Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: Doduo Adventures (Complete)

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Introduction

The Pokemon Trading Card game for Gameboy color. A classic game with a sequel as well! Sadly, the sequel never had an official release outside of Japan. Eventually, a fan-made English translation surfaced and now it is possible to experience the game even if one does not read Japanese! The game had a host of new cards and characters beyond the original game making it the best way to experience the card game in its original form with the game including cards from multiple early expansions.

The story was very simple: in the first game, which takes place on TCG Island, you compete with your rival Ronald to gather the 8 master medals from various clubs like the water or fire clubs, and then compete against the grand-masters to earn their legendary Pokemon cards: Dragonite, Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno.

The 2nd game greatly expanded upon the first game by adding many more cards, locations, characters, music, and a continuation of the story from the original game which revolves around Team GR invading from a new island to steal the cards of everyone on TCG Island, and your journey to stop them. It also includes much more post game content allowing play against a variety of powerful Trainers.

Even with the 2nd game the story is still very basic and much is left to the imagination of the player for how their world really works, hence the playground for writing fan fiction!

Our story follows the protagonist as he seeks to duel opponents with only common cards(aka no uncommon cards, rare cards, or promo cards!).

As an optional enhancement for the story, each number in parentheses is a clickable link to music on youtube which functions as a soundtrack for the story. Unless otherwise specified, each track is intended to be played or repeated until you reach the next point in the story where a link for another track is included.

All forms of feedback are welcome. I prefer at least 1 positive thing be said though if all the rest is negative.

Listed below are changes to the story of the original games and important context for our adaptation:

In this story, the Grand-masters don’t exist. The legendary Pokemon cards from the first game do still exist though.
All duels mentioned in the game had games played by me in the actual game using the actual results. As such, the story doubles as a lets-play in written form. The level of details included for the various duels depends on the opponent and the stakes involved. The story generally focuses on the outcomes of the duels more than the duels themselves in order to appeal to a wider audience.
Author's Notes hidden behind spoilers are included at various locations in the story which help describe TCG rules, mechanics, and general information pertaining to the TCG games for anyone who hasn't played the games or the Pokemon TCG, if they are curious and want to better gauge the duels in the story.

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Prologue: Diary of a Gentleman

(1)

Diary:

April 3rd
After proving my worth as a card duelist on TCG Island by winning games against a slew of people who live on the island, I was able to gain a substantial amount of money! Apparently being this good at the Pokemon trading card game is not something that is easy to emulate! Perhaps graduating with highest honors from Pokemon Card Elite University gave me an edge? My deck is packed full of strong rare and uncommon cards is a force to behold indeed! For my 28th birthday this year, I was even able to purchase a home in an upper class neighborhood with the money my dueling earned me! I also purchased this fancy red formal-wear suite. Of course I had to visit the barber to trim my hair, beard, and mustache! Seeing myself in the mirror, I think it all comes together quite nicely. My light skin contrasted with my brown hair, brown eyes, and my red suit. I'll need to look my best for the tutoring session with Billy the 6 year old boy. His prestigious parents sought me out to help him with the most important part of growing up in our world: how to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game! I believe my late grandfather would approve! He always did stress speaking well, dressing well, manners, and kindness and I don't plan on failing the expectations he had for my life! Speaking of expectations, this is my first time writing in this Diary. My grandfather had mentioned this is a family heirloom and that it is meant to be used. As it is now mine, I will carry on the tradition and shall keep it with me at all times!

(1.1)

April 5th
Wanting to keep a record of my tutoring, I shall spare no detail in this section! I arrived at the Mansion for Billy's parents and introduced myself. It seems my appearance was suitable as they made no mention of it. Good thing I always strive to look my best! After being introduced to Billy, we relocated to the study where we began.

I spoke "Billy, do you know why I am here today?"

Billy replied "Sure Mr! You're here to teach me Pokemon Cards!"

I replied "That's right Billy! Are you excited?"

Billy replied "Sure Mr! Also, learning from you is a lot more exciting than reading tons of Authors notes scattered throughout the text or piled up like 12 of them at the end or something!"

