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I appreciate these moments where he sets a scene! I imagine he is describing a real location in the games, but it helps those of us who haven't played visualize what he is seeing.
Indeed, it is a scene from the game. To make it accessible to readers, I put a lot of effort into introducing characters and describing scenes. (I was definitely getting tired of describing new places by the end of writing Book One! (written all of it but chapters are still working through the beta reading pipeline before they get posted)
I feel like it wouldn't be exciting enough for him to do as a job. :P Can you imagine him in his red suit, on a tarp, fishing? I think he'd start betting with the fishermen around him to get some thrills.
Nitpick but they are wearing one-pieces, which mean they actually do leave at least the midriff to the imagination. If you wanted to show that he recognizes that they are good-looking women, you could say that their swimsuits showed off their amazing figures.
Eh, alright. You've devoted words to it, so not changing it risks another reviewer doing the same thing. I reworked it a bit. Hopefully it will be above reproach now.
One-pieces are actually less likely to have bouncing because of the compression that happens all over the torso.
'Bouncing' risks coming off a bit much - I think the flirtation they do afterwards is enough to show that these girls really want that money.
However, I think the idea that he feels tempted is fine to leave him. He's a lonely 28 year old guy who lost the love of his life and these women in their 20s are making a move at him - I believe he might look and find it a bit hard to say no!
This is an example of why showing the battles is a good idea! When you get that second 'Gust of Wind' moment, you get to really up the ante from the audience. That means you get to have these moments where you're like 😈 aww yeah, winning time.
Well, maybe I'll make it a point to have one battle played out from each club. Not sure. But it does seem that adding in some more fleshed out duels here and there is good for the fic. I'll take a look at my other chapters and see about good opportunities to add more.
I'm not familiar with the TCG (I only ever collected the cards for fun and I never played the videogame), but I remembered the explanation you gave and looked up some of the moves. And I suspect the more battles there are, the more the reader will be able to learn the rules even if they did not play the game themselves.
You did a good job having one battle in this chapter. I think any more and it could have felt a bit repetitive. But you've shown us some cards that I imagine will appear again in the future, as well as his
His loneliness really peeks through here. As well as, perhaps, a little bit of low self esteem. I find it noticeable that he doesn't laugh at these young ladies or condescend. He feels cowed by them, or even flattered. If he felt more secure in himself, he would find it easier to dismiss them. These can't be the first women to want to catch his attention, after all. But even though he's faced them before, he finds it hard to deal with them. I get the impression that he's not someone who finds it easy to bat people away. He's not detached.
And as a final aside, I didn't find a good opportunity to put this in the quotes, but I like the way that you use the avatars from the games as emotion markers.
I'm glad you like them! I started using them when I got annoyed at how other fics use art in them. The fact that they are official game art means I can use them without trying to seek out and beg an artist for using them or to pay lots of money to commission them.
I LOVE how these things work in the fic. Gives it kind of a visual novel vibe. Especially with the soundtrack involved which I assume you have not been using. (It's ok, 90% of readers or more don't seem to implement it. Too many people using only phone and not PC, I guess... It kind of sucks though. I wish more people would listen to it. I put lots of time into selecting the tracks for it and implementing the links in the fic. Sometimes people hate music too. Oh well...)
Overall, this chapter showed us some of his battle strategy, as well as what makes him nervous (attractive ladies in swimsuits who want his fame and money). Perhaps he should tell them that he's broke
And we've got something quite important, which is Doduo! The idea of Imakuni?'s Doduo just being the protagonist's pal is actually extra funny to me now that I think about it.
Isaac, Rick, and Nikki had all opted to sit away at the conference table. I'm sure Rick would have loved to collect data on this game, but it was more important to him to be with Nikki since the outcome could kill them all if it went poorly...
The final game in my life commenced!
For setup I played Abra as active, holding Moltres back in my hand so I could benefit from its power to pull Fire Energy from my deck to my hand later. I won the opening coin-flip this time.
For Mew's setup, she played Mr. Mime (the damage shield version) as active.
My 1st turn began. I played a Bill and benched Moltres to dig out Fire Energy, attaching one to Moltres. I ended my turn there.
My deck had no ability to attack with Abra. Since I was currently without Growlithe, that left only Moltres for combat. It still needed two more energy to attack, but at least it was closer and I did not waste my ability to play an energy card for the turn. I had Professor Oak in hand that I perhaps could have used to look for Growlithe, but it would have been a waste to play it considering I still had seven other cards in hand.
Mew then proceeded to her 1st turn and played Tentacool to her bench. She attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime and played some draw-cards ending her turn there. At the end, she still had seven cards in her hand.
On my 2nd turn I attached Fire Energy to Moltres and passed.
For Mew's 2nd turn, she attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime and attacked with Meditate boosted to 20 damage from weakness. She still had seven cards in hand.
My Abra was now at half health. One more hit from Mr. Mime and it would go down...
For my 3rd turn: I attached Fire Energy to Moltres and passed.
Moltres now had enough energy to attack, but Mr. Mime's 'Invisible Wall' power prevented any damage over 20 from affecting it, and I still had Abra as my active mon anyway.
On Mew's 3rd turn she attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime. She then attacked with Mr. Mime's Meditate boosted to 40 damage from weakness, KOing my Abra, and claiming a prize card.
Mew now had five prize cards remaining, but I only had one more mon: Moltres. I moved it to the active position.
For my 4th turn I attached Fire Energy to Moltres. The extra energy I attached was to help Moltres stave off any potential Energy Removal's in Mew's hand. Sure, I could have attached one to Growlithe, but it might have spread myself too thin...
I then played Gust of Wind and switched her active mon with Tentacool. Next came my attack with Moltres, succeeding the coin-flip for 70 damage and KOing Tentacool! I claimed a prize card.
Only five more prizes remaining. We were even.
On Mew's 4th turn she played Rocket's Sneak Attack to see my hand causing me to discard Professor Oak! She then played Tentacool to bench and attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime. After a variety of draw-cards and benching an Abra, she benched another Tentacool. She ended her turn attacking with Meditate for 10 damage.
She took away my Oak! That is never something a duelist wants to see! Yet, even after a big turn like that, she still had six cards in hand! Her Mr. Mime now had FOUR Psychic Energy, making it all but impossible to disarm with Energy Removal since Mr. Mime only needed two for attacks!
My 5th turn came around. I benched a Growlithe and attached a Double-Colorless Energy to it. I then swapped her active mon with Gust of Wind and attacked her Abra with Moltres! A successful coin-flip brought 70 damage to KO her Abra! I then claimed another prize card.
With my 2nd prize claimed, I had only four remaining. Growlithe was starting to get traction with energy now too!
One would think I would start having doubts when getting closer to winning, but, honestly? I had never felt so alive in my life! And I loved my friends dearly...
Mew raised her eyebrows. "Wow! You seem to be doing much better now! You really don't mind dying, huh?"
I looked back at her and closed my eyes. "You don't scare me, Mew. I don't know why you are so fixated on killing us, but I'm not backing down."
I opened my eyes glaring at Mew. "I WILL save them!"
Mew laughed. "That's the spirit!"
Did she really take nothing seriously?
Mew frowned. "Hey! I do take things seriously! Must you always think such rude things?!"
She was blaming me for THINKING? The psychopath!
Mew puffed her cheeks out. "Really? Name calling now? Whatever, soon I will watch you writhe in agony over the loss of your friends. Or I'll just simply kill you. Either way I'll be satisfied..."
She would have me think that both options were a loss, but I knew winning would result in the best outcome. Even if I lost my life, it would still be a victory!
Mew smiled. "Ooo! Not a bad self-pep talk! Whatever floats your boat... dead man."
She then finally took her turn...
Mew crossed her arms. "What do you mean, 'finally'?! Look, I know you are in a hurry to die and all, but stop rushing me... jerk."
On Mew's 5th turn she played Abra to her bench and attached Psychic Energy to it. She ended the turn by attacking with Meditate for 20 damage
Moltres was starting to accrue damage and Meditate would only get worse... It was now two hits away from KO despite having 70 of 100HP remaining. At least her hand was down to two cards...
Mew grinned. "I wouldn't get too excited if I were you about my hand being low..."
I grit my teeth. "Why are you reading my thoughts during a duel!"
Mew shrugged. "For the same reason an opponent listens to what you say if you talk about your plans out loud. You don't want me to know your thoughts? Stop thinking them. Not my problem."
I put my hands on my head. "You are using your power to mess with me!"
Mew blinked. "So? It's my business what I use it for."
I scowled. "My thoughts are NOT your business!"
Mew held her hands up while she laughed. "Oh no! Mister Gentleman is mad at me! Quick! Someone find me almost any other man in the world to defend me!"
Oh sure, make fun of the weakling... Power-tripping card-scratcher...
Mew was now laughing even harder. "Oh man! It's fun messing with you. Gotta get it in while I can... you know... before you're dead." Her face then dropped all emotion as her eyes glowed.
Glowing eyes? Really? As if she could somehow make me more dead. What was she going to do? Kill me twice?
Mew frowned. "Hmmm... I see your point. Intimidation kinda loses its mojo when you already know you are going to die... Shall I threaten to alter the deal to kill more people then?"
I looked back at her with no emotion. "Even you couldn't be that petty..."
Mew frowned. "Yeah... I guess you got me there. I do have some standards..."
For my 6th turn I attached Fire Energy to Growlithe and brought it out to active by retreating Moltres. I then played Gust of Wind to swap Mr. Mime for Tentacool and used Energy Removal on Abra. To KO Tentacool, I discarded one Fire Energy on Growlithe to attack with Ember for 30 damage, claiming my next prize card.
And I had more where that came from too! Hopefully my opponent couldn't use my eyes to look at my hand...
Mew held up a finger. "Um! Actually, I CAN look through your eyes if I want! What your eyes see goes to your brain and all... But I haven't been doing that! I've been careful to avoid any cheating. I mean, I COULD cheat, but why? Sometimes I get too much information on accident. When that happens I just erase that portion of my memory, so there is no harm done!"
No cheating? Why did that feel... off... last game? Erase? Did she...
What was I thinking about again?
For Mew's 6th turn she played a variety of draw-cards followed by Energy Removal to take away the Double-Colorless Energy on my Growlithe. She then attached Psychic Energy to Abra and attacked Growlithe with Mr. Mime's Meditate for 10 damage.
It seemed like no matter what I did to her, she just kept bouncing back... But I was making progress on prizes!
On my 7th turn, I attached Fire Energy to Growlithe. I then evolved it to Arcanine. It only had one energy, but I would focus on adding more. I ended my turn there.
For Mew's 7th turn she attached Psychic Energy to Abra and ended the turn by attacking Arcanine with Meditate for 20 damage.
Two more hits would KO Arcanine...
On my 8th turn I only attached another Fire Energy to Arcanine.
I took a moment to review the game state: Three cards in hand: Fire Energy, Abra, and Computer Search. Moltres benched with 70/100HP remaining and two Fire Energy attached. Arcanine was 70/100HP and with two Fire Energy attached. Mew's Mr. Mime was her active mon with four Psychic Energy. She had Tentacool benched as well as Abra with two Psychic Energy. Seven cards in her hand and far more than ten cards left in her deck, meaning I would not be winning via deck-out.
It seemed both of us still had ample steam.
Mew laughed. "That's right baby! I'm a choo-choo train! VROOM!"
I rolled my eyes harder than I had ever rolled them before. I was pretty sure she added the wrong sound effect to mess with me further... This was the being that was going to end my life? I'd ask someone to shoot me, but that was basically already going to be happening...
Mew looked at me with wide eyes. "Holy cow! Did you just crack a joke at your OWN death?! Dude! That's pretty sick. Not gonna lie..."
The absurdity of it all. Sitting here making jokes about my own approaching death... Is that what some people did in hospitals?
Mew frowned. "Yeah... I could answer that, but I don't think I will... Kinda morbid, you know?"
Said the being who was going to murder at least one of us...
Mew waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, killing is fast and exciting! Talking about death though? That's just depressing."
Sure, if one were to completely disregard the immorality of murder... Still, it sounded like she was no stranger to the topic... If she could be depressed, perhaps she had a heart that could be reasoned with?
Mew sighed. "Owch! That one stung a little... I most certainly do have a heart! It's usually reserved for people I like. Other than that, I try not to get too attached. I outlive people and I've been through my share of funerals... they really suck..."
I looked her in the eye. "Then why create more?"
Mew looked up and away. "Hey! Wanna see a magic trick?"
What was-
Mew's face shimmered with bright light and changed form. She now had a Doduo head. "See? I can even speak with it! Doduo's have some incredible vocal cords!"
I blinked. "Mew, I-"
Mew's face went back to normal. "Ahh! The game! We got to keep playing the game!"
I crossed my arms. "MEW!"
She set her hand down and looked away, frowning.
I held my hands out. "You don't really want to kill us, do you?"
She remained silent.
I reached across and held her hand. "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
Mew pulled her hand away and looked straight down. "...I get sick of acting... Always pretending to be something I'm not... I've got all this responsibility too..."
Mew grit her teeth. "People I like keep dying. It's not fun... It's not fun and I HATE IT!"
I took a deep breath. "Mew... If you want things to change, you're going to need to open up and stop hiding."
Mew leaned back and looked up through the eye towards the sun shining in the sky. "Maybe I should... Thanks. ...I'm still going to kill you though... So let's let this over with."
For Mew's 8th turn she attached Psychic Energy to Abra. She then benched Tentacool and Mr. Mime before playing some draw-cards. She then used another Energy Removal on my Arcanine and evolved Abra to Kadabra. She ended the turn by attacking again with Mr. Mime's Meditate for 40 damage.
One more hit and my Arcanine would go down...
On my 9th turn, I used Switch to bring out Moltres followed by Goop Gas Attack trainer card to shut off Pokemon powers. I then attached Fire Energy to Moltres to bring its energy up to three again. Finally, I attacked with a successful coin-flip for 70 damage to KO Mr. Mime, claiming another prize card!
