haired man was talking about. Those are the trainers whose Pokémon need ‘liberating’ or whatever. “But you? Ken, you’re the most caring person I know. The way you talked about Ampere—I don’t see that much care from trainers often. In fact, I’d be lucky if I heal the Pokémon of a trainer as kind as you each day. And hearing you talk about how cruel you are or how Ampere doesn’t deserve you—it just doesn’t add up.” “Sal…” “Ken, I won’t tell you that what you did was wrong. It was your decision, and I respect it, and I’m sure Ampere respected it, too. But all this talk about being selfish and making him do shitty stuff—that isn’t you, Ken, and I know you know it. If you think Ampere’s happier being released, then sure, you know what’s best for him more than I do. But don’t think that you were some cruel master to him. I know you, and you aren’t like that at all.” “But… But none of that matters anymore, right?” “What?” “None of that matters anymore. Like I said, I can’t do anything about it now that it’s happened, right?” “Ken…” “Right?” “…Right.” “Right.” “Ken…” “You better go back to the Pokémon Center, right? I’ve kept you here long enough.” “Hey… are you gonna be okay?” “Y-yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m fine. It’s all okay.” “Are you sure?” “I’m sure. Don’t worry about me. Thanks for keeping me company, Sal.” “Don’t mention it. I’ll see you later?” “Yeah, see you.”
{(Author's Note)} This one-shot was written as an answer to a writing challenge that required stories to have only dialogue. It is a revision of an older work that was published in 2017.
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girl-like-substance
the seal will bite you if you give him half a chance
Posts: 527
Pronouns: xe/xem
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Post by girl-like-substance on Apr 3, 2018 13:07:37 GMT
Aw, this is a nice fic to revisit. It's so sweet when it opens, and then as the truth comes out it gets bittersweet instead. I've obviously given you my opinions on Plasma before – they're right up there in the first post, even – so I won't repeat all that, but I do love fic that focuses on the aftermath of Plasma, and grouping your BW fic together into a collection is a really good idea; they complement each other really well, and build up this striking picture of Team Plasma and its effect on Unova by like a series of case studies in human pain.
But this one is also a fic told only in dialogue, which is cool, and a really successful one at that: the two speakers have so much personality, even though we have no idea what they look like or how they're interacting with the world around them, and you really lean into the existing friendship between them in ways that show us the strength of their connection. The way Sal broaches the subject of liberation with Ken is fantastic – as is the fact that this conversation isn't over. You have this strong sense that these people knew each other before they started talking, and that they're going to keep working at this in the future, too; we've only seen this one critical moment of the friendship between them. Ken hasn't even admitted that Sal is right yet. He has so much further to go before he even really begins to heal, but in just a few hundred words, you've sketched out the beginning of the process in a way that suggests everything that went before, and everything to come afterwards.
So yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, I really like this fic, and I'm delighted to be rereading it now. Excellent work! I'll look forward to the rest of the collection.
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Apr 29, 2018 0:01:21 GMT
Aw, this is a nice fic to revisit. It's so sweet when it opens, and then as the truth comes out it gets bittersweet instead. I've obviously given you my opinions on Plasma before – they're right up there in the first post, even – so I won't repeat all that, but I do love fic that focuses on the aftermath of Plasma, and grouping your BW fic together into a collection is a really good idea; they complement each other really well, and build up this striking picture of Team Plasma and its effect on Unova by like a series of case studies in human pain. But this one is also a fic told only in dialogue, which is cool, and a really successful one at that: the two speakers have so much personality, even though we have no idea what they look like or how they're interacting with the world around them, and you really lean into the existing friendship between them in ways that show us the strength of their connection. The way Sal broaches the subject of liberation with Ken is fantastic – as is the fact that this conversation isn't over. You have this strong sense that these people knew each other before they started talking, and that they're going to keep working at this in the future, too; we've only seen this one critical moment of the friendship between them. Ken hasn't even admitted that Sal is right yet. He has so much further to go before he even really begins to heal, but in just a few hundred words, you've sketched out the beginning of the process in a way that suggests everything that went before, and everything to come afterwards. So yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, I really like this fic, and I'm delighted to be rereading it now. Excellent work! I'll look forward to the rest of the collection. Thank you for saying that! Dealing with Team Plasma has been such a great experience writing-wise, and I can only hope that presenting these one-shots with that underlying connection would make it a better experience reading-wise, too! (And I've said it before, but I really do appreciate your insights on why Team Plasma's actions is just rife with opportunity.) And yeah, working with that limitation was really fun! I'm glad that you thought I was able to convey Ken's and Sal's personalities well, and I'm especially glad about how you saw the conversation as just a part of a bigger whole. That was definitely what I was going for, and it's great that I was able to present it to you as such! Thank you so much for the review, eldestoyster! And I'm definitely excited to write more about the subject and exploring all these characters' situations.
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Apr 29, 2018 0:21:56 GMT
24 Months “Mom, I’m gonna go look for him.” She thought there was something unsettling about the finality of his tone. It hadn’t been the first time he brought it up—ever since he came home after becoming Champion a year and a half ago, he had mentioned his green-haired friend a number of times, and how he felt there was unfinished business between them. She had been against it, of course—after the incident in the Pokémon League, she didn’t want him dealing with Team Plasma again. But there was a determination in him that only grew after each retelling, and she knew that any other attempts to convince him would be in vain. So she decided on the only reply she knew would satisfy him: “Whatever you think is for the best.” 1 month later
She turned the mug upside down and watched its contents seep through the sink’s drain. Opening the faucet, she watched the water mix with the chocolate and the marshmallows turn into soggy sponges. She then soaped and rinsed it thoroughly, making sure there was no trace of chocolate left. When she was satisfied, she dried the mug off with a clean towel and stored it in the cupboard. And as she watched Nuvema Town slowly be covered in snow, she gripped her own mug of hot chocolate and finished it as slowly as possible. 2 months later
Pairs of young eyes looked at her with awe as she stood in front of that spring’s batch of beginning trainers. Their smiles were wide, their bodies swayed back and forth, and their hands tightly clutched their newly received Poké Balls. In the past hour, she watched the dozen or so trainers only a few years younger than her son choose among the three starter Pokémon that will become their companions throughout their journeys. Beside her, Professor Aurea Juniper spoke a few concluding words, telling them to make the most of their journeys and have the adventure of their lifetimes. Then the professor asked her for any final words of wisdom. “Stay safe,” she said almost immediately. “And call back home as often as possible.” 3 months later
“Okay, Hilbert,” she said as she scrolled through the webpage. “It says here that the best hotels in Kanto are in a place called Celadon City. And it even says they have a big shopping mall there.” “Mom, you know that’s not what he likes,” she heard him say over her Xtransceiver’s speaker. “Big cities are the last place I’d expect to find him.” “I know, I know, but that was meant for you,” she replied. “I know searching for your friend’s important, but you have to take time for yourself, too. You’re going to all these beautiful places, it’d be such a waste to not have fun.” She then heard her son laugh—the best reply she could ever get. “All right, all right,” he said afterwards. “Does Celadon at least have a gym leader?” “Oh yes,” she said immediately. “It says here that her name is Erika…” 4 months later
There was a small get-together in Cheren’s house to celebrate his appointment as the Aspertia City Gym Leader. He was going to move out by the end of the month, and his parents had made sure to give him a fitting going-away party to celebrate. But even if the party focused on Cheren, she didn’t spend more than five minutes without anyone asking her about her son. She politely told everyone that he was doing fine, that he called almost every night, and that he would come home within the next couple of weeks—emphasizing that last point as often as possible. Before leaving, she wished Cheren and his parents good luck and gave Cheren a long hug. She whispered to him, “Promise me you’ll give this to Hilbert if you see him, okay?” 5 months later
“Thanks for the hot chocolate, Mrs. Black!” “Of course, Bianca. Anything for one of Hilbert’s best friends. So are you all set for your flight?” “Yup. I’m really excited to meet this trainer. It’s the first time I’ll be giving someone his starter Pokémon! You said you knew his mother, right?” “Yeah, I met Jess in the Nimbasa Pokémon Center in my journey back then. I healed her Pokémon, we got to talking, and we’ve been friends ever since.” “That’s really nice! I’ll be sure to say hi to her when I get the chance!” “Thanks, I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. And I’m sure you’ll meet a lot of great people in Aspertia, too. I hear it’s a nice city.” “I definitely will. But I’m most excited to see Cheren again! It’s been two whole years since we last saw each other. I wonder how he’s doing?” “...Yeah, I’m sure he misses you too.” 6 months later
She noticed that one of the beginning trainers had stayed behind, a twelve-year-old boy who picked Snivy. He seemed to be talking to himself while clutching the Poké Ball firmly. Seeing that Professor Juniper was busy, she approached him and asked what was wrong. “I don’t know if I made the right choice,” the boy replied. “All three of them are so cool, but what if Snivy isn’t right for me? What if I’m actually a Tepig person or an Oshawott person?” “Well, there’s only one way to find out,” she said with a smile. “You have to get out there and see for yourself. My son picked Snivy, too, and I know that he loves his Serperior very much. You could have the same relationship with your Snivy, or maybe one that’s even better. But the only way to find out is if you give it a try.” “Thanks, Mrs. Black,” said the boy, his face lighting up. “Mr. Hilbert sure is lucky to have a mom like you.” “That’s really nice of you to say.” she said, widening her smile in return. 7 months later
“I haven’t had luck here in Kanto. If I don’t find him by next week, I’ll head to Johto and see if he’s there.” “Will you be alright? Where will you be staying? Do you still have enough money? I can send some over if you like.” “I’ll be okay, Mom. I still have some money, and if ever I need some, I could always withdraw. And I usually stay in Pokémon Centers, but if I don’t, I just camp out in routes like I used to. So don’t worry, Mom. It’s not like I haven’t done this before.” “I know, I know. But if ever your journey gets too tiring, don’t hesitate to head back home.” “I will, I will. Hey, I’ll talk to you soon, alright? I wanna explore this Mt. Moon cave. Love you.” “I love you too,” she said with a sigh. “Stay safe.” 8 months later
“I’m sorry for all the wasted time, Mr. Clay,” she said as she led him out of her house. “No need to be sorry, ma’am,” said Clay. He had arrived an hour earlier to invite Hilbert to participate in a new project involving strong trainers that he was hosting in Driftveil. The gym leader said that it was perfect for “strong trainers like yer son, ma’am,” and she knew that it would’ve been something he would say yes to immediately. “I’ll tell him all about your offer when he calls tomorrow morning,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll love the idea as much as I do.” “Appreciate it, ma’am,” he said. “So where’s the kid now?” “In Johto,” she replied. “Going on another journey.” “Heh, figures,” he said with a smile. “Yer son was built for adventure, ma’am, so no reason to hold ‘im back.” “Yeah,” she began. “I suppose so.” 9 months later
He looked like a mess when he entered and announced that he was home. His clothes were torn and tattered, his eyes were underlined with huge arches, and his hair looked like he hadn’t fixed it in eight months. He threw himself on the chair and put his hat over his face, lazily plopping his bag on the floor. She immediately made him a mug of hot chocolate, the way he liked it during winter. She placed his personal mug on the desk beside him and a took a minute before asking, “Did you find your friend?” She woke up ended before she heard his answer. Seeing the night sky outside her room’s window, she hoped to continue the dream by falling asleep again. 10 months later“Alice? Oh my gosh! It’s been so long! How are you?” “Hey, Jess! I’m doing okay. You still working in Pokémon Centers?” “Nah, not anymore. Ever since Nate left for his journey, I had to look for a job that would keep me in Aspertia. Now I teach kindergarteners in the Trainers’ School here. There’s a Nuvema native who works here, too. You know Cheren?” “Yeah, he’s one of my son’s best friends. They started their journeys together.” “That sounds familiar! My son also left for his journey with one of his childhood friends. He’s a bit rowdier than Cheren, but I know they’ll both become strong trainers.” “I’m sure they will. But on that note, are you doing okay, with Nate being away and all?” “I’m still getting used to it. It’s much more quiet than I thought it would be. But at least he calls every night, whether it’s asking me about a city or just telling me about his day. It isn’t the same, but at least I get to hear him, you know?” “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” 11 months later This just in: Opelucid City has been frozen solid. Ice blasts coming from the sky struck many portions of the city, leaving many residents stranded within houses and buildings. In a press conference earlier today, Mayor Dresden stated that this is the work of Team Plasma, a criminal organization who was reportedly disbanded more than two years ago. Here are some highlights from Mayor Dresden’s speech.
