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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 6, 2008 11:45:29 GMT 12
Yeah, it is the same squad. Unfortunately, the only ones I still use are Torterra, Garchomp and Luxray. Like I said, I've thought of squads for all three characters in all three regions, but Dave's are inspired by my game teams. I'll post them all after this prequels done, so I don't ruin any of them.
The Hoenn Leauge wasn't really important to the characters, same with the Johto League. The Sinnoh League, however, is important to all of them, as the next chapter will show.
Cheers!
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Post by LuciferIX on Apr 6, 2008 11:51:59 GMT 12
That still better than me, my Luxray is really the only one who survived to final battle status. And that was only after retweeking all of her EV's. Empoleon just didn't cut it, and needed to breed a new Infernape for some egg moves. Torterra might work still, but I have better tanks than him.
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 6, 2008 11:56:17 GMT 12
Ah, well I acutally re-bred my Garchomp and Luxray, so Torterra's the only of my original 6 still in my 24-strong squad. I find Empoleon ok as a Special wall, though I haven't actually used it in battle yet...
Infernape and Swampert are the best starters, without a doubt. And still I choose grass...
To be fair, I carry 4 starters, Torterra, Empoleon, Feraligatr and Swampert. Shows how good the grass ones are then...
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Post by LuciferIX on Apr 6, 2008 12:07:51 GMT 12
Well those were only my original elite four battlers. Empoleon has a bad nature I think, either that or his EV's are too messed up right now, I forget which. The other ones I had were Dialga and Staravia I think. Dialga has never been touched since then and Staravia was an HM slave that was quickly replaced by something more impressive (at the moment it would be Dragonite).
The only starters that I use now in Diamond are Infernape and Swampert I think.
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Post by JbstormburstADV on Apr 7, 2008 2:42:08 GMT 12
Hmm... he actually could've beat Cynthia. Man, I'd hate to see what happens when Ash and Dave go up against each other. It's going to be explosive!!
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 7, 2008 5:22:04 GMT 12
Cheers for all the feedback, and don't worry. Dave and Ash meet up... eventually.
Now for chapter 5. This is my attempt at writing some emotion, so I hope that's turned out alright. Slight violence later on, and a few character quirks ;D
This starts about 10 seconds after the end of last chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5
I pushed past all the fans, the girls screaming at me, the young trainers wanting my autograph. What did they want to talk to me for? I hadn’t won, I was a loser, a nobody. I headed straight for the healing desk to drop my Pokémon off with Nurse Joy, before heading for the one thing that’s always been there for me when I’ve felt this low. I was going to buy a chocolate cake.
I know it isn’t good for me, but it’s comfort eating, it’s there to make you feel better, not look better. I’d gone into a café, bought the biggest chocolate cake they had, and sat in a corner with a fork and spoon, slowing eating my way through it. I was halfway through, when I felt someone sit next to me. I knew it wasn’t Alan, or Laura, as if it were one of them, then they’d both be here. But if this person knew who I was, then they sure had a lot of balls if they were sat next to me. I didn’t look at them, I was completely focused on the cake. Though I was aware of the presence of black, and long blonde hair…
“That was an awesome battle.” A feminine voice whispered in my ear. I didn’t flinch. If the cake were not here, I would have jumped out of my skin. But it was here, so I just focused on that, swallowed my mouthful and replied.
“I’m a little busy right now, so would you mind leaving me alone, and get all your fangirl friends to stop bugging me as well. I don’t know what you’re all bothering me about, seeing how I didn’t win!”
To my surprise, the presence next me didn’t move away, instead she shifted closer and asked, “What makes you think I’m a fan?”
I was really starting to lose my rag now. I just wanted to eat my cake so I could feel a bit better. “Because, ever since I got out of losing that match, everyone in the whole stadium has been bothering me. I’m just trying to feel better by eating my cake, as I’m currently feeling a little depressed.”
Then she did the most despicable thing ever. She extended a hand and scraped some icing off my cake with her finger! I couldn’t believe this complete disregard of cake etiquette. As she went to lick the icing off I was forced to look at her…and saw…her!
“You.” I muttered, recognising my opponent.
She giggled “Yep, me!”
“But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out celebrating with your friends? And your trophy?” I spat the last part out.
She looked a bit taken aback at that, but then started smiling again. “Nope. I saw how sad you were after the match, so I thought I’d come and find you. Those were some really strong Pokémon by the way.”
“Not strong enough obviously.” I muttered under my breath, though I’m sure she heard. “And I wasn’t sad, I was despondent. I’m far out the other side of sadness. When your Garchomp stood up, and mine fell over, I felt like throwing up, I felt sick. That’s why I got this.” I said gesturing to the cake.
“But isn’t a cake for victories?” She asked.
I shook my head, “Most cakes are for victories, this is chocolate cake, the best comfort food in the world. I get depressed, I get a chocolate cake, I feel better.”
“Fair enough,” She replied, “I’ve never had depression problems, so I wouldn’t know.”
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, while I ate more cake, and she stole more icing.
After a while she spoke again, “So how long have you been training?” she enquired.
“This team or Pokémon in general?”
“Both.”
“I’ve been training Pokémon for six years now, but this team for a year and a half.”
“Wow, and you got them this strong in that short space of time? That’s amazing!”
“You think so?”
“Yeah! If you had more time on your hands to train, you could win any League!”