Normally I would not resort to such desperate tactics... If the coin-flip had failed, Goop Gas would have been wasted! But I needed it to pull ahead. And now? Her Mr. Mime was gone and there were only two prizes left!
I wondered if Mew would benefit from my advice... If I was going to die, I at least wanted it on good terms...
For Mew's 9th turn she attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime and retreated Tentacool to bring it out. She evolved Kadabra to Alakazam and ended her turn.
Just like that, she already had another Mr. Mime almost ready to attack! The most voracious opponent! I wondered what a duel between her and my old college professor, Doctor Wem, would have been like...
My 10th turn came around and I attached Double-Colorless Energy to Arcanine followed by some draw-cards. I then used Energy Removal on her Mr. Mime and retreated Moltres again for Arcanine. I benched another Growlithe too. I returned a Gust of Wind with Itemfinder and used it to swap Mr. Mime for Alakazam! I then used Arcanine's Takedown for 80 damage with 30 recoil KOing both mon. Each of us claimed a prize card and I set Moltres as active.
I still had a Bill, Fire Energy, and Arcanine in hand. One more prize to claim and the game would be mine! My friends would be safe... And my life would end.
Mew clapped. "Wow! That was superb! Imagine that? A player able to match me at the game when I am serious? Granted, I'm not using my best deck, but I'm still very impressed!"
Mew nodded. "You have my respect as a duelist, Mister Gentleman! In fact, you are the only one to ever have it! We will go a little longer until the end, but I'm no longer confident I can win."
If she respected me so much, maybe she would be willing to not kill me?
Mew laughed. "Nah, I'm still totally going to kill you. I just said that to make sure I wouldn't feel guilty about it when I do..."
It then dawned on me... This must have been what Stephanie meant when she said that thing she knew 'might not even kill me'... How ironic that the good outcome was death...
For my 11th turn, I attached Fire Energy to Growlithe, played Bill, and passed.
I had no doubt Mew could drag this out longer at least. She did make for a formidable opponent, after all!
I guess I could accept it for what it was... She was going to kill me. Why be in a foul mood over it? My last time in this world was going to be with her. I decided it would be better if I made it pleasant.
On Mew's 11th turn, all she did was attach Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime.
She was gearing back up to attack again. I wondered how many people Mew killed like this?
Mew looked down at her hands tapping her two index fingers together. "Uh... I'm not going to answer that one."
So maybe she killed more people, but if she did, she won't say... If she did kill others, it at least seemed to bother her. If it bothered her then it was evidence she didn't enjoy it. But if she didn't enjoy it, why pretend to?
For my 12th turn, all I did was attach Fire Energy to Growlithe.
There wasn't much time left. Growlithe was already at two energy. Arcanine was in my hand as well as a Double-Colorless Energy. I even had a Goop Gas Attack. All that would be left would be to retreat Moltres. It was only a matter of turns...
On Mew's 12th turn, she played Energy Removal on Growlithe followed by Bill. She then attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime and attacked Moltres for 40 Damage with Meditate.
So, she was still fighting back. She even removed energy from Growlithe. It seemed I would be letting her KO Moltres instead of trying to retreat it... Even then, she would still have three prizes left. How odd that I was happy she was resisting. But it did allow the echos of my life to reverberate just a little more...
Mew's eyes appeared a little red.
Was she holding back tears?
Mew looked away to the right. "...I'm fine."
Ah, maybe she was just sad at not having an opponent like me to duel again in the future... An understandable notion, though I was sure she could just find Wem to play...
For My 13th turn, I attached Fire Energy to Growlithe and passed.
Here it was. If she KOed Moltres, I'd have Growlithe out. At that point, all I needed to do was evolve it, attach Double-Colorless energy to it, play Goop Gas Attack, and KO her Mr. Mime to claim the final prize...
Had I lived up to my grandfather's expectations? At least I got to duel arguably the most skilled duelist in history... and win! And I was even getting to save my friends lives in the process! I was sure he would approve.
I just needed to make the most of the time remaining and conduct myself with the dignity of a true Gentleman.
I wondered what Mew's experiences were with death. I supposed she read the minds of those she cared about at the end. It would make the passing of a loved one even more intense. I remembered what it felt like to lose my grandfather... Losing someone that important multiple times? I couldn't bring myself to hate her... Not even when she was going to kill me.
I noticed her eyes were getting watery! I wondered just how thick her emotional mask was to take this long before tears... Surely she was still reading my mind... I interpreted her silence as acknowledgement that she was in pain... Knowing that, I supposed she had some reason for continuing. Whatever it was, she intended to see it through to the end.
Mew surely struggled with loneliness for a long time... Why else would she seek out human companionship? Well... She had my understanding and my heartfelt sympathy. I hoped she could find a way to be happy. Clearly, she couldn't explain the situation to me or she already would have.
Mew was now actually crying. "You... uh... you're pretty observant, y-you know?" She smiled with the tears streaming down her face.
I reached out and grabbed her hand again, holding it in both of mine.
There wasn't a need for words since she could read my thoughts anyway.
We sat for a while.
I'd give her a while to get things off her chest, whatever they might be.
She gripped my other hand with hers. Her hands were delicate and light. I imagined they could probably bend steel with ease, but she only applied the minimum pressure to hold my hands back.
I assumed this would all look pretty weird to the others from back there at the table. They were probably fifty feet away, so I wasn't sure how much they could really tell was going on...
Mew spoke softly. "Don't worry about it. I'm not letting them form memories of this moment here... this is just for us."
All together? Not a bad way to go out. I enjoyed holding her hands as I closed my eyes.
I then felt her presence in my mind. A tender and gentle one. A psychic knock. It seemed she had something to say.
Thanks, ████, I've enjoyed our time together. I'm sorry I blocked that bit out from your mind. I said it, but I can't let you know it. Even so, I'm in love with you.
I guessed stranger things had happened to me today. I accepted her feelings even though I wasn't quite sure what to do with them.
You don't have to do anything with them. What you are doing now is perfect. I've been in love with you a long time... I didn't plan to though! I only wanted to help guide you... But I couldn't help it! I was lonely... The more time I spent around you, the more I was drawn to you.
It was the same for myself, though romantic love was farther than the feelings I currently had for Mew...
That's ok. I know you haven't been around me much to really know who I am. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to form any emotional bond with me before the end of... this. I don't use my power to predict relationships for myself, but I knew in advance that a relationship with you wouldn't work... I'm sorry I've been an abrasive trouble-maker... You probably don't understand a lot of what's going on. It's not your fault.
It was true. I didn't understand what was happening. But I understood emotions, and I was grateful to have someone to hold hands with at the end.
Stuff like that is why I fell in love with you. I'm probably putting things at risk with this psychic conversation... but I think this is the only opportunity for this kind of thing we will ever have. I'll give you an answer you didn't know you wanted. What do you get when you spell 'Wem' backwards? Pretty dumb, right? It's me!
Ah, now Doctor Wem's skill made sense! No wonder she was able to teach me the TCG! But her confession of love... it wasn't new! But also... my feelings on this weren't completely resolved. Granted, I had a hard time reconciling those with how Mew acted recently...
I know I've been pretty bad. I'm sorry. I have my reasons though. Would you like me to transform into Doctor Wem? You knew me longer in that form.
Doctor Wem? Yeah... I thought I would like to see her again. I didn't feel good about rejecting her and I didn't like how things ended between us.
Mew then transformed.
I recognized her new body. Even without the glasses and lab-coat, she now had the form she used as Dr. Wem. She had her usual orange hair but was wearing a black sleeveless top and a black choker with a red gem in the middle.
Not an unattractive woman, for sure.
It's been so long ████. It really means a lot to me that you second-guessed rejecting me... But I need to move on. I can't be with you even though I wish I could... I sure was happy to see you getting to kiss Nikki though... I know how much you wanted to be with her.
Ah, so she saw that. It figured.
I'm sorry, ████. I'm going to have to let go of your hands now. I'm having a hard enough time maintaining my composure as it is, and I need to see this through till the end. Please don't tell the others I'm Doctor Wem, ok? I changed up my hair and clothes to prevent it from being obvious, but I at least wanted you to see a familiar caring face at the end.
I may not have understood the whole situation, but I understood her need for secrecy. I would keep it to myself.
Slowly, she pulled her hands away from mine as we opened our eyes at the same time.
Mew proceeded to her 13th turn and attached Psychic Energy to Mr. Mime. She then attacked Moltres for 80 Damage with Meditate to KO it, claiming another prize.
And there we had it.
On My 14th and final turn, I attached Double-Colorless Energy to Growlithe and evolved it to Arcanine. I then played Goop Gas Attack and used Takedown for 80 damage to Mr. Mime, KOing it and allowing me to claim the final prize...
I’ll give props to you and say it’s an ambitious undertaking creating a LitRPG based off of an obscure entry in the Pokémon series, and the way you’ve presented everything here, from having different music cues to NPC portraits, while also making the more technical rules optional reading material, shows a lot of attention to detail.
Now, I skipped the rule explanation for the TCG, mainly because in any trading card anime (or sports story), the rules should be secondary to the characters’ and the story. Even if the reader doesn’t entirely get the strategy behind them, they should still be invested enough in the stakes behind the match that they can follow along (while being a treat for those who understand the mechanics really well).
In this regard, some of it works and has good potential, but a lot of it is kind of underwhelming.
Since this is a ‘sequel’ to a story that takes place off screen, that means it already starts with the main character having achieved their goal of becoming the champion. The issue that arises from that is upping the stakes so that they have a new challenge to go up against, or having some other conflict that their champion status poses.
For a while during the prologue, the MC came across as kind of insufferable and lacking in any real flaws. The thread of ‘I need to find a new purpose by tutoring instead’ could be good grounds for drama, but he treats it as more of a diversion since he’s already bested everyone, which didn’t endear me much to the character at the beginning.
I also found the prose throughout these two chapters quite distant. Since the prologue mainly consists of catching readers up to speed, that meant a lot of the story was told in summary rather than scenes, save for the tutoring scene, which undersold two of the conflicts I mentioned. It’s hard for the MC’s issues to feel grounded when the reader is like a camera experiencing the story from a far distance.
For instance, while I liked the section where the MC is reminiscing about Nikki, since it does actually flesh out the character a bit and add extra drama to him becoming a champion at the cost of his personal life, the fact it’s all told in flashback and exposition means those emotions aren’t really felt.
That’s not to say this style doesn’t have its strengths either, since it does make me feel like I’m playing the story mode (or perhaps a new game+) to a card game, and it does keep the momentum going forward for the most part.
The tutoring scene works well enough as a way to establish the rules of the setting (though I found Billy obnoxious), then at the end of the prologue, there’s finally some conflict as it turns out the MC is running out of money fast, though again, it’s treated as less of a serious issue and more of a slight inconvenience. Then comes his restriction to beat the same Clubs he already beat, except with using a handicap.
While I don’t think this setup is as exciting as it could’ve been (it’s not so much power scaling against stronger opponents as it is the MC scaling his power back to make it fair for weaker opponents), the way it’s played out in chapter 1 does add enough interest that I was curious to see how the MC used his new deck, since it wasn’t a complete landslide victory for him.
So I can’t say I have a conclusive grasp on this story, since I’m not quite the audience for it and it remains to be seen just how much interest the MC’s handicapped deck will create. There were some elements that left me wanting more, but a lot of what I’ve described depends on how you want to execute this story.
Hi Nebula! This is your first exposure to my fic, so I was pretty curious what you thought of it.
I'm not sure if you read the introduction, but it seems that you did. Also, you read and reviewed both the Prologue and Chapter 1 which was more than I was expecting. Your word count also went well above the Catnip minimum. Thank you very much for the effort!
I’ll give props to you and say it’s an ambitious undertaking creating a LitRPG based off of an obscure entry in the Pokémon series, and the way you’ve presented everything here, from having different music cues to NPC portraits, while also making the more technical rules optional reading material, shows a lot of attention to detail.
Now, I skipped the rule explanation for the TCG, mainly because in any trading card anime (or sports story), the rules should be secondary to the characters’ and the story.
Even if the reader doesn’t entirely get the strategy behind them, they should still be invested enough in the stakes behind the match that they can follow along (while being a treat for those who understand the mechanics really well).
The fact that the battles are card duels, you mean? If that's what you mean, it sounds like you are not a fan of this kind of story. If that is the case, there is nothing I can do about that, but your perspective is understood and noted.
Since this is a ‘sequel’ to a story that takes place off screen, that means it already starts with the main character having achieved their goal of becoming the champion.
Off screen? Goodness. You are making me think I need to go back and make a prequel to the fic. Since that would involve playing with somewhat poorly crafted decks for his days as a kid and then ,after his graduation, it would involve crushing all opposition with a high powered deck. (most of his duels would be after graduation) I don't think it would make for a particularly appealing story to give that level of detail to, so I don't think that is something I'll be doing. Especially since I have flashbacks and interactions with characters throughout Book One that provides insight into the main character's past.
The issue that arises from that is upping the stakes so that they have a new challenge to go up against, or having some other conflict that their champion status poses.
I mean, the world is all about the Pokemon TCG and he is the champion. If you started a fic in the main Pokemon world with Cynthia as the main character, she probably wouldn't show any real flaws either.
Now if you are trying to say I should showcase his flaws in the Prologue, that's what Chapter 1 and other chapters are for.
The thread of ‘I need to find a new purpose by tutoring instead’ could be good grounds for drama, but he treats it as more of a diversion since he’s already bested everyone, which didn’t endear me much to the character at the beginning.
I also found the prose throughout these two chapters quite distant. Since the prologue mainly consists of catching readers up to speed, that meant a lot of the story was told in summary rather than scenes, save for the tutoring scene, which undersold two of the conflicts I mentioned. It’s hard for the MC’s issues to feel grounded when the reader is like a camera experiencing the story from a far distance.
I mean, it's a Prologue. It's allowed to have a different style, even one that is more detached. I'm easing the readers into things without overloading them on too much detail. I wanted it to set up the expectations and initial goals of the fic.
