Pokémon pokédex mini

[Phoenixsong]

pokédex mini​

dabbling in selections from a drabble collection​

What's this?

Pretty simple: the goal here is to (eventually, maybe, idk) write one drabble for every single pokémon in the pokédex, all however-many-the-heck-there-are-right-now and counting. "Drabble" here is used in the literal sense of the term, meaning each story should be exactly 100 words, no more and no less. (With some hyphen/word-counter–related wiggle room, but shhhh.)

I first started this project... good lord, ten years ago? I'm trying not to think about it, ugh. In an ideal world I'd have been a lot further along by now, but life is what it is, y'know? My progress on this has slowed way down over the years and isn't likely to pick up speed, but I do still poke at it every now and then, and I figured I might as well share at least a few of the ones I enjoyed writing.

So, whenever I've finished some new ones or decide I want to toss in some older ones, I'll collect them into a batch of ten drabbles and make a new post here. There's no update schedule; it's just gonna happen whenever it happens. Easy enough, right? Check the threadmarks up top or the post index down below to see what's available so far!

What kinds of stories are these?

All kinds! There's no unifying theme; they're just whatever idea happens to strike at the time. They probably skew most heavily toward humorous pokémon POV in the trainerverse, but there are stories about humans (canon characters and otherwise), stories set in PMD-like worlds, stories that touch on other types of genre or setting or mood or whatever else I felt like experimenting with that day.

If you've been working on this for years, where are the rest?

For now, I'm using this thread to showcase specifically the drabbles I feel like showcasing, rather than porting over literally everything I've done so far. There are several I'm not proud enough of to actively highlight, for one thing; and also trying to keep a forum thread organized in national dex order when I don't write these in order is... not really something I want to tangle with, heh. So I'm just sharing whichever ones I'm in the mood to share in no particular order.

If you'd like to read all of the pokédex mini drabbles I've ever published, you're welcome to do so on my personal website here. They're also organized in national pokédex order there. Just be aware that the quality will vary pretty wildly.

Feedback preferences

I'm not looking for heavy feedback/critique on these, for the most part. It's more just a general exercise in actually writing anything, as unreasonably difficult as that seems to be for me, and in experimenting with being more concise. Feel free to comment on whatever you like, of course! Just know that I can't guarantee I'll actually act on any suggestions for edits to existing stories. I do occasionally succumb to the desire to edit or rewrite some of these, but given how many I still have to get through, it makes much more sense to focus on moving forward!

The one thing I would very much appreciate knowing is whether you feel like you're missing a significant piece of context when you read a drabble. In the past I've had a tendency to base drabbles on, like, a single really obscure pokédex entry or piece of trivia, and as a result they're most likely not as easy to grasp as I'd like. I'm trying to avoid that going forward, but if you ever read one of these and come away from it "...I have no idea what on earth the point of that was," please do let me know!

Content warnings

None by default, as I keep most of these pretty tame. If an individual drabble warrants a content warning, I'll add it to the top of that drabble's post. As always, please do reach out and let me know if you feel anything needed a warning that I didn't think to give it—I'm more than happy to amend it.

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All right, no more stalling. I hope you enjoy!

Post Index​

1. Bulbasaur, Ninetales, Drifloon, Kommo-o, Cosmoem, Corviknight, Maushold, Charcadet, Tinkaton, Palafin

 

[Phoenixsong]

Here we go! No particular order or theme to this batch. I just thought it'd be nice to begin at the beginning, show just a few of the older pieces I particularly like, and then some of my newest drabbles to wrap up, concluding with the three I wrote for the 2023 TR Anniversary's drabble bingo (and an extra that I was inspired to throw together at the same time).

CW: Drifloon's includes references to grief after a loved one's death.

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001 Bulbasaur​

Route 1 sure had a lot of wild pokémon territory for Junie to cross with nothing but a brand-new bulbasaur.

"Ready?" she asked. "You know what we've gotta do with tall grass, right?"

Bulbasaur edged toward the grass, then took a bite.

Junie laughed. "That's... an option. But we've also gotta get in there and look for more partners!"

Bulbasaur cheered around his mouthful of grass. Junie smiled nervously. She wasn't entirely sure what to do after finding a pokémon herself.

Still, Junie squared her shoulders and charged into the grass. Bulbasaur followed. Whatever came next, they'd figure out together.

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038 Ninetales​

Always take care of your tails, child, for they are your greatest gift. Take care of your tails and they will take care of you. The first fuels the fire that burns inside you. Keep the second soft and clean and you'll know your mate's true love. Three brings luck and four reveals secrets. Five lets you speak to any creature; six lets you enchant them. Seven gives you long life, and eight, when curled just so, long happiness.

