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Drabble Tag!

Equitial

Ace Trainer
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. espurr
  2. inkay
  3. woobat
  4. ralts
(Wanted to participate in this thread so I cranked this out. 120 words, sorry. My goal will be to chip down and come up with a 100-word drabble eventually 😅)

***

"Sweet sassy molassy!" Annabelle popped from her Pokeball into the back of a vehicle. "Already time for th' mornin' milk run?"

"Gods-dammit, Pierce!" the Rocket driving the truck shouted. Sirens blared in the distance. "You didn't secure the Pokeballs!"

"Ey, you just passed the Braydens'! Ah, wait -- not this again."

"Take care of it!" the first Rocket growled as Annabelle rose.

"Pierson, really?" Annabelle shook her head. "I thought you were a good boy."

Well, not a turn of events completely unexpected in Annabelle's line of work. After whapping down the boys, the Milktank took control of the vehicle.

She rolled her eyes. "Hopefully I can still finish my circuit before the cops catch up."

She floored the gas pedal.

***

Next prompt: different colors
 

Shiny Phantump

Through Dream, I Travel
Location
Hallownest
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. sylveon
  2. absol-mega
  3. silvally-psychic
  4. ninetales-phantump
  5. cosmog
  6. gallade-phantump
  7. ceruledge-phantump
Prompt: Different Colours



Becoming a Meowstic was supposed to be a good thing.

I don't know why, but it feels... wrong. I can't stop thinking about the way I now look.

It doesn't make sense. Why can't I feel comfortable with my own fur coat? Why doesn't my reflection feel like me? Is there something wrong with me?

I can't sleep. The stars watch from above as I wonder. What would make this feeling go away? What do I want?

Oh.

I think I'm coming to understand who do I want to be. Who I am.

I am nervous... and yet also excited.



Next Prompt: Goodbye
 

HelloYellow17

Gym Leader
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. suicune
  2. umbreon
  3. mew
“It’s better this way.”

They looked up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. His best friends. His family. His everything.

“There’s some trainers in the Pre-Gym that will take good care of you.” Wes couldn’t look at them. Neo cried and begged, Novo growled—they’d never forgive him for this.

But death was certain for all of them. Snagem could take Wes, but his Pokémon...they deserved better. A chance to live.

Neo’s wail stopped short as they were sucked into their PokĂ©balls. Silently fighting tears, Wes handed them to the nurse and left.

He was now truly alone.

Prompt: “And you are?”
 

The Walrein

Vicinal Dragging for the Truth
Partners
  1. gulpin
  2. kricketot
  3. bulbasaur
"And you are?"

"U," said the Unown U.

"Me? I'm Ledian. Who are you?"

"U."

"Um, I just said my name. What's yours?"

"U."

Ledian turned to another Pokemon. "Excuse me, but do you know this mon's name?"

"Y," said the Unown Y.

"Oranguru wants a list of everyone here, and they won't tell me their name."

"Y."

"I don't know why not! They just keep asking for my name."

"Y."

"I don't- Oh, I know! Maybe they just couldn't hear me! HEY, MY NAME'S LEDIAN! WHO ARE YOU?"

"Oh, that's what you wanted? I'm Snuffaluffasparagus von Hunkanannypillar the Eighth!"

Prompt: Last in the world
 

DawningWinds

Ace Trainer
Partners
  1. hawlucha
Prompt - Last in the world
Wordcount: 153
Not really used to limits so this doesn't feel too bad for me.
---
She was alone.

That'd been nothing new. She'd been alone for years. Decades. Centuries, maybe? Didn't matter really.

It'd been long enough.

Long enough that nobody knew her name. Long enough that she didn't even remember her own name. Long enough that she couldn't recognize her home when she went back.

Long enough that she didn't bother going back anymore.

She knew she wasn't really alone. If she wanted to, she could pick any random Pokémon or human to talk to. There was a guy in a red hat right on the path, or an Oddish hiding in the grass.

It wouldn't help, though.

That would never be the same.

Wallowing in self-pity wouldn't help, either, she reminded herself.

Wouldn't stop her from doing it. After all, what else was there for... Mew, were the humans calling her?

To her family she'd had a name. To them, she was just a sound.
---
Next Prompt - Too late
 

IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
Prompt: Too late
==============
CRUNCH!

Delcatty watched in horror as Accelgor's crumpled body slid down the wall she had been thrown into. She couldn't have survived that.

There wasn't any time to waste. Delcatty sprinted through the monster house towards Accelgor, weaving between dungeon Pokemon as he crossed the room.