If you dislike the Prologue, the remaining chapters I think would be much more to your liking as I do go much more in detail in all of them.
For instance, while I liked the section where the MC is reminiscing about Nikki, since it does actually flesh out the character a bit and add extra drama to him becoming a champion at the cost of his personal life,
That’s not to say this style doesn’t have its strengths either, since it does make me feel like I’m playing the story mode (or perhaps a new game+) to a card game, and it does keep the momentum going forward for the most part.
It does have a lets play skeleton underneath. I designed the narrative around that. If that hurts the quality some, so be it. I'm committed to it by this point.
Also, I'm glad the style isn't objectively weak in your eyes.
then at the end of the prologue, there’s finally some conflict as it turns out the MC is running out of money fast, though again, it’s treated as less of a serious issue and more of a slight inconvenience. Then comes his restriction to beat the same Clubs he already beat, except with using a handicap.
Well, he is optimistic about it. Sure, it takes away some from the seriousness, but it wasn't my intention to start the fic on a completely bleak note even if it IS a pretty serious financial problem.
I guess? Couldn't you say that about literally any story ever created though? Who actually has a perfect story? Or maybe you are just being polite and find it boring...
Still, if you have specific examples or ideas to give, I'd be curious.
(it’s not so much power scaling against stronger opponents as it is the MC scaling his power back to make it fair for weaker opponents), the way it’s played out in chapter 1 does add enough interest that I was curious to see how the MC used his new deck, since it wasn’t a complete landslide victory for him.
Also, the early opponents are weaker and he has type advantage against them. He won't be winning all the games he plays and the games he wins won't all be easy. Plus there is more to the story than just the duels themselves. There are characters, mysteries, drama, and friendship too!
So I can’t say I have a conclusive grasp on this story, since I’m not quite the audience for it and it remains to be seen just how much interest the MC’s handicapped deck will create.
I don't think I would expect any reader to have a conclusive grasp on the story from just the Prologue and Chapter One. Props to you for tying, though!
My overall impression is that you don't really like it, but it's not to the point where you hate it. Small mercies, I guess. It seems to boil down to this not being the kind of fic you enjoy. Thank you for being kind and having some good things to say about it too. I do think if you end up reviewing it again the experience will be more like Chapter 1 than the Prologue, so I think your average experience with the fic would be better than this initial one, for what that's worth. Also, if you like seriousness, the fic does get more serious along with the stakes as it goes.
Thanks again for taking the time to read and review!
Mew closed her eyes. "I have been defeated... Per the agreement, only Mister Gentleman will die."
I looked towards the other table.
Isaac was crying hard into his arm, while holding Nikki with the other as she cried on him. Neither of them looked capable of speaking at the moment or even watching...
As for Rick, he seemed strangely at peace with things or perhaps deep in thought.
Mew floated to the silver stage and spoke flatly. "The execution will be from one Solarbeam attack from me. It will take about ten seconds to charge in this environment. Mister Gentleman is to remain in place. If he tries to run, I will kill everyone else too."
Hah! As if I would bother running from a being as powerful as Mew. Besides, I had already decided I would face my end with dignity. But more importantly, this was still the only way I knew to keep my friends safe.
Rick approached me as he spoke. "Mister Gentleman, I'm going to stand beside you. That way you have someone with you at the end."
I chuckled. "You aren't worried you will get caught in the fire?"
Rick shook his head. "I trust Mew's aim."
Mew spoke from the stage. "Goodbyes take too long, so I will proceed immediately... Ten."
Mew began to glow from her entire body as points of light were pulled out of the air from seemingly nothing and were coalescing at the tip of her right index finger as she pointed at me.
I supposed things going fast was easier than trying to figure out what to say...
"Nine." Her finger was now brighter than the rest of her.
I chuckled. "What a crazy life, eh?"
"Eight."
Rick nodded. "You did well."
I noticed Mew was counting kind of slowly. I supposed she must have been trying to give me a little time. A final parting gift, it seemed.
"Seven."
I glanced towards him. "You get enough feathers?"
"Six."
Rick smiled. "Had enough ages ago..."
"Five."
I closed my eyes. "You're a pretty cool guy, Rick."
"Four."
Rick sighed. "Don't call me pretty."
"Three."
I chuckled as I pulled out my diary offering it to Rick. "Here. Once I'm gone, it's yours."
"Two."
Rick grabbed it and tossed it to the side. "Don't want it catching fire."
Isaac and Nikki slowly rose from their seats and gingerly approached the ashes of Tango.
Isaac spoke first. "I can't believe I kicked you... rest in peace, you brave bird..."
Nikki closed her eyes and held her gardening book to her chest with both hands.
Rick knelt down. "The body of a Doduo... May I?"
I nodded. "Sure. He'd probably want you to have it anyway."
Rick pulled out a vial from his lab coat and filled it with some ashes. He capped it and deposited the filled vial in another pocket. He then reached out for Tango's dog tags that were still intact amidst the ashes and stopped. "Huh?"
He then put his hands into the ashes and pulled out an object. The object looked like a big black rock. Perhaps like a small meteor.
Rick scratched his head with his other hand. "What the..."
Mew spoke. "It is his core. The core of a Doduo."
Rick turned towards Mew with a raised eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
Mew levitated on her side like she was about to take a nap. Her hands were used a makeshift pillow. "The core of a Doduo is that through which its essence flows and allows them to regenerate. There are only two known ways to destroy one. The first is by an Aeroblast attack. The other is a Sacred Fire attack."
I held a hand at my chest. "Does this mean..."
Mew nodded. "Tango will regenerate from his core. In fact... It has already begun."
Rick placed the core down on the floor as we gathered around looking down in wonder.
Tiny feathers began sprouting from it! Once the core was covered with them, it began to grow slowly over the next several minutes as the feathers grew and multiplied.
Rick was recording the entire spectacle on his phone.
Once the core reached Tango's normal body size, it stopped growing. Tiny legs, feet, necks, and heads sprouted. After a moment, those also grew in size! After a while longer, Tango's body was restored, but he still wasn't moving...
The entire process was completely silent. If it did make any noise, a sensitive mic would likely be needed.
Mew continued reclining in the air. "Now that his body is regenerated, his brains should catch up. At that point, he will awaken, as if from a nap."
Sure enough, a couple minutes went by and Tango opened his eyes!
He was groggy at first with his eyes half open as he stretched and yawned with both heads. I'm not sure he realized where he was. Suddenly, his eyes widened! He looked about frantically for a moment and then over himself, seemingly expecting to be missing a limb or the other head. He then gave a nervous smile and... fainted.
I couldn't blame the poor bird!
Mew waved a hand in the air like asking a mom for five more minutes of sleep. "The near-death experience has exhausted him. He will be fine after he gets some rest."
Rick turned towards Mew. "So, your duel is over, but you have been waiting here with us... Why?"
Mew stretched and levitated over towards the conference table. "Gather round, everyone. I'll fill you in."
Sure? Why not?
I started walking as did Rick and Nikki.
Isaac crossed his arms. "I think we've danced to your tune long enough."
Mew threw her hands up in the air. "So what? You don't want to know why all this went down? Perhaps you want to stand? Doesn't matter to me since I can just float, but I thought you might prefer the comfy chair!"
Isaac stared at her. I imagined he was squinting behind his sunglasses. He then slowly started walking towards the chairs glaring at Mew the entire way.
Soon we were all seated.
Mew's arms stretched across the armrests as her eyes were closed. "I'm not sure any of you recognize my current form, but it is that of Doctor Wem, the college professor who taught Mister Gentleman the finer points of the TCG. I am both Mew and... Wem."
Ah, so she didn't want me to tell anyone prior to my near-death experience!
The hurricane that was still raging now faded away replaced by the hill again!
Rick put one of his palms to his face. "Ugh! Wem is just Mew BACKWARDS... How could I miss such an obvious clue!?"
Mew laughed. "I looked with my power to find the most obvious name I could get away with using. Moments like this make it totally worth it!"
Nikki tried to keep herself from laughing but didn't quite manage. "Pfft! This is so ridiculous! I thought about it earlier, but assumed there was no way it could be true!"
Isaac smiled. "That's our Nikki for you. She's a clever one! But, I have no idea who 'Wem' is supposed to be."
Nikki stopped laughing but was still smiling. "She was this crazy strong instructor at the university. Rick told me about her once."
Mew nodded. "Indeed. Oh, and I'm also the Oracle."
As I stepped out of my front door, my eyes landed on a particularly rotund Doduo. Clearly, it was the one that followed me home the day before yesterday! It was asleep with both its heads!
Apparently my Scyther-themed mailbox was not on the approved list of mon for the neighborhood! Now all I had was that dull Doduo mailbox in its place...
How dare the HOA not approave of the best pokemon! How dare they. (also agony, it seems even in the idyllic absurdity of this world, the evils of HOA cannot be escaped.
The collar was old and worn. Dirt encrusted every inch of it. If it had a color before, it was certainly brown now. It had a dog-tag attached, and even though it was worn, I was able to make out letters on it: 'go'. Go? Go where? I turned it over to find a male symbol on it.
"Ah, it seems we share a gender, dear bird."
Out of the corner of my eye, Doduo appeared to have... grinned for a moment? Perhaps it was my imagination.
I next inspected the right one next and found it in a similar condition to the first one. This one had the letters 'tan' on it. The back of this tag was empty.
Well, I supposed Doduo was rather 'tan' in color and certainly a creature that 'goes' quite fast!
I then had an idea. If this bird should follow me about everywhere, I might as well give it a nickname!
There was one hanging in every club. It read: 'Doduo owners are responsible for the cleaning of any feathers left behind. Violators will be prosecuted.'
In the far right corner was one of the science club's quantum computers. It may have been old technology, but few households had their own quantum computer due to their cost and bulk.
I like that quantum computers are super old technology apparently. I wonder what this worlds quantum computers are like. I know ours first invented something pre-2000 i think but even today they're still massive things (I think). I assume their "bulk" here means closer to early era desktop computers that were fairly large, as opposed to the ones that are the size of a whole server room?
I held my chin with my right hand. "Do you always collect feathers that way? Were Gotan a human woman, you would likely be missing your hand right about now..."
Rick chuckled. "Oh trust me, I've dealt with enough Doduo to understand they PREFER it that way! They also tend to yield more feathers with such an approach. I don't pretend to understand it, but it is an observable law of Doduo."
I chuckled a bit as I shook my head. What was wrong with those birds?
"Unlike quantum phenomena, watching the feather dissolve does not change the behavior of the process. Curious things, Doduo are. Unless the old tales of the three legendary Pokemon gods are true, they are the only Pokemon to inhabit our world."
Rick held the flask up. "Mew of Neo island, Ho-oh of TCG Island, and Lugia of GR Island. I am not one to trust superstition though. If there are any Pokemon other than Doduo, we have yet to find any scientific evidence to support that hypothesis."
Also for some reason I guess because we were talking about a bird, my brain filled it in as "three legendary pokemon bird gods", Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Mew (also a bird).
I do enjoy this lore drop though! it has some really interesting implications. Lets be real, these are the best legendaries and all they need lol. I also sort of dig it because I like the idea of Ho-Oh and Lugia being special.
I have to say I did not expect this turn of events. I like when a story surprises me and I didn't forsee lawncare and beers happening.
Gotan is the best bird, thats all I have to say. I liked the burgeoning little friendship they have forming and Gotan's antics. He's such a weirdo and so memorable. I'm really curious where this diversion to study feathers will take them. At least Gentleman will get some free lawn care either way. The world itself continues to be as wacky as ever, with quantum computers being old and anti-grav tech being old news as well. Next thing time travel will be common... /j Also did you add Doduo expressions recently or are those new? I was rereading a few bits and I swear I don't remember seeing hem, or maybe it was just my hone display being wierd.
Anyways I wonder if his research will turn up anything interesting and if this is the start of some new friendship between him and Rick. Guess I'll find out soon!
How dare the HOA not approave of the best pokemon! How dare they. (also agony, it seems even in the idyllic absurdity of this world, the evils of HOA cannot be escaped.
The absence of his old owner is a tale that ended in tragedy. Book Three(partially written but yet to be posted) will provide the full story to go with that.
I like that quantum computers are super old technology apparently. I wonder what this worlds quantum computers are like. I know ours first invented something pre-2000 i think but even today they're still massive things (I think). I assume their "bulk" here means closer to early era desktop computers that were fairly large, as opposed to the ones that are the size of a whole server room?
Also for some reason I guess because we were talking about a bird, my brain filled it in as "three legendary pokemon bird gods", Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Mew (also a bird).
I do really like them. They are the best ones in generation one and two. Mewtwo could be considered one of the best as well, but Mewtwo does not even have lore in this world beyond the card for it.
Gotan is the best bird, thats all I have to say. I liked the burgeoning little friendship they have forming and Gotan's antics. He's such a weirdo and so memorable.
When I first started my fic, I started going off on silly tangents supposing Doduo was a real bird with the Gentleman. Doduo in the deck is just meant as a punching bag meat shield while building up more important mon. That's because Doduo's attack sucks but it has good HP, free retreat cost, and fighting(/rock/ground) resistance. So, naturally Doduo loves pain and taking hits. As the fic got more serious, I had to come up with a backstory that would make that make sense. I'm pretty satisfied with the result!
Anti-gravity is perhaps the most eye-popping bit of old technology. But I'm just working with what the game gave us. Team GR in the story of the game invades and uses blimps that suck up cards with some kind of UFO beam thing. Looked like anti-gravity to me, so that's what I rolled with! Typically things in the game are explained rather than disregarded.
If time travel WERE in it, it would NOT be common! Can you imagine how much of a headache that would be to manage plot for? But I am a fan of time travel mechanics in general!
Also did you add Doduo expressions recently or are those new? I was rereading a few bits and I swear I don't remember seeing hem, or maybe it was just my hone display being wierd.
They are new! I added credit for them to the intro. I was hoping I would have them in there before your review, but looks like they came slightly too late for that. I do still edit chapters as I go. I'm both writing new ones and editing old ones. Most of Book One should be pretty intact at this point. I don't think there will be too many major edits from here for it.