“Authorities have mostly stabilized the situation, with help from one of my gym’s challengers...I urge the rest of Unova to keep a watchful eye and report any sightings of rogue Team Plasma members immediately.”
Other citizens say that a huge flying ship was seen around the time of the incident and is likely the cause of the ice blasts…
“He’s here,” she said as the news report dissolved into unimportant details. “Hilbert’s friend is here.” 12 months later
“You haven’t seen him in the news?” “No sign of him, unfortunately,” she told her son over the Xtransceiver. “There was another green-haired man, but he didn’t look like how you described your friend.” “That was definitely Ghetsis,” he said. “That’s the last person I want to hear about right now.” The change in his voice didn’t escape her, telling her not to push the subject. “So, where did you go today?” she asked. “I was surfing around some small islands, but I couldn’t find a way to enter them via sea,” he replied. “They all had these giant whirlpools blocking the way.” “Sounds dangerous,” she said. “We didn’t get close, don’t worry,” he reassured her. “Besides, all that meant was that I had to fly my way over the whirlpools. There were four of them, so I’ll go back and explore tomorrow.” “Tell me all about what you find, then,” she replied. “And promise me you’ll stay safe, okay?” “I will, Mom. I promise.” 13 months later"It was unbelievable. Ghetsis was using Kyurem to freeze entire cities. He wasn't even giving speeches anymore—he was threatening innocent lives for no apparent reason." She listened to Cheren briefing all the citizens of Nuvema Town about what happened in Northern Unova. Unlike the rest of the crowd, she wasn't looking for the validation of her safety or the confirmation of Team Plasma's defeat; she was looking for any traces of her son's friend. "Luckily, this incredibly talented trainer stopped him and his plans, and Ghetsis fled after his defeat. Officials have arrested all of the Neo Team Plasma members and are trying to pinpoint the location of their leader. I have to hand it to that trainer—he reminds me a lot of Hilbert." "But he isn't Hilbert," she said to herself, louder than she expected. Fortunately, no one had heard her over all the commotion. 14 months later
“Alice? Hi! How’ve you been?” “Hey, Jess. I’ve been good. But I should be asking you the same question, Mrs. Champion’s Mom.” “Hah, the past few days have been crazy. So many different people have been calling and even visiting me in person. There was even a producer from Pokéstar Studios who asked if Nate wanted to star in a movie! Can you imagine, my son as a movie star?” “I’d watch it the day it comes out. Give your son my congratulations, Jess.” “Thanks! But speaking of sons, how is your former Champion doing?” “He’s doing fine. He just flew in to Kalos a month ago.” “Kalos? Wow, he must be having a lot of fun seeing all those new places. But hey, how are you holding up?” “...Well enough, I guess.” 15 months later
"We're sorry. The number you are calling cannot be reached. The Xtransceiver may be damaged, or there may be a problem with the signal in your area. If this problem persists, please call the C-Gear Company at 508-414-823-1129." ... "We're sorry. The number you are calling cannot be reached. The Xtransceiver may be damaged, or there may be a problem with the signal in your area. If this problem persists, please call the C-Gear Company at 508-414-823-1129." ... "We're sorry. The number you are calling cannot be reached. The Xtransceiver may be damaged, or there may be a problem—" Within an hour, she had gone to the Striaton police station and filed a missing person’s report. She told them all they needed: Hilbert Black, sixteen years old, five foot seven, thin build, brown spiky hair, brown eyes, last seen wearing a blue zipper jacket and a red cap, last conversation in Cyllage City in Kalos, former Champion of the Unova League. She asked for updates every ten minutes, but each update was met with the same response.
16 months later It has been a month since former Unova Pokémon League Champion Hilbert Black’s disappearance, and there is still no word on his whereabouts. Alice Black, Hilbert’s mother, continues to urge anyone who may have knowledge of his location to notify her immediately—
She always turned off the TV at this part of the nightly news—all it did was make her more worried and frustrated at the lack of updates. Several times she had thought about going to Kalos and finding him herself, but the thought of Hilbert coming home without her being there always stopped her. When she felt that enough time had passed, she turned the TV on. “...it reminds you of that Kantonian Champion, doesn’t it?” she heard the newscaster say, the headline Former Unova Champion Still Missing underlining the frame. “Just disappearing for months, until one day someone suddenly finds him on top of a snowy mountain—” She turned the TV off again. 17 months later
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Professor Juniper offered her a mug of hot chocolate, which she silently rejected along with the invitation. They were celebrating Bianca's birthday, and her family had invited everyone. Even Cheren had traveled from Aspertia, and he brought along some of his fellow gym leaders. There were only two invitees who didn’t have plans of attending, and one of them didn't know where the other one was. "Yes, it's fine," she told the professor. "You go and have fun. Don't let me bring the mood down." "All right,” said Professor Juniper as she patted her shoulder. “I won't force you, Alice. But if you change your mind, you're more than welcome to attend." When the professor left, she got the mug of hot chocolate and poured the contents down the sink's drain. After rinsing it thoroughly, she put Hilbert's mug back in the cupboard and went to bed, making sure her Xtransceiver was within arm’s reach. 18 months later
She chose not to speak in front of this spring’s batch of beginning trainers. She didn't feel that she had anything encouraging to say to them. In fact, she thought it was for the better that she didn't speak—she didn’t want to bring out any parents’ worries if she told them what she was going through. Outside, she saw the young trainers burst out of Professor Juniper's lab. She saw two young boys already battling, the one with the Snivy overpowering the one with the Tepig despite the type advantage. She saw another young boy put on a new pair of running shoes, his mom hugging the shoebox right behind him and wiping tears off her face. She saw a trio of trainers, two boys and one girl, hold hands, breathe in heavily, and take their first step in Route 1— She closed her blinds and forced herself out of the window. She called the police for updates and was met with the same hopeless answer. 19 months later
20 months later
"Alice, we're all worried about you." She was in front of the TV when Professor Juniper came in, though she didn't know what she had been watching. All that mattered was that the house needed to be filled with noise and conversation, and she knew she couldn't do that on her own. "Alice, we know it's hard, and we're sorry that nothing's come up in the past five months. But you can't let this stop you from going about your daily life. Why don't you come with me and Bianca in our trip to Aspertia tomorrow? You could catch up with your friend there." She let Professor Juniper's invitation settle in her mind, and for a moment she considered accepting it. It would be a nice change of pace, she thought, and it would do her good to get some sunshine. But then she thought of the time that would be wasted. Why should she be spending time with her friends if she could spend time looking for Hilbert? Why should she go to Aspertia if she should be thinking about going to Kalos? Why should she leave her house if Hilbert could arrive at any minute? She bade goodbye to the professor and her assistant the day after, telling them to say hi to her friend for her. 21 months later"Hey, Mom. I know it's late and you're asleep, but I just got the Cyllage City badge! Grant was really difficult, but Serperior really pulled his weight. Shame I won't have time to participate in the League, but the Gym Leaders so far sure pack a punch! I wanna tell you all about the battle, so call me when you wake up, all right?. Love you." ... "Hey, Mom. Sorry it took me so long to call again. Going through that cave took me longer than I thought. The view of the beach is really pretty, though, and the sunset is just as beautiful as the one in Route 1. I know you're asleep now, so call me when you wake up, all right? Love you." ... "Hey, Mom. The flight was a bit delayed, but I finally arrived at Kalos. I know it's midnight there, so I'm sorry for not calling you before you slept. But let me tell you, Mom, Lumiose City is huge! It's like three Castelia Cities rolled up into one megacity. There's so much more I wanna talk about, but I wanna tell it to you in person. Call me when you wake up, all right? Love you." 22 months later
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She was watching TV when she heard him. She knew there was a reason that her plea wasn't being broadcasted in the news anymore. She knew seven months of silence was too long. She knew that she would tell him to replace his broken Xtransceiver immediately, so as something like this wouldn't happen again. "Welcome home, dear. Did you find the friend you were looking for? Wasn't his name something like N?" She turned around and saw the wrong Champion. He looked a lot like Jess and a lot unlike Hilbert. "Huh...? Excuse me!" she stuttered with a smile. "How embarrassing! Mistaking a visitor for my own child!" 23 months later"All right, that's everything." She had packed enough for a month's worth of traveling, deciding that it would be enough for a quick search around Kalos. Nate, her friend’s son and the current Champion, had told her that he had seen N personally when he was thwarting Team Plasma’s plans, and that was all the confirmation she needed to hear to tell her son to come home. She had booked a plane to Kalos a week ago, and a cab to Mistralton a few hours after that. Her flight tomorrow morning meant she would arrive at Kalos when it was afternoon there and midnight in Unova, just like Hilbert's flight. She was more than ready to leave when a familiar thought crept into her head. But what if Hilbert came home and I wasn't here?“No,” she said to no one in particular. “Eight months of waiting has been too much. If they can’t find him, I will.” But what if Hilbert came home and I wasn't here?
