First Anniversary Scrap Swap

[Negrek]

First Anniversary Scrap Swap​

Scrap Swap is a collaborative event that challenges you to create a small piece of writing or visual art riffing on a prompt provided by one of your fellow members. It's a simple process:

1. Every two days between April 26 and May 10, I'll post a prompt.

2. Everyone who'd like to participate that round has forty-eight hours to respond to the prompt. Write a drabble of ~100 words or create a drawing or graphic inspired by the prompt, then post it in this thread!

3. Once the round closes, I'll choose one of the submitted drabbles or pictures at random to serve as the prompt for the next round. Then it's off to write another drabble or draw another picture! Will you continue the story started by the person ahead of you? Will you riff on the same theme, or take things in a completely different direction? It's up to you!

The purpose of this exercise isn't to produce beautiful or even presentable art; the idea is to have a good time making some quick pieces, whether to warm up for your other work or simply for the fun of it! You can participate for prompts that inspire you, skip the ones that don't, do art for one prompt and fic another--whatever floats your boat.

And for our first prompt... Let's start with an image from one of my favorite sequences in the Pokémon anime!

What does this picture make you think of? You have until midnight UTC on April 29 to get your response in!

 

[The Walrein]

“Oh, Gible!” Giovanni said, looking deep into the soulful eyes of the young dragon splashing playfully with him in the azure sea. “After you fully evolve, let’s fly to the top of the world! Together, just you and me!”

Gible’s head-bulbs quivered with apprehension. “Giovanni,” Gible said, returning the gaze, “I- I have a confession to make. Garchomp can’t actually fly.”

Giovanni gasped. “But – but your dex entries-”

“Are lies, Giovanni. Filthy, stinking lies! We’re ground-types, Giovanni! In fact, we don’t even know how to swim! Bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh!” Gible gurgled as he sank below the waves.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Giovanni cried.

 

[Namohysip]

After Team Rocket was disbanded and Giovanni spent some years finding himself, Giovanni was finally able to reconnect with his son.

Silver had gone on so many wonderful adventures, and the time apart really helped them understand what they enjoyed of each other. And now, father and son, they were able to have a fun time on the beach.

It was a little awkward, Silver occasionally talking about Mystery Dungeons, but he had his lovely Gible son back, and he couldn’t be any happier. The transformation was going to wear off eventually… right?

 

[Pen]

The human came on a blazing hot day. He stepped onto Kisaki's beach as if he owned it, casting off his raiment in a clear taunt. The gall of him! Kisaki raced forward, fangs bared. For an instant, their gazes met. Then the human loped forward—and aimed a sudden, powerful kick against Kisaki's side.

Dazed, she lay back on the sand where she'd been thrown, watching the muscles of the human's golden back ripple like soft-rolling waves. He had the vicious eyes of a garchomp full-grown.

That was the moment Kisaki knew. At last, she had found a worthy mate.

 

[Equitial]

Red couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Giovanni since his final battle with the ex-crime boss years ago. Maybe he shouldn’t. Giovanni had been a ruthless, conscienceless man. Who knew how many humans and Pokémon Team Rocket had separated or hurt. Still, the man had displayed such honor after his defeat…

One day, Red decided to have a nice day at the water with his Pokémon. Upon arriving at the beach, he noticed a squealing Gible as it jumped into the arms of its human.

Red glanced at said human. He processed what he was seeing. He abruptly turned around.

Maybe… his brain was better off not knowing what had happened to the old crime lord.

 

[kintsugi]

drew this in ten minutes*; pls forgive

*ten minutes was also approximately how long it took me to realize I will probably spend this entire event inserting quag into various anime images

 

[NebulaDreams]

Another day at the beach, another day spent making memories with Giovanni. Gible didn’t care that he was a crime lord or something or other. Not that he really knew what it meant, maybe it was something nice, but anyway, that wasn’t important. He playfully splashed at Giovanni, and he splashed back, and so on.

All the while, Gible could barely take his eyes off of Giovanni’s chiselled body. That figure could’ve rivalled a Machoke’s. Eventually he stopped splashing and just stared. He could’ve spent ages looking into the muscular abyss. Nothing could’ve interrupted the sanctity of this moment—

“QUAAAAAAAAAAG!”

 

[Negrek]

These are fantastic! I'm loving all the different takes on A Man and His Land-Shark (or, err, A Land-Shark and Her Man), as well as surprise!quag! We're off to a great start, and the randomizer has spoken... Our next prompt will be scrap #2, by Namohysip!

After Team Rocket was disbanded and Giovanni spent some years finding himself, Giovanni was finally able to reconnect with his son.