I replied back with some confusion "What?"

Billy replied "What?"

I replied "Moving on then. Do you know what it looks like to play the Pokemon Trading Card game Billy"

Billy replied "OH! I know! You wear duel disks on your arms and call out these monsters that are holograms and play shadow duels!"

I replied "Sorry Billy, you must be thinking of some card game you saw on TV."

Billy looked disappointed. Almost disappointed enough to stop reading a fanfiction he would otherwise enjoy. One of those kinds of looks.

Billy then replied "Well there's still holograms though right?!"

I had not anticipated teaching a child to be this difficult, but I will see this through to the end!

I replied "Billy, there are no hologr-"

Billy interjected "I WANT HOLOGRAMS! THAT'S HOW YOU PLAY CARDS!"

Billy and I had to have a long chat about expectations but he eventually calmed down. After another conversation he finally understood the game is played with actual cards. I then was able to move forward with the lesson.

I spoke "Ok Billy, before I go over Pokemon cards with you some more, lets have a quick warm up geography lesson!"

Billy replied "Aww do we have to?"

I replied "Now Billy, I'll have you know that geography is important! Its hard to understand the context of our world without it!"

Billy replied with a sign "Ooook..."

I held up my finger as I closed my eyes to deliver a short speech "Ok, so our world has 3 islands: TCG Island, where we are now, GR Island which is an island to the east, and Neo Island which is between the two but far north. The rest of our world is nothing but ocean."

Billy replied "Doesn't our world seem kinda small to you?"

I replied "Compared to what, Billy? Its not like we have other worlds to compare it to!"

Billy replied "I guess your right.... I'm ready to learn Pokemon Cards!"

I replied "Ok Billy so you know how I said the game is played with cards?"

Billy replied "You mean not-holograms?"

I replied "Exactly, its played with not-holograms! That's the same thing as cards."

Billy replied "What about it?"

I replied "There are cards that have a connection to our world beyond the card game."

Billy's eyes got big as he inquired "LIKE HOLOGRAMS?!"

I replied "One of them is, but its even BETTER than a hologram!"

Billy exclaimed "OOO! What is it? What is it???"

I replied with a confident grin "That my boy, would be Doduo."

Billy replied "Oh! I know those! The turkey birds that run around!"

I replied "That's right, the turkey birds. You want to know how they connect to the card game?"

Billy jumped up and down and announced "Yes!"

I replied "Ok so from what I know of Doduo, they are the only Pokemon to inhabit our world."

Billy interjected "Oh what about shiny ones??"

I replied "Sorry Billy, this isn't Neo Island, they have shiny ones over there but we don't get those over here. Shiny Pokemon in the card game didn't exist until the invention of the Neo sets."

Billy sighed and replied "Ooook... well what about Dodrio then?"

I replied "Doduo can evolve in the game but the Doduo in our world can't seem to evolve into Dodrio."

Billy asked "Why is that Mr?"

I replied "Well Billy, no one knows!"

Billy looked annoyed and replied "Then what good is Turkey-bird!"

I replied to Billy "Turkey-bird doesn't have to evolve to be useful in the card game, its fighting resistance is powerful and it has no retreat cost!"

Billy replied "Ooo! Those sound good! Tell me more about turkey-bird!"

I replied "If you have a Doduo as a pet or companion and are using one in your deck, the real-life counterpart Doduo will be effected by opponents Pokemon card attacks! It is unclear why this happens but is a known and common occurrence. If a Doduo Pokemon card gets knocked out in the game, the real-life counterpart Doduo will only briefly lose consciousness."

Billy looked confused and asked "But how does that work? IS IT HOLOGRAMS?!"

I replied "No Billy, it is not holograms. Doduo in real life here with us can suffer attacks from the cards in the card game! The cards don't affect us or the world in that way, but they do affect Doduo! Doduo can also feel its attacks upon Pokemon that would be from the cards! Its like Doduo has magic battles with Pokemon we can't see physically!"

Billy replied "But why does that happen Mr?"

I replied "No one seems to know, Billy. By the way, Doduo are common enough, that all buildings are contructed to be Doduo-freindly with scratch resistant flooring. Easier to try to accomodate them than it would be to obstruct them I suppose."