“Then he would stay here and wait for me to get home,” she told herself. “That’s what I’ve been doing for twenty-three months. He can do it for a few weeks.” But what if Hilbert came home—She tore her plane ticket and itinerary and threw them in the trash. Later that day, she paid the cab driver his fee for the Nuvema-Mistralton trip that she didn’t take. 24 months later
When Hilbert came home, she cried. She cried when the police called her, telling her that they had found him in Geosenge with a broken Xtransceiver. She cried while the police briefed her about how it had taken them several months to enter Geosenge due to the actions of Team Flare. She waited in the Mistralton Airport for his flight, and when he arrived after twenty-four hours of waiting, she cried while giving him a welcome she had been bottling up for twenty-four months. She tried to hold back the tears as they waded through the crowd of newscasters and onlookers, but the moment she boarded Skyla’s private plane headed to Nuvema, she started crying again. She cried when Cheren hugged him tightly, fulfilling a promise he made twenty-one months ago. She cried when Bianca had released his Pokémon one by one, for he wasn't planning on going on another journey anytime soon. She cried when Serperior gave her a hug with his slippery body, and she tried her best to replicate the hugs his original trainer had given him. She cried when they took a walk to the Dreamyard, like what they used to do when he was still five years old. She cried when he watched him go through the piles of leaves in Route 1, something he loved to do every autumn. She cried when she gave him a kiss at the end of the walk, something she hadn't given him in two years. And when everyone had left after his funeral ended, she cried some more.
{(Author's Note)} This is a revision of an old one-shot published in 2015.
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Post by bay on Apr 29, 2018 5:38:04 GMT
Hey there! I remember reading Unpacking and enjoyed it very much, so I'll be commenting on 24 Months here!
I think it's cool you have this about Hilbret's mother waiting for him and why she acted that way on her only apperance in B2W2. You did nicely protraying the mother feeling more desperate each month. I admit, when Hilbret went to Kalos and then his Xtransceiver was broken I had a bad feeling he got himself involved in that Team Flare scheme. And, welp, I was right. Goes to show a trainer can perish in a different region, geez. But yeah, not sure how I missed this the first time you posted this, enjoyed it overall!
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girl-like-substance
the seal will bite you if you give him half a chance
Posts: 527
Pronouns: xe/xem
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Post by girl-like-substance on May 15, 2018 17:52:14 GMT
Man, this one is brutal. Like a lot of your stories, it's quite sparse and understated, but that only really makes it the more affecting; it's stark and bleak and at times a little difficult to read, in the best way possible. You go into the impact of two teams here, Plasma and Flare – both teams that weren't as well served by their games as they could have been, and as such both really fruitful ground for exactly this kind of rethinking in fic. The games play down the damage Flare did by having Geosenge's houses flip comically on their backs, but in a real world context that kind of damage is horrific – and that was just from unearthing the weapon! Lysandre actually fired the thing, too, and while he turned its power on the machine itself and destroyed it, the fact that the machine was covering most of Geosenge at the time must have meant a lot more collateral damage than the games were willing to represent.
And of course, it's Plasma that drove Hilbert there – for the best of reasons, obviously; he saw what Ghetsis had done to this poor kid and wanted to reach out and help. That's a good impulse. It's just that it's not one that a child should have to enact. And Alice knows this (a fact that you convey without ever describing more than the surface level of her thoughts and actions, so great work there), understanding in a way a child Hilbert's age can't that this thing was forced on him by Plasma and so needs to treated with caution – but she lets him go all the same. And that act won't ever leave her again.
All of which is a long and self-involved way of saying that this is an excellent story, and a really great addition to your exploration of the aftermath of the whole Plasma thing. There were just a few typos and weirdly-phrased things that I spotted, which I'll list here:
This is phrased really awkwardly – I think it's that “be covered in” that's doing it, so rephrasing it to something along the lines of “Nuvema Town slowly disappearing beneath the snow” would probably make it read smoother.
There's a lot going on here – I'd recommend more punctuation to make it a bit easier to parse for the reader. Commas after “trainers” and “son” would help. I also think you might be missing a “had” between “she” and “watched”.
This feels like two versions of this sentence, “She woke up before she heard his answer” and “The dream ended before she heard his answer”, have bumped into each other. Cutting “ended” would work, or some other rewording.
And finally, one minor aberration of scale – sometimes Unova is small enough for people to take cabs from Nuvema to Mistralton (as Alice contemplates doing when she thinks she might leave) and sometimes it's so big that people need to fly to cross the same distance, as Cheren and Bianca do. It would help to keep your distances consistent.
Other than these minor quibbles – yeah, this is seriously great. Looking forward to the third story!
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Post by Firebrand on Jun 24, 2018 20:18:32 GMT
Reviewing 24 Months from the Underground!
This story really doesn't pull any punches. It focuses on an aspect of the games that often gets forgotten, I think. In every game, you leave your mom at home, and in most games, once you leave the starting town, there's very little reason to go back until after the credits roll. It's easy to forget about the starting town, usually, just because there's so little to do there, and in the Hoenn and Alola games, it feels very transient anyway, since you've just moved in. But Unova is the generation where the player character has the strongest and most fleshed out background, so it feels like you do have roots. And in BW2, because the narrative of the games is very substantially different, and you're clearly Someone Else, it does feel a bit odd walking the same footsteps of the last game as someone completely different, with your previous incarnation nowhere in sight.
I've noticed that a lot of the writing parts of this fandom tend to work on longer form pieces, just because Pokemon is such an easy fandom to do that in. The nature of the canon makes it very easy for you to craft these long form stories however you want to. I've always struggled with one shots, both original and fanfiction, so well done one-shots and short stories always stay with me. What I think makes this one so particularly effective is you put a lot of trust in your readers. The expectation is that they're familiar enough with the Unova games that you don't really have to fill in the background for them, and you can just get straight to the point of hammering our emotions with the sparse but evocative prose.
The ending doesn't exactly come as a surprise, and I don't really think it was a twist, exactly. But some of the language in the last bit of the story seems a bit odd. I assumed that walking through the Dreamyard meant that's where Hilbert was buried, but walking through the leaves on Route 1 was a strange image, because rather than implying that the funeral procession was carrying him (I assume?), the way it's structured makes it seem like it's actually him walking, which I don't think is the intent.
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Jun 30, 2018 0:57:27 GMT
Bay: Thank you for the review! It's interesting how you made the Team Flare connection immediately, since when I first posted this there were comments about how the last scene only made sense in the last line. And I'm glad you liked the mother's increasing desperation - it was something I really want to get just right with the story. eldestoyster: I admit, I didn't think I'd ever hear my story being described as "brutal" and "difficult", but I appreciate it! I know I've already told you this before, but I really like how you dissect the story - in this case your comment about Alice and Hilbert's relationship - and it always opens a new layer about writing that I learn a lot from. So a big thank you for that! Thank you also for pointing out the typos and errors, will get them asap! And I completely agree with how oddly X and Y porrayed the aftermath of Lysandre's plan. I mean, are the toppled houses just a way to hide the actual impact of that explosion? We may never know. Firebrand: +1 to the Unova love. After playing it again and again I'm convinced that it's the mainline game where story and characterization were top of mind during development, and it made for a much better experience. Of course, it has a lot of room for improvement, but it really was taking narrative in the games in the right direction (which they unfortunately haven't followed through yet imo but meh). Your comment about putting trust in my readers is a really interesting one that I didn't realize, and while I'm glad you think it works for this story, it does make me think about beefing up the contexts of my other stories. So thanks for that insight! Noted as well on the wonkiness of the prose in the last segment, will definitely revise that soon! Thanks again for all your comments!
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Dtmahanen
Witnessing (and participating in) shenanigans
Posts: 123
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Post by Dtmahanen on Aug 12, 2018 3:37:31 GMT
Oh goddammit these hurt to read. And I mean that in the best way possible.
I know these were written a while ago, and I meant to get to them a while ago, but reading them again after so long, it's like they were new. As yet another writer who's fascinated by Unova and the far-reaching consequences of Team Plasma, these stories are haunting, but for entirely different reasons, and that's what so damn good about them.
I actually never read Unpacking, so that one was very, very fresh for me. I remember that challenge, however, and to see that realized so damn well in this story is pretty incredible. Starting with that kind of small-talk is definitely needed for an all-dialogue story, but you hint at the gut punch relatively early on, and it's better for it. Because it's not just one gut punch, it's a flurry of punches and kicks to your soul. Whether Ken will admit it or not, he's clearly devastated that he released Ampere, and I'm not entirely sure that he can wrap his head around that fact that Plasma's dogma was pretty much straight BS. Even Sal calling him out on that fact by mentioning how some trainers are much better than other can't change his mind. He thinks he was being cruel and sadistic for doing what he did, and that has to leave some serious emotional scars.
As for 24 Months, you better believe I remember this one. This one hurt. It hurts every time I read it. Once the "15 Months Later" section, it's so gradual, but there's a point when you realize that even Alice is beginning to lose hope. And then the last section hits and it just floods out in a way that just pounds at your heart in a way not much else can. Don't really know what else to say other than that once nearly makes me cry every time.
These were both a treat to read, and I hope that you keep adding more stories to the collection. I look forward to more.
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Aug 21, 2018 4:13:17 GMT
Dtmahanen - Uhh, you're welcome for the hurt I guess? Ahaha.
Thank you for your comments on "Unpacking"'s form! The all-dialogue but still traditional format pushed me to pay attention to how the plot was moving along with each piece of dialogue, so I'm glad it worked out for you! And huh, interesting you bring up what would happen if Ken found out Team Plasma's advocacy was all a ruse. Thanks for giving me some ideas!
And heh, I'm glad you feel that way about "24 Months". (Well, not glad that you're sad about it, but glad that it brought out the emotions I was aiming for. Yeah.) Thanks again for the review, Dtmahanen!
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Post by Ambyssin on Sept 23, 2018 14:21:45 GMT
Heya, DM. I've heard folks rave about your oneshots for awhile now, but never gave any of them a glance. So, let's fix that! *nervous laugh* I took a look at Unpacking. As a 200% biased lover of dialogue, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Some of the subtleties worked really well for me, like the lines where you choose to have Ken and Sal address each other by name. It wasn't done frequently like you see in some fics, so each time a name was used that line had a lot more emotional weight behind it... especially as you get toward the later part of the story and it does become more frequent because you can tell Ken is losing his cool as he recalls releasing Ampere. I'm not sure if I can put this part into words, but the way Ken speaks carries a certain air about it. One that says that, on a surface level, he agrees with Team Plasma and thinks it was the right decision, but on a deeper level, he's still trying to convince himself it's for the best. And he can't seem to reconcile the perceived selfishness on his part with the things Sal tells him. It's certainly a tough argument and I think you make it very convincing as to why Sal's words of encouragement aren't enough to pick Ken up after he starts talking about Team Plasma. I suppose part of it comes down to the metatexual scenario of Ken being one of those trainers who tries to solo the game with their starter, so to speak. Imagine how many kids out there started with BW and acted exactly like Ken: propping up their starter (or another 'mon) and showering them with as much love as you could give a lump of pixels. Bonus points if they didn't even give a second thought to what Team Plasma was saying about the treatment of Pokémon and battles.
Whoops. Feels like I kind of lost my train of thought there. Oh well. I also liked some of the small nods to the changes between BW and BW2, namely the beginnings of Clay building up the Pokémon World Tournament. You even make sense of it-universe by pointing to nearby Nimbasa City as the inspiration. Because, like, if you wanted to attract commerce to your city, going after the tourists enjoying NImbasa is a great idea. Shows off that savvy, businessman side of Clay the games gave us a taste of, but for the most part just remained an informed attribute.