Silver had gone on so many wonderful adventures, and the time apart really helped them understand what they enjoyed of each other. And now, father and son, they were able to have a fun time on the beach.

It was a little awkward, Silver occasionally talking about Mystery Dungeons, but he had his lovely Gible son back, and he couldn’t be any happier. The transformation was going to wear off eventually… right?

Where do you see this going? You have until midnight UTC on May 1 to get your response in!

 

[Phoenixsong]

The transformation did not wear off.

Giovanni didn't mind as much as he'd thought he would, ultimately. (Sure, Silver took his steaks a little rarer than before, but weren't paleo diets all the rage these days?) What mattered was that they were together, father and son, with a life full of honest possibilities ahead.

Sometimes, though, Giovanni found himself imagining what might've been if things had taken a different turn, if the old family business hadn't folded. Team Rocket would have been fearsome indeed if its forces answered to a garchomp wearing a sharp (and very heavily tailored) Italian suit.

 

[Meridian]

Meowth Is Commissioned To Write RPF

Meowth sighed as he scrolled through twitter seeing beef and shitposts alike, and had begun to reconsider whether he should sign-off or not... at least until the tell-tale ping echoed into his headset. Someone had sent his little old account a direct message! He read it instantly:

"Hello, I know you usually don't make these sorts of pieces anymore but since you're open for commissions I was wondering if you could turn this old piece into a written one?"

He checked the attached post, and oh! It was one of his Boss Fantasy Illustration sets. They were right on the money, as he rarely did these sorts of pieces anymore. Sure he still did fantasize about what happiness his latest schemes could bring the boss-man, but he didn't go about illustrating or posting them to social media anymore.

Meowth of course responded cheerfully that he'd be more than happy to accept their patronage. A cat and the two humans he watched over had to eat afterall.

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Giovanni laughed, his heart soaring with exhilaration as he played with the rare, highly-valuable Pokemon before him. But even though Gible was rare and monetarily near-priceless, this Gible had more to it—it loved being Giovanni, it gave him affection, it was his friend.

And what better way to spend time with friends than at the shores of Lilycove City? Sure, Lilycove was the Sharpedo Attack Capital of the World, but no Sharpedo in their right minds would EVER touch Giovanni’s perfectly-chiseled body.

The Sharpedo never went after Giovanni. But with one large gulp! Gible disappeared.

 

[windskull]

I'll let it speak for itself

 

[The Walrein]

“Foolish mortal! Wonder orbs cannot affect a god!” Rayquaza boomed.

“This is no orb… it’s a master ball!” Silver cried, and hurled it at Rayquaza. The ball bounced off without any effect.

Rayquaza scoffed and unleashed a hyper beam at Silver… only for the master ball to release a second Rayquaza in a flash of light, absorbing the blow!

“What the-”

“Rayquaza, meet our dimension’s Rayquaza – an expert at destroying meteors! Our Rayquaza, show ‘em how it’s done!”

“Got it!” The new Rayquaza put Silver on their back, flew into space, and destroyed the meteor. “Ha-ha, yeah! Go our dimension!” they cheered.

“Bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh!” Silver gurgled as he died from the vacuum of space.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Rayquaza cried.

 

[WildBoots]

“He is my son,” Giovanni repeated in a growl. “He stays.”

Ariana bit her lip. But there was nothing to be done, so she said, “Yes, sir.”

On his lap, the gible gnawed the sleeve of his Valentino suit like an old bone. It babbled to itself, drooling.

Watching the gible work its jaws, Giovanni winced, but that didn’t stop the twisted smile spreading across his face. In a far away voice, the leader of the international crime syndicate said, “He has to learn the family business.”

Blood dripped from his sleeve, hitting the floor one drop at a time.

 

[Starlight Aurate]

For the current prompt:


Silver stormed away from Giovanni—they fought again. Why couldn’t his dad just understand that serving raw steak at team dinners was a great idea?

“Hey!” a grunt with teal hair shouted. “Who are you?”

Your boss's son! Silver snapped.

“Gible-gible-gib!”

The grunt smiled and held up a Pokeball. “You’re Gible? Well, I’m Proton, the cruelest, scariest guy in Team Rocket.”

I’m WAY scarier than—OW! Silver cried as the Pokeball bounced off his face.

“Huh,” said another grunt. “Looks like you need to damage it, first.”

Gible’s blood ran cold—well, colder than usual since he was cold-blooded—as Proton unleashed a Weezing.

A few moments later, Giovanni walked in to see his Gible child unconscious and covered in purple sludge.

“What did you? That’s my son!”

“Your—your son?” Proton asked faintly. “Sir, I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean—”

“Congratulations, you’re getting promoted!"