Billy replied "Thats why buildings have Doduo doors! Its for the turkey-birds!"

I replied "That's right Billy. Now about the other two cards I mentioned that have ties to our world, they are Gambler and Bills Teleporter."

Billy asked "Why those cards though?"

I replied "The reason is that those cards let you draw more cards and are very imporant for a deck made of all common cards. If I were to make a deck of all common cards, the coin filps required for those cards to work would be annoying!"

Billy inquired "But why do those cards have coin flips?"

I replied "Well Billy, its because Bill Incorporated owns the teleporter that makes the teleporter card work and Bill Incorporated also owns the gambling establishment and Bill doesn't like it when things work too well so he makes them fail sometimes with pesky coin flips!"

Billy replied "But who is Bill? His name sounds weird like he shouldn't even be in our world!"

I replied "Billy, I have no idea what you mean by that, but it seems that Bill is a person and he is here in our world"

Billy replied "Oh.. ok. Hey Mr. Why is everyone into the Pokemon Trading Card Game in our world?"

I replied "Billy, I don't know what you mean by our world since there should only be 1 world! Regarding your question though, everyone important plays the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Billy do you know how you stop a bully from picking on you?"

Billy replied "Punch him in the nose!"

I replied with a mortified look "Billy! No! We do not do that! Even criminals who are also insane don't do that! You have to settle disputes with the Pokemon Trading Card Game! 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 playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game!"

Billy replied "But that doesn't make any sense!"

I replied "Billy, maybe once you turn 7 you will be old enough to understand. Just trust me that the way you make anything important happen is with duels."

Billy replied "Oooook. So Mr. Are you going to teach me how to play with not-holograms now with turkey-bird?"

As this is a diary entry, I am adding this line here to denote that the remainder of this entry pertains to mechanics of how to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game. If I do not want to read how to play it, I should simply skip to the next diary entry.

(1.2)

I replied with a smile "I am indeed Billy! In the Pokemon TCG, you flip a coin to see who goes first.

Billy interrputed "Does Bill do that?"

I replied "No Billy, just because there is a coinflip doesn't mean its Bill's fault. Thats only for Bills Teleporter and Gambler."

Billy replied "Oh ok."

I continued "After that you have a hand of 7 cards. From this hand, you need to select at least 1 basic Pokemon. If you don't have a basic Pokemon, you shuffle and draw another 7 cards until you have at least 1. A basic Pokemon is an unevolved Pokemon. You cannot play evolved Pokemon by themselves. To play an evolved Pokemon card, you first must have had a basic Pokemon in play for 1 turn. When you play a basic Pokemon, you can put it in the active spot or the bench. Active is where a Pokemon can generally attack and receive attacks from the opponent in return.

Billy interrputed again "Ooo! Attacks like from turkey-bird!"

I replied "That's right Billy." I then continued "Once a turn begins, the player whose turn it is draws 1 card from their deck. The main types of cards are: basic Pokemon, evolution cards (to evolve basic Pokemon with), energy cards, and trainer cards. Trainer cards are used for a 1-time effect and then are discarded. They can do a variety of powerful effects and any deck is improved by including at least some. You can have no more than 4 of any 1 kind of card or Pokemon. Example: if there are different versions of Ponyta, you can only include a total of 4 with as many of that 4 being whichever ones you choose. Most of the most powerful decks contain roughly half of the cards as trainer cards."

Billy then replied "Thanks Mr. Can you tell me what the best cards are?"

I replied "There are 4 different rarities for cards: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Promo. Booster packs would give primarily commons, some uncommons, and 1 rare. Promo cards could only be obtained by doing things outside of booster packs and are the most difficult cards to obtain. Generally, rarity translates to overall effectiveness."

Billy replied "But how do I get booster packs?"

I replied "To get those, you have to win duels! That's another reason you should build good decks and be good at the game!"

Billy replied "Oh ok! So how do I make turkey-bird attack?!"