Anyway, that's all I've got. I'll likely be back for 24 Months at some point. ^^
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Oct 7, 2018 1:57:48 GMT
Ambyssin - Thanks for checking out Unpacking! I share your love for dialogue, and I'm glad it worked well for you in this regard! I found your comment on how they used each other's names really interesting, and admittedly something I didn't really think about while I was writing it! But how you explain it makes a lot of sense, and I'm glad it ended up that way as your reading is pretty much what I wanted to convey! Your comments on Ken were interesting, too, and I think your interpretation of his character was pretty spot on - he's definitely not 100% about his decision to release Ampere, but he's reached the point where it's an irreversible decision and he has to continuously tell himself that, hey, you did this, and you know it was for the best (despite Sal's disagreement). It leaves him in a really interesting and somewhat sad state at the end, which is where I wanted him to be! And haha, I didn't even think about the parallels with real-life players of the game, but now that you mention it, it does line up, doesn't it? And thank you for the comments on Clay as well! Driftveil received one of the most major changes between BW and B2W2, and it's yet another aspect of Unova that I'm really interested in. Maybe in another one-shot! Again, thanks for all the comments, Ambyssin!
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Jan 6, 2019 11:53:04 GMT
So, this is my Extravaganza piece for Manchee! I was particularly inspired by their first prompt, "Taking a typical, everyday job/profession and adapting it to the Pokémon world", and I spent an entire day writing whatever came to my mind after reading it. And this was the result!
Something Better “Hi, someone called for an Accel driver?” “Oh, yes, he’ll be here in a couple of minutes. Do you mind waiting?” Yes, I almost said, but this was my last ride for the day, and it was a long one: Castelia to Nacrene. That should put me over my quota. And besides, I wouldn’t want any other Accel driver to get this booking. Or worse, an Escab driver taking it from me… “Nah, I can wait,” I said to the security guard. “If you don’t mind, I’ll let my Trubbish out of his ball for fresh air.” “Go for it. Your passenger’s still fixing his things for the trip.” I gave an affirmative nod as I let out Burt, who made a long sigh as he looked at the tall buildings and the people on foot, on bikes and on cars surrounding us. Castelia always seemed like it was in a hurry, and all those rushing passengers made it a great way to fill out my quota. Unfortunately, all the other Accel and Escab drivers thought so, too. So there were either too many passengers or too many drivers when it came to Castelia. Two minutes turned to three, so I took out my pocket notebook and began tallying all my rides for the day. As I suspected, this last one was enough to meet my distance quota. Many of my passengers today were stingy with tips, though, so here’s hoping this last one would break that pattern. Four minutes turned to five, and I wondered what was taking this passenger so long. They booked a ride from the Castelia Gym to the Nacrene Gym, so I assumed it was one of those overachieving trainers completing their badge quests. “Weird that they want to challenge another gym this late at night,” I told Burt, who only smiled at my musings. “Wouldn’t the gyms be closed by now?” Many of my passengers that day were trainers just like this one, trainers far younger than I was who asked for rides between gyms. Those were always the easiest bookings—they’d go on and on about their battle and I’d just pretend to care. I’ve learned to tune it out after the hundredth time. But this ride was going to be a first, in more ways than one. “Ah, that’s a cute Trubbish you have there!” I turned to thank whoever complimented Burt, but my gratitude got stuck in my throat. In front of me was none other than Mr. Burgh, Castelia’s gym leader. He was wearing his signature green-and-red outfit, even the black-striped red pants and the red-striped green shoes. Behind him, the security guard that acknowledged me earlier was carrying a bunch of easels and paint buckets, with another guard carrying even more drawing materials, from sketchbooks to paintbrushes to pencil cases. “Uh, th-thanks, Mr. Burgh,” I said with as much respect as I could muster. “Y-you’re, uh, you’re done with your gym duties for the day?” “Yessir!” he said with too much energy. “And now I’m headed to Lenora’s place! I’ve been hit with the old-fashioned artist’s block again, so I think a change of surroundings is in order!” Wait, Lenora’s place? I said to myself. Does that mean… “Can you open up your trunk?” he asked. “I don’t think all my things will fit inside the car.” “Y-yeah, of course,” I managed to cough out. I was still trying to comprehend that the Castelia City Gym Leader was going to be my passenger that I didn’t notice Burt approaching him and playing with his left shoe. “Burt, don’t—” I began, but the security guard handed me a bunch of bags to load into the car, keeping me from doing anything. “Aww, that’s so cute!” I heard him say to Burt. “You like these shoes, huh? They always seem to catch the eyes of Pokemon.” Burt hummed happily in reply, much to my relief. Unfortunately, his playing left Burgh’s red-and-green shoe covered in Trubbish grime. “Alright, Burt, back in your Poke Ball,” I called out quickly. “I’m s-sorry he messed up your shoe, Mr. Burgh. I’m really, really sorry—” “What, don’t call him back!” Mr. Burgh cried out. “I just got to know him! Burt, you say? What a lovely name! Can’t he join us in the ride?” “Oh, uhmm, sure, w-whatever you want, Mr. Burgh,” I blurted out. The car’s trunk was filled to the brim with luggage full of art supplies, and his easels and canvases had to be jammed into the back seat. That only left the front seat for Mr. Burgh. So not only will I be having a gym leader for a passenger for the first time, he’ll also be sitting next to me. “Is everything loaded?” he asked the security guards, to which they gave a synchronized nod in reply. “Sweet!” he said. “Let’s go—Oh, what’s your name again?” “A-Al,” I stammered out. “It’s Al.” “Alright, Al. Let’s get going!”
Mr. Burgh was as animated of a passenger as I was expecting him to be. No, scratch that—he was even more animated than I thought. It turned out I didn’t have to worry about creating any discussion points in the two-hour drive between Castelia and Nacrene. The first thing he told me was that he had been using ride-hailing apps for a while now, saying it was more convenient than having to hire a driver. “I couldn’t pass on using them. They’re named after two of my favorite Bug-types, after all!” he added, although he unfortunately said he used Escab more than Accel. I reminded myself to add that to my daily report. He also talked a lot about his art projects. He was mentioning how he had new ideas for the layout of his gym, how he wanted to do something with silk and cocoons. “And I was imagining this whole collage of color for my room,” he described. “Like, splashes of different colors on the walls. It would look magnificent!” So yeah, he took care of all the discussion points by himself. Well, most of it. “Art, it’s a great way to unwind, you know?” he was saying while we were driving through Skyarrow Bridge. Burt was laying on his lap, enjoying the frequent pets he was getting from his new friend. “Being a gym leader can get hectic, so it’s nice to go back to something that both soothes and challenges me. You get what I mean?” “Uhh, y-yeah,” I said, surprised by the question. I’d been getting by with nods and mm-hmms this whole time. “Driving’s kinda the same, I guess. It can get difficult, but it also calms me down.” “M-hm! Exactly!” he said with such glee that it scooped out any drowsiness I had left in my body. “Hey, how about you?” he suddenly asked as we exited the bridge. “What’s up with your life?” “Me?” I said, preparing my usual answer to the question. “Well, I’ve been an Accel driver for a few weeks now. And it’s been great. The income’s not bad, and at least it’s steady.” “What was your job before?” I’ve had a lot of answers prepared for that question. I usually said I was a waiter in a restaurant in Accumula that closed down, or a miner in Driftveil’s caves. When I was feeling extra creative, I’d say I was a former badge quest trainer that fell out of love with his journey and decided to pursue something less stressful. But this time I went with, “This is my first real job, actually.” Which was the closest to the truth. “Huh, interesting!” he said. “And this little cutie, he’s been with you ever since?” I glanced at him, and he was holding up Burt, who enjoyed being carried up. “Yeah, since I was 11,” I said, truthfully. “A starter Trubbish!” he suddenly shouted. “You don’t hear that all the time. Why didn’t you pursue the badge quest?” “Uhh…” was all I could blurt out. It was a complicated question, or at least one that was hard to work around. Because I did pursue something, but it was the exact opposite of a badge quest. “Uhh, well, it just didn’t seem appealing to me, that’s all,” I finally replied. “Hm, that’s odd,” he said, his hand on his chin. “Because the way you commanded Burt earlier, it felt like you’ve been training him for years.” He was right, but it wasn’t the training he was thinking of. It was something much less ideal. “That’s a real honor coming from you, Mr. Burgh,” I managed to say. “So yeah, what’s up?” he pursued. “All I know about you is that you’ve been a driver these past few weeks and you’ve had Burt since you were 11. There has to be something big that happened in between then and now, right?” Yes, I mentally answered. Something very big. And very wrong.“I’d, uh, I’d rather not talk about it,” I said. “Oh,” he said, continuing to observe me. It was a bit unsettling, so I kept my focus on the road. Pinwheel Forest wasn’t the easiest area to drive through in the night, so it needed my full attention anyway. “Mmm…” he started after a few minutes. “Was it bad?” “Very,” I said almost automatically. “Sorry.” “It’s alright. It’s not your fault.” I should’ve ended it there, but then I blurted out, “It’s all mine, really.” “Hm? Why would you say that?” “Huh, w-well…” I began, but knew it was something I didn’t really want to bring up. And not to him, of all people. “N-nothing. It’s nothing.” “Hmmm…” he said, still observing me. “Alright then.” All I heard in the next few minutes were the car’s engine, Burt’s soft growls, and the cries of wild Bug Pokemon outside.