“Well, I trained for a solid month before this tournament, and that still wasn’t enough.”
She smiled at me. “I’m not talking about months, I’m talking about years.”
I practically scoffed at this. “Years of training, are you serious? I’ll probably going to a new region with my friends in a couple of weeks.”
“Oh really, where?” she asked.
“I haven’t thought about it.” Honestly I couldn’t think of any regions with a typical League set-up that I hadn’t been to. “I’ll see what my friends want to do.”
“Ah, travelling with friends then? I remember those days…” she replied, starting to space out on me.
“Hey, come on! Helloooo!” I shouted, waving my hands and clicking my fingers in front of her face. It occurred to me then that I didn’t even know this girl’s name. Damn, what was it? “Cindy? Hello?”
She snapped back to reality, gave me a funny look, and burst out laughing. By the time she got her breath back, I could understand most of her words. “Whe-where did you get ‘Cindy’ from?”
“I thought that was your name. Well I wasn’t really paying attention when the announcer mentioned you, so I guessed mainly,” I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Well, you were almost there,” she held out her hand to mine, “The name’s Cynthia, of Celestic Town”
I took her hand, and shook it, replying, “It’s nice to meet you Cynthia. The name’s Dave, of Pallet Town.”
As our hands connected, I’m sure I felt a spark or something pass between us. It was really weird. Looking into her cool, grey eyes, I’m positive she felt the same thing. We broke contact, and I continued eating my cake.
“I’m serious though,” she spoke again, “if you trained your Pokémon intensively, for a decent amount of time, there’s no telling how far you could go!”
“Really,” I replied somewhat sarcastically, “How long have you trained your Pokémon like that?”
“Two years.”
I nearly choked on my cake. Two years? This trainer, this girl, had done extreme training with her Pokémon for two years?
“Wha…?” I struggled to ask her how she managed this feat.
“But if you’re going to keep travelling with your friends, there’s no point in discussing it, is there?” she asked. I had a feeling this was more a statement, not a question. It was along the lines of ‘A great magician never reveals his secrets.’
“So who do you travel with?” she enquired, obviously interested. It never struck me as odd how this girl who I had just met, who stole my cake icing, and who I had the most intense battle of my life against, was asking me questions like this. It just felt natural, like I’d known her for years.
“They’ve been my best friends, ever since we were kids. There’s Alan, who’s a complete hothead, always rushing ahead, literally. We’ve got such conflicting personalities, yet instead of clashing, it’s like we complete each other, you know?” she nodded as I said this, obviously having similar friends. “The other one I travel with, Laura, well… she’s a co-ordinator, a great one, she’s definitely going to win a Grand Festival someday. She’s determined, smart, kind, funny, pretty…” I stopped myself there, realising I was spacing out while thinking about Laura, and revealing things I’d rather be kept hidden at the same time.
I looked over at Cynthia, and saw she had a bit of a smirk on her features. “What?” I asked, expecting what came next.
“Well, Dave,” she replied, stealing more icing in the process, “It sounds like you have it pretty bad for this girl.”
“WHAT?” I spluttered, spewing cake crumbs everywhere in the process. "I do NOT think about her like THAT!" I said. The smirk was still on her face. But then I settled down. I realised that I’d been feeling different about Laura recently. I mean, we were both nearly 16 now, along with Alan. I guess it’s only natural for guys to notice girls differently around that age. I’d confided this in Alan when I’d had the feelings for a while, and he swore he wouldn’t tell her while we were still travelling together.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said, and she smiled in triumph as I continued, “She’s always been one of my best friends, but I guess recently I’ve started thinking of her as something more.”
She gave me an ‘I told you so!’ look before replying, “Well it looks to me as though you should tell her this if she means so much to you. You don’t want to lose her. What’ll happen if you stop travelling? You and your friends will drift apart and you’ll wonder what could have happened.”
I was surprised by this statement, but remembered that she was a girl, she would understand these things.
I finished my cake, and turned back to her, saying, “Thank you, Cynthia. I think I’ll go do that now actually.” I saw her eyes widen, clearly she hadn’t expected this effect of her statement. I shook her hand, “I hope we meet again one day.” I said, turning to leave the café.
I heard her say, “I hope so too!” I turned at this, and we smiled at each other. I felt my face heat up again at that. Was I catching a fever or something? All the late nights preparing for the tournament catching up with me? Nah, I was fine. I left the café, heading for the locker room, where I knew my friends would be waiting for me.
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“What’s your problem?” Alan shouted at me, getting back up.
“What’s my problem? WHAT’S MY BLOODY PROBLEM?” I yelled back, not caring about the passers-by staring at us, “YOU! THAT’S MY PROBLEM!”
“But I thought you’d be happy for us!” He retorted, “I didn’t think you’d lose your rag over it!”
“Happy? You thought I’d be happy for you? Have you lost your mind?” I asked incredulously, my shoulders heaving with every breath. “I’d be happy for you, if you’d gotten together with a girl who I hadn’t specifically told you I liked!”
I had gone down to the locker room to tell Laura how I felt about her. I rounded the corner and found her and Alan locked in a passionate embrace. Like when I lost the match, I felt sick, numb, like I would never be happy again. They saw me, and commiserated me on my loss, but I didn’t answer them, except to say I had to get some air. I walked to the outside of the stadium, in the fresh air, and heard him behind me, calling to me. I stopped, turned around, and promptly decked him.