And should anyone ever hurt you, child, your ninth tail will take care of you—and take care of them, too.

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425 Drifloon​

The family huddles around the grave. Drifloon listens behind a stone angel. They tell funny stories, sad ones, sweet ones. The children smile and sniffle, holding balloon strings tight.

They let go of their balloons. The family walks away.

Pop! One balloon snags a tree branch.

Pop! A spearow blunders into one beak-first.

Whoosh! A gust blows the last toward the angel's broken wing—

Drifloon grabs it. He floats away from the points and snares, then sends it on its way again in the open sky.

Drifloon doesn't know what's up that high. He hopes the balloon will see it.

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784 Kommo-o​

Kommo-o hears the intruder before she sees them, so they hear her bell-song first as well. She drums her tail against the ground, each note ringing sharp through stone and air. The warning-song of a warrior whose fists strike true as each tone.

She lopes out and looks... down?... at a tiny yellow ball. The chingling, unafraid, trills out, clarion and sweet: not the discordant clatter-clash of dragon challenge-song, but...

Curious, Kommo-o tolls again, the chingling's tune a matching melody. The chingling smiles; so does she. They ring a little bell-song as they head in together—not battle-song, but friend-song.

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790 Cosmoem​

The little star sleeps, motionless and silent, the weight of uncertainty pressing down upon it. Its tiny galaxies twist and tumble as it dreams of the song of rising. Will the little points that burn within brighten, shining so fiercely that the sky turns dazzling blue? Will the spinning clouds inside spread out like a dark and fluttering cloak, so it might slip softly through the night? To call to the sun, or to dance with the moon? It dreams and dreams and can't decide, the future melody too faint to guess.

The little star sleeps, and waits, and dreams.

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823 Corviknight​

Britomart's record shines as spotless as her armor: all routes flown swiftly, all fares ferried safely. But today, that knave Galehault chases as she flies. "Galehault is no thief!" he rasps. "Withdraw your accusation, or we shall joust at sixty wingstrokes!"

Britomart has no time for curry-swindling blackguards. Chivalrous taxis keep their schedules. But he crows "Liar! Coward!" as they soar over Hammerlocke, and that, sir, shall not stand.

She wings back sixty strokes and levels her beak at Galehault, heedless of her cabbie's pleas or the fares cheering in her carriage.

Britomart's honor shines as spotless as her armor.

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925 Maushold​

"You'll love this place!" The realtor beamed at the Baxters. "Brand-new appliances, vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors..."

"I do love vaulted ceilings," said Mrs. Baxter.

"I'm just glad we're leaving behind that gnawing in the walls," sighed Mx. Baxter.

"We'll take it!" they said.

--​

"You'll love this place!" The pawmo beamed at the maushold. "No existing weaknesses in the walls, so it's a bit of a fixer-upper. But it's perfect for chewing your own custom renovations!"

"We do love a project," said one maus.

"I'm just glad it'll wear the kids' teeth down," sighed the other.

"We'll take it!" they said.

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935 Charcadet​

Charlos sat by the academy's armor displays, helmet flickering in thought. Mela was coming back to school. He'd missed her terribly, but...

The night-dark armor had whispered after Mela's visits, when she'd been grinning fiercely but her inner fire guttered low: Mela smiles, but they're hurting her. She wants to fight, and you can help her. Take me with you. We can hurt them first.

But now, she'd said, she wasn't gonna fight. Now she had to be brave. Mela didn't need angry, devouring fire. She needed warmth, steady and strong.

Charlos's helmet flared, and he touched the golden armor.

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959 Tinkaton​

The master tinkaton critiqued each student's hammer. "Corviknight pauldrons are classic, but dull... no, revavroom exhausts won't make it go faster... I hope that red is bisharp, not scizor; too easy to melt!"

She scowled as the youngest struggled. "Copperajah? Rampant rust, girl, of course it's too heavy. Sensible smiths use bronzong for density without impossible weight!" She handed the student her own hammer as an example.

The younger tinkaton nodded. "Wow, much better balanced than mine."

"Now do you understand which steel-types you should harvest from?"

"Yes," said the student. She grinned and swung the hammer at her master.

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964 Palafin​

Palafin was the hero: when her teammates struggled, she'd soar out to crush the enemy beneath her fists. With her friends there to help her change, no foe was too fearsome.

Now, alone before the metal monster that'd lanced them all with lightning? Nowhere to change, no chance to win. No fists; just tiny, trembling fins. No soaring; just cowering behind her fallen friends. No hero; just... her.

The monster lurched foward, its sparking claws grasping for Cyclizar. Brave Cyclizar, who'd fought so hard without even changing...

Maybe she could, too.

Palafin kicked off and charged to meet the beast.