: "Our world has three islands: TCG Island, where we are now; GR Island is to the east; and Neo Island, which is between the other two, but far north of them. The rest of our world is nothing but ocean."
Billy crossed his arms. "Doesn't our world seem kinda small to you?"
I love that you took the bare bone world of the game and played it completely straight. Fics that take a completely wild idea and then seriously examine every implication of it are some of my favourites, it makes them so incredibly unique. Also it makes for good comedy and lampshade hanging.
So it makes sense that he joined the Fire club since even his champion deck was all Fire themed, but does that imply that people have to decide on an type and stick with it?
What happens if someone wants to -god forbid - play with more decks of different types? Is changing Clubs allowed?
Not a critique, just something that got me wondering!
I could never live in this world if you have to stick with a single club you whole life lol
They all seemed to have at least a basic knowledge of the game, but compared to Doctor Wem and myself, their tactics were woefully predicable and limited... They also didn't seem to grasp the concept of optimizing their decks. Such a perplexing phenomenon...
If a group of foreigners invaded our land, held our people hostage and stole most of our cards, the only way to stop them would be by winning duels against them in the Pokemon Trading Card Game!"
I quoted this to wonder "oooh tragic backstory hint?" but it got explained right away lol love that you gave so much backstory to two npcs in the game!
I nodded. "An understandable reaction. I believe Rock Club Master, Gene put it best: 'To truly show ones resolve at the Pokemon TCG, one must endure the hard ground. Only when one reaches the heights of skill should they return to the tables as a symbol of honor. Even us leaders dare not presume to use a table commonly.'
What's more is that with Weedle having 50HP, I could attack it with Voltorb for 10 damage with Thundershock maybe paralyze it and then next turn retreat and finish it off with Fireworks!
I think there should be another comma after "Thundershock" and "paralyze", it's a bit of a long winded sentence otherwise!
So, the first impression of the overhauled version is definitely night and day compared to the first version I read! I really like how you used the prologue to set up both some wordlbuilding and to explain the care game in a fun, not too serious way. The first chapter has a good balance of showing us how the card matches play out but without bogging the chapter down too much.
Maybe one thing I would do is try to interspersed some more narration in the match. Even just something small like "I waited as the coin spun into the air, hoping that it would land on heads" or something like that.
But I understand that's it's a very difficult balance to achieve, because a single match would become enormous if you had to narrate everything. Then again, it wasn't an "important" match yet, so it makes sense that the narration wouldn't put that much emphasis on it.
Still, the improvements you made were definitely incredible, really, good job! I look forward to keep reading!
I love that you took the bare bone world of the game and played it completely straight. Fics that take a completely wild idea and then seriously examine every implication of it are some of my favourites, it makes them so incredibly unique. Also it makes for good comedy and lampshade hanging.
So it makes sense that he joined the Fire club since even his champion deck was all Fire themed, but does that imply that people have to decide on an type and stick with it?
Only duelists in clubs are required to embrace a particular type. But even then, they only need to include that type in their decks and can include one or more other types too! As for his original unrestricted deck, it used Psychic and Fire types in it, so he wasn't restricted to a single color.
Changing clubs IS allowed, but isn't something I have implemented. They never switch Clubs in the game, so I wanted to follow that in the fic. That way the decks in the game match the characters in the fic. I do, however, allow for Club Masters or GR Fortress Leaders to change. It is a very rare thing to happen though.
Understandable. However, TCG Island, as you will learn, is actually a pretty nice place to live. Both in the context of their own world and especially our own.
Yeah but that might make war fun. There would be wars started JUST so people could better test out decks they crafted! (Wait a minute... does the production of new weapons lead to wars started just to test them...??)
I quoted this to wonder "oooh tragic backstory hint?" but it got explained right away lol love that you gave so much backstory to two npcs in the game!
And yet, somehow the idea of dueling on the floor didn't occur to me until after I had written over 100k of the overall fic! It's one of the bits of lore that amuses me the most.
So the original chapter you read took place after the original Prologue. That original prologue was turned into both the prologue you just read plus all 38 remaining chapters of Book One.
Chapter 1 in the original was after Book One on GR Island. By the time you are done with Book One, Book Two will have a revised/enhanced chapter 1 compared to the one you previously read.
I'm curious if you tried out the sound track. It's nothing too special early on, but that's because I like to build up with it for more contrast with the later tracks.
Maybe one thing I would do is try to interspersed some more narration in the match. Even just something small like "I waited as the coin spun into the air, hoping that it would land on heads" or something like that.
But I understand that's it's a very difficult balance to achieve, because a single match would become enormous if you had to narrate everything. Then again, it wasn't an "important" match yet, so it makes sense that the narration wouldn't put that much emphasis on it.
Well, you are reading different plot than what you originally read from my fic. Still, I've put a ton of effort into the Prologue and Chapter 1 and even thought this takes place prior to what you originally read, your enjoyment of it seems much higher than your first review for me was. And that is music to my ears!
So, thanks for stopping in and feel free to reply to me again in here or by PM if you like. I enjoy discussions.
It's a good thing we were all sitting, because judging from the looks of shock on everyone's faces, I don't think any of us suspected that Mew was THE ORACLE!
Rick furrowed his brow. "So... the Oracle is just an act!?"
Mew crossed her arms. "No! ...Yes? Not exactly. I play the role faithfully! But... yeah I don't need any help from psychics. I gain answers with my ability to see the future and pretend to calculate it. In truth, AI on that level doesn't exist. It never has and I'll succeed in preventing it from ever being invented."
I raised my eyebrows. "Why is that?"
Mew interlaced her fingers and rested her hands on the table. "I've seen futures with AI and all of them end badly for humans. No living being would win if it were invented."
Rick stared into the distance. "That's what I was afraid of in my research projections on the topic... I always thought it was odd that our Oracle was benevolent and that no island had invented their own AI yet. Just because you forbade its invention as the Oracle never seemed a sufficient deterrent. But with your powers, I assume we have nothing to worry about?"
Mew closed her eyes and nodded. "As long as I exist, I will safeguard humanity. But I'm not here to make myself look good... I merely answered your questions truthfully..."
Rick leaned back in his chair. "So... my audience with the Oracle... Was this all about my request to make Nikki happy?"
Mew leaned forward propping her face up with her hand. "You're the scientist here, right? Analyze it."
Rick brought a hand to his chin. "Recalling my own words, I asked you to make Nikki happy again no matter what it took. It seems you took that quite literally... The Oracle helped Isaac understand he was wrong and reforged the friendship he had with Mister Gentleman, but trying to make up for lost time required more than that."
Isaac frowned. "It's true... he entered the first game as a way to save me even though walking away would have let him be with Nikki... I'll never doubt him again. He's my friend for life."
I rubbed my eyes... pesky water leaks!
Rick nodded. "Your friendship with Mister Gentleman is important to Nikki."
Nikki nodded with her eyes closed while she smiled. " Yes! It is! I've wanted Mister Gentleman to be friends with us again ever since I was little! I've missed him!"
Suddenly I was envious of Isaac and Rick for having glasses to obscure tears.
Isaac hung his head. "Yeah... And I did everything in my power to keep him away and attacked him..."
Thank goodness that was over...
Nikki reached her arm over and started rubbing his back.
Rick pushed his glasses up on his face. "Another part of Nikki's happiness was her love for Mister Gentleman. Completely unexpressed, it saddened her. Mew created the circumstances to allow her to be honest with her feelings which took a weight off of all involved."
Isaac smiled. "It's true. Those honest answers proved that I can trust her! There is no one she loves more than me." He reached over and grabbed Nikki's hand causing Nikki to blush.
I watched forlornly at their happiness as I felt both cheerful for them yet sad for myself... Would I ever find love?
Ah, ████... It's going to be ok!! You won't be alone forever. There is someone you will meet... Until then, chin up!
I felt a serene warmth in my heart. As if a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders... There would be a light at the end of this lonely tunnel! I felt gratitude to Mew for being kind enough to tell me. I also began wondering what kind of girl this mysterious girlfriend would be...
Rick interlaced his fingers and rested them on the table. "Obviously all this has improved Nikki's marriage. But another thing she wanted, was for everyone to get along, right?"
Nikki smiled and nodded.
Rick smiled. "Mister Gentleman gave his own life to protect you."
I cleared my throat. "Well, let's also not forget you trying to jump in to save me! What were you thinking? There was no WAY you could stop that attack! Even Tango barely managed!"
Rick closed his eyes as he smiled awkwardly. "Uh... well... It was a snap decision... I didn't want to see you die! I realized how dumb it was immediately after... Too late by that point..."
I put my hands on my head. "I don't know what we would have done if Tango wasn't there! Thank Mew for- huh... that phrase sounds kind of weird now..."
Everyone in the room including Mew got a laugh out of that one.
Rick held up his lucky chalk. "Ah, but Mew must have foreseen Tango's attempt to help and knew he would revive from it. I'll bet that was her plan!"
Mew closed her eyes and nodded. "Quite right, Rick."
Rick looked up at the picturesque sky. "If we look at the overall effect... I think everyone will agree that we are all far closer to each other now than before we set foot in this room..."
In silence, each of us nodded.
Isaac crossed his arms. "What about her methods? She made every single person here cry, even you, Rick!"
Rick blushed. "And we shall never speak of it again... As for her methods... What do you guys think?"
I shook my head. "Honestly, I'm a bit shell shocked from the whole ordeal..."
Nikki chimed in next as she held her face in her hands. "I got to kiss Mister Gentleman! There is no way I could have done that otherwise! A little bit of pain for all we gained? Mew, thank you so much!"
Isaac rolled his head back in a way that suggested he was rolling his eyes heavily. "Yeah and now it's probably going to be all she talks about for a week..."
Rick and I got a chuckle from it.
Nikki's eyes went wide. "That's not true! Just you wait to see what I have in store for youtonight, love..."
Isaac arched his eyebrows and slowly leaned back in his chair with a grin. "I take it back! ...screw the methods!"
Rick smiled holding up his chalk. "Hmm, yes... But I don't think it will be the methods..."
Everyone in the room, including Mew, was laughing at that one.
Finally, Mew spoke again. "Rick, you are by FAR the biggest pain to grant requests for! I haven't had to work this hard for someone in centuries!"
Rick frowned. "Yeah, and I'm not done yet. I guess everyone is just happy that no one died, but I'm not that easy. You lied to us, threatened us, and essentially took us hostage. Do you honestly believe your ends justified the means? Just how much of this did you look into the future for?"
Isaac nodded.
Mew really had crossed some lines. I couldn't blame Rick here.
Mew bit her thumb. "But I didn't kill anyone! Tango doesn't mind being hurt! Everything is better now!"
Rick stared at her.
Mew closed her eyes and frowned. "...I'm sorry. I only looked into the future to find the best path for Nikki... I didn't consider the collateral damage..."
Rick crossed his arms. "Now that you know, who do you think is the most offended by your actions?"
Mew grimaced as she looked away. "You... As the Oracle, it's my duty to treat all TCG Island citizens with respect and love, but in how I handled your request, I've mistreated you. Is there some way I can make it up to you, Rick?"
Rick smiled. "It just so happens that there is."
Mew nodded. "Then name your price."
Rick held up his index finger. "First, I want a free extra Oracle audience for everyone here. And free counseling to any of us who want it."
Mew closed her eyes. "Done. What else?"
Rick pulled out his notepad. "You could answer some of my immediate questions."
Mew leaned back in her chair. "Fair. Shoot."
Rick pushed his glasses up on his face. "You mentioned when you woke up that you already had your philosophy. Do you ever change or adapt it?"
Mew looked down with he eyes darting about. "No... I don't! Hold on... Oh my!"
Rick gripped the edge of the table. "What?! What is it!?"
Mews eyes were wide. "I don't understand it! When I try to use my psychic power to directly modify or erase part of my own philosophy... it MOVES!"
Rick tilted his head. "Come again?"
Mew bit the edge of the nail on her thumb. "This doesn't make any sense! I always thought I was just sure of myself... but that isn't it! This philosophy is something I can never change or remove! I also cannot feel remorse from what it leads me to do or prevent it... What am I?"
What was she? A being who used the free will she had to bring hearts together. A being who watched over our Island and taught me how to be a champion.
You don't understand. I've actively enabledatrocities... They are all my fault and I can't even feel bad about them. Instead, I feel... satisfied. I think I might be a monster.
No. She was wrong. There was a part of her that was very much not a monster.
Do you think I play the Oracle because I prefer the world like this island? I don't. I prefer a contrast. A horrible place for every good one. And now I've learned that it's not even really ME!
Not all of her was her philosophy... And maybe it was a philosophy she created long ago for herself for a good reason, but forgot? Perhaps she saw a distant future, erased her own memory, and put a psychic block on her own mind to ensure things went according to plan? Everything she did today could certainly make a case for something like that...
Thank you, ████. I was really starting to feel scared... Your girlfriend is going to be so lucky...
Was she feeling sad? But surely one with such a long life would find love if she strove for it!
...I've never been able to be my true self with anyone... My friendships have helped, but they've never seen the real me. I've never had a real romance before.
Well, if that were the case, she would need to open up and be with someone who knew the full story.
I'm not sure such a person exists. I dare not look into my future, because if it confirms my fear... I don't think I could handle it. Besides... I'm not even a real woman. I'm just a fake... Less than human.
I didn't think I'd ever heard a sadder way for a person to view themselves. She had feelings and a body. She was not less of a person and any of her previous friends would probably attest to that. Had things played out a bit differently, I might have even taken her offer long ago. She should hope and continue to take solace in friendships until someday she might find something more.
Apparently the entire psychic conversation played out in a matter of seconds! I reasoned Mew's power must have enhanced the speed of my brain during it!
A quick wink from Mew confirmed.
Rick was looking down at the table, oblivious to my discussion with Mew. "In other words, anything you do for your philosophy, you are compelled to do! Be it moral or not!"