 

[Negrek]

Welp, I got tricked by my own desire to put everything in UTC and forgot that midnight was supposed to be four hours ago. But it turns out to be a good thing, anyway, because the randomizer says that our next prompt is going to be the most recent submission, from Starlight Aurate!

Silver stormed away from Giovanni—they fought again. Why couldn’t his dad just understand that serving raw steak at team dinners was a great idea?

“Hey!” a grunt with teal hair shouted. “Who are you?”

Your boss's son! Silver snapped.

“Gible-gible-gib!”

The grunt smiled and held up a Pokeball. “You’re Gible? Well, I’m Proton, the cruelest, scariest guy in Team Rocket.”

I’m WAY scarier than—OW! Silver cried as the Pokeball bounced off his face.

“Huh,” said another grunt. “Looks like you need to damage it, first.”

Gible’s blood ran cold—well, colder than usual since he was cold-blooded—as Proton unleashed a Weezing.

A few moments later, Giovanni walked in to see his Gible child unconscious and covered in purple sludge.

“What did you? That’s my son!”

“Your—your son?” Proton asked faintly. “Sir, I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean—”

“Congratulations, you’re getting promoted!"

We had some excellent posts for the last prompt--I love how people ran with edgy teenage gible!Silver, meowth RPF, and OldSchoolJohto's rather creepy take! Where do you think things should go from here? This prompt will be open until midnight UTC on May 3rd!

 

[The Walrein]

“Replacement Silver, your first test is to steal a Pokemon from Professor Elm’s lab,” Giovanni said. The Weezing hovering beside him bobbed in acknowledgment, then silently slipped into Elm’s lab. Soon, he returned and spat out a pokeball, which opened to reveal a Rhydon.

Giovanni frowned. “Wait, isn’t that my-”

“WEEZ! WEEZING, WEEZ!” Weezing ordered. The Rhydon stamped his foot, opening a fissure in the ground beneath Giovanni, who barely managed to grab its edge before plummeting into the abyss.

Giovanni gasped. “Replacement Silver! Are you trying to kill me and take my place as leader of Team Rocket?”

“Weezing!”

Tears of joy sparkled in Giovanni’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you, son...” he cried, before uttering a final "bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh!" as the fissure closed and sealed him in the earth.

Oh no… what I have done!? thought Weezing.

“WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!”

 

[WildBoots]

Proton got a promotion last time, so I think he's leveled up. Baby's first chest hair. Maybe he'll evolve soon?

 

[Negrek]

These are both fantastic! I love that it didn't take long for Giovanni to find a new son, and Proton must be extremely proud of that chest hair, lol.

It's time to choose a new prompt! What we have lined up for the next two days is The Walrein's latest scrap:

“Replacement Silver, your first test is to steal a Pokemon from Professor Elm’s lab,” Giovanni said. The Weezing hovering beside him bobbed in acknowledgment, then silently slipped into Elm’s lab. Soon, he returned and spat out a pokeball, which opened to reveal a Rhydon.

Giovanni frowned. “Wait, isn’t that my-”

“WEEZ! WEEZING, WEEZ!” Weezing ordered. The Rhydon stamped his foot, opening a fissure in the ground beneath Giovanni, who barely managed to grab its edge before plummeting into the abyss.

Giovanni gasped. “Replacement Silver! Are you trying to kill me and take my place as leader of Team Rocket?”

“Weezing!”

Tears of joy sparkled in Giovanni’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you, son...” he cried, before uttering a final "bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh!" as the fissure closed and sealed him in the earth.

Oh no… what I have done!? thought Weezing.

“WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!”

You have until midnight UTC on May 6th (8:00 PM May 5th EST) to respond to the new prompt!

 

[Pen]

One day was much like another in the new Team Rocket. Bosses changed, but paychecks didn't, was Grunt 173's motto. He paused his typing at frequent intervals to spritz perfume under his face mask. Since the advent of Boss Wheezing, the air quality at HQ had somewhat degraded. Not ideal, but better than he had expected when he entered the job market with a failed degree in accountancy.

Now he stared at the latest set of costs. Plumbing expenses had substantially increased. Health care premiums were up on the team-wide plan. Ventilation—

A coughing fit interrupted him. He frantically spritzed perfume, gave up, ran to the bathroom, saw every stall was filled with coughing grunts, and retreated back into the hallway.

With a sudden, primal howl, Grunt 173 tore off his face mask. This is for the murkrow. He was 38 and running out of time. By morning the next day, he had quit his job and booked a flight to Alola. Time to realize his childhood dreams as a oricorio dancer.