“You have really nice hair, you know?” Mr. Burgh’s compliment caught me off-guard. We were just about to exit Pinwheel Forest, and I almost hit the curb when he said that. Not only was it the first thing he said after a prolonged period of silence, but no one’s ever said nice things about my orange hair. Most of the passengers who did point it out said it was weird at best and an eyesore at worst. “Thanks, Mr. Burgh,” I replied. “Is it natural?” he asked. “It’s such a nice shade, like a sunset, or leaves in the autumn." “Nah. All my team—” I stopped before I realized what I was saying. “Uhh, I mean, all my friends before had it dyed this color, so I followed suit. And I liked how different it looks, so I kept it.” “It’s certainly different!” he said. “I can’t really think of anyone else with that hair color.” I wished he didn’t think too hard about it, but of course, he did. “Oh, wait, that’s not true!” he blurted out. “I’ve seen that hair color before, and—” He ended that sentence with a loud gasp that woke Burt up from his nap. Mr. Burgh looked at me like he’d just figured out a puzzle—a really bad one. Of course, I’ve revealed too much, and I had no one else to blame but myself. As always. “You’re…” he began, his tone much more careful. “You were one of them, weren’t you?” I nodded in reply. No use in denying it anyway. “But that was years ago,” I quickly followed up. “I’ve moved on, I swear.” “And… this Pokemon…” he said, looking down at Burt. “I didn’t steal him, I swear,” I said, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. “He’s been with me since I was 11, that’s true. I had to hide him from my teammates, too. I didn’t want them to take him away from me.” “How did you join them?” he asked, almost ignoring my reply. He was staring at me with a mixture of anger, confusion and discomfort. Mostly anger. “I believed in their cause,” I said, truthfully. “I didn’t think Pokemon were supposed to be used for battling. But I didn’t expect to have to… to have to steal in order to further that cause.” “And how did you leave?” It was a question I expected, but he said it with such force that it still caught me off-guard. “Well, after what happened in the Pokemon League, you could imagine that a lot of us would leave after what Lord—after what Ghetsis did there.” “I can,” he said, his eyes closed and his hand back on his chin. “I was there, you know? I’d been asked by Bianca to stop you, and I was with the other Gym Leaders.” “I remember,” I said. “I remember it like it was yesterday. It was your Leavanny that defeated my—no, the Scrafty I stole.” I felt his cold stare after I said that. I couldn’t bear to look at him, but I could feel it. It was like he was bringing back all that regret and frustration that I thought I’d already gotten over. But of course I hadn’t gotten over it. If all those trainers—those victims—couldn’t get over what happened, what more someone who helped make it happen? “But all that’s behind me now, I swear,” I said, forcing myself to keep my eyes on the road. I could already see Nacrene City from where we were, thankfully. I wanted this ride to end, for the both of us. “It’s something I deeply regret doing, but it’s something I know I can’t change,” I continued rambling, like a door within me had opened after a long time of forcing it shut. “And it hasn’t left me, really. I told you this was my first real job, which was true. It took me almost a year to get up and move on from what happened. My wallet’s empty after that, but that’s nothing compared to all the bad stuff I’ve brought onto so many trainers.” He’s still staring at me, I said to myself. I still couldn’t bear to look at him, but I could feel it. And it hurt. “And hey, at least I’m an Accel driver now,” I continued, my hands already hurting from how hard I was gripping the steering wheel. “It’s not much, but it’s something else. Something better.” I heard a quick gasp from him after that. I took a glance, and he had set down Burt on the floor and reached for his bags at the back. He opened and closed several zippers until he pulled out two objects: a pencil and a sketchbook. He then turned to a blank page and started drawing. “Wha...what are you—” “Shh!” was all I heard from him, and that was that.
The rest of the trip remained that way. I kept on driving, and he kept on drawing. Burt had managed to climb up to the dashboard after he was put down, but when he tried to take a peek at what Mr. Burgh was doing, the gym leader wagged his finger in disapproval. Nacrene was as quiet as I expected it to be, seeing as it was already 11 in the evening. There were a few people outside, but the only building lit up was the Pokemon Center. Even the Nacrene Gym didn’t look like it was open until I parked right in front of it. And amazingly, Mr. Burgh stopped sketching the moment I closed the engine. “Thanks for the ride, Al,” he said casually, almost like the last 30 minutes didn’t happen. “I’ve already paid through the app, right?” “Y-yeah,” I stammered out. “Thanks for choosing Accel.” “Can you stay for a bit? The guards will take a while to unload all of my things.” “Yeah, s-sure.” True enough, two security guards who looked very similar to the ones in the Castelia City gym came out and started bringing Mr. Burgh’s items inside. I saw Mr. Burgh was talking to Mrs. Lenora, the city’s gym leader, and Mr. Hawes, her husband. It seemed like this was a usual setup for them, Mr. Burgh staying in with the couple in his trips to Nacrene. It took a good three minutes before all of Mr. Burgh’s things were brought in, and I saw that he was still talking with the couple. I thought about approaching him to say a quick goodbye and another quick thank you, but I didn’t think he wanted to talk to me after what he’d found out. No one ever did. So I wished Burt good night, recalled him in his Poke Ball, and started the car. Not even ten seconds passed by when I heard loud knocks on the passenger door. I looked out to see Mr. Burgh waving at me with a piece of paper in his other hand. “Wait! Don’t go yet!” I set the car on neutral and stepped out, confused at what else he’d want from me. “You wouldn’t leave without getting your tip, right?” he said with a smile as he handed the piece of paper to me. “So here!” “Th-that’s too nice of you, Mr. Burgh,” I started. “But I don’t think I deserve—” “Of course you do!” he said. “That was a very eye-opening ride, Al. I’ll definitely use Accel more often because of it.” “That’s...that’s great to hear, Mr. Burgh,” I said, still confused. “Thanks again for choosing Accel, and I hope you have a good night.” “You too!” He gave a final wave as he ran back inside the gym. I waited for him to close the door before going back into the car. As I sat down, I unfolded the piece of paper Mr. Burgh gave to me. Out came several Pokedollar bills, probably worth 100,000 Pokemon Dollars, that just fell on my lap like they were nothing. But what was more intriguing was the piece of paper itself, which looked like the pencil sketch he was doing in the latter part of the ride. The drawing was in black and white except for my hair, which was colored orange. I was carrying Burt, who looked like his usual cheerful self. I was leaning my back on the car, and I looked happy. Really happy. It took me a minute to notice that the car’s tire was running over a headpiece with the insignia of my old team, and that Mr. Burgh had written something in the lower right corner on top of his signature. He wrote, “I hope you keep pursuing better things.”
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Post by Manchee on Jan 7, 2019 19:21:13 GMT
First off, thank you so much for the Extravaganza gift! I love it, and you did a fantastic job.
I think that you picked the perfect prompt for this series, and I think it goes well with the idea of ex-Plasma members trying to resume "normal" lives after what they did. I really like Al as a character, too, because he is easily relatable and likable, however he was with Plasma through to the end pretty much. It can be hard to put oneself in the shoes of a grunt, especially because so many of the evil teams have goals that are downright horrible, but Plasma's view on the world is easy to understand and so conflicting that it allows writers like you to make these characters that feel very well-rounded. Giving Al a trubbish that he kept throughout his time with Plasma was a great addition to his character. It made me love both of them so much! I know I didn't include it in my list of characters, but I absolutely adore trubbish and garbodor so it made me really happy to see one in this piece.
In terms of prompt and characters, I feel spoiled! Not only do I get to see Burgh in all of his fabulousness and get to feel the vibe of Castelia (which is one of my favorite locations), but the reference to escavalier and accelgor was a great touch. As soon as I saw Accel and realized it was the equivalent of an Uber-type service I was like "Oh, that's a good name for that!" without realizing the reference, and once I got to Escab being mentioned my brain made the connection and I applaud you for how clever that is. You really made the prompt shine with how easily the two taxi services fit into Unova's hustle and bustle and all of the commentary that poses them as rival services made them so pleasant to read.
Really, thank you so much! This made me smile and I appreciate it more than I can put into words.
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Jan 12, 2019 13:05:44 GMT
Thank you so much! When I saw your prompt I knew I had to write something with it, so I'm glad that you like it!
I'm also really glad you liked Al's character. That internal conflict he's experiencing after leaving Team Plasma is probably one of my favorite plots to work with, so I'm happy I got to work on it more with this! And heh, I really wanted Al to own a Bug- or Steel-type, but apparently none of the Plasma Grunts in BW1 had one. So I went with a "trash" Pokemon as per one of your other prompts!
And I'm really happy that you liked the whole Accel-Escab naming. I admit, when I finally thought about what names to give the ride-hailing apps in Unova, it felt exactly like those lightbulb moments you see in movies ahaha. I'm definitely going to use them again in the future, somehow.
Thanks again for the review, Manchee! And thanks for the great prompt.
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girl-like-substance
the seal will bite you if you give him half a chance
Posts: 527
Pronouns: xe/xem
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Post by girl-like-substance on Jan 21, 2019 23:00:16 GMT
This is very cute. It's a lot of other things as well, but it's also very cute. The games represent a world where like everything is pokémon-themed, and I really like how honestly you've replicated that here – but at the same time, you know, you've added a bunch of flavour and detail to what would, in-game, just be a pun. This is a job, not a joke, and these are real people, looking for tips and dealing with trauma and stuff. It gives this a hybrid charm that I really enjoy.
But backing up a little: trauma. I've written in my reviews of other stories in this collection about the scars that Plasma left on Unova, but I feel like I see even less fic about the trauma suffered by members of Plasma themselves. And yet that's something that actually has an in-game representation, in the Plasma pokémon shelter in Driftveil: there are all these people there so desperately clinging to N's ideals as a way of dealing with what they ended up doing. Obviously that theme doesn't get massively well developed, being a minor plot point in a children's JRPG, but like, it's really good fic material, and you develop that really well here in Al, who's so kind and neurotic and sorta stumbling around through life in the wake of what he did as a Plasma grunt.
That's not to say that there aren't interesting hints about Plasma's impact on the Unovan cultural consciousness at large, though. That bit about the orange hair, for instance. To openly slag off your driver's physical appearance is a pretty vile thing to do, and okay so passengers often are vile to drivers, but the bluntness with which they deliver their judgements of Al seems to point to real spite. Which, I wonder if that's down to memories of orange-haired people who were dangerous moralising hypocrites? There's not quite enough to say for sure, and maybe that's something I'd have liked to have confirmed in some oblique way, but it seems to me that that kind of hate must have its roots in some real or perceived harm.
I really like Burgh in this, too. He's such a sweetheart! Energetic and chaotic to the point of destruction (and thank god, he's finally deciding to get rid of the honey walls, which I imagine must have made some poor League bureaucrat very tired with fielding complaints about the irreparable damage to people's clothes), but so easy-going and open. It's an interpretation that's both very true to canon and very distinctive, and the result is a really charming character. And he can draw in a moving car! I guess the roads must be good and Al's car's suspension even better, because that is difficult to pull off.
Couple of nitpicky things:
This is an awkward and possibly ungrammatical phrasing – I feel like the last part of the sentence should be something like 'after a long time forced shut', but I can't pinpoint an exact reason why.
That first 'in' should be removed; the second one should be either 'on' or, more properly, 'during'.
Anyway, I really liked this! It's an excellent one-shot, and I had a great time reading it. I'm glad Manchee enjoyed it, because I certainly did. :>
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Jan 31, 2019 6:12:47 GMT
eldestoyster: Cute is great, thanks! And heh, like what I told Manchee above, that Escab-Accel pun is something I don’t plan on leaving in this one-shot, haha. Glad you liked my take on them! And yeah, you’re right in that there’s so much that can be written about the Plasma members themselves, both old and new, in terms of how they were affected by Ghetsis’s drama. I’m glad you saw that in Al! And whoa, I didn’t really think of the whole orange hair thing that way! I just brought it up because that’s what I thought Burgh would do to people in his vicinity for a prolonged period of time (because he absolutely would), so I can add that to my list of happy accidents. That’s a really nice reading, and it’s make me think of incorporating it more once I revise this! Thanks also for the comments on Burgh's character (heh, let’s just say he’s that good of an artist for being able to finish all that in a moving car), as well as the grammar notes that I’ll correct soon. And another set of thanks for the helpful review, eldestoyster!
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Feb 11, 2019 6:11:19 GMT
Been working on this for a while now. I've even sent this to workshop twice! So thanks for all the help in making this. I hope you enjoy reading the titular one-shot of the collection!