“I told you! I trusted you with my feelings! And what did you do? You kicked me when I was down. ‘Oh Dave, sorry about your last-second loss in the final. By the way, I’ve been licking the tonsils of the girl you’ve had a crush on for the last year!’ Thanks a lot mate.” I shouted at him, letting everything I was feeling at that moment go in a torrent of tears and verbal abuse.
“But you told me that a year ago! You said that yourself! I thought you’d let it go by now. I can’t help that I like her as well!” he replied, trying to stay cool, while rubbing where I’d punched him.
“Feelings like that don’t go away after a year!” I replied, just letting emotion drive me now, “They stay with you for years! Even in five years time I’ll feel that way about her! Honestly, I know you always go ahead without thinking of the consequences, but this time you’ve gone too far.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked suddenly.
“What do you think? You’ve always rushed ahead, never thinking things through, ever since we were kids. Even in your battles, you do it. Why do you think you always loose the first round of a match? Why do you think I’ve always beaten you?” He quickly broke eye contact with me at that. I remembered that the day before, I had beaten him in the semi-finals of the tournament. Then the penny dropped.
“That’s it isn’t it?” I muttered, “You did this because you couldn’t handle that I beat you!”
“Dave, this isn’t about tha-” Alan began, but I cut him back off.
“You did this to get back at me?” I continued, almost refusing to believe my ‘best friend’ could do this to me. “The Indigo League, it took you so long to get over your loss to me. Four years later, and I beat you in the semi-finals here! You just can’t handle the fact that I’m better than you, so you hurt me the only way you can, through my heart.” I was breathing heavily at this point. “In one fell swoop, you betray me, and take the girl I like for yourself. I was on my way to tell her! Do you understand? I was going to tell her that I liked her tonight! But you just couldn’t wait could you?” I shouted, punching him to the ground again.
I paused, catching my breath. “I’m sorry Alan, but that’s it. It’s over.”
He looked up at me from the floor, his eyes wide at this statement. “What do you mean ‘It’s over’?” He asked.
“Us, you and me. Best friends forever, yeah? Wasn’t it you who said that? Well no more! That is the final straw Alan, I hope you and Laura are happy.”
“Blue, mate-” he began, using my old nickname as an act of desperation. But I wouldn’t let him have it.
“No. You can’t just pretend we’re kids again, not a care in the world, and make this just disappear.” A twisted smile came to my face. “But then, why would you do that, eh? You got the girl. Congratulations Red.”
I could tell how much that hurt him, but it made me feel slightly better, which was all that mattered to me at that point. I turned, and headed into the surrounding crowd, but stopped. “Tell her I said goodbye.” I said over my shoulder, before disappearing into the crowd, which still thronged the outside of the stadium.
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“Didn’t think you’d still be here.” said a vaguely familiar voice. I turned, through my tears making out a mainly black shape, framed with yellow. “Are you okay?”
I ripped my glasses off, wiped my eyes clear, and recognised the shape as Cynthia. She dragged me over to a set of chairs, where we sat down.
“What happened?” she asked.
I remembered the last time we talked, and managed to make myself laugh at something, before replying, “I may need more chocolate cake…”
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“Any suggestions?” I asked.
I had filled Cynthia in on what transpired between Alan and myself. She seemed to sympathise with me, almost as if she had been in this situation before. I decided that, since I wouldn’t be travelling with my ‘friends’ anymore, I might as well do some of that training she advised me on, and was asking for help.
“Well, tough, out of the way places are generally best. Places where you are unlikely to be disturbed, with harsh conditions, as well as strong wild Pokémon.” she suggested.
A few places sprang to mind, “You mean like, Mount Silver, Mount Coronet, those sort of places?”
A smile came to her face, “Yeah, those are two of the best places actually. You may want to catch some new Pokémon as well, to add some new variety, as well as power, to your team.”
“Alright, I’ll do this” I said, determined to get stronger, to prove I could win.
Cynthia looked at me oddly. “What?” I asked.
“You have no idea what to do, do you?” She replied.
My head fell. “No…”
She giggled again. It was a nice, melodic sound. Then she asked me a life-changing question:
“Want me to help?”
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Well, this shows that friends are not always there for you, and sometimes it's someone you just met who is. And also that chocolate cake is there. Hope this was OK, as this was my first attempt at writing emotion. Next chapter should be up soon!
Dave
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Post by LuciferIX on Apr 7, 2008 7:54:06 GMT 12
Well that was one twist I wasn't expecting. Considering everything, I was closer to expecting the exact opposite of Alan leaving. I should have known something was up when you got into the first discussion with Cynthia.
Your writing is improving very fast Dave. This chapter even tops your last one. I really can't see any points were to add anything or where any major error in grammar or spelling occurred. This stiry just took a major twist and I'm enjoying it greatly. Keep the updates coming!
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 7, 2008 8:09:50 GMT 12
Thanks a lot man, that's high praise coming from someone who reviews as much as yourself.
You can see what I mean about this year being important to everyone, which is why it's the biggest chapter of this prequel.
This is mostly based on real-life experience, unfornately for myself, so I was able to use that to write it ok. I'll try posting the next chapter tomorrow, which is the intense training chapter. It also features my attempt at shippyness. ;D
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Post by JbstormburstADV on Apr 7, 2008 8:21:52 GMT 12
Oh wow... I got a feeling that Alan's downfall will be involved with the whole group, and that Dave's situation will be very similar to our favorite hero. Am I right? Because that was very sneaky to put in that plot-hole.
