Pokémon 100-word Drabble Bingo, now with 99% more procrastination!

[Sastrei]

So I initially thought I wouldn't have time to do these, but then I realized that they could be 100 words!
And my brain said "A CHALLENGER APPEARS" and here we are.
My bingo card involved Kanto and Johto Gym leaders (thanks Torchic!)
Here's some Lance/Gym Leader exactly-100-word drabbles!

---

Prompt 1: "The Blessed User of Dragon Pokemon"

“Horsea, Dragonbreath again!”
Clair’s pokemon struggles to attack, but obeys. A wave of energy streaks towards Dragonite - Clair’s young face is enraptured, desperate - but the larger dragon swats the beam away with a beat of its wings.
“Twister,” Lance commands. Clair watches helplessly as Horsea faints, listlessly bobbing on waves of crystal water.
“Dammit!” she hisses. She’s twelve but she curses well, to her family's chagrin. “But we tried so hard.”
Lance smiles. “That’s all that matters.” It’s genuinely friendly but Clair detests it anyway.
“Whatever,” she mumbles, recalling Horsea. “One day, we’ll win.”
“I hope so!”
“Ugh, be quiet!”


(This was inspired by some of Clair's dialogue from Masters)

---

Prompt 2: "The Steel-Clad Defense Girl"


Lance squints. The Gym lights are bouncing off of Steelix’s polished body in brilliant flashes. Jasmine’s massive metal snake stares down at him sternly. Behind it, she is doing the same; Lance can’t help but notice the similarities in their gazes.
She’s a shy, waifish girl with a soft face and soothing voice – the jarring contrast between this and her eyes, so focused and determined, makes something flutter in his stomach.
“Would you please release your pokemon?” Jasmine asks, bowing slightly.
Shit. He’d been staring, hadn’t he?
“My apologies,” Lance manages, heart thumping a little too loud in his throat.

(Torchic let me change this one to Jasmine for Railgun )

---

Prompt 3: "His Roaring Fists Do the Talking"


“Thank you for the battle,” Lance tells Chuck, recalling Aerodactyl. “I have learned much from it.”
“You’re awfully serious for a teenager,” Chuck laughs, a grin beaming beneath his chestnut mustache. “Take this with your Storm Badge.”
Lance blinks at the rectangular object he’s handed. It’s wrapped in gaudy purple plastic. “RAGECANDYBAR!” is emblazoned in neon yellow lettering on top. “Um, what’s…”
“You’ve never had one before?”
“I don’t eat sugar,” Lance mutters.
This garners another laugh. “Live a little, kid.”
Lance shyly munches on a tiny chocolate corner as he leaves. He smiles, but hides it in his cape.

---

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Looks good! I admire your restraint in limiting them to 100 words

 

[Railgun]

Ahhh, I love these so much! You did such a great job managing to shoot 100 words per drabble! Something I, unfortunately, can't do because I end up writing more/not satisfied with what I have written. Maybe someday... I should partake in a little challenge myself!

And now for my thoughts because wew lad, do I have some stuff to say!

The Blessed User of Dragon Pokemon - Well well, it's nice to see this part of Clair's past tackled because it shows where her resentment towards Lance comes from. At least more that she is upset he won't recognize her talents / literally using his own grown dragonite to beat down her horsea. That is extremely harsh coming from Lance, you'd think he would go easy on her given her pokemon is young. (Like couldn't he have used a dratini to make it even?) But, I suppose that is how they train in the Blackthorn clan, eh? It really shows how far above Lance is in power and skill as a trainer, something that Clair has been overlooked by her own family. So, kudos for writing this drabble.