I replied "Attacks require energy. To get energy, you have energy cards. To use the energy cards, you attach them to your Pokemon. Energy costs for attacks typically range from 1-4. You can only play 1 energy card per turn. Unless otherwise specified, energy you attach to your Pokemon stays attached to it so you can build it up over several turns to be able to attack. Each Pokemon has up to 2 attacks it can use, each with different energy requirements. Most attacks require at least some energy of that Pokemon's type.

Billy replied "Thats kind of confusing, can you give me an example Mr?"

I replied "Sure Billy! A fire type might need 2 fire and 1 colorless for an attack for example."

I then continued my explanation "Any attack requiring colorless Energy can use colorless energy to satisfy the requirement or any other kind of energy. Pokemon have HP that is reduced by attacks. Attacking ends your turn. Attacks and evolution cannot be done on the first turn of the game for either yourself or your opponent regardless of who goes first. If you bring an opponent's Pokemon's HP to 0, it is knocked out. Once that happens, your opponent discards their Pokemon and all cards attached to it to their discard pile and then then move one Pokemon from their bench to their active position. You then pick up one of your prize cards.

Billy replied "Ooo! I want prizes! What kind of prizes?"

I replied "Prize cards are cards from your deck that are set aside in a separate area before the start of the game and determine how long the game will be. The more prize cards are used, the more opponent Pokemon you will need to knock out to win the game. The number of prize cards is determined by your opponent but stronger opponents will typically mean needing to pick up more prizes."

Billy replied "Ok cool! So how do you win?"

I replied "You can win in 1 of 3 ways: by claiming all prizes, by your opponent not having a Pokemon to place in the active position after one of their Pokemon was KOed, or by your opponent being unable to draw a card from their deck at the start of their turn if they already drew all the cards in their deck."

Billy raised his hand and asked a question "Mr! Where can I find opponents?"

I replied "To find opponents, clubs are the easiest way and contain duelists that specialize in decks that their club pertains to. The grass club has decks with grass energy for example. Each club as a leader/master. Each club also has a lobby where you can talk to NPC's sometimes trade cards, and sometimes find opponents to duel. Clubs are located on TCG Island which is our island! GR Island has its own clubs which are called fortresses. Clubs only have 3 rooms and have fairly straightforward simple designs and decor while fortresses have several rooms and are more complex in design and decor comparatively."

Billy asked "But Mr, how do you know about GR Island?"

I replied "I read it in a magazine once!"

Billy replied "Ok so whats the easiest way to make an opponent lose?"

I replied "To do that, you should construct a good deck which uses types to target your opponent's weaknesses."

Billy asked "How do I do that and what's a weakness?"

I replied "Not to worry, Billy! I'll teach you both about weakness AND resistance!"

Billy clapped his hands excitedly.

I continued "Most Pokemon have a weakness. Some Pokemon have no weakness. If a Ponyta which is a Fire type with a Water weakness takes an attack from a water type such as a squirtle attacking for 10 damage, weakness means that the opponent will take double the damage and the Ponyta would take 20 instead of 10. Exploiting weakness is one of the best ways to increase damage against opponents. Having a variety of decks to take advantage of this, is a good strategy for beating most opponents. Some Pokemon also have resistance. A Pokemon most commonly has no resistance, but some Pokemon have resistance to Lightning, Psychic, or Fighting. Resistance will always be -30 which means attacks that Pokemon takes from a Pokemon who's type they resist is reduced by 30. This means damage of 30 or less is ignored entirely. Resistance is a powerful defensive capability."

Billy replied "But what if my opponent is targeting my weakness! What do I do?"

I replied "Ah, that would be a good time to swap your active Pokemon by retreating or switching your Pokemon! You can retreat your active Pokemon with another Pokemon from your bench after you pay the energy cost for retreating. The retreat cost can range from 0 to 4. Paying the energy cost means discarding a number of energy cards equal to the cost to retreat. Retreating can help to clear status effects and end some kinds of effects from attacks made by your opponent. You can also use some trainer cards or Pokemon powers to switch!

Billy replied "What types are Charizard and Muk?"

I replied "There are 7 Pokemon types: Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Fightning, Psychic, and Colorless. Charizard is a Fire type. Since there is no poison type, Muk is a Grass type."