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 7, 2008 23:24:03 GMT 12
Whew! Now that Year 6 is out of the way, let's progress to Year 7 of the Timeline. Some credit here goes to James, for inspiring the 'hands-on training' idea, but I think mine's been adapted enough in my own way. Also an attempt at shippyness here, hopefully that's OK as well.
Enjoy!
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Year 7 Dave leaves his friends behind. Laura is upset, but Alan tells her they will see him again. Together, they journey around Kanto, Laura challenging the new contest circuit there, and Alan re-challenging the Indigo League. Laura comes runner-up again in the Kanto Grand Festival, while Alan places second in the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Dave returns to Pallet Town for a while, asking Professor Oak to construct a device capable of holding as many Pokémon as necessary. This is so he doesn’t have to interrupt his training to find a Pokémon Centre to switch his Pokémon. While waiting for construction to be complete on the ‘Pokébox’ he hears about a young, local trainer rising through the ranks, named Ash Ketchum. Despite wishing to meet the boy, Dave learns that he has recently competed and won in the Orange League, and just departed for a new adventure in Johto. After getting his new Pokébox, he heads to Mount Silver, ready to train…
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I dodged the next punch, that one had been close. “You’re too slow!” I taunted. The response was another punch, which I again evaded. “You think you’ll hit a Pokémon in battle if you can’t hit a human?” I asked. My attacker was obviously getting wound up by this, and let me know it after the next dodged attack.
I suddenly felt blinding pain, all through my body, before collapsing. After a couple of minutes of getting my breath back, I walked over to my assailant.
“No! We agreed no Thunderbolts!” I scolded. The Pokémon I was training with looked at its feet, sheepishly. It was a huge, shaggy mass of a Pokémon, mainly yellow, with black stripes. It had two tails, each with a red tip.
“Ele-vire…” It muttered, obviously feeling ashamed for losing its cool with me. I smiled at it.
“It’s okay buddy,” I reassured it. “Those punches are really coming along. I’m gonna try and get you to learn Ice Punch soon.” My Electivire smiled at this. It, like me, wanted to get as strong as possible.
I reached for the Pokébox, “You take a rest for now, alright?” Electivire continued to smile at me even as it was converted into energy and recalled into the box. It was similar to a Pokéball, except that it couldn’t be minimized, staying at a constant cubic foot in size. It was cube-shaped, and had a handle on the lower back, so it could be held and the top could still open. I thought about who to train with next, before deciding.
“Heads up! Gallade!” I said. The box opened, and white energy was exuded from it, forming into a tall, humanoid Pokémon. It had white legs, but a green upper body. There was a red horn on its chest, with a similar horn on its back. Its face was white, but its scalp was smooth and green, except for a spiky ridge in the middle. The effect was of a gladiator’s helmet. Its most noticeable feature, though, were the blade-like forearms that extended backward, past the elbow.
“Gallade!” it exclaimed, happy to be out of the box again, “Gall?” it enquired, obviously wanting to know what we were doing.
“Good news Gallade! Look what I finally got!” I said, and Gallade’s face lit up as I produced two blunt, but sturdy old swords. I had wanted to help Gallade practice the blade attacks it had learned since evolving, but had been unable to do so. Eventually I’d found an old salesman at the foot of Mount Silver willing to sell me these swords, as he saw no further use in them.
“Gallade! Gall-gallade!” It said, obviously very happy with the development. I put one of the swords down, and hefted the other, feeling its weight and how to handle it. I eventually got comfortable with it. I then pulled out my Pokédex and scanned Gallade, to see what sword attacks I could help it train to use more effectively. My eyes widened when I saw the list.
“How about Leaf Blade?” I asked, picking a new attack at random. “Fancy learning to use that better?”
“Gallade! Gallaaaaaaaaa…” Gallade closed its eyes in concentration. After meditating for a few minutes its forearms turned a lighter shade of green than usual. It looked at them, and then at me, a determined look in its eyes. “Gallade!” It said, challenging me.
I bowed, before hefting the sword again, and then holding it, ready to duel…
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“Come on Garchomp! This attack focuses all of your inner rage into a powerful aura of fury! You need to get really angry to pull it off!” I encouraged. I was trying, without a lot of success to teach my Garchomp an attack that was even more powerful than Dragon Rush. But my Shark-Dragon couldn’t quite understand what I was asking of it.
“Gar?” it asked, cocking its head in confusion. Fortunately, I had another Pokémon that could teach it the move.
“Dragonite, heads up!” I called. The Pokébox sprang open to release my newly acquired Pseudo-Legendary, a large, orange and cream dragon-type, which looked at me expectantly. “Dragonite, use Outrage on those rocks. Watch this carefully Garchomp.”
Dragonite nodded, and then let out a mighty roar, “AAAAARROOOOOOOOOO!” The roar continued, and a red aura built up around the Pokémon. After a while, the dragon was encased in what looked like a flame, only almost solid crimson. It’s eyes were terrifying, all reason was gone, the pupils almost invisible. Dragonite then charged at a nearby rock formation, smashing straight through. It then continued through several other piles of rocks, before returning to my side, the red aura of Outrage disappearing.
I knew Dragonite would be worn out by using this attack, so recalled it to the box. I then turned to Garchomp. “Think you can manage that?” I asked it. The dragon nodded, and also let out an ear-splitting roar.