The Steel-Clad Defense Girl - Despite this one being short, I love it so much. So damn much, not only because you hinted my OTP that it's my favorite... but the dynamic... it feels real.
I will not lie, I am not okay with this being 100 words because I need more of it. I love how Lance was entranced by Jasmine's own determination. I love how polite Jasmine is because that is 100% her character, especially with her steelix out looming over Lance. Completely in character, it shows how dangerous she can be as a gym leader despite her kind demeanor. I want to see how the battle turned out, is there playful flirting in between? I want to see what happens afterward. How does Lance react once he wins that mineral badge? Does he even keep a straight face? Does Jasmine even make a move? God so many questions now I feel like writing something based on this myself, oh no...

She’s a shy, waifish girl with a soft face and soothing voice – the jarring contrast between this and her eyes, so focused and determined, makes something flutter in his stomach.
“Would you please release your pokemon?” Jasmine asks, bowing slightly.
Shit. He’d been staring, hadn’t he?
“My apologies,” Lance manages, heart thumping a little too loud in his throat.

It's love at first sight, is it? Please, I hope Lance took her out on a date afterward. Or at least keeps in touch with her, hey maybe they slowly get to know each other and you know... ugh, what you have done to me. Thank you so much for this one.

His Roaring Fists Do The Talking - Chuck is extremely underrated! I am glad he got some screen time here. I love that he gives Lance a Rage Candy Bar as a parting gift. Even Lance takes it despite not eating sweets! And... eats it under his cape? That's so adorable I love this man so much. Lance you dork, just eat the chocolate with pride! I won't be surprised if he ends up buying a box of them afterward. Chocolate is do delicious who doesn't like eating it?

Overall, great job and bless you for that second prompt. I am glad I am spreading the love for Lance/Jasmine. My night has been made, thank you.

 

[Pen]

I hear the words Lance-centric drabbles, I come!

It’s genuinely friendly but Clair detests it anyway.

The sibling energy is so good here!

“One day, we’ll win.”
“I hope so!”

I love this exchange--I could see something very similar happening between Lance and Silver, where Lance is completely genuine about wanting challengers to grow in strength and surpass him, which is of course the most annoying possible attitude if you're the frustrated challenger!

Lance can’t help but notice the similarities in their gazes.

It's always really fun drawing similarities between Jasmine and her preferred type, since they're so outwardly incongruous.

“Would you please release your pokemon?” Jasmine asks, bowing slightly.

Love the polite nudge here!

Prompt 3: "His Roaring Fists Do the Talking"

This was my favorite of the bunch--every single line was so adorable. Chuck having sheltered baby Lance try candy is a mental image I definitely needed in my life.

He smiles, but hides it in his cape.

Baby!

 

[Sastrei]

I love this exchange--I could see something very similar happening between Lance and Silver, where Lance is completely genuine about wanting challengers to grow in strength and surpass him, which is of course the most annoying possible attitude if you're the frustrated challenger!

AH thank you so much!! That is exactly what I was going for, haha. I absolutely adore the Lance/Silver dynamic and plan on incorporating their interactions slowly into my longfic.

Chuck having sheltered baby Lance try candy is a mental image I definitely needed in my life.

AHHH YES, I was reading Chuck's Bulbapedia entry and I noticed a lot of quotes from him talking about eating too many Rage Candy Bars. And I thought "I bet baby Lance has never eaten one because Dragon Tamers are Super Serious (TM)."

I'm so happy you enjoyed these, they were a lot of fun!! I appreciate the review!!

 

[Starlight Aurate]

You review me, I review you!

Kanto and Johto Gym Leaders are a topic that I really love, even though I don't talk about them, and i"m happy to see you gave them some attention in your writing here!

A wave of energy streaks towards Dragonite - Clair’s young face is enraptured, desperate - but the larger dragon swats the beam away with a beat of its wings.
“Twister,” Lance commands. Clair watches helplessly as Horsea faints, listlessly bobbing on waves of crystal water.

Ah, come on, Lance, you couldn't have given your cousin a break? They're giving me brother-and-sister vibes.

In general, I Love the vibes that you give in this one! And I really enjoy seeing expansions of snippets of canon, and her hot-headed fighting nature here certainly matches with her game attitude. Nicely done!