After Plasma “C’mon! Let’s have fun stealing Pokémon together, like we did before!” He looked tired, even moreso than two years ago. I couldn’t find that same passion in his eyes anymore—it was replaced by regret and helplessness. But I knew he still had it in him, that fire. He wouldn’t be talking to me if he didn’t. “I can’t,” he said, his tone as pathetic as I expected. “I’ve learned the hard way that stealing from others is wrong...” “Don’t be silly,” I replied. “Wasn’t it right here where you helped Zinzolin and the rest of us steal from Driftveil tourists? That was amazing, right? Seeing all those Pokémon from faraway regions, and calling them our own… We would’ve gotten away with it if those kids didn’t come in and disrupt our plans!” I swore I saw a glint in his eyes. I knew he remembered those memories as fondly as I did. Fred and I had set up operations inside the Cold Storage with the rest of our unit, much to Zinzolin’s dismay, and we would stalk unaware tourists at night and get their Poké Balls when they least expect it. He was one of the best—he’d get those Poké Balls so stealthily that those knuckleheads wouldn’t know what hit ‘em until it was too late. “But we didn’t get away with it,” he said, his head hung low and his hands in his pockets. “And we ultimately lost. The liberation of Pokémon… it was all just Ghetsis’s way of taking over Unova. He lied to us, just like how he lied to all the trainers he hurt...” “Hah! Now you sound just like all those losers we stole from,” I snapped back. “Pathetic! You think you can act all goody-two-shoes now, after all you’ve done?” I knew that stung him. He was still donning our old uniform, a ridiculous gray-and-white overall that made us look like knights. We ditched that when we decided to reform, and all that old uniform meant was failure. “And you think raising all those stolen Pokémon is gonna fix anything?” I continued. “Hah! Nothing’s gonna change what you’ve done, so you might as well just finish what you started and help us take over the world!” I’d been tasked to scout Driftveil City and looked for openings to bring it down, and that included scouting the base of my old teammates where they started caring for some of the Pokémon we stole, as if that’s gonna change anything. So I’ve been trying to knock some sense into their heads. This guy, Fred, we always spent guard shifts together, so we were close—were. Close enough to join me for a chat next to Driftveil Bridge, but not close enough to listen to what I have to say. Not anymore. “It’s true, nothing can change what happened,” he said, his eyes now meeting mine. “But that doesn’t give us any excuse to bring terror to Unova. We should be striving to make it a better place in our own little ways. That’s what Lord N would want…” I hate that name. I don’t know what N stood for, but after what happened, all it stood for me was negativity, nuisance, nutjob. “Ugh, N? After all this time you still care about what that crazy dude thinks?” I taunted. “N’s nothing but a traitor! Who in the right mind would think a person can talk to Pokémon?” “You believed him, too,” he replied. “We all did. We were all under their mercy. But for you, nothing’s changed, since you’re still under Ghetsis’s control—” “Don’t you dare say anything bad about Lord Ghetsis!” I shouted. “He’ll lead us all to victory! Team Plasma will take over Unova, and if you don’t want to join us, then consider yourself an enemy!” “You already treat me like an enemy,” he said suddenly. “As if all those years we spent together meant nothing.” That wasn’t true. Of course that meant something. I wouldn’t be trying to convince him if all that meant nothing. Who does he think he is? “If you’re gonna be like that, why don’t we just settle it in a battle?” I challenged as I took out Scraggy’s Poké Ball. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t wanna battle with those orphaned Pokémon! You’re just as weak as you were before—” “HEY!” Suddenly, a teenage kid came running toward us and pushed me back. I don’t remember much about him, except that his hair looked like a Qwilfish. And he was really, really angry. “Start talking, you Team Plasma trash!” he shouted at me. Not wanting to cause any trouble, I bolted out of the scene. Doesn’t matter if I can’t change Fred’s mind—there’s more where he came from. “C’mon! Let’s have fun stealing Pokémon together, like we did before!” It sure beats being an incense merchant, I almost added. But I didn’t want Pete to say no immediately. I did want to get at least one yes from this. “Will you quit it?” he said impatiently. “You’re driving out my potential customers.” “I haven’t seen you sell anything since I got here!” I clapped back. Dozens of customers lined up for other merchants selling food, milk, medicine, and other battle items around the market, but Pete’s stall didn’t have anyone go beyond stopping, looking at his bottles, and leaving. “Why do you think that is?” he said as he replaced the samples in his hand with others. “I dunno, maybe because you’re selling fucking incense?” He didn’t reply to that. Instead, he once again shouted a phrase I’ve heard over a dozen times since I got here: “Incense! Get your fresh incense here!” He had a spot at the center of Driftveil Market, probably one of the best locations in the area. His stall had various incenses—of all things, incenses!—displayed, all in brightly colored containers and arranged in neat rows. Even weirder was how he was getting away with wearing the old uniform while doing it all. How he managed to end up in that situation, I’ll never know. But I sure knew it wasn’t what he wanted to do. “So you’re telling me that selling those smoky bottles is more fun than going around the world and stealing Pokémon?” I teased. “Hey, ma’am!” he called out, his hands raising a few bottles of incense for nobody to see. “Don’t you want some fresh incense for your home?” “You’re telling me that kissing up to total strangers is worth your time, but doing what you love to do isn’t?” “Sir! Sir! A tourist, huh? Why not bring some incense back home?” “You’re telling me that spending your day being fucked over by all these people is better than you fucking them over—” “What the fuck do you want?” he finally said, glaring at me. “There he is,” I said, laughing. “I knew you couldn’t be that soft.” “I’ll beat you up right now if you don’t stop,” he said in a threatening tone, which only excited me more. “Wouldn’t you rather beat up all these customers ignoring you?” I taunted. “And take over the world with us?” “Nah, I’d rather beat you up,” he replied. “And I’d rather—Oh, hi! You’re a trainer, right? These incenses can help you in your journey!” “How?” the trainer who somehow crept beside me asked. She was probably 10, 11 years old. She only had one Poké Ball clipped to her belt, a starter I could’ve easily stolen. He could’ve stolen it too, really, if he wasn’t so hell-bent on selling goddamn incenses. “Well, a lot of them make your Pokémon’s moves more powerful,” he said. “And others disrupt your opponent’s Pokémon!” “Oh, wow, that sounds great!” the trainer said. “I’ll take one of—“ “Patricia! What are you doing?” a woman, probably in her late 30s, suddenly shouted behind me. “Mom, I was just buying something incense—“ “Don’t ever talk to men in those outfits!” the mother continued as she dragged the child away from us. “Those men are thieves! They’ll steal your Pokémon away from you!” “But Mom, the incense—“ “No buts” was the last thing I heard as they blended back into the crowd. His face was burning. It was the same expression he had when anyone beat him in battle. But this one was different. It was less angry and more… sad? “Again, what the fuck do you want?” he said without looking at me as he returned the unsold incense into the pile. “My old teammate back.” I watched him contemplate those words. Whether he liked it or not, Pete and I were part of the same unit with Fred. And for a second, I saw him, my old teammate. One of the most ruthless and determined people I’ve ever met. One of the grunts who showed potential in becoming an admin. One of my best friends. But then he said, “Sorry, that’s not available at the moment. Would you like anything else?” “C’mon! Let’s have fun stealing Pokémon together, like we did before!” “Takes huge balls to come here and do what you’re doing,” she said. “Just the way you liked ‘em.” I saw her roll her eyes. Trish and I, we go way back, even before Plasma. We were both surprised when we saw each other in one of the rallies wearing the same outfit and having the same orange hair. But we were more surprised when we ended up in opposing sides two years later. She was now one of those delusional old members who put up a Pokémon orphanage in Driftveil and cared for some of the Pokémon we stole. Because that was definitely going to fix everything. “Where’s your black uniform?” she asked. “You know, the one you keep saying is cooler than this one?” “Everything’s cooler than that stupid outfit,” I snapped back. “I changed so that I could see you here and not get kicked out after five seconds. Had to wear a cap to hide my hair, too.” “Poor you,” she said as she started petting a Herdier that was playing with her shoe. A few townspeople, mostly elderly ladies, were walking around the orphanage and looking at the stolen Pokémon, while other old Plasma grunts were playing with them. “Do you remember how we stole this Herdier?” she suddenly asked me. “Of course not,” I replied, almost dumbfounded by the question. How could she expect me to keep a tally of the hundreds of Pokémon we stole? “I do,” she said while rubbing its paws, prompting a low growl from the Pokémon. “It was right here in Driftveil, during one of our rallies. Fred was tasked to swipe any Poké Ball he could from the attendees, and this Herdier was one of the three he was able to steal, back when it was still a Lillipup.” “Yeah, Fred’s a natural,” I said. “But when I talked to him this morning, it was like he was a whole other person—” “I went out that night, to get some food,” she continued, as if she didn’t hear anything I just said. “And I saw this boy who was crying in the middle of the street, shouting ‘Percy! Percy!’ over and over again. His parents were talking to some officers, and I overheard them saying how their son had lost his Lillipup earlier that day.” I knew where this was going. She always had a way with words. If our roles were reversed, she would convince me to join Neo Plasma so easily. “It didn’t take me long to put two and two together,” she said, her petting becoming less frequent. “At first, I didn’t think anything of it. That wasn’t my problem to solve, right? And I was even deluded enough to think that we were doing that kid a favor by liberating his Pokémon early. But we weren’t.” “So what?” I said, stealing her gaze from the Pokémon. “That kid had it coming! He didn’t agree to our cause back then, and he won’t agree to our cause now—” “Your cause,” she interrupted, almost as if she was offended. “Your cause now.” “Whatever,” I said. “Life’s all about the strong winning and the weak losing.” “And you’re strong because…” she began. “Because I’m on the winning team!” I completed. “And you should, too! We could use someone as witty as you.” Trish gave the Herdier one last pat before telling it to wander around the safehouse. She then turned to me with the coldest eyes I’ve ever seen. “Listen to me,” she said, her voice reminding me of one of the higher-up grunts. “No one is ever going to make me hurt people like that little boy again. Not you, not the sages, and especially not Ghetsis.” “And what exactly do you want to achieve with this orphanage of yours?” I snapped back. “You think caring for a dozen stolen Pokémon would fix anything?” “You think stealing Pokémon without the charade would fix anything?” she said, her voice starting to become louder. “You think causing chaos and mass panic would fix anything? You think listening to a lying, manipulative, maniacal boss would fix any fucking thing?” “Don’t you dare talk about Lord Ghetsis that way!” “Or what? You’re gonna hurt me?” she said, her face becoming red and her eyes becoming watery. “Well you already did that by siding with the fucking Neos!” “Hey, hey, Trish,” I heard someone from behind her ask, another one of the old members. “You okay? Is this guy hurting you?” “I’m fine,” she replied, wiping her cheeks with her hand. “I can take care of this.” She then turned to me and said, “Get out, before I tell them who you are.” And that was that. “C’mon! Let’s have fun stealing Pokémon together, like we did before!” “Really? That’s what you started with?” she said, laughing. “No wonder they all said no!” “What’s wrong with that?” “It’s too optimistic,” she said. “Do you really think they want to be part of something they already left?” No, I said to myself, afraid to admit it. I had joined my new groupmate on her smoking break to tell her about the day, how three former grunts from my old unit all said no to my offer. I came back to my base with a bunch of I-told-you-so’s from her. “It was worth a shot,” I said as she put out her first stick with her foot and lit another. “At least I got to see my old buddies again.” “You’re telling me you’re happy with spending a day getting rejected thrice and feeling bitter about all those burned bridges?” “What’s your problem?” I said. “They were your old teammates too, you know.” “And they’ll keep being my old teammates,” she said as she threw her second stick into the sea. All I saw in front of me were the reflection of the half-moon and the shadow of the Plasma Frigate. “That’s something I’ve accepted. Maybe you should, too.” She lit her third cigarette before continuing. “Look, I had this old teammate, his name’s Al. We were in the same unit, like you and Trish and, uhh, the two others. But after what happened in the League, he changed into a completely different person, just like your old buddies. You know what he’s doing now?” “What?” “He’s an Accel driver.” I couldn’t hold back my laughter. The thought of a Plasma grunt, even old ones, having one of the most goody-two-shoes jobs out there was so stupid. Accel and Escab were Unova’s new ride-hailing services that worked just like taxis but were double the price, so a grunt trying to blend in with all those rich folks was more hilarious than sad. “Hah, he even beats Pete!” I said in between laughs. “Imagine one of the toughest guys in your unit becoming an incense merchant?” “I don’t know, dude,” she said with a grin. “Selling incense sounds much worse than driving for Accel.” That went on for a while, exchanging ridiculous stories of how the teammates we shared units with turned out. One of her old groupmates became a clerk in the Battle Subway, while one of mine became the operator of the ferris wheel in Nimbasa. Another one of her old buddies flew to another region to start a journey—”if she even could,” she said—while one of mine said he’d become a gym trainer, as if he’d even be accepted by a gym leader. “But you know what all of them have in common?” she suddenly said after a while. She’d already emptied her box of 12 sticks by then, having settled for ripping the box to shreds and tossing pieces out to the sea. “They all left the team?” I said with a shrug. “They all gave up,” she said. “The moment things got difficult for Plasma, all those scums couldn’t handle the heat and left. And if they didn’t believe in the cause as strongly as we did, then we’re better off without them.” As she threw the last bit of the cigarette box, she turned to me and said, “Look, I know you wanna be with your old buddies again. But they already chose their battles, just like we chose ours. And every battle has a winner and a loser. If they wanna be on the losing side, that’s their fault.” She then walked past me, and without looking back she continued, “But I know you. You’re stubborn as fuck. So if you wanna keep chasing those traitors and keep trying to recruit them, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just don’t let Zinzolin catch you slacking off.” As she headed back into the Frigate, I took out a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket and unfolded it. In it were a few dozen names, a few of which had Xs beside them. I then drew an X beside Fred’s, Pete’s, and Trish’s names and decided on who I’ll be talking to tomorrow. “Sounds like a plan.”