“GAAAAAAARRRAAAAAARRR!” it cried, the same red flame building up around it. I was amazed, Garchomp was getting it on its first try! My joy was short-lived however, as the aura surrounding the dragon faded.
“Wow, you’re really going all-out.” a voice behind me said. I saw Garchomp get into a battle-stance, before turning myself. A girl in black was stood there, her long, golden hair blowing in the breeze. I recognized her instantly.
“Hey Cynthia.” I called to her, before remembering something, “It’s ok Garchomp, she’s a friend now.” I told the dragon, who stood down from its attack pose.
She giggled at that. “Looks like your Garchomp still remembers me then.” she said. I again felt my face heat up as I thought about how nice her laugh sounded. “Outrage training huh? I remember trying to teach my Garchomp that attack. Of course, I didn’t have a tutor like a Dragonite helping me…”
“I could help you with that, if you’d like.” I blurted out, perhaps a little quickly. She smiled at me, and I again felt a warm feeling in my gut. What was wrong with me? Was I catching a cold? I’d been making sure to eat the right things during my training, so I couldn’t be that sick, could I?
“No, I think my Garchomp’s strong enough. Thanks anyway though.” she replied. I felt a little disappointed at that. “Besides, I thought I was here to help you train?” she asked, giggling a little.
“Yeah, I suppose.” I muttered. Then I brightened up, a new thought entering my mind. “How about a little battle then?” I asked of her.
She smiled, and grabbed a Pokéball from inside her coat, “Let’s do this!” she said, fire in her eyes. I grinned at this. She had no idea how many new tricks I had to show her…
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“Whew!” panted Cynthia, sitting next to me on a rock, “That was… intense! You’ve really improved!” I smiled at this compliment. I knew I’d improved over the last year, but it was different to hear Cynthia say it.
“Thanks, that means a lot, coming from you.” I replied, also breathing heavily. We had just had a close three-on-three match, which I had barely managed to win. Some of my Pokémon had really impressed me with new attacks that they had only started learning a few weeks ago.
“I can see how much this training has done for you Dave. Aren’t you glad I put you onto this idea now?” she asked, another ‘I told you so!’ look on her face. I smiled.
“Yeah, thanks again for that. I feel a lot stronger than before, and my Pokémon… well you saw the battle.” I replied. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t encouraged me, especially after… my friends left me.” I finished, trying not to remember my two ‘former’ friends, who had sent me into this spiral of needing to get stronger.
“Yeah, I’m just glad you’re out of that bad place.” Cynthia said, a look of concern on her features. She then stood up.
“Hey, where’re you going?” I asked her.
“Look around us Dave, did you lose track of time or something?” she said, sounding a bit exasperated. I did look around. The sun was setting over Kanto, illuminating the whole of the region. I could see the Indigo Plateau, where I planned to re-challenge the Indigo League next year, glowing in the orange light. In the east, I could just make out Blackthorn City, as well as Silver Town near the foot of the great mountain. We had battled for so long it was now the end of the day.
“Sorry, I guess I did. I don’t even bother with a watch these days, just train until the sun goes down.” I explained.
Cynthia calmed down a bit at this. “Okay, sorry for losing it with you. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep recently.” she explained. “Anyway, I’d better get going. I’m staying with a friend in Ecruteak City.” She started to walk off.
I thought about that for a second, before it clicked. “Hang on! Ecruteak’s miles away! You’ll never make it back before nightfall!” She had turned and was looking at me with that cool, grey-eyed gaze.
“You have another suggestion?” she enquired, smiling a little.
I clawed for a response on the inside of my head, “You could stay here, with me.” I cringed when I realised what I had just implied, but it was too late now.
The setting sun must have caught her face, as it glowed slightly red, which showed against her pale skin. “No thanks, I didn’t bring any camping gear.” she said, suddenly looking at her feet.
I felt disappointed with this, as much as when she didn’t let me help with her Garchomp’s training. She started walking away again.
“Cynthia.” I called. She stopped once more, turning back. I walked up to her, and enveloped her with a hug. She stood still for a minute, before reciprocating the hug to me. We just stood there for a few minutes, in each other’s arms, before she pulled back.
“Thanks for that, Dave.” She smiled. The setting sun must have been getting intense, as her face was now glowing as red as beetroot in the light it cast.
“You’ll come back, yes?” I asked. I just had to know if I’d see her again.
She nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be back in a few days. I just have some stuff to check out in Ecruteak, and I’ll be back after that.”
“Thank you.” I said. We hugged again, during which time seemed to stand still, and I swore I felt that same spark I did before, before she backed away, turned, and started walking down the mountain path.
“How are you getting to Ecruteak, anyway?” I shouted to her.
I heard her call back, “Let’s just say I have friends in high places!”
I turned back to my camp, before I heard the whoosh of wings. I looked at where she had been, and saw nothing. I looked toward Johto, and saw a large, winged shape disappearing into the distance, with the figure of a person on its back.
I smiled. At least I knew I would see her again. Hopefully soon.
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So, that was my attempt at shippyness, hopefully it was alright, but not having much experience in that department doesn't help. In case anyone couldn't visualise it, Outrage looks like a red version of Volt Tackle / Head Smash in the Anime, although Flare Blitz will probably look like that when it debuts. An alternate description would be the Kaio-ken aura in DBZ. Next chapter should be up soon. So stay tuned!