Behind it, she is doing the same; Lance can’t help but notice the similarities in their gazes.

Love details like these, when Pokemon and their trainers take after each other!

“Would you please release your pokemon?” Jasmine asks, bowing slightly.
Shit. He’d been staring, hadn’t he?

Ha, when girls make guys realize that they've been staring and they get super flustered--I've been there

“Thank you for the battle,” Lance tells Chuck, recalling Aerodactyl.

Chuck! Now THIS is a face I don't often see in fic!

This whole bit in prompt #3 made me smile--I like how Lance reacts to the RAGECANDYBAR (in all caps and one word, true to its source material!) and is convinced to eat it anyway, heh.

These were really cute! I like how you showed different relationships in each prompt: familial, romantic, and mentorship. The interactions between the different gym leaders in their different stages of life was neat to see. You're quite a Lance fan, aren't you? I noticed he was in each of these :P Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sastrei]

You're quite a Lance fan, aren't you? I noticed he was in each of these :P

Thank you for the review!! :D Very appreciated!

Lance is my current writing inspiration, yes! When I finally caught up on the anime a few months ago, and he came back for a few episodes towards the end (only to lose UNJUSTLY in the final rounds), I found myself really appreciating his character again. I remember playing Red Version as a kid and when I saw his little sprite with a cape, and spiky hair, and his DRAGONS, I was like, "this dude is epic. I love him." So it's a fascination going back um, like, 25 years now, oh god I'm old.

The main inspiration was how he seemed to not battle well in the anime/Journeys. He kinda just gave up. So my brain went "what happened??" and then I started forming an elaborate friendship/drama/romance in my head that would explain his behavior there. Still kind of getting it all together, I just started it at the end of March this year. But it's a lot of fun writing about him and forming my own stories for why he ends up the way he does.

I'll be checking out more of your work soon. :) I love review exchanges. Thanks again!

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Heya, it’s oneshot week so I figured that I’d drop in and read some from people on my hitlist of authors I wanted to check in on for Review Blitz. Though a drabble collection of literally 100-word drabbles, huh? It’s technically how they’re meant to be done here on TR, but I honestly rarely ever see them pulled off under those constraints, so it’ll be interesting to see how you managed it.

Prompt 1

Spoiler

“Horsea, Dragonbreath again!”
Clair’s pokemon struggles to attack, but obeys. A wave of energy streaks towards Dragonite - Clair’s young face is enraptured, desperate - but the larger dragon swats the beam away with a beat of its wings.

Oh, so we’re basically watching:

But with dragonmons, huh? :V

“Twister,” Lance commands. Clair watches helplessly as Horsea faints, listlessly bobbing on waves of crystal water.

Ohhh yeah, that can’t possibly be good for Clair’s pride. No wonder why she’s constantly salty whenever she takes an L in-game.

“Dammit!” she hisses. She’s twelve but she curses well, to her family's chagrin. “But we tried so hard.”
Lance smiles. “That’s all that matters.” It’s genuinely friendly but Clair detests it anyway.

Oh, so I see that Clair was just a sore loser even way back in the day, huh? :P

“Whatever,” she mumbles, recalling Horsea. “One day, we’ll win.”
“I hope so!”
“Ugh, be quiet!”

I mean, we all know what Lance was really thinking inside:

Don’t deny it, either. >:V

(This was inspired by some of Clair's dialogue from Masters)

Huh, I wonder if that’s all cataloged somewhere, since I’ve heard little bits and pieces of Masters’ expansion off of base lore and it seems fascinating… if a shame that it’s paywalled behind mobage- oh, you included a picture. Well, you can’t say she wasn’t ambitious at a young age.

Prompt 2

Spoiler

Lance squints. The Gym lights are bouncing off of Steelix’s polished body in brilliant flashes. Jasmine’s massive metal snake stares down at him sternly. Behind it, she is doing the same; Lance can’t help but notice the similarities in their gazes.