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Post by Dramatic Melody on Dec 3, 2019 6:22:15 GMT
So! Earlier this year I wrote “Something Better” for Manchee as part of the Extravaganza event. It was something I wrote pretty quickly, since I was particularly inspired by their set of prompts and thought it was a good fit for this collection. Since then I’ve thought about how I could improve and expand on it, and “Last Trip of the Day” is the result. It maintains the same premise as “Something Better”, only it has a few expansions here and there. It’s basically the Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon version to “Something Better”’s Sun/Moon version ahaha. I hope you enjoy nonetheless!
Last Trip of the Day “Thanks for riding with Accel! Have a nice day!” He slammed the car’s door as his reply, and he rushed inside the building like his life depended on it. And, sure, it might have, seeing as he was dressed formally and he was tapping his phone incessantly throughout the trip, but it’s not my fault that the traffic in Route 4 was bad this time of the day. But, of course, to him this whole ordeal was my fault. And the one-star rating and zero-Poké tip I got a few minutes after was his big middle finger. “Asshole,” I said as I tossed my phone on the passenger’s seat, hearing it tumble onto the floor. If he really wanted to be in Castelia in a half-hour, why didn’t he book an Accel earlier? Did he expect Route 4 to be light in one of the busiest hours of the day? Did he expect me to suddenly bring out a Braviary that can fly us to his destination? Maybe he should’ve booked an Escab instead— Trub… I heard Burt growl behind me, and I can feel him crawl on top of my head. I wasn’t sure how he manages to climb these seats with his small limbs, but he’s definitely the most persistent Trubbish I’ve ever seen. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll calm down,” I assured him, taking a deep breath. Burt had gotten used to keeping my temper in check after I dealt with particularly rude passengers. Whether it was insulting me for how slow I drove, boasting how better their lives were than mine, or blaming me for the traffic I somehow caused, some passengers really hit the right marks in getting me as pissed off as possible. And they’re always in the winning side, since anything I do in retaliation would mean I lose my job. So Burt’s been helpful in reminding me that they’re just passengers that I won’t see after the trip ends, since the Accel app already does the work of preventing me from matching with old passengers who gave bad ratings. The feeling’s mutual anyway, so their one-star ratings are doing me a favor in the long run—even if it meant needing to suck up to other passengers so that my overall rating doesn’t fall below 4.5. “Thanks, Burt,” I told him. “Could you pick up my phone?” Trub! He replied as he jumped off my head and waddled below the passenger’s seat beside me. Once he held it up to me, a notification popped up with a brand new passenger request, the phone’s vibration making Burt groan happily. User #542003. Castelia City Gym to Nacrene City Gym.“Huh, that’s a two-hour trip,” I said to Burt. “Should we take this? That’s gonna be really tiring for us. And we don’t even know who we’re picking up since they don’t have a photo.” Trub? He said as he waddled his way up to the cup holders below the dashboard. Ever since he found out that his body fits perfectly in those two cup holders, it’s been his preferred spot in long rides. “But… it will put us over quota,” I said after thinking about it. “And it can be our last trip of the day. We can head home early for once!” Trub! I heard Burt say excitedly. I’m sure he was just as exhausted as I am for having to hang out in an overworked car all day, dealing with indifferent passengers at best and rude passengers at worst. We’d usually stay out until midnight just to hit our income quota for the day, only to start it all over again the next morning. So getting back to Lentimas and crashing in our bed before midnight would be a big deal. “Alright, let’s do it,” I said as I accepted the request and made my way toward the gym. “Let’s just hope the passenger isn’t as bad as that last one.”
When we arrived at the Castelia Gym, the only person waiting outside was a bodyguard who looked as tall as a Tyranitar, maybe even taller. If he was my passenger, he would probably be in the indifferent side of the indifferent-to-rude spectrum, but spending two hours stuck in a car with him wasn’t something I was looking forward to. “You’re the Accel driver?” he said in an almost inhumanly deep voice as I stepped out of the car. “Y-yeah,” I replied. “Should we go soon?” “Oh, no, I’m not your passenger,” he said, and I had to hold back my sigh of relief. “He’ll be here in a couple of minutes. Do you mind waiting?” “N-no! Not at all!” I said, my optimism startling him. “If you don’t mind, I’ll let my Trubbish out of the car for some fresh air.” He only grunted in reply, which I took as a yes. I opened the door and called Burt out, and he made a happy growl as he looked at the tall buildings and the rows of people in a hurry all around us. As much as I hated driving in Castelia because of how congested and busy the streets would get, Burt always liked being surrounded by the city and its different immensities. That was a pretty good silver lining to think about when it took us half an hour to get from Central Plaza to Route 4. Two minutes turned to three, so I took out my pocket notebook and began tallying all my rides for the day as I finished the can of Soda Pop I opened in my previous trip. Luckily, Mr. 30-minutes-from-Nimbasa-to-Castelia was the only jerk for the day, so his 1-star rating didn’t hurt as much as he wanted to. I only wished admin allowed us to bring beer into the car, so I could drown out all of his ramblings and expletives. Four minutes turned to five, and I wondered what was taking this passenger so long. I didn’t mind too much, as I appreciated any prolonged time where I could stand and stretch my legs. Burt always liked waddling around, too, and he was happily munching on my finished soda can. But I did want to get home sooner than later Since the passenger booked a ride from the Castelia Gym to the Nacrene Gym, I assumed it was one of those overachieving trainers completing their badge quests. They were relatively common, and those were always pretty harmless passengers. A lot of them would just go on and on about their previous or upcoming battle, and I’d just nod and give scripted words of encouragement. I’ve adapted to them after the hundredth gym challenger that I’ve had as a passenger. But this trip was going to be a first for me, in more ways than one. “That’s a cute Trubbish you have there!” I turned to thank whoever compliented Burt, but my gratitude got stuck in my throat. In front of me was none other than Mr. Burgh, the Castelia City Gym Leader. He was wearing his signature green-and-red outfit, complete with his red jeans with black stripes and his green shoes with red stripes. Behind him, the bodyguard that acknowledged me earlier was carrying a bunch of easels and paint buckets, with another guard carrying several luggage bags that looked like they had to be forcibly sealed. “Uh, th-thanks, Mr. Burgh,” I said with as much respect as I could give. “Y-you’re, uh, you’re done with your Gym Leader duties for the day?” “Yessir!” he said with way too much energy for that time of the day. “And now I’m headed to Lenora’s place! I’ve been hit with the typical artist’s block again, so I think a change of surroundings is in order!” Wait, Lenora’s place? I said to myself. Does that mean… “Can you open up your trunk?” he asked, snapping me out of my daze. “I don’t think all my things will fit inside your car.” “Y-yeah, of course, Mr. Burgh,” I managed to cough out. I was still trying to comprehend that the Castelia City Gym Leader that I didn’t notice Burt approaching him and playing with one of his shoes. “Burt, don’t—” I began, but one of the bodyguards handed me a bunch of bags to load into the car, preventing me from doing anything. “Aww, you’re so cute!” I heard Mr. Burgh say. “You like these shoes, don’t you? My Dwebble plays with them a lot, too.” Trub! Burt hummed happily in reply, much to my relief. Unfortunately, his fascination of Mr. Burgh’s shoe left it covered in grime, its bright green color losing its luster. “Alright, Burt, back in your Poke Ball,” I called out quickly as I took out his Poke Ball from my pocket. “S-sorry about that, Mr. Burgh. I p-promise he won’t bother you anymore—” “Wait, don’t call him back!” Mr. Burgh cried out. “I just met him!” I quickly pocketed the Poke Ball as I watched Mr. Burgh pick Burt up from the ground, prompting a soft growl from the Trubbish. “His name is Burt, right? What a lovely name! Can’t he join us for the trip?” “Oh, uhmm, of course,” I blurted out. “W-whatever you want, Mr. Burgh.” The four large pieces of luggage took up all of the space in the trunk, so his easels and canvases had to be jammed into the back seat, which only left the front seat for Mr. Burgh. So not only will I be having a Gym Leader for a passenger for the first time, he’ll also be sitting next to me for at least two hours. “Is everything in the car?” Mr. Burgh asked the bodyguards, to which they gave a synchronized nod as a reply. “Sweet!” he said. “Let’s go—oh, what’s your name again?” “A-Al,” I stammered out. “It’s Al.” “Alright, Al. Let’s get going!”