Finally, he reached Accelgor. Hurriedly, he dug out the reviver seed from his bag, and shoved it in Accelgor's oral cavity.

He waited. And waited.

Accelgor didn't get back up again.

Delcatty was too late.

Sobbing, he pressed up against his partner's body one last time, waiting for the monster house to finish him off.
==============
Prompt: Perfect Apple
 

kyeugh

you gotta feel your lines
Staff
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. farfetchd-galar
  2. gfetchd-kyeugh
  3. onion-san
  4. farfetchd
Prompt: Perfect Apple

Apple picking is hard but delicious work. Not all apples are fit for picking, though. One apple I pick has a squishy bruise I hadn't seen initially. As I prepare to cast it away, it wiggles. I release it, and it tumbles onto the ground. Then it inches away.

Oh, an applin!

"Hey, wait!" I whisper, scooping it up. You're supposed to leave these things alone. But it's so cute... "Want to come home with me? I'll make you the most delicious pie." It looks back at me with glimmering yellow eyes.

I place my new friend in my basket.

next prompt: red lightning
 

The Walrein

Vicinal Dragging for the Truth
Partners
  1. gulpin
  2. kricketot
  3. bulbasaur
"Dude, what's gotten into Heracross today? He's acting as hyper as you are!" Lucas said. Indeed, Barry's usually-sedate Heracross was running wildly back and forth, arms outstretched in an airplane pose.

"I dunno, man, he just- wait..." Glinting metal behind a bush caught Barry's eye. He groaned. "Heracross! Did you take one of my energy drinks again?"

The Pokemon froze, then stared down at the ground.

"Ugh, Heracross! You know those aren't good for you!"

A ladybug perched on a blade of grass beneath Heracross took flight, and a single tear rolled down his face. Red Lightning gives you wings...

Prompt: Bad Enough Dudes
 

NebulaDreams

Ace Trainer
Partners
  1. luxray
  2. hypno
Prompt: Bad Enough Dudes

--

This was Pichu’s initiation test, to prove to that Scraggy gang that he was a bad enough dude to join the Bad Enough Dudes. The task was simple, but dangerous at the same time. If Pichu got caught, who knew what would happen to him?

He approached a metal map of Castelia City -- the name was written in big letters at the bottom. He climbed up a trash can and scribbled over the ‘t’ and ‘i’ letters with a marker, then ran like hell. It was so good to be bad.

The sign still reads ‘Casmella City’ to this day.

--

Prompt: spicy
 

SparklingEspeon

Back on Her Bullshit
Staff
Location
a Terrace of Indeterminate Location in Snowbelle
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. espurr
  2. fennekin
  3. zoroark
Prompt: Spicy

--

I was a fool who didn’t think

And stuck a red pepper inside my drink

Now I burn! I burn the most!!

And as my tongue begins to roast,

I realize I have made an error

My mind begins to sear with terror

Must find a drink! Must cure the pain!

But all the drink’s gone down the drain

For I was a fool who didn’t think

And stuck a red pepper inside my drink.

--

Prompt: Ham
 
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The Walrein

Vicinal Dragging for the Truth
Partners
  1. gulpin
  2. kricketot
  3. bulbasaur
Reference to anthropophagy

Espeon and Umbreon sat in front of towering plates of bacon, licking their lips.

"Guys, STOP!" Grumpig said, bursting into the room. "Canadian bacon isn't made from Canadian people!"

"Huh? Then what-"

"It's made from ham radio operators! Which means-"

WHAM! Black-clad officers flooded the room. "Freeze, sickos! We're FCC Commandunicators, here to commandunicate that eating radio operators is illegal without a license! We're putting you in a Faraday cage!" they said, then wrapped Espeon and Umbreon in aluminum foil.

"Wait, does this mean I can't get Twitter notifications anymore? I- I'm finally free," Espeon said, crying a single tear.

Prompt: Knowing is half the battle
 

Rainfall

minVP ADC atomic step action potential
Location
blue-green spinning rock
Pronouns
he/they
Partners
  1. minior
Prompt: Knowing is half the battle

Init. publish: 127w. Like most, I hate excising words >.> (down from about 150)
__

They called him Flash Fred.

Silly name, though he worked hard and earned it. Yeah, he was slow at getting jokes, pop references. But he killed it on the football field. If not with pure speed, then by ability to run circles around others, the polygon-patterned sphere an extension of his body.