Mew slowly nodded. "I can't feel sorrow for it, but I recognize that I should and I feel bad about that... I hope that counts for something..."
Rick crossed his arms. "This is quite the predicament... It also sounds like something worth investigating. Would my help be of use?"
Mew's eyes widened. "You'd be willing to help me?"
Rick smiled. "I'm guessing I am the only one you could trust who might be able to help."
Mew blushed slightly as she looked off to the side. "Thank you, Rick. I think that is the nicest thing anyone has ever offered to do for me..."
Rick shook his head while smiling. "Don't mention it." He then tilted his head to the side as he looked up at the sky. "So, what kinds of things does your philosophy cause you to do that are bad? You seem to do a great job here as the Oracle..."
Mew was biting her thumb again. "I can't tell you... I can't let the others know..."
Rick put a hand to his chin. "You can't let the others know. You can't tell me because the others would know? Are you able to tell if it's only me?"
Mew frowned as she looked away. "The responsibility I carry is staggering... having someone else share it would be unfair to them..."
Rick tapped a finger on the table. "Perhaps later then."
Rick held his hands out on the table in front of him. "This next one really wigs me out, but I think this might be the only safe place to ask... Why are all the immigrants from Neo Island clones?"
Isaac did a double-take nearly falling out of his chair in the process.
Nikki looked like she had seen a ghost.
Mew yawned. "This one is old news. I figured it out centuries ago... Somewhere in the ocean is an invisible line. This line separates the area around Neo Island from the rest of the world. Passing that line transforms people into identical clones of each other. Returning back transforms them back into their original bodies. Ergo, Neo natives for us are clones, but when we go to Neo... we become clones ourselves."
Everyone's jaws hung open.
Mew held up a finger. "There's more. If you have any Pokemon Cards with you, when you cross that line they disappear. When you come back over the line again, they reappear. It goes both directions. This makes it impossible for us to own or use any cards from Neo Island and vice-versa."
Isaac massaged his forehead with his fingers. "No wonder I never hear of anyone going on a vacation to Neo Island or why we never seem to get any tourists from there!"
I put my hands on my head. "Why is this not common knowledge?!"
Mew crossed her arms. "It was at one point... Eventually people forgot, but every now and then, a new investigation crops up. People get panicked when learning it, so I usually erase memories to prevent chaos. Uses less power that way. Unfortunately, I have to do the same thing on GR Island too. It was fun letting you retain your memories of it though!"
Rick gripped his arms. "That sounds completely insane! What kind of mechanism could create such an effect?!"
Mew shook her head. "There appears to be no machine running the effect. There is also no way to analyze or replicate it."
All of us were silent after that.
Mew had to be the one to speak again. "Yeah... this is exactly why I don't like telling people. Keep it a secret, would you? Also, don't tell anyone I'm the Oracle or Doctor Wem."
Everyone agreed.
Rick blinked a moment and jotted a few notes. He started speaking as he continued to write. "Murray once told us there was more to Tango than his name, was he talking about the core or something else?"
Mew nodded. "Very perceptive, Rick! But that is a question I cannot answer. The same information Murray had is the same information I have."
Rick tapped his pen against the table "Very well. In that case, what IS the core of a Doduo? What is inside it?"
Mew's eyes widened in fear as her whole body glowed. She spoke in our minds with panic! "Madness! Paradox! The taste of blue... The sound of red... The texture of green. Bright sound! Too many examples to count and ALL of them at once! Neveragain will I attempt to peer inside one with my power... I nearly went irreversibly insane from just a few seconds of it!"
Rick dropped his pen and pad with his mouth open.
Everyone else was speechless.
Mew transformed again to take the usual apparel of Doctor Wem.
I tilted my head.
Mew stared at the table and spoke monotone. "I like the lab coat. It makes me feel safe. So do the glasses..."
Given what she had just recalled, I couldn't say I blamed her...
Rick frowned. "I had no idea there was something so traumatic for you. I'm pretty sure that experience was worse than anything you put us through. Please accept my apologies for that. Also, that's all the questions I have for the moment. Are you ready for my last request?"
Mew transformed back to her previous attire as she stared into the distance. "You couldn't have known... But yes, I am ready."
Rick stood up and pointed his chalk at Mew. "Be my friend."
Mew's eyes widened as her mouth hung open. "HUH!?"
Rick grinned. "I have so MANY questions that I want to ask you. I don't want to be limited to a single visit!"
Mew laughed. "Rick! You are unbelievable! I've never had a human friend who knew my identities before..."
Mew squinted and raised an eyebrow. "Are you only asking because you want more questions answered later?"
Rick smiled as he shook his head. "I've searched a long time for clues about legendary Pokemon. I love learning things. You may have done some bad things, but you did them to try to make things better. I don't think you are inherently bad and I think having a good friend might help you treat people better. Beyond that, I must admit you intrigue me. I bet there are all sorts of things we could research together."
Mew grinned. "You know what? I've never done this before, but yes! I accept! That makes it too easy for me though after all I've put you through... I've decided. I'm going to give you a very special gift. It's one I can only give out once."
I couldn't help but wonder why she never offered it to me if she liked me enough to ask me out on a date. Then again, I suppose I did reject her...
Ah, ████. It hurt being rejected. I knew it needed to happen, but I wanted to let you know how I felt. As for the gift, there is a reason I did not give it to you. As a very rare exception, you would not benefit from it! Besides, I'll bet the gift I did give you was enjoyable...
The sandwich! How did she make it so good?!
Simple! I used my power to look into the future to find the perfect food for what you wanted at the time. After that, it was just a matter of making it. I did need to gather ingredients fresh from three different islands, but with my teleportation, it was a cinch!
Note to self: beg Rick to ask Mew to make me food...
Mew rolled her eyes. So dramatic! I'll probably make you some on occasion... It did make me pretty happy to hear you regretted rejecting me since that's as close as I can get to you.
Rick smiled. "I have no problems accepting a gift. What is it?"
Mew held a finger to her lips. "It's a secret, but I'll tell you a little about it. It will open your mind to new possibilities and grant you the ability to overcome your weakness."
Rick tilted his head. "A bit vague, but fine."
Mew nodded and floated over to Rick. She then placed her hands on Rick's shoulders and pressed her forehead to his forehead. A light purple glow enveloped them both. Within seconds the glow dimmed from around Mew and lingered on Rick. Mew let go and floated back a few feet. Within a few more seconds the glow faded around Rick.
He then looked over his body and his hands, squeezing and releasing them as he sat back down. "Hmm... I don't feel any different..."
Mew transformed her look back to the lab coat and glasses.
She leaned over near Rick. "Of course you won't FEEL different! It's not that kind of gift. Honestly, it's going to make being your friend even more interesting. I can't wait to see what you do with it!"
Sit here and listen to him drunkenly ramble about things, or join him in the rambling... One or the other. Which should I choose? Did it matter? What did I WANT to do? Decisions, decisions...
Rick took off his glasses and squinted at me. "Dude, you could just say eleven if it's that good."
I shook my head vigorously. "NO! It breaks the scale! Shatters it to little pieces. What you THINK breaks the scale it breaks EVEN HARDER! I want to chomp it! NOW!"
I moved to the REAL couch. "You know, I've only been drunk once before but I don't remember much about it! I always thought you were supposed to speak improperly when drunk with slurring of words and such, but look at me! I can speak perfectly normal! I must be special!"
"Yeah... Nikki is so perfect. I had to become champion so I could be worthy of asking her out...but she dated Isaac and married him before I could get there..."
Rick acted like his hands were an explosion coming out from his brain. "DUDE! What the MEW! Nikki kept saying the SAME KIND OF CRAP!" he then started talking in a voice meant to poorly imitate his sister, "oh the gentleman is so amazing! He's so good at the Pokemon TCG! I need to get better at it so I can catch up to him or he won't want to ask me out!"
I looked at Rick. "What... are you talking about."
Rick held his head in his hands. "MY DUDE! YOU ARE THICK AS A TREEEEE! Nikki would NOT shut UP about you! Do you know how annoying it was?! I almost went and told you to date her and I was in the middle of my SCIENCE PROJECT!"
NOOOOO You guys are so DUMB. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, maybe both. Truly a tragedy. Two people each thinking they need to do more to be allowed to date the other.
I gripped the sides of my head. "Why am I even here?! I got this Champion title that was supposed to MEAN something but I have NOTHING!"
Rick was spacing out. "Dude, I don't know. That's pretty deep, man. Like, you can have all this stuff and title, but if it doesn't make you happy, like what's the point, man? I don't really what I'm doing either... I just research crap. It's cool figuring stuff out. Somehow I get money for it."
It really is an interesting idea and I enjoy circling back around to this. I always wish I saw a bit more of this sometimes from mainline, like champions who pursued their goal and got their but didn't vibe. Didn't feel as fufilling as they hoped.
Rick stumbled over from the recliner and plopped down next to me on the couch while putting his arm on my shoulder. "You know, dude? You're alright. You did all that to try to make Nikki happy. Ima be your wing-man ok? I need more feathers from that crazy bird of yours, so Ima just follow you around and pick up feathers, but if there's a chick you dig, I use some science or crap to get her to notice you..."
Rick had used his back-pack style vacuum, the Feathermaster 5,000, to suck up the feathers outside earlier before we were ready to leave. Still wearing it, now he would only suck up the occasional feather as Gotan molted them. I had no idea how that bird molted so frequently, but was pleased not to have to pick up feathers. Rick also intended to record the data of my matches.
During the battle, I noticed something I had never seen before. The Doduo I played appeared connected to my real-life Doduo next to me! Gotan was taking attacks by Erik's Pokemon cards! Each time he was hit, Gotan would smile as his feathers went everywhere. This crazy bird loved being attacked!
I know we got a hint of this during the Gentleman's tutorial, but this is one time I feel like we should add a teensy bit more focus/detail again. This one here is the first instance of Gotan's mysterious Doduo power manifesting. It feels like its mentioned more like an afterthought almost, instead of a focus?
This is merely my personal take but I think an extra few lines of descriptive here instead would do it a favor, since this phenomenon is a first.
Overally I really enjoyed this detour. Drunks rambling is always good for comedy, and it brings in some nice character moments too, with gentleman reminiscing about his lost love and lost opportunity, and learning that Nikki once felt the same. Also we more friendship building! I think the drunk writing itself was solid and made me chuckle, so I can't complain much and it seems like Rick will be important to the story.
I benched Ponyta, retreated Doduo for free due to it's zero retreat cost to bring out Ponyta, attached Fire Energy to it, and attached with Fireworks for 20 damage doubled to 40 due to weakness, providing the exact damage needed to KO his mon! Since he was out of mon, that made me the victor.
BRUTAL my gosh. This reminds me of matches in the PTCG app where I get a lucky one turn KO in. I feel bad for him but thems the way the cards turn sometimes hah.
I do like that he made a choice based on what might make for more fun play. I think it showcases his character mindset towards battles well. Likes a bit of a gamble but also giving himself more opportunity and chances.
Nothing like coin flips failing . I've played enough PTCG to screech at this. Good thing it wasn't a desperate moment. See, this is why I try to never rely on coinflip cards Gentleman, they fail at the worst times lol.
Was it my imagination or did Gotan seem disappointed by this turn of events? I reasoned that would be ridiculous and that I read entirely too much into that dumb bird...
Hmmm I wonder if Gotan is a little jealous. Also BAD gentleman, pokemon are friends and very smart! I hope you wise up soon, silly Gentleman.
I see Rick really is joining the squad, can't wait to see how this goes over! free feather cleaning!
VICTORY!! Seeing Gentleman sweep through the Science club was satisfying. I almost wouldn't have thought it would be possible to make it this was that goes to show what know lol. I wonder what Gentleman will do if he runs into a roadblock or stronger opponents. And now he's headed to the Fire Club, and won't have any advantages. Not that he had one in the science club but I expect Fire Club will be a good deal stronger.
Truly detestable, how dare people not be appreciating Scyther!! Unless this means more people like Sycther and bought up all the fans? I find it funny that between this and the mailbox, Scyther and Doduo seem like the only merch options in this world.
A young boy nearby was about to reach out and touch the flame.
Just then, GOTAN made a dash and touched the fire first with one of his heads! He then screeched, running around with his head on fire before beating it into the floor to put out the flame.
The kid started laughing uncontrollably and forgot all about wanting to touch the flame.
The club was on one of the relative corners of our vaguely square shaped island. It was also attached to the side of an actual volcano, the only one on TCG island, in fact!
While the volcano always had lava inside and rings of smoke that would rise from it, there was no historical record of it ever having erupted. The same held true for the one on GR Island as well as the one on Neo Island.
According to deep sea scientific discoveries, only deep-sea volcanoes ever had any evidence of actual eruption.
Another piece of delightfully unhinged lore. Can't even find fault with this considering Blaine made his gym ABOVE a volcano that was active?? Truly people in the pokemon world love their volcanoes, especially if they like fire things.
Good thing only the deep sea ones here erupt.
He stared eagerly. "All-commons? Is that some kind of joke? No one can beat me with all commons. Not even a Champion! I look forward to seeing you try..."
The moment our shake ended, John spoke up. "I'm not surprised that you beat Adam. He's always been weak. Unlike me! All my training has paid off in spades and its time for me to end your all-common reign!"
John used Arcanine, Ninetales, Rapidash, and Magmar.
The setup of the game went poorly. I had no viable attack options and was left with only Doduo, Porygon, and one Voltorb to work with. My gambler card malfunctioned resulting in tails for the coin flip needed to make the card work so I was unable to draw enough cards. I eventually took down his Magmar, but he had built up too much momentum on his field by that point and I simply was not drawing enough cards to compensate for it. He whittled me down faster than I could do so to him and the game resulted in my first loss with the deck.
Oof ouch, I didn't see his win-streak ending so harshly here, all because of bad luck.
I was almost gonna say this loss should be a more explained battle but I changed my mind, I think this method serves the story well, especially since its not a loss of skill or a special opponent. It was just bad luck of the draw, as sometimes happens in TCG. Still dang, i was mad for Gentleman here, to lose the arrogant one.