Mr. Burgh was as animated of a passenger as I was expecting him to be. No, scratch that—he was even more animated than I could ever imagine. It turned out that I didn’t have to worry about carrying the conversation in the two-hour drive, as his stories and ramblings about his job, his Pokemon, and his art projects were more than enough to keep him entertained. The first thing he mentioned was how he had been using ride-hailing apps for a while now, saying it was more convenient than having to hire a driver who he would only need a few times a month. “I couldn’t pass on using them—they’re named after two very good and powerful Bug-types!” he added. He said that he preferred using Escab over Accel, but he wanted to try out Accel this time to “spice things up.” It was a common thing I heard from cranky passengers, that they liked Escab more than Accel. Truth be told, the only reason I chose Accel over Escab was because they were the one who called first after I applied. But I’d bet 1,000 Poké that Escab passengers complain all the time that Accel is better than Escab. Mr. Burgh talked a lot about his projects, too. He was rambling about how he had new ideas for the layout of his gym, how he wanted to do something with silk and cocoons. “And I was imagining this whole collage of color in my room, where I battle the challenger,” he described. “Like, splashes and mixtures of different colors on the walls and on the floor. It would look exquisite!” So yeah, Mr. Burgh took care of all the discussion points by himself. Well, most of them. “Art, it’s a great way to unwind, you know?” he said while I was just about to exit Skyarrow Bridge. Burt was laying on his lap, enjoying the frequent pets he was receiving from his new friend. “Being a Gym Leader can get hectic, so it’s nice to go back to something that both soothes and challenges me. You get what I mean?” “Uhh, y-yeah,” I said, caught off guard by the non-rhetorical question. I’d been getting by with nods and mm-hmms up to that point. “Driving’s kinda the same, I guess. It can get difficult, but it also calms me down.” “Yes, exactly!” he said with such glee that it took away any drowsiness I was feeling. “Hey, how about you?” he suddenly asked. “What’s going on in your life, Al?” “Me?” I said, mentally preparing my usual answer to the question. “Well, I’ve been an Accel driver for a few months now, and it’s been alright. The income’s not bad, and at least I get to spend a lot of time with Burt.” “I can see why that’s a big positive!” he said as he proceeded to rub Burt’s back. I’ve never heard Burt make happier noises than when Mr. Burgh was petting him. “What were you two doing before? Did you go on a badge quest?” “No, we’re not strong enough for that,” I replied almost automatically, prompting a shocked expression from Mr. Burgh. “Oh, come on now, don’t say that!” he said with a hint of authority in his voice, as if he’d given this speech to several trainers before. “Being a Pokemon trainer isn’t all about strength. There’s also the bond you build with your Pokemon, and your bond with Burt is one of the best I’ve ever seen!” “Th-thanks, Mr. Burgh,” I said with a smile. “That means a lot coming from you.” “And I mean it!” he continued. “Not a lot of trainers can get their Trubbish to control their odors when they’re with trainers they just met. That tells me you two have been through a lot together!” You have no idea, I almost said out loud, but I managed to catch myself. “So yeah, what were you doing before this?” he persisted. “If you weren’t collecting badges with Burt, what type of journey did you have together?” “I, uh…” I mumbled out, afraid of how he’d react if I told him even a fraction of the truth. “I’d rather not talk about it, sorry,” I finally said, which prompted a shocked reaction from Mr. Burgh. He continued to observe me, which was a bit unsettling, so I resorted to focusing on the road. “Mmm…” he started after a few minutes. “Was it bad?” “Very,” I said almost automatically. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” I should’ve ended it there, but then I blurted out, “It’s all mine, really.” “Hm?” he said. “Why would you say that?” “Huh, w-well…” I began, but I knew elaborating on it would only make things worse. It was the first time I had someone important as a passenger, and I didn’t want to screw this up, for his sake and mine. “N-nothing,” I said as firmly as possible. “It’s nothing.” “Mmm…” he said, still observing me. “Alright then.” All I heard in the next few minutes were the car’s engine, Burt’s soft growls, and the cries of wild Pokemon outside.”
“You have really nice hair, you know?” Mr. Burgh’s compliment caught me off-guard. We were halfway through the road bordered by Pinwheel Forest to the left and the open sea to the right, and I was lucky that traffic was relatively light or my sudden impulsive brake would’ve thrown off a car behind me. Not only was it the first thing Mr. Burgh said after a prolonged period of silence, but no one has ever said anything nice about my orange hair. Most of the passengers who did point it out said it made me look like a clown from Nimbasa’s amusement park. “Is it natural?” he continued. “It’s such a nice shade, like the sunset, or leaves during autumn.” “Nah, all my team—” I stopped before I realized what I was saying. “I mean, uhmm, all my friends before had it dyed this color, so I joined in the fun. And I, uhh, I like how different it looks, so I kept it.” Truth is, I don’t have the money to have it recolored or removed, and whatever they used back then made it so that it didn’t come off even after multiple showers. “It’s certainly different!” he said. “I can’t really think of anyone else with that hair color.” I wished he didn’t think too hard about it. But of course, he did. “Oh wait, that’s not true!” he blurted out. “I’ve seen that hair color before, and—” He ended that sentence with a loud gasp that startled Burt, who was still hanging out on his lap. Mr. Burgh looked at me like he just figured out a puzzle—a really bad one. Of course, I’ve revealed too much, and I had no one else to blame but myself. As always. “You’re…” he began, his tone much more wary. “You were one of them, weren’t you?” I nodded in reply. “But that’s all in the past,” I quickly followed up. “I’ve moved on, I swear.” “And… this Trubbish…” he said, looking down at Burt, who looked just as worried as I did. “I didn’t steal him, I swear,” I interrupted, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. “He’s been with me since I was 11. I had to hide him from my teammates, too. I didn’t want them to take him away from me.” “How did you join them?” he asked, almost ignoring my previous statement. I could feel the anger in his voice—so much for ending this day on a high note. “I believed in their cause,” I said, truthfully. “I didn’t think Pokemon were supposed to be used for battling. Burt’s only battled a couple of times, and that was before I joined them. But I didn’t expect to have to...to have to steal in order to further that cause.” “And how did you leave?” It was a question I expected, but he said it with such force that it still caught me off-guard. “Well, after what happened in the Pokemon League, a lot of us left after what Lord—after what Ghetsis did there.” “Mmm, I can imagine,” he said, his eyes closed and his right hand on his chin. “I was there you know? I’d been asked by Bianca to stop the team, and I showed up with the other Gym Leaders.” “I remember,” I said. “I remember it like it was yesterday, since it was your Leavanny that defeated my—no, the Scrafty I stole.” I felt him staring me down after I said that. I couldn’t bear to look at him, but I could feel it. It was like he was bringing back all the regret and frustration and guilt that I thought I’d already left in the past. But, of course, I could never get over it. If all those trainers—those victims—couldn’t get over what happened, what more someone who helped make it happen? “But all that’s behind me now, I swear,” I said, forcing myself to keep my eyes on the road. The road was about to lead to the Pinwheel Forest’s exterior, so we were only 20 minutes away from the destination, thankfully. “It’s something I deeply regret doing, but it’s something I know I can’t change,” I continued, realizing that this was the first time I had ever talked about it so openly to another person. “And it hasn’t left me, really. It took me many months to get up and move on from what happened, and I know that’s nothing compared to the pain all those trainers must still be experiencing.” Trub! I heard Burt say, giving me a small push of confidence. “I’m lucky that Accel gave me a second chance,” I said. “It’s not much, but it’s something else. And I still have Burt with me, so we’re gonna make sure we don’t screw it up from now on. Sure, everyone would think it’s a half-assed apology for what I did, but it’s one I intend to stick with. And I really am sorry, for everything that I did.” I heard a quick gasp from him after that. I took a quick glance, and he had set down Burt on the floor and reached for something in the back. Moments later, he had a pencil and sketchbook in hand, and turned to a blank page and started drawing. “Wha...what are you—” “Shh!” was all I heard from him, and that was that.
The rest of the trip remained that way. I kept on driving, he kept on drawing, and no other words were spoken, except when he requested that I drive a bit slower so that the car wouldn’t sway too much. Burt managed to climb on top of the headrest behind Mr. Burgh, but the Gym Leader shortly put him back down on the floor and wagged his finger in disapproval. Nacrene was much quieter than Castelia, with all the people we saw outside either workers who were walking home or townspeople who were closing up their shops. It didn’t take us long to get to the Nacrene Gym, and amazingly, Mr. Burgh stopped sketching the moment I pulled on the handbrake. “Thanks for the ride, Al,” he said casually, almost like the last half-hour didn’t happen, as he opened the door. “Th-thanks for choosing Accel, Mr. Burgh,” I managed to say. “Can you stay for a bit? The guards will take a while to unload all of my things. You can shut off your engine first.” “Y-yeah, of c-course,” I said as I turned off the engine. As if on cue, two bodyguards who looked just like the ones back in the Castelia Gym came out and started bringing Mr. Burgh’s items inside. I saw Mr. Burgh was talking to Mrs. Lenora, Nacrene’s Gym Leader, and Mr. Hawes, her husband. He looked like his usual cheery self, but part of me was still worried that he would tell them all about my criminal past. It took a good five minutes before all of Mr. Burgh’s things were brought in, and I saw that he was still talking to the couple. I thought about approaching him to give another quick thank you, but I didn’t think he wanted to talk to me after what he’d found out. No one ever did. So I marked the trip as complete in the Accel app, placed Burt in his favorite spot, and started the car. Not even ten seconds passed by when I heard loud knocks on the passenger door. I looked out to see Mr. Burgh waving at me with a piece of paper in his other hand. “Wait! Don’t go yet!” I heard him yell. I set the car on neutral and stepped out, confused at what else he wanted from me. “You wouldn’t leave without getting your tip, right?” he said with a smile as he handed the piece of paper to me. “So here!” “Th-that’s too nice of you, Mr. Burgh,” I said as I started to hand back the piece of paper. “B-but I don’t think I deserve—” “Of course you do!” he interrupted. “That was a very eye-opening ride, Al. I’ll definitely use Accel more often because of it.” “That’s...that’s great to hear, Mr. Burgh,” I said, still confused. “Thanks again for choosing Accel, and I hope you have a good evening.” “You too!” He gave a final wave as he ran back inside the gym. I waited for him to disappear before going back into the car. As I sat down, I unfolded the piece of paper Mr. Burgh gave me, and out came several Pokébills. They were worth 1,000 Poké all in all, and they fell on my lap like they were nothing. But what was more intriguing was the piece of paper itself. The pencil sketch was in black and white except for my hair, which was colored orange. I was carrying Burt, who looked like his usual cheerful self. I was leaning on the car, and I looked happy. Unusually happy. It took me a minute to notice that the car’s tire was running over a headpiece with the insignia of the old team, and that Mr. Burgh had written something in the lower right corner. He wrote, “Apology accepted.”
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