First after-school practice. Teams picked. Losing side would buy the food. Fred was already zipping past player after player, each wide-eyed and incredulous, many calling his name, calling for him to be stopped.

In the wind, he was in his element. With a practiced kick, he netted the ball past the goalie. First victory.

The defense he'd passed caught up to him. "Yo, what the fuck, Flash! Next time, don't score on your own team!"
__

Next Prompt: inability to gather will or strength for the final stretch
 

Starlight Aurate

Ad Jesum per Mariam | pfp by kintsugi
Location
Route 123
Partners
  1. mightyena
  2. psyduck
Sweat poured down his face as he sprinted forward. Heart racing—muscles burning—chest searing—head pounding. The air he breathed didn’t feel enough. But he had to go on—he couldn’t give up!

Out of the corner of his eye—there! His opponent had passed him and was away like a bolt of lightning.

He leaned forward, and with an extra burst of energy, shot forward as quickly as he could. He was gaining on her, her blonde mane streaking out like fiery gold in the sunlight.

But he was only halfway there—his energy gave in, his reserves spent. Away she sped like a dazzling bullet made of living gold.
He stopped.

Panting, he stood just over halfway down the track and watched the Manectric cross the finish line.



Next prompt: all live in a yellow submarine
 

Rainfall

minVP ADC atomic step action potential
Location
blue-green spinning rock
Pronouns
he/they
Partners
  1. minior
prompt: all live in a yellow submarine
__

Sunny the junior Sunshine submarinemon was yellow with envy.

It was dusk on the day of the Gender Celebration Ceremony for the Queen SuperSub's new subclass brood. The Processor Transception Ceremony for the fleet had taken place at dawn three days before, and Sunny's MixSync with the fleet and with the Queen had felt magical, and she had grown.

This season's brood had more Sunshine subs than Midnight subs, but Sunny hadn't been selected as the Firework-in-Residence. That vaunted role had somehow gone to Zenith. Zenith didn't even have uniformly-live nuclear torpedo-dreepy. Even Sunny's symbiotic QCD-electrode-plasts, who normally were all over the place like the heads of dodrio, shared in her fury at being passed over.

But Sunny-and-electrodeplasts-and-nuc-dreepy had made up their minds. Flying gracefully under the waves, propelled by nuclear fission and without a mechanical creak in her form and in her marine wings, she burst into the Ceremony gathering of black and yellow subs (whose wings furled back and whose rotors clicked in surprise), placed herself in front of Zenith and admidst the cute little baby submarinemon, and activated firework-transform-detonation.

A highly localized explosion converted a glowing Sunshine sub to mechanical organ-components and sent a shockwave of energy outward. The community subs clacked and helped stay the baby subs from the ripples. Sunny the mature (immature?) submarinemon was no more. But her high-QCD spore-trodeplasts and spore-dreepys glistened in the azure waters, more Night than Shine, and soon linked up and were enveloped by the baby subs (who were more Sunshine than Midnight). Mech organs also attached to the baby's, and each assimilation there, though it took longer, was a beautiful mini-transformation.

Internally, Zenith's fans issued a sigh of relief. Maybe now, still alive, she'd have a chance to take care of the new subs, teach them to corral and exercise their growing new hybrid electrode-plasts and dreepys. The sun was going down, and light began emanating faintly from the beebird subs, both large and now also small. Sunny had provided new internal light. It was now Zenith's turn to help them shine their brightest.

(mixture of A/N and third-person-limited reporting...)

Re: prompt:
- Sunny's live nuclear and symbiotic electrode-plasts and dreepys (and maybe material pearls of consciousness) still live on in the baby subs.
- yellow = Sunny's Sunshine gender (also, askance: yellow with envy)

- A joke with SuperSub. Forced joke with Queen SuperSub's brood being referred to briefly as a "subclass", i.e. derivative group.

Not exactly and barely Jewish references:
- Sunshine and Midnight genders means the gender celebration event should be at one of the twilights.
-- The Jewish day begins at dusk.
-- Mention of being "passed over", but that's not a direct connection, just a coincidence.

Partial "bio"-logy and population notes:

- All submarinemon of this type are (bio?)mechanical beings that are all female.
- Most subs are capable of bringing forth new baby subs.

- The genders are Sunshine and Midnight.
- The electrode-plasts and dreepys come in types of Shine and Night.