Dave
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Post by LuciferIX on Apr 8, 2008 5:39:54 GMT 12
For your first real try at shipping moments that wasn't too bad, at least if you are trying to take this one at a slower pace. One question though, is Cynthia the league champion at this point or not? I forgot if you put that in one of your older chapters or not.
We now have the unofficial introduction of Ash and a small update of Laura and Alan. I'm going to take a guess that we won't be seeing the last of them though.
I'm also getting the distinct impression that for the most part the two main animes that you watch are Pokemon and DBZ. Its not that thats bad or anything, I just find it entertaining because those were kinda my introductions into anime, and my guess is that you are somewhat at the same stage. Take it as you wish, its mostly just random nonsense on my part.
Nice job Dave, not as good as your last one but without any real mistakes thats never a bad thing. Keep the updates coming!
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 8, 2008 5:53:55 GMT 12
Yeah, the battle between Dave and Cynthia a couple chapters ago was the final of the Sinnoh League Conference, which is why Dave was so cut up about losing, as it was at the last possible moment for him to win the whole thing. Cynthia hasn't beaten the Sinnoh Elite 4 yet though, but she has by the time Ash meets her.
The shippyness is there because at this point Dave is hurt and confused about his feelings after the Alan / Laura thing, and Cynthia is there for him, so he feels a bond beginning to grow with her. I'm sure you can work out what I mean. I suck with words ;D
Laura and Alan really get just small mentions for the rest of the prequel, but will have a larger role in the main story.
And you're right about the anime. I did try watching other stuff, such as Naruto, but I couldn't really understand what was going on. DBZ's good, mainly because it has GIANT MONKEYS!
I'll post the next chapter tonight at some point. Thanks again!
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 8, 2008 10:08:25 GMT 12
Darn, I'm double posting again. Sorry, but ff.net wasn't letting my edit this chapter, so I had to post it as a chapter, copy it then, and then delete it, which had to be done quite fast. Sorry again.
OK, so here's 'Year 8' in my Timeline, mainly made up of a huge battle scene, which I hope is good enough...
Enjoy!
Year 8 Laura and Alan journey to and re-challenge the Hoenn circuit. Laura wins the Grand Festival, while Alan again places second in the Ever Grande Conference.
After over a year of intense training, Dave goes round all the Kanto Gyms, training his Pokémon of the gyms type, and weak to that type in each one. He then re-challenges the Indigo Plateau Conference, rising through the stages with the newfound strength of his Pokémon, as well as himself. He eventually reaches the final, where he faces a difficult opponent…
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“Now, use Thunderbolt!” I commanded, as the two behemoths on the battlefield tussled, grappling with each other. My Pokémon grunted, before executing its attack.
“Ele…vire!” It shouted, zapping its opponent, a huge Aggron. The giant steel-type was instantly shocked at close range by my Electivire’s twin tails, breaking its grip. Electivire backflipped, landing away from its adversary.
The Aggron’s trainer, a boy around the same age as me, dressed in a sharp black and purple suit with silver hair, issued the next move. “Earthquake, now!” he shouted. His Pokémon raised one foot, before stomping it to the ground, shaking the whole stadium.
I smiled, knowing ground-type attacks were my Pokémon’s only weakness, but my Electivire could counter an Earthquake.
“Use your own Earthquake Electivire!” I yelled. Electivire raised its fists, before slamming its forearms to the ground. The shaking intensified, but as Electivire was hunched to the ground, the attack did very little. Aggron, on the other hand, had not expected its attack to be rebounded on it, and had trouble keeping it’s footing. It eventually fell over, the full force of the double-Earthquake hitting it.
It was time to end this. “Cross Chop, let’s go!” Electivire leapt at Aggron, its arms spread wide and its open palms glowing white. As it reached the target, which had just struggled to its feet, it brought the arms together and downward, in an X-shape. The attack smashed into the Aggron, which then collapsed on its back, completely exhausted.
The referee raised the green flag in my direction, “Aggron is unable to battle! Electivire wins the round!”
My opponent withdrew his Aggron, pausing for a moment, before selecting another Pokéball. He threw it forward, unleashing his fifth Pokémon onto the field. It was a large, brown Pokémon, with a round body, which was covered with obscure symbols. It also had a round head, which had pink eyes all the way around the edge. I audibly groaned. There wasn’t a lot Electivire could do against a Claydol, only a couple of moves in its arsenal were effective, and one hadn’t been mastered yet. I had to try though.
“Electivire, try an Ice Punch!” I called, praying it would work. I had been trying to teach Electivire Ice Punch, to counter its ground weakness, for months now, but it hadn’t been able to fully master it yet.
Electivire focused for a moment, it’s hand starting to glow blue-white, before leaping at Claydol, and swinging it’s icy fist at it. It actually connected, Claydol being visibly weakened by the strong attack, but I wasn’t going to pressure Electivire too much. I had to use other attacks, but only one other option presented itself.
In this time however, Claydol’s trainer had issued a command, “Sandstorm, go!”
Claydol started spinning, getting faster and faster, as sand poured from its earthy body. The sand was whipped up into fierce storm, and I knew Electivire would start taking damage from it, as it had nowhere to take shelter on the plain, rocky field.
“Try to hit it with Giga Impact!” I shouted over the sandstorm, and saw an orange-purple glow in the sand. I saw it moving, before it faded. The sandstorm then subsided, and I saw my electric-type on the ground, with no energy to battle any further. There was a large hole next to it, so I guessed that the Claydol had used Earth Power while Electivire was disorientated in the sandstorm.