I wonder if we’re going to see Amphy this episode, or if this is going to be strictly about Jasmine’s gymmons.

She’s a shy, waifish girl with a soft face and soothing voice – the jarring contrast between this and her eyes, so focused and determined, makes something flutter in his stomach.
“Would you please release your pokemon?” Jasmine asks, bowing slightly.
Shit. He’d been staring, hadn’t he?

Wait, whose perspective is this written from? A random challenger’s?

“My apologies,” Lance manages, heart thumping a little too loud in his throat.

Well, that’s not quite a random challenger, though all of these are going to feature Lance in some capacity, huh? I suppose I should be less surprised given how he’s a prominent character in your main work. ^^;

Prompt 3

Spoiler

“Thank you for the battle,” Lance tells Chuck, recalling Aerodactyl. “I have learned much from it.”
“You’re awfully serious for a teenager,” Chuck laughs, a grin beaming beneath his chestnut mustache. “Take this with your Storm Badge.”

Yeah, I knew it. Though I honestly completely forgot about Chuck as a Gym Leader up until you brought him up here. ^^;

Lance blinks at the rectangular object he’s handed. It’s wrapped in gaudy purple plastic. “RAGECANDYBAR!” is emblazoned in neon yellow lettering on top. “Um, what’s…”
“You’ve never had one before?”
“I don’t eat sugar,” Lance mutters.

Honestly a little surprised to hear that there, especially since the guy has a thing for Pokémon that look like they’d be inhaling sugar all day, everyday. o<o

This garners another laugh. “Live a little, kid.”
Lance shyly munches on a tiny chocolate corner as he leaves. He smiles, but hides it in his cape.

Yeah, he totally eats sugar in spite of what he told Chuck. I can already tell. >:V

Well that was a cute set of drabbles there, and once again, I’m impressed on how you actually managed to stick to a 100-word limit while giving coherent snapshots of moments involving Lance. I obviously can’t criticize things too much due to format limitations, but I do think that at least in terms of presentation, it probably makes sense to separate the different lines with newlines, since it makes things visually neater to follow and read that way.

Good stuff, @Sastrei . I’m unsure if I’ll be able to get to it before Review Blitz winds down since my plate’s a wee bit stacked as it stands, but these drabbles are a pretty good advertisement for your ability to do characterization. Which is probably a sign to come back and see how that looks when you’re a bit less constrained in your main work, huh? ^^

 

[HelloYellow17]

Omg these are so fun haha. I love that we see Lance at such a young age in these, before he becomes Champion! And I cannot freaking BELIEVE Clair battled his Dragonite with Horsea. Why. Girl, you brought that loss upon yourself. 😂 Though it’ll be a heck of a rematch once Horsea becomes Kingdra and learns ice beam, heh.

Chuck was hilarious and he reminded me slightly of Hoenn’s Wattson. I love that the badge was a freaking candy bar, ahaha, that’s so on-brand. I really love characters like him; big tough guys who just love life and are full of joy, who try to spread it to others. And ah, Lance, ever the tsundere. Can’t even indulge in a candy bar without hiding it because he has an image to maintain! 😂

Last but not least, the Jasmine one was my absolute favorite, of course. I never knew this ship existed until I stumbled across Railgun’s fic, and now I love it. I’ve always been a sucker for dynamics like this: the soft but strong and willful girl with the guy who always has to be tough and strong, but falls apart whenever she’s around. Heh.

The way he catches himself staring is both hilarious and so cute. And man, I’ve always loved Jasmine. Polite, soft-spoken, shy gal who uses a Steelix as her ace? Freaking HECK YES. And with her steel type emphasis, I bet it gives Lance a challenge! I can see her kicking him to the curb and then he becomes even more infatuated with her. 😂

These were all very charming, and you did a great job of keeping them to 100 words, which is not easy! Nicely done!