- Nuclear fission propulsion (QCD-electrode-plasts play a key role)

- For good community health, it's preferred that the aggregate mix of any new brood have:
-- High amount of Sunshine subs with Night electrode-plasts and/or dreepys, or Midnight subs with Shine trodes/dreepys.
-- Lower amount but present, of Sunshine sub with Shine trode/dreepy, and Midnight sub with Night trode/dreepy.
- Hence a brood that is largely Sunshine proportion should have a Sunshine sub provide largely Night Firework spores.

- (Linguistics choice: decided to pluralize trode-plasts and dreepys with "s")

- The QCD term is a layperson joke reference to nuclear, strong interaction/force stuff (quantum chromodynamics).
- QCD-electrode-plasts are partially-sentient nuclear fission variants that symbiotic and subsumed like chloroplasts.
- Some dreepy warheads are nuclear, some are not. nearly all of Sunny's dreepys are nuclear.

- These submarinemon can be described as birds and bees of the sea.
- Birds because underwater mechanical wings
- Bees because: hivefleet Queen SuperSub. (also Sunshine + Midnight = yellow and black)

- All subs have processor sentience.
- The nature and very presence of collective hivefleet sentience is still unknown (ok, this line is more third-person limited, Dex-report-like), but it appears fairly independent in this passage.
- There is internal federation among the submarinemon and her electrode-plasts and her dreepys.
-- Electrode-plasts tend to have some small degree of non-synchronized autonomy/sentience.
-- Symbiotic-dreepys have very low sentience, and tend to go with the flow.

- Nearly all subs have bioluminescence. Baby subs tend to obtain this power after getting donor electrode-plasts.

Reproduction (Recombinatorial Furtherance):
- The firework-transform is part of the submarinemon lifecycle.

- Each hivefleet is usually cared for and led by one Queen SuperSub (and one Queen-Reserve Sub-SuperSub).

- The exact implementation of the firework-transform into the Gender Celebration Ceremony, and the Ceremony itself, may be regionalized culture differences among submarinemon community populations. Some cultures may not have the ceremony, and/or may have multiple subs perform the firework-transform.

- Selection of who the Firework-in-Residence will be varies by community, but the selection usually has a collective element, and the decision is usually made by the Queen.
Perhaps sometimes the output ability of the prospective Resident's electrode-plasts are highly considered. Perhaps sometimes the virtue of the prospective Resident is highly considered.

- Most subs have the Queen or Queen-equivalent perform the brood-creation.

Most sub cultures involve Processor-Transception (MixSync) prior to brood-creation:
- The baby brood creator will engage in a reproductive-particular communications-transceiving with other processor imprints that is some equivalent of a horizontal gene transfer, with Lamarckian and/or epigenetic undertones. (sorry, layperson with poor description).
- This usually takes on a star network formation. Some communities may elect for a more everyone-to-everyone-else connection map.

- This usually happens with other subs in the community; occasionally, emissary subs among communities engage in a bulk Processor-Transception event.
- This usually occurs along with other general informational and cultural communications!

Short genetic passdown summary:
- The electrode-plasts and dreepys are primarily passed down and hybridized between the Queen/brooder(s) and firework-transform-resident(s).
That is, between each brooder and one or a few firework residents, rather than the whole fleet. (This is in very loose analogy to how mitrochondrial DNA is passed along a maternal line.)

- In some way, much of the processor-genetic information gets sieved and passed along to new submarinemon from the whole fleet, and sometimes partial processor patterns from neighboring community fleets.
__
Next prompt: burning up
(combustion, fever, zenith of output and/or success, motivation ended, warming up motivation, performance on fire, dancing, atmospheric re-entry, and on)
 
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DawningWinds

Ace Trainer
Partners
  1. hawlucha
Prompt - Burning up
---
“Quill, now!” his trainer shouted.

Quilava grunted and launched himself at the Clefairy, flames surrounding him. Flame Wheel, his trainer called it. After hitting, he backed away. Back still on fire, he launched balls of fire from his mouth, one after another.

Clefairy wasn’t visible through the fire. Didn’t matter. He was to be relentless. He’d been trained to win, he had to


Then a light came and the fire disappeared. The world went dark. Distantly, he could hear voices talking. Worried.

“Will she be all right?”

“I don’t know- she doesn’t look good.” Pause. “Take this. Don’t come back.”

---

Next Prompt - "I hate to say it, but..."
 

aer

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
he/they
Prompt - "I hate to say it, but..."

---

"... I think we may be over our heads here."

She looked over Dialga with a crushed car under its pillar of a foot, the acrid pit of melting asphalt with the heatran in sleeping the center, the Shaper of Titans herself, Sovereign of the Distortion Realm Giratina trying to chase a relatively ant-sized alakazam around, and the hoarfrosted and cracked apartment windows from the raging blizzard from the Ice Titan and the articuno trying to out-freeze each other.