Jonathan chimed in. "I wouldn't get too full of yourself there, John. Do you really think that's what the Champion's deck is made of? I think it's pretty obvious how unlucky he was in that match. If you want to brag, do it after beating him two more times in a row."
I think this posits an interesting question of how wins are seen in-universe for TCG. Wins and losses in the anime for example, often give off an energy of being black/white. Either you're strong enough to win or you lost and basically you'll never beat the person at your current strength level.
This sort of reminds me of Beyblade though (Burst), where there's strongest bladers and legends, but they can lose here and there and still be considered legends/champions. I think that makes a lot more sense, given how TCG battles are like 80% skills and 20% luck. You need to be able to win consistently to be considered goodor take pride in a win I guess, as opposed to a lucky break or everything going wrong for your opponent.
Which as we find, he definitely can't do. Sweet retribtuion!
I have a feeling this battle will be interesting perhaps. I have to stop here for now but I am very interested. The characters who don't brag are the scariest, and Ken admitting how strong Jonathan is getting does make him feel like a real threat here.
We return to the Gentleman's old stomping grounds, get our first real loss in this chapter, and some good wins. I have to say, this loss doesn't really feel like a loss at all, since it was more like a freak accident, which is interesting. Barely even counts as a loss either, since Gentleman and everyone else doesn't see it as such. Now i've got myself looking forward to seeing how he'll handle if he has a real proper loss. A bad play or outwitted by his opponent.
I can't really pick a favorite chapter from this bunch easily, lots of great moments throughout each. I think the Fire Club is the most memorable, but the dialogue and humor in 4 with Rick was pretty amusing. All in all, I don't think I have any major complaints or critique. I expect when I get further to the end I'll say more crit, since I'll have a fuller picture of the story, but as far, nothing stands out as erroneous or slow. If I had to pick 5 doesn't stand out quite so strong but I think it feels relevant to bridging the chapters and showing him and Rick. So yeah, not really a critique there (I hope thats okay hah, I can't think of anything specific yet that I think genuinely needs fixing).
Except this Gentleman needs to get his head on straight and start appreciating Gotan more and stop thinking of him as dumb, he's clearly a genius (when he's not setting his own head on fire). Smh.
NOOOOO You guys are so DUMB. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, maybe both. Truly a tragedy. Two people each thinking they need to do more to be allowed to date the other.
It really is an interesting idea and I enjoy circling back around to this. I always wish I saw a bit more of this sometimes from mainline, like champions who pursued their goal and got their but didn't vibe. Didn't feel as fufilling as they hoped.
I know we got a hint of this during the Gentleman's tutorial, but this is one time I feel like we should add a teensy bit more focus/detail again. This one here is the first instance of Gotan's mysterious Doduo power manifesting. It feels like its mentioned more like an afterthought almost, instead of a focus?
Good point. I went back and changed around the wording some and added some more detail. It's nothing too crazy. I mean it's just a Doduo taking a Pokemon attack just like in the games or show. But I agree some more attention was warranted there.
Overally I really enjoyed this detour. Drunks rambling is always good for comedy, and it brings in some nice character moments too, with gentleman reminiscing about his lost love and lost opportunity, and learning that Nikki once felt the same. Also we more friendship building! I think the drunk writing itself was solid and made me chuckle, so I can't complain much and it seems like Rick will be important to the story.
BRUTAL my gosh. This reminds me of matches in the PTCG app where I get a lucky one turn KO in. I feel bad for him but thems the way the cards turn sometimes hah.
Mood. Poor David, I'd be furious. Almost feels a fluke. But then as we see, Gentleman is just that good
I do like that he made a choice based on what might make for more fun play. I think it showcases his character mindset towards battles well. Likes a bit of a gamble but also giving himself more opportunity and chances.
Thanks! I do enjoy the way I play the game. (All duels are part of the let's play aspect. I play a duel in the game with his deck against the corresponding opponent in the game.)
Nothing like coin flips failing . I've played enough PTCG to screech at this. Good thing it wasn't a desperate moment. See, this is why I try to never rely on coinflip cards Gentleman, they fail at the worst times lol.
Well, Professor Oak is an uncommon card and Computer Search is a rare. If he wants card-draw, the only things he can use for that have coin-flips. Running 4 Bill is not enough. He (I) normally hate using cards that need coin-flips, but the all common challenge demanded their use.
Also BAD gentleman, pokemon are friends and very smart! I hope you wise up soon, silly Gentleman.
I see Rick really is joining the squad, can't wait to see how this goes over! free feather cleaning!
VICTORY!! Seeing Gentleman sweep through the Science club was satisfying. I almost wouldn't have thought it would be possible to make it this was that goes to show what know lol. I wonder what Gentleman will do if he runs into a roadblock or stronger opponents. And now he's headed to the Fire Club, and won't have any advantages. Not that he had one in the science club but I expect Fire Club will be a good deal stronger.
Truly detestable, how dare people not be appreciating Scyther!! Unless this means more people like Sycther and bought up all the fans? I find it funny that between this and the mailbox, Scyther and Doduo seem like the only merch options in this world.
Another piece of delightfully unhinged lore. Can't even find fault with this considering Blaine made his gym ABOVE a volcano that was active?? Truly people in the pokemon world love their volcanoes, especially if they like fire things.
Good thing only the deep sea ones here erupt.
Part of the arrogant dialogue was inspired from the dialogue in the game. Most of the time I make the characters what I want, but sometimes I let their in-game dialogue flavor my creative choices.
I always find it funny when the opponents in the game are so sure of themselves. Then I pull out my unrestricted deck and if they were able to know how badly I would beat them with it they wouldn't be so confident... I'm pretty sure I am capable of getting a huge win-streak in the challenge machine in the game. Wouldn't surprise me if I got over 200 wins in a row with my best deck.
Oof ouch, I didn't see his win-streak ending so harshly here, all because of bad luck.
I was almost gonna say this loss should be a more explained battle but I changed my mind, I think this method serves the story well, especially since its not a loss of skill or a special opponent. It was just bad luck of the draw, as sometimes happens in TCG. Still dang, i was mad for Gentleman here, to lose the arrogant one.
I think this posits an interesting question of how wins are seen in-universe for TCG. Wins and losses in the anime for example, often give off an energy of being black/white. Either you're strong enough to win or you lost and basically you'll never beat the person at your current strength level.
This sort of reminds me of Beyblade though (Burst), where there's strongest bladers and legends, but they can lose here and there and still be considered legends/champions. I think that makes a lot more sense, given how TCG battles are like 80% skills and 20% luck. You need to be able to win consistently to be considered goodor take pride in a win I guess, as opposed to a lucky break or everything going wrong for your opponent.
Don't blame me. Blame the game lol. With the exception of OC's, all characters use their names from the english fan translation in the rom for the second game.
I have a feeling this battle will be interesting perhaps. I have to stop here for now but I am very interested. The characters who don't brag are the scariest, and Ken admitting how strong Jonathan is getting does make him feel like a real threat here.
We return to the Gentleman's old stomping grounds, get our first real loss in this chapter, and some good wins. I have to say, this loss doesn't really feel like a loss at all, since it was more like a freak accident, which is interesting. Barely even counts as a loss either, since Gentleman and everyone else doesn't see it as such. Now i've got myself looking forward to seeing how he'll handle if he has a real proper loss. A bad play or outwitted by his opponent.
I can't really pick a favorite chapter from this bunch easily, lots of great moments throughout each. I think the Fire Club is the most memorable, but the dialogue and humor in 4 with Rick was pretty amusing. All in all, I don't think I have any major complaints or critique. I expect when I get further to the end I'll say more crit, since I'll have a fuller picture of the story, but as far, nothing stands out as erroneous or slow. If I had to pick 5 doesn't stand out quite so strong but I think it feels relevant to bridging the chapters and showing him and Rick. So yeah, not really a critique there (I hope thats okay hah, I can't think of anything specific yet that I think genuinely needs fixing).
Chapter 5 is certainly the weaker one of these. Chapter 5 was very hard to come up with a name for. Actually, I'd say Chapter 5 might be the weakest chapter in the whole book, which acutally isn't really an insult! Now, there are some chapters later that I'll be very curious for more reader feedback on. Some are a bit more risky in terms of reader enjoyment, but unless I run into problems, I wanted to take the bold approach.
Except this Gentleman needs to get his head on straight and start appreciating Gotan more and stop thinking of him as dumb, he's clearly a genius (when he's not setting his own head on fire). Smh.
Huh. I think you are the first reader to describe Gotan as a genious. You are correct that he is smarter than Mister Gentleman thinks he is. Quite a bit more, in fact...
Mew's debriefing ended on a high note, but I hoped Rick knew what he was getting himself into... Being close friends with Mew sounded like playing with fire. But that's Rick for ya. He opted to stay behind to chat with Mew since they offered to teleport him home later.
But the way Mew handled things really was worth it. I'd take what Mew put us through any day over those awful things I was planning for Mister Gentleman... And I'd be reversing those plans ASAP. Late night I would sneak out to contact GR2. Who knew, maybe I could even get my money back? A man's got to dream at least...
As for me, It was time I got back to my kids. I had a lot of explaining to do... No more delusions. It was time my kids had the dad they'd always deserved. For Nikki, I'd practically worship the ground she walked on from now on. She just didn't know it yet. That was where the biggest difference would be. She'd given me a second chance, and there was no way I would blow it.
But what Nikki said was in store for me once the kids were asleep... I knew it was going to be wild!
All this from kissing Mister Gentleman? I wasn't even bothered by it! Nikki and I would be closer than ever before. And unlike Mister Gentleman... I'd be getting a whole lot more than just a kiss... Nikki was the best. Mister Gentleman had NO idea!
My car was still parked at the lightning club. Since we lived near it, we wouldn't be driving long.
Living near the lightning club... It had been selfish and left Nikki having to drive far to work every day. All because I wanted to live farther away from Mister Gentleman... That was something to fix. But I wasn't going to move back there for Mister Gentleman. I could, but this time Nikki would be my reason.
We'd get a house in a neighborhood as close to the Grass Club as possible. I wanted Nikki to be able to WALK to it if she wanted! With that, I could start making up to her.
Besides, a longer drive for me would give me more time to spend with Jennifer on her club days. I'd hurt my poor little girl's feelings and would do every thing I could to make it up to her.
As a club member, Jennifer was exempt from classes two days a week. Her class days were focused on the most important material. After elementary, she would have the right to continue full time as a club member, pursue further education, or even start claiming UBI to live as she pleased. Heather was in the same boat, but was much closer to graduating.
For the kids, I'd decided to walk them through everything as a bedtime story. A story of my past. A story of friendship, hardship, false betrayal, and love.
I had Jennifer on my lap, and one arm around Heather as she sat next to me on the couch. Nikki sat on my other side. On Nikki's lap, Sir Pounce had curled up as Nikki gently stroked his fur.
"Long ago I used to be your age, Jennifer!"
Jennifer gripped my shirt with her little hands as she looked up at me. "How'd you get so big, Daddy?"
I softly ran my hand through her hair. She closed her eyes with contentment at the contact. "Daddy got bigger really slowly over time. You will too, one day. It won't always be easy, but Daddy will be here for you."
Heather had her arms wrapped around my arm, snuggled up to me. "How come you are telling us this story now, Dad?"
I closed my eyes. "It will make sense, but be patient, ok?"
Heather closed her eyes as she leaned on me. "Ok."
I opened my eyes staring off into the kitchen. "I was at the Pokemon Dome for a school field trip."
Jennifer bounced a bit. "Ooo! That's the super big fun place! We went there last month!"
I smiled. "That's right, Jenny! And it was just as fun back then for me too. Daddy was the top TCG player in his class. I was eight years old at the time, and I was popular. All the girls wanted to date me and all the boys wanted to BE me."
Jenny giggled. "Wow, Daddy! You're so cool!"
Heather raised an eyebrow. "You were that popular, Dad?"
I grinned. "Sure was! Even your mother took notice of me. She was my rival and we were in the same class together."
Nikki rolled her eyes. "Yes... It's true. And I'll admit I was a bit jealous. I wanted to beat the 'Prince of Lightning' as they used to call you..."
I held my hand near my face striking my old familiar pose. "That's right, but they used to call you the Petal Princess."
Nikki giggled. "It used to make me so mad! Isaac had his nickname first and I didn't have mine until AFTER the class gave him his! The whole class kept expecting me to be his girlfriend..."
Jenny covered her mouth as she laughed. "But Mommy! You MARRIED Daddy!"
Nikki stroked Jenny's cheek. "I sure did, sweetie, but I didn't know I would back then. All I wanted to do was beat-him-in-duels!" Nikki then roughed up Jenny's hair under her hat.
Jenny squealed. "AHH!!! Mommy! Nooo!!!"
I looked down at Jenny smiling gently. "Mommy played lots of duels with me, but she never quite surpassed me back then. Each of us played the other kids in our class."
Nikki rolled her eyes again and smiled. "Yes, yes. You were very impressive, dear... But don't forget how I turned that win record around against you years later!"
I chuckled. "That you did, Nikki."
Heather set her chin on my arm, looking up with those curious eyes of hers. "What happened next, Dad? You were telling a story!"
Heather always did that when looking for a kiss. Of course I obliged her. Right on the forehead as usual. "Patience, Heather. I'm getting to it!"
Heather squinted at me, so I laughed and gave her the second kiss. These girls... If I had a weakness it would be them for sure.
Heather then turned her nose up, smiling confidently.
I put both hands behind my head. "Yeah, I was cool... But after a while, I began to think bigger. The joint Pokemon Dome field trip... A gathering of all the elementary school kids in one place. Rumor had it that there would be a kids-only tournament! It was the perfect place for me to graduate from the Prince of Lightning to the King of Lightning!"
Jenny and Heather both listened with focused attention as Nikki put the recliner back and was burying her face in Sir Pounce's belly. The sounds of purring were a gentle backdrop to my tale.