“Electivire is unable to battle, Claydol is the winner!” the referee announced raising the red flag in my rivals direction. I sighed. Now we were on level pegging. I recalled Electivire, and thought for a moment. Claydol was a ground-type, but also had the ability to levitate, meaning ground attacks couldn’t hit it. But it was also part psychic-type, meaning there were other ways to hit it…
I threw my next Pokéball toward the field, summoning the Pokémon I had chosen, “Heads up! Yanmega!”
A huge, dark green dragonfly appeared above the battleground. It had wide wings, which were beating furiously, and a somewhat menacing appearance. But I knew this Pokémon, and it was one of my top battlers.
My opponent obviously knew what I was planning, hence his command, “Use Light Screen!” At that, Claydol summoned a light green shield in front of it. This would negate any non-direct attacks I planned to use, which was a shame. Given the less-than-sturdy physical state of a Yanmega, direct attacks weren’t really an option.
“Looks like we’re going to have to power up! Ancient Power, go!” I shouted. Yanmega summoned a series of rocks from the ground, each of them surrounded by a blue aura, and held them in place in the air in front of it. It was now a matter of waiting, but that was fine. The longer Ancient Power was used, the more powerful Yanmega could become.
After a few minutes of the stalemate, the Light Screen in front of Claydol faded. Yanmega took this opportunity to attack. The rocks flew at Claydol. Normally, I knew, rock-type attacks wouldn’t do much damage to a ground-type Pokémon, but I’d found a way of negating this. As the rocks were about to strike Claydol, they suddenly glowed red, and then hit the Pokémon. They had gone through a Tinted Lens, an ability Yanmega had that powered up moves if they would do less damage based on typing.
I could see that Claydol was feeling weak. I could somehow sense it was near the end of its battling ability. It was time to put it down.
“Psychic attack!” Its trainer called, and the Claydol’s many eyes glowed blue. Yanmega was surrounded in the same colour aura, and then thrown about the stadium, against the walls, and down to the floor, before being buried in a hole by rocky debris. I flinched at this onslaught, and thought it might be down. Then I heard the buzzing of wings, and Yanmega burst upward from the crater it was buried in. It was damaged, visible wounds where it had been smashed around covered its body, but I knew just how to get it healed.
“Giga Drain!” I called, and Yanmega reared backward, shooting out a green beam that snaked toward Claydol, before wrapping around it. The beam then glowed red, as what little health that remained in the ground-type was sucked along it, entering and healing Yanmega. After a while, the beam disentangled, and was sucked back into my Pokémon. Claydol collapsed to the floor, out cold.
The judge raised the green flag in my direction again, announcing, “Claydol is unable to battle! Yanmega wins this round!”
My foe recalled his Claydol. He was now down to his last Pokémon, and I had a feeling that it would be his strongest. I was soon proved right, when a huge Metagross took the field. I was not bothered by the appearance of the massive steel-type. I would find my way around it.
“Yanmega! Use Bug Buzz to confuse it!” I ordered. Yanmega’s wings started to beat faster and faster, the whine starting to build. At the same time the dragonfly’s battle chant was also audible as it built up the strength of the attack.
“Yan-yan-yan-yan-yan-yan-MEGA!” it eventually screeched, as the noise of the attack drowned out every other sound in the stadium. It was like the sound of a million angry wasps, added to a few thousand hungry mosquitoes, and lots of just plain annoying houseflies. Being used to the attack, I was unfazed. However, everyone in the stands, the judge, and my opponent all had their hands over their ears. They also had their eyes shut, as the noise of the attack also made you feel like something was tickling your eyeballs.
I could see his Metagross becoming unnerved by the attack, before glowing blue. I wondered what it was doing, before I heard the noise of Bug Buzz dieing away. I realised that Metagross was using Psychic to slow down Yanmega’s wingbeats, effectively disabling its Bug Buzz attack. I cursed my luck at this, as I’d have to resort to other attacks.
“Break free Yanmega! Then use Air Slash!” Yanmega managed to shake itself free from Metagross’ Psychic hold. It then pulled its wings back, and flapped them forcefully a couple of times. Every time it did so, two blades of vacuumed air flew out towards Metagross, each one turning red just before impact. This caused small dents to appear in the Pokémon’s metallic body. Tinted Lens was again taking effect to counteract the type disadvantage of the attack. This wasn’t doing much damage, though it was all adding up. I could tell my rival had had enough.
“Meteor Mash! Let’s go!” he ordered. His Metagross moved across the battlefield, the end of one of its forelegs glowing, with amazing speed I hadn’t expected from the huge metal powerhouse. Before Yanmega could even dodge on its own, the attack connected, and my dragonfly was smashed into the wall, completely done with.
The red flag went up, “Yanmega is unable to battle! Metagross wins the round!”
I sighed, and returned Yanmega to its Pokéball. I wasn’t angry with it for losing, it had taken down the Claydol, and weakened the Metagross. Now I just needed to get rid of that, and fortunately, I had just the Pokémon to do it.
I grabbed the last Pokéball from my belt, and hurled it into the stadium, again summoning the Pokémon that resided within. “Heads up! Houndoom!”
My hellhound materialised on the field of play, delighted at being able to battle. “DOOOOOOOOOOOM!” it howled, wagging its pointed tail with joy.