"Aw, you can get it, Giry! Go fetch!" She got out the yache berry flavored chew treats, Giratina's favorite.

"... forget I said anything."

---

Next prompt - "Hang on, I have to go, I forgot I left the rotom on."
 

DawningWinds

Ace Trainer
Partners
  1. hawlucha
Prompt - "Hang on, I have to go, I forgot I left the rotom on."
---
"You okay?"

"Absolutely," you force out.

"You sure? Ever since the Darkest Day, you've been really distant. If you..."

"Hang on, I have to go, I forgot I left the rotom on." You don't want to talk about any of what you did wrong. And definitely not the battle with the accelgor. Or raising while liepard.

"You mean out?" she answers before you hang up. "I'll come help you."

"I'm fine, call you later." Maybe.

"Okay..." You hang up quickly. Before she changes her mind. Now, you need time alone. You want your liepard's company, but. You got him killed.


---
Next prompt - One more time
 
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NebulaDreams

Ace Trainer
Partners
  1. luxray
  2. hypno
Prompt - "Hang on, I have to go, I forgot I left the rotom on."

---

Isobel hurriedly biked through the streets of Circhester, bumping into Admirari on the way.

“Oh, hello--”

“Er, h-hang on, I have to go, I forgot I left the rotom on!” she shouted as she floored it back to her apartment. Isobel returned to a smokescreen of burnt beef fumes, covering up her mouth with all four hands to brave through the blaze. The Rotom-powered slow cooker was on fire, and the animate appliance smiled back at her.

“What? Ya told me to cook it on high, ya just didn’t say how high to cook it.”

Egads. Her roast was ruined.

---

(whoops, just as I was about to submit it, someone submitted something else, so I'm going to answer both prompts here)

Prompt - One more time

---

Gizmo eyed the hyperactive little Morgrem as he finished baking the last batch of his breadwinning buns. Mog patted his flour-caked claws and sighed.

“Nyeh, that’s da last of ‘em,” he said.

Gizmo approached, gentle grasping one of the cakes between their metal fingers.

“Perfect texture,” they said. “Good job.”

Out of nowhere, they patted Mog on his moptop head, which he growled at, then backed away. Perhaps that was a mistake. Gizmo almost turned around when Mog approached them again, giving a rare, gentle smile free from the impishness of his nature.

“Er, one more time. Thanks, tincan.”

“Anytime.”

---

Next prompt - Pillow fight
 

aer

Bug Catcher
Pronouns
he/they
Prompt - Pillow fight

---

"Hey... it's waking up."

"Oh. Oh dear. Hey, no, don't open your eyes yet. Don't look around. Stay asleep a little longer. Okay?"

You're not good at listening when you're half asleep. Blue shapes were hovering on your bed of clouds, your head pillowed on a fluffy embrace. You wondered if they were rain, ready to melt through the floor and drip onto the world below.

"Come on. We should hurry."

A cloud comes down to cover your eyes. It's soft under your fingers, and depresses like it's buffeted by wind. Bells tinkle.

Somehow, for having just slept, your mouth isn't dry.

"Did I go to sleep counting sheep? Is that why I'm here?"

"Not counting sheep, darling. Counting birds. Above the clouds, that's all the night sky is. Birds and balloons and ghosts, all seeking a passenger, for better or worse. That's why we picked you up."

"Oh. Are you flying me somewhere?"

"You're going to fall awake. But not just yet. Close your eyes, little one. We'll take you home."

damnit i wanted to go longer without failing drabble but oh well

---

Prompt - zodiac signs
 

The Walrein

Vicinal Dragging for the Truth
Partners
  1. gulpin
  2. kricketot
  3. bulbasaur
Prompt - Zodiac Signs

Contains swearing

"I've got bad news for you, Mr. Krabby," Chansey said. "You are literally the Zodiac symbol for Cancer."

"Fuck!" said Krabby. "Give it to me straight, doc: how much longer do I have?"

"The Zodiac signs have existed for 2,000 years or so, so by the Copernican Principle, the 95% confidence interval is that you'll continue being the symbol for Cancer for somewhere between 51 and 78,000 years."

"Double fuck!" said Krabby. "Is there a cure?"

"Yes. If humanity can abandon superstition as a means of establishing control over an uncertain world and embrace reason, then-"

"Triple fuck!" said Krabby.

Prompt: Over Nine-Thousand
 
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