I paused dramatically and frowned. "Little did I know, there would be someone at the dome who already beat me to the punch!"
Jenny gasped as Heather's eyes widened.
I rolled my eyes. "The bus your mother and I were on got held up by a flat tire. By the time we arrived at the dome, I discovered there was no tournament. It was just a school-yard rumor! What I did find was a large group of kids huddled around tables dueling."
Nikki smirked as she tried to suppress a laugh.
I glared into the distance. "It was there I met a duelist so strong that he would later become the TCG Island Champion... Mister Gentleman!"
Jenny abruptly started crying. "I HATE him! He took away the park from me and made Daddy scary!"
Nikki's eyes squinted right at me. I couldn't blame her.
Acting quickly, I held Jenny against my chest. "Woah! Jenny, hold on! There is something big in this story I need to tell you. Mister Gentleman is not bad! Daddy thought he was, but Daddy was mistaken. And, Jenny? Daddy's going to take you to the park tomorrow!"
Jenny sniffed as she looked up at me with glistening eyes. Her Pikachu face paint was ok since we got her the water-resistant kind. "Really, Daddy?"
I held Jenny close as I rubbed her back. "That's right, Jenny. Daddy is so sorry for that day and is going to make it up to you."
I felt Heather tug on my sleeve. "Daaad! What about the story!"
Heather had her chin on my arm again with her bottom lip out. This one was dangerous. She learned how to push my buttons!
I chuckled. "I'm going! I'm going! So, as I was saying, Mister Gentleman beat me to the punch. All the kids were talking about how they kept losing to him. I thought I got lucky. Someone else beat everyone, so all I had to do was beat this one guy to take all his popularity for myself!"
Jenny already bounced back from her tears with a smile. "Did you win, Daddy!?"
I tilted my head. "Both. It turned out he had been playing two out of three game matches with the other kids. He wouldn't accept just one duel. To duel him, you had to agree to a match. I challenged him, of course, and lost the first game!"
Nikki smiled. "That was the first time I ever saw Mister Gentleman. Someone other than me just beat Isaac in a duel!"
I frowned. "Yeah, I was shocked. I clearly underestimated this guy. But I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice! In the second game I beat him. I remember his look after. You would expect him to look shocked or angry, but all there was in his eyes... was excitement!"
Nikki nuzzled her face into Sir Pounce's fur while she spoke. "Yep! His excitement was so contagious that Isaac smiled too. In their final game, they both went all out and Daddy came up just short of victory!"
"Heeeey! Who's telling the story here?!"
Nikki had a mischievous glint in her eyes. The same kind of look she gives when I'm about to have a good time. But there was another time it happened too... She leaned in and bit my face like a cat!
"AAAHH!" I yelled in mock-pain.
Jenny laughed. "Mommy got Daddy with the kitty bite!"
Heather rolled her eyes. "Here we go again..."
I shook my head violently flapping my cheeks a bit. Jenny started laughing uncontrollably, but now Heather's patience had worn out as I felt her gnawing on my arm. "Owch!" I yelped out.
Heather squinted up at me as she spoke through her teeth in my arm. "Story."
I glared at Heather. "Oh? You're going to bite me? Are you suuuure?"
Heather's eyes widened as she released her teeth. "No! Wai-"
Too late. My fingers had already found the sensitive flesh to invade... Her ticklish spots around the belly and armpits!
Heather screamed. "NOOO!! AHHH!!!!"
Nikki was laughing into her hands as Sir Pounce yawned while stretching.
My mission now complete, I withdrew my fingers from their ravenous feast. "Never wake the sleeping fingers, Heather. You got lucky this time because they were still sleepy... but who knows how it will go... NEXT TIME?!"
Heather cringed as she laughed, hiding behind my arm.
I rolled my head as I ran a hand through my hair all suave. "Now where was I? Yeah, I lost that match with Mister Gentleman. After that, he played one with Nikki and crushed her with his fire types."
Nikki pouted. "Well I had to TRY, at least! If I won, it would have given me an edge against you!"
I nodded. "Sure, it made sense to try. But after those matches, we both decided to spend the rest of the day with Mister Gentleman as we toured the Dome and the botanical garden they had outside. Mister Gentleman was so stuffy and proper. Nikki and I were annoyed at losing to him, so we devised a little prank to play on him!"
Nikki snorted. "H-Hey! I still have the PICTURE!"
I whipped my head around to her. "Whaaat!? I thought I told you to throw it away years ago!"
Nikki gave me that kitty-bite look again. "I did. Then I took it back out again."
I put a palm to my face as I laughed. "Alright. I've got to see it. Go get it!"
As Nikki got up, Sir Pounce leapt down off of the couch. The cat wasted no time as he went promptly for the next available lap: Heather's!
Heather soon held Sir Pounce like a baby in her arms. The cat protested by planting a paw in her face as she giggled.
Nikki soon returned with the picture.
Nikki grinned. "Alright, girls. You want to see what we all looked like? Take a look!" She held the picture out for us all to see.
Artist per Google Translate: 白英bellyn
Used with permission.
Everyone burst out laughing.
It took some effort, but finally I could speak again. "So, the plan was to suddenly put my arm on his shoulder while Nikki took a surprise photo from her phone! It TOTALLY worked! Just look at how red his face is!" I then howled with laughter again.
Heather managed to calm her laugh enough to speak. "What's up with your hair!? And wow! You look just like me, Mom!"
Nikki wiped some tears out of her eyes. I couldn't remember the last time she laughed hard enough for that. It was wonderful to see it again. "I know, I really did look like you when I was younger. As for the hair... that's because we both dye it!"
Heather's jaw dropped. "Wait, WHAT!?"
I chuckled. "Yep! We both have black hair. That's why both of YOU do!"
Jenny held her fists near her chest. "Yay! Mommy and Daddy made my hair!"
With Jenny too cute to resist, Nikki picked her up and set her down between the both of us. Jenny sat still with a smile as we both leaned in to kiss both of her cheeks simultaneously.
Nikki smiled. "That's right, sweetie. We sure did!"
A glance to Heather revealed her pouting face looking away.
I couldn't help but smile at how adorable it was. "Awww, Heather. Are you feeling left out? Come on over here and you can have one too!"
Heather looked down bashfully, but sat down between us after Jenny leapt up and went over to the other side where Sir Pounce had taken up residence.
Once we finished giving Heather the special treatment, Heather crawled onto Nikki's lap. Heather loved us both, but I knew she would pick Nikki if she had to choose between us. Heather smiled with her eyes shut while Nikki ran fingers through Heather's hair.
A light kick from Heather to my leg indicated I should continue the story.
I exaggerated a wince from the kick. "So, after our time at the Dome, the three of us made our own unofficial club: the Champion's Club. Its purpose? To gather all the strongest duelists in the island into one club. To train amongst each other and someday produce the next Champion of TCG Island."
Jenny bounced in her seat, propelling a perturbed Sir Pounce to the floor. "Wow! It worked!"
I leaned my head back and laughed loudly. "I guess it did! How about that!? We kept the 'club' going for years, honing our dueling skills and deck-building craft. Mister Gentleman always had an edge versus Nikki thanks to his fire types. I think Nikki threw in the towel when she came up with her new plan."
The laughter was the last straw for Sir Pounce as he slipped away to the kitchen, no doubt seeking his bed on the counter.
Jenny tilted her head. "What plan, Daddy?"
It was Nikki who spoke next. "Well... I figured if you can't beat em, join em! I thought both of them were very cute and I figured it was only a matter of time until one of them became champion, so I decided I would marry whichever of them got there first!"
Heather's eyes shot open as she looked up at Nikki. "But, Mom... You're married to Dad! What happened?"
Nikki closed her eyes as she looked down in shame. "Mister Gentleman got way better at the game once I declared that. He improved at the game so fast that I couldn't hope to beat him anymore. Eventually, I decided I wasn't good enough to marry the champion, so I gave up on it. Your father will explain more."
I took that as my queue. "I was able to keep up with him for a while, but he started pulling ahead."
Heather stared at me. "Was there anything you could do to keep up with him?"
I frowned. "Before things got too out of hand, I began crafting a new deck. I wanted to make sure I was better than him, so once I completed it, I tested it against the other members of the Lightning Club with great success. It even seemed to work against the old leader! So, I challenged Mister Gentleman with it."
Jenny smiled while punching the air in front of her. "Ooo! Did you beat him? Did you!?"
I gazed into the kitchen. "I wish I could tell you I did, Jenny. But no, he beat me badly five games in a row. I had put my all into that deck. It was way better than the deck I used to have, but it still wasn't enough. I'd reached my limit. The Prince of Lightning's reign was over. I knew I would never be able to become champion with him around. That meant I couldn't marry Nikki, either. I'd had feelings for her too by that point."
Nikki reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder.
I closed my eyes. "It felt like he was taking everything away from me. I didn't want to be around him any more. I couldn't stand him. So I told him I wouldn't play him in the TCG anymore and we stopped being friends after that. Years later, he became the champion, but something unexpected happened. Nikki chose to date me! Eventually she even married me."
Heather looked up at Nikki. "Mom? Why did you pick Dad?"
Nikki stared off into the kitchen. "I decided I wasn't good enough to marry the champion, but there was one person who had known me even longer and who I could still beat in a duel. Someone who was popular, smart, and dashing. Your father."
Hearing that brought tears to my eyes. Probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about me. And it came from the person in the world it mattered most from!
Heather frowned. "But Mister Gentleman was your friend who you thought was cute! That doesn't sound happy!"
Nikki closed her eyes and nodded. "It's true. It wasn't happy. I still cared about him and I still thought he was cute. I missed him. But I had to let him go..."
I crossed my arms. "Years later, Mister Gentleman became the champion and I hated him for it. I thought he would steal your mother from me. That he would take you both from me in the process. I treated him badly by spreading lies about him and even punched him... I tried to make him give up his champion title too."
Nikki wrapped her arms around Heather burying her face in Heather's hair.
Both Heather and Jenny were quiet as they frowned.
I closed my eyes. "I was wrong. All of it was wrong. He got better at the game because he wanted to marry your mother, but he always thought of both of us as friends. He always cared about both of you too. Mister Gentleman isn't a terrible man. Instead he's a great one. He even showed me he would risk his life to save me. I've decided to be friends with him again from now on. Your mother too. Is it ok with you both if he comes with us to the park?"
Jenny raised her hand. "Yes!"
Heather looked down, deep in thought. "I've always thought he was a nice person. I didn't understand why you hated him so much, Dad. I'm glad you are going to be friends with him again. Dad, when he is around me... I feel loved. It's like when I'm around you. I can't explain it, but I'd like to be around him."
Nikki smiled. "Well sweetie, Dad gave him permission to be your godparent! It means you can think of him as a second father."
Heather smiled serenely. "I don't know why, Mom. But I feel really happy to hear that! I'm looking forward to tomorrow!"
Even with my high expectations for Nikki that night, she exceeded them! It took a ton of willpower to not fall asleep after, but I knew I had to call off the plan to kidnap Mister Gentleman.
So, I found myself in the middle of a grocery store parking lot, with my secret second cellphone in hand.
I dialed the number: 555-555-5555
A familiar voice answered.
"Right on time. I'll save you the trouble of speaking. Coin-flip interference on Mister Gentleman is cancelled and you are needing to reach GR2."
I nodded. "Perceptive as always, Steph."
"GR2 hates it when their meditation is disturbed. This conversation will cost you. I've arranged for myself to pay the fee, but you will need to pay it back to me later since you are currently out of money and maxed out your debt."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden generosity?"
"You've been a great source of cash... Don't worry, I know it's something you can and will pay back. We can discuss the details later... For now, you are going to want to contact GR2 immediately. They are about to initiate radio silence for the job you paid them for."
I raised both eyebrows. "Crap! Get them to call me. Hurry!"
"Naturally." A click signified Stephanie ended the call.
After a few minutes my phone rang from an unknown number. There was no video option.
A familiar distorted voice answered. "...You're lucky you caught me in time, Isaac. I only picked up because it was Stephanie calling me. She always pays the arranged fee for such... Untimely interruptions."
I nodded. "I won't waste your time. GR2, I want you to cancel the kidnapping job."
"Cancel the kidnapping?"
I closed my eyes. "Yes, and I would like a refund."
"It's no skin off my back to annul the contract, but a refund is out of the question... I have a GR blimp with a full staff ready for the operation. The costs of securing all this equipment and staffing fees are substantial. I could have been doing other things..."
I grimaced. It figured. "I just... changed my mind."
GR2 laughed. I couldn't tell if it was the distortion that made it creepy or if it was just that way naturally. "Well! It must have been one interesting situation! I've never had a client cancel before... Very well! You may consider this contract void."
I raised an eyebrow. "Just like that then? What about your job completion record?"
"Oh, don't worry about it... I'll just add a new section for cancellations. So there you have it. No reason for me to continue with kidnapping him... Nothing to grab my interest..."
I laughed nervously. "Yeah! He really isn't that interesting... Just good at the TCG."
"Good. It's settled. Should you require my services in the future, you know how to reach me..."
*Click*
I breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close for comfort...
I exited my car and approached a nearby storm drain.
This was a lot of fun because I at first had been wondering how he would confuse them if they had wildly different hair colour (then again I'm also bad with name and faces so I get it), but explaining it with changing hair dye often was a fun reason
That's so silly and perfectly in character lol, gave me a chuckle
So, post chapter thoughts: this felt a bit more like an "intermediary" chapter compared to the previous one, but it makes sense since he had a much more personal connection with the Club Leader there. I liked how you still gave some unique characteristics to the members of the club and I'm very curious about what you will do with some future ones... It's a LOT of characters and as someone that struggles a lot with creating OCs and fleshing them out, I definitely commend you for wanting to give at least a little personality and a small scene to most if not every club member.
Imakuni was a fun surprise, as was Doduo's appearance! I remember their encounter went a lot differently in the first version so I was kinda expecting him to similarly meet Doduo while travelling from one club to the other. This was fun! Mr Gentleman has a new fan... I'm really curious how they are going to interact from now on.