I wasn’t going to waste any time, I had to put this Metagross away. “Dark Pulse now!” I commanded. Houndoom howled again, at the same time a black aura spread out from around it. I had grown used to the effect of the attack, much like Bug Buzz, but it was still unnerving, knowing what was going to happen to everyone else.
When I first ordered Houndoom to use Dark Pulse, I was overcome with almost every form of negative emotion. Anger with myself for being weak, Envy at Alan for stealing Laura from me, Grief for not doing anything… the list went on. I felt like I wanted to die, I felt so low. Then Houndoom snapped me out of it by licking my face. Despite being a dark-type, my Houndoom was kind, affectionate soul, not the snarling, vicious beast that so many are depicted as.
I could see my foe, his Metagross, and everyone one else in the stadium recoil as the dark emotions filled their souls. I decided to attack while my opponents were distracted.
“Flamethrower, Houndoom!” I ordered, as the black aura died away. Houndoom now fired a stream of fire from its mouth at its foe. The flames closed in, before suddenly being diverted by a Psychic attack from a now-recovered Metagross. I saw my rival smirk at this. While his steel-type couldn’t affect Houndoom directly with its psychic powers, it could affect a lot of projectile attacks.
“Metagross, Earthquake!” my adversary instructed to his Pokémon. Metagross lifted one of its forelegs high above the ground, before smashing it down. As the floor began to shake, I could see Houndoom beginning to stumble. I had to do something before it took the full brunt of the powerful ground attack.
I issued a very strange-sounding order, “Houndoom, charge up and jump!” I could see heads turning in the audience, as people tried to work out what that meant. Houndoom started running, jumping over the shockwaves sent by Metagross’ Earthquake attack. As it did so, its horns glowed white. This would look odd to someone who had not trained a Houndoom to overcome its type disadvantages. I had to get my Pokémon close to that Metagross so it could attack it without being interrupted. This was the only way.
“Now Houndoom, somersault!” I shouted. My dark-type lined itself up with Metagross, and then jumped, spinning forward. When it was upside-down in the air, spinning again, I finished my manoeuvre. “Use SolarBeam!”
It happened just right. A white beam left Houndoom’s mouth, the light energy having been collected in its horns. The force of the SolarBeam pushed Houndoom forward, and it finished its somersault, landing on top of Metagross. I heard the whole stadium take a collective gasp, as I issued my final order.
“Go Houndoom! Max Power Flamethrower!” I called to my Pokémon. Houndoom took a deep breath, before unleashing a mass of hellfire down onto Metagross. It was so forceful, the entirety of Metagross’ being was turned into a giant fireball.
When the smoke cleared, a charred and scorched Metagross lay prone on the floor, its limbs spread out in every direction, with a clearly happy Houndoom sat atop it. The referee raised the green flag in my direction, declaring to the stadium, “Metagross is unable to battle! Houndoom wins! This means that the winner of this match, and the Indigo Plateau, Indigo League Conference, is Dave of Pallet Town!”
I collapsed to my knees, exhausted, tears of joy running down my face. I’d done it. I’d finally won. My last thoughts were of the cheers of the crowd, the howl of triumph from Houndoom, what my family would think about this, what Laura would make of this, and how close the floor was getting…
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Dave wins the Indigo Plateau Conference, beating his final opponent, Steven Stone of Hoenn, Pokémon Master. Dave meets Steven after the match, and the two become friends, with Steven offering to help Dave train if he wants.
Dave collects the Pokébox from Professor Oak, ready for another period of tough training, this time on Mount Coronet. While in Pallet Town, he hears again of the young trainer Ash Ketchum, who recently placed in the top 8 in the Silver Conference, and is currently travelling through Hoenn with friends.
Laura and Alan hear about Dave’s win, and attempt to reach him in Pallet Town, but he leaves before they arrive. They decide to travel to Johto, to compete in the contests and re-challenge the League there respectively.
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Yes! At last, a win for Dave! I hope this battle was good enough for everyone. I'm still new to this writing business, but if there's one thing I know it's Pokémon battles. The next chapter will be the last of this prequel story, and should be up tomorrow. Stay Tuned!
Dave
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Post by LuciferIX on Apr 8, 2008 10:40:27 GMT 12
That team sounds very familiar, and I can't imagine why. lol
Seriously though, very nice battle scene. With the entire chapter nothing but battle, thats definitly a good thing. The attacks were well described and easily visualized. And a unique way of describing Dark Pulse. It was a very good way of using the games description instead of the anime. It worked well for the overall situation as well.
And the three groups are just missing each other as they each move on. Alan and Laura seem to want to make up with him but its most likely not mutual, at least not yet.
Another good chapter Dave, can't wait for the last part of the prequel. Keep 'em coming!
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Post by DaveTheFishandChipsGuy on Apr 8, 2008 10:50:33 GMT 12
Well, I can't imagine where you've seen the team before... ;D
Well, the in-game description for Dark Pulse is: "The user releases a horrible aura imbued with dark thoughts. It may also make the target flinch." I thought that could mean it makes people think evil things, but I managed to turn it so that it makes you re-live every negative emotion you've experienced. If you've read the Harry Potter books, then it's kinda like how Dementors make you feel when they're around.
The next chapter should take the story in a completely different angle. Let's just say that if you push yourself too far, then there will be new rewards for doing so...
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