I also quite liked the switch between baiting people to duel him by saying their deck is full of fire times but neglecting to mention the electric times... It was a fun strategy and reading about how Voltorb was used effectively here was fun!
Thanks! I don't think I do this sort of thing enough in most chapters. If you see good opportunities for stuff like that, I'd be pretty open to suggestions.
This was a lot of fun because I at first had been wondering how he would confuse them if they had wildly different hair colour (then again I'm also bad with name and faces so I get it), but explaining it with changing hair dye often was a fun reason
So, post chapter thoughts: this felt a bit more like an "intermediary" chapter compared to the previous one, but it makes sense since he had a much more personal connection with the Club Leader there.
Well, I still have to follow the events of the let's play. The story is crafted around that. But yeah, I didn't think it made sense to have all the clubs important on the same level. That's part of why I went so hard on the humor this chapter instead.
It's a LOT of characters and as someone that struggles a lot with creating OCs and fleshing them out, I definitely commend you for wanting to give at least a little personality and a small scene to most if not every club member.
I certainly got tired of introducing characters after writing the first half of it lol...
But yes, I tried very hard to make it work. Now, the fic does feature a smaller number of characters to a prominent extent, so don't worry about the fic having a lack of character depth overall even if some of them don't get much screen time.
Imakuni was a fun surprise, as was Doduo's appearance! I remember their encounter went a lot differently in the first version so I was kinda expecting him to similarly meet Doduo while travelling from one club to the other.
Yeah, I did retcon some details when writing book one but I tried to keep the majority of it intact but just expanded on. Meeting Doduo was pretty significant, so I wanted it to have a little more to it than I originally had.
I also quite liked the switch between baiting people to duel him by saying their deck is full of fire times but neglecting to mention the electric times...
Isaac had us all meet bright and early at Pika Land, the biggest theme park in the world.
Tango was too zonked out from yesterday's ordeal. He was awake but showed no interest in going with me. I guessed he opted to laze around the yard all day...
I soon found myself at the park. It had a running theme of Pikachu, but had many rides and attractions featuring other mon.
I noticed Isaac yawning. I supposed he didn't get much sleep.
As for the attractions, my favorite was a brand-new 'Scyther VR' game. It was so fun flying around and battling other players! PVP mode was optional. Nikki was scary good at it. By the end, she had beaten fifty other players in battle! Isaac and Jennifer were totally landlocked. Both were deathly afraid of heights, they played in the most peculiar way: as high-speed mon-based lawnmowers that sometimes jumped. Rick goofed around the whole time looking for glitches. Eventually he found one that launched him so high that he hit the sky ceiling. I found the flight controls to be difficult to handle, but Heather helped me get enough of the basics down to have fun.
Jennifer's favorite attraction was the 'Pikachu Lightning Charger'. The idea was Pikachu needed power to supercharge the hospital's generators during a power outage and needed everyone to help. We all gathered in a node with a circular bench and a wheel in the middle. The ride would spin in place while spinning around the center of the stage at the same time. To make the spinning faster, the wheel could be turned by anyone and everyone. We all spun that wheel as fast as we could! A great time for all involved.
Heather's favorite attraction was 'The Lost Clefairy'. It was an indoor roller coaster, but designed for kids and very slow. What it lacked in speed, it made up for in imagination and immersion. In it, the riders were kids on bikes who discovered and befriended the Clefairy. They were on a mission to help the lost Clefairy find her spaceship before the government could capture her for experiments. Clefairy lost her memory when she crashed her ship, but slowly regained some of her memory during the ride, including her place as the heir to the throne of Clefairy Planet.
Using her mysterious power, Clefairy helped herself and the riders avoid the authorities' blockade by levitating the bikes so they could fly like magic through the air. The room involved with that had a ceiling with tiny lights that made it look like the night sky. The ground below was a model town to give the appearance of height as concealed fans blew a cool breeze over us. Using Clefairy's power, she was able to move the riders and herself through outer space in just one minute all the way back to her home.
The end was bittersweet. Clefairy was unable to remember her parents, but willing to start over new with them. She then thanked us for keeping her safe and wished us all full and happy lives before using her teleporter to send us back to our planet. Poor Heather cried at the ending. Being the only other one on our row, I rubbed her back as she cried on my chest.
She was so small... My heart melted at her tears and brought tears my own eyes as well. Such a sweet kid. Being with her like this... it felt like having a daughter of my own and confirmed my goal to have kids someday.
Isaac's favorite attraction was 'The Amazing Caterpie'. It was like a combination of slow roller coaster combined with sets and screens to create the effect of it being much more fast and intense than it really was. Caterpie lived in a pristine forest and lowered itself with a stringshot to meet us. Us riders were in a 'four-wheeler'. Normally, guests were welcome in the forest, but today was dangerous. Caterpie's old opponents had returned, intent on conquering the forest and ruling its subjects! Caterpie drove each of them away in the past, but they now banded together. Snorlax, Gengar, Golduck, and Charizard.
What made Caterpie so amazing was his level. Level one-hundred! His opponents were all under level forty. Knowing we would be in danger alone, Caterpie told us to follow him so he could keep us safe. Caterpie's opponents wasted no time targeting us to overwhelm Caterpie!
Snorlax tried to crush us and hurl boulders at us. The boulders got so close we could feel bits of sand scatter over us just before Caterpie would pull them off course with stringshot. Snorlax even tried to EAT us, but Caterpie used stringshot to cover Snorlax's mouth! Gengar kept trying to trick us with illusions and fog in the hopes we would run into a tree or off a cliff, but Caterpie would pull us away from danger just in time! Golduck fired hydro pumps at us but Caterpie redirected us away from the worst of the blasts. Some splashes got through hitting us above the waist. Golduck even tried to levitate us to keep us from driving away, but Caterpie kept using his favorite move to protect us.
Charizard tried to burn us with flamethrower and slash us. We could feel the heat of his flames as we narrowly dodged. He even took out one of our tires! It was looking bad, so Caterpie taunted Charizard. He was enraged and flew right for Caterpie! Little did Charizard know, Caterpie had prepared a trap ahead of time. A strong and flexible tree was bent as far as it could go with stringshot. When Charizard approached, Caterpie cut the string, crashing the tree into Charizard, knocking him out cold. In the end, Caterpie was able to use his stringshot to keep us safe and tie up all the enemies! Caterpie then left them to a group of traveling trainers looking for mon to catch. They all ignored Caterpie since he was just a Caterpie and caught all of his foes instead!
Nikki was sitting between Isaac and myself during the ride and any time we would sharply turn, the ride would force her against me. She must have been wearing some perfume, because she smelled amazing. I couldn't help but remember the kiss we had... But I could enjoy her company while respecting the boundaries. After all, I had no intention of stealing her from Isaac. Even as a friend, she would always be dear to me...
Rick's favorite ride was... 'The Diglett'. One should NOT let the unassuming name fool them! This ride was in a large two-hundred feet tower. The premise? You get strapped into a vertical roller coaster that shoots up at a truly staggering speed. But that wasn't all! It went back down just as fast and back up again! Roaring up and down, it was by far the most intense ride in the park. Rick was the only one insane enough to attempt it, but somehow he convinced me to join him too... The moment the ride began, I knew I had made a grave error... I nearly lost my lunch and was unable to walk for a full thirty minutes after. Heather returned the favor from earlier and rubbed my back to help my recovery along. Somehow, it helped!
As our day neared its end, we visited our final ride. It was Nikki's favorite, 'Dragonair's Tunnel of Love'. The attraction had us on a slow cart shaped like a boat moving through a stream that entered the Dragonair's cave. Multi-colored glowing crystals adorned the walls. The main section had an impressive ceiling height. The in-ride legend was that any couple who made it through to the end would be close for life. There were two seats per row. Nikki sat with Isaac in the front. Rick paired up with Jennifer in the middle.
That left Heather and I together in the back. I think I must have grown on her, because she clung to my arm. Midway through, she moved my arm to go around her so she could snuggle against my chest. I held her with my arm instead of just having it limp around her or pulling it away. We enjoyed each other's company on the gentle ride.
There were photos taken at the end of the tunnel. Nikki and Isaac leaned against each other holding hands. Jennifer crawled up on Rick's shoulders so she could get a better view of everything. Heather knew the photo was coming up and put my arm back down and hugged it, smiling broadly as I gazed down at her with a soft smile.
The sun was starting to set, but our time together wasn't quite done. I bought all of us dinner at my favorite seafood restaurant, the Cerulean Cave. It was built to look like the inside of a watery cave complete with bridges, stalagmites, flowing steams, and ponds. They even had live fish swimming about! The whole place was lit from multi-colored crystals embedded in the 'cave' walls.
Jennifer delighted in a kids' lobster mac and cheese. Nikki indulged in the herb-grilled salmon with rice pilaf. Isaac tore into a large lobster. Rick sampled a large variety of sushi on a platter, prepared Neo-Island style. I enjoyed a large platter of snow crab legs. After seeing my choice, Heather got a kids' order of them too. She mentioned it was her first time trying them. After her first bite, I could tell she was impressed. She had much to learn in the art of cracking crab legs, but I gave her tips and pointers. Before long she was accessing that succulent meat with minimal effort. I think she somehow enjoyed them even more than me!?
After our palates and bellies were satisfied, I had one more surprise in store... In my car, I had a whole load of fireworks! I even picked the perfect location to light them: the old hill that Nikki and Isaac spent part of our childhood together on. There was less light pollution around there and the height made for some great viewing.
Rick volunteered to light the fireworks so the rest of us could enjoy it.
Isaac and I took out both of our tarps, laying them down next to each other and overlapping in the middle. Nikki laid down in the middle. Isaac went down next to her but Jennifer squeezed in between them since it was a chilly night. Heather laid down next to Nikki and looked up at me with her large eyes, clearly wanting me on her other side to help keep her warm. Of course, there was no way I could refuse. Heather wasn't satisfied with the small space between us, so she kept yanking on my sleeve to get me as close as possible. She then put one arm around Nikki's left arm and another around my right arm. Snug like a bug in a rug, that one.
It wasn't long until Rick started lighting the fireworks one at a time. Eventually, he took a longer pause and let us know he was prepping the finale. I knew a lot of the fireworks remained, but somehow Rick had set things up in between the others to have HALF of all the fireworks go up in a continuous stream for the finish! As they began flying, he cackled like a maniac. It truly was something special.
It took some time for Rick to clean up after. When we were finally ready to leave, I noticed Heather wasn't just snuggled on my arm, she was asleep! There were plenty of adorable moments throughout the day, but that one really took the cake. She looked so happy... I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to do with her, so Isaac let me know the best approach was to pick her up with me as I got up.
Luckily, Heather was light for her age and I was able to manage. Isaac found himself with the same situation and having to carry Jennifer. All our cars were on the hill, so Rick followed us as Nikki drove everyone else in her car. That way Rick could drive me back to my car at the hill later.
Isaac and I carefully got in the back of Nikki's car. Each of us were holding one of the sleeping girls. During the drive, everyone was hushed to prevent waking them as Isaac and I occasionally exchanged knowing glances and smiles at how cute they both were.
After a bit of a drive, we were finally back to Isaac's home. Isaac carried Jennifer up to her bed and I had the honor of bringing Heather to hers. Before carrying her up, a familiar creature came to greet me!
I smiled as I watched Sir Pounce give my leg some affection. "Good kitty, Sir Pounce!" I whispered.
Nikki held a hand to her mouth as she tried to stop herself from laughing to keep the noise down.
Soon after, I carried Heather to her room. It was much like what Nikki had when she was around that age. The bed was made, but Nikki helped pull out the comforter and sheet. She then helped me lower Heather into her bed and we both tucked her in. Nikki then leaned down to give Heather a kiss on the forehead and motioned for me to do the same, which I obliged. Heather was so zonked out that we could hear her lightly snoring.
Nikki tilted her head as she looked at me carefully and whispered. "Mister Gentleman... The way you kissed her felt very familiar... Do you remember that night we got drunk?"
I looked away feeling embarrassed. It was a good thing it was too dark for her to tell. "Erm... Yes? What of it?"
Nikki leaned in close, her eyes straining against the dim light to read my expression. "Did you kiss me before you left?"
My jaw dropped. "U-Uh! W-what makes you say that!?"
Nikki was still for a moment before she replied. "When we got drunk, Sir Pounce was fast asleep... I never had a chance to introduce you to him, but you knew his name. When you leaned down to kiss Heather, it looked exactly like the kiss I thought was only in my dream that morning... Did you... wake up in my bed that day?"
The cat was now out of the bag.
By this point, I was blushing so much that I worried she could tell even in THIS lighting. "Erm... yes..."
Nikki brought a palm to her face. "You saw me naked!?"
At this point my jaw dropped but I placed a finger on Nikki's lips to help her keep her voice down. "Yes, but I covered you up!"
Nikki was still again. "...I'm glad. It happened in the past, so it can't be helped. We won't be doing that again, but it feels like I got to share something special with you... And I'm glad to know that kiss from you was real..."
I nervously chuckled as a whisper. "...I've felt the same way. Good thing we were too drunk to take things too far! I'm surprised we even managed to get our clothes off!"
Nikki crossed her arms. "Yours were off too!? You can't just sleep in bed with a naked girl and vanish before she wakes up like you were never there!"
I felt a light smack on my head. "Ow! I'll keep in mind the next time that happens..."
Which I assumed would be never.
I imagined she was now rolling her eyes. "Well, it happened, but let's not speak of this to anyone, ok?"
I bid my farewells to Isaac and Nikki as they settled in for the evening.
Rick and I then began the long drive home. It was a quiet ride, but the good kind of quiet. On it, I reflected on the journey I had... So many things... There was hardship and stress, but it all turned out ok in the end.
There could be no doubt. Even with a deck comprised purely of common cards, I remained the strongest in the land. I also was no longer lacking in funds, at least for the time being.
So, with iron resolve, a deck full of commons, and fat lazy birds, one could prevail even without coin-flips properly fixed in one's favor!