Billy replied "How do I play Charizard?"

I replied "After evolving a Pokemon, you cannot evolve it again in the same turn. A Charmander cannot evolve into its stage 2 evolution Charizard but must first evolve into Charmeleon and then into Charizard after at least 1 turn has passed. Pokemon Breeder is a trainer card that allows you to bypass this resistriction and evolve a Pokemon directly to stage 2."

Billy replied "Ok I'm tired now."

I then bid Billy farewell. On my way out, I collected my fee from his parents.

(1.3)

April 15th
Unfortunately, I’m now so infamous on the island that no one will duel me anymore! Due to the sudden lack of income, I had to sell my vast collection of rare and uncommon cards! At least the proceeds allowed me to finish paying the mortgage off... only barely though as I had stretched my budget as tight as it could go to take advantage of the limited-time home discount! Good thing paying off a home lets it permanently belong to you! Could you imagine having something like a real estate tax but having no money to pay the tax so the government just comes and steals your entire house away just from you failing to pay a tax that was only a small fraction of the total value? What a horrible world that would be to live in!

May 1st
After pondering things for a while, I came up with a solution to my problem: from now on I will only use common cards in my decks! No one will refuse to duel me if they know I am using all common cards! It was starting to get boring winning with fully powered decks anyway... The challenge of this should also prove to be most stimulating!

May 2nd
I have constructed my very first all-common deck! The list is as follows:

FlashFire!

4 Voltorb Lv8
3 Ponyta Lv8
3 Dark Rapidash Lv24
3 Porygon Lv20
2 Doduo Lv10

4 Energy Removal
4 Energy Search
4 Pokemon Trader
4 Bill
4 Bill's Teleporter
3 Gambler
3 Gust of Wind
3 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run

7 Fire Energy
7 Lightning Energy

Voltorb. Thundershock: Flip a coin. If heads, the defending pokemon is now paralyzed. Group Spark: Does 20 damage plus 10 times the number of Voltorb in play. Retreat Cost: 0. Weakness: Fighting. Resist: none.

Ponyta. Kick. Fireworks: Flip a coin. If heads, discard 1 energy card attached to Ponyta. Retreat cost: 0. Weakness: Water. Resist: none.

In game, Pokemon Trader is a common card rather than a rare card as its real life counterpart is. No more card pictures can be posted due to a 10 file limit for images so they will have the effects listed as spoilers instead.

Trade 1 of the basic Pokemon or evolution cards in your hand for 1 of the basic Pokemon or evolution cards from your deck.

Draw 2 cards.

Flip a coin. If heads, draw 4 cards.

Shuffle your hand into your deck. Flip a coin. If heads, draw 8 cards. If tails, draw 1 card.

Choose 1 of your opponent's benched Pokemon and switch it with his or her active Pokemon.

Switch 1 of your benched Pokemon with your active Pokemon.

Choose up to 3 basic Pokemon cards, evolution cards, and/or basic energy cards from your discard pile. Show them to your opponent and shuffle them into your deck.

With this, I should be able to avoid being too weak to any one thing and I can dish out large amounts of damage with Voltorb and boost it further with Porygon if needed!

(2)

May 3rd
I intend to take things slow at least for now. As such, I plan to visit the various clubs and duel all their regular members. If I can handle them, I will attempt to defeat the club masters as well!

May 5th
Duels have been largely successful so far! Type advantage is a powerful force indeed with Dark Rapidash allowing me to make quick work of the members of the grass club, and using Voltorb to vanquish the water club. I even defeated a rather strange fellow by the name of Imakuni?! His Snorlax was a fearsome foe but Porygon and Voltorb teamed up to take him down!

(3)

May 7th
In my most recent duel, I seem to have caught the eye of a Doduo! It just keeps following me around everywhere! I tried to communicate that I do not have the funds or the inclination to keep it as a pet or feed it, but it follows me anyway! From its general behavior, I can already tell that it is lazy and gets its feathers everywhere! On the other hand, if it causes people to take duels with me less seriously, it will likely reduce my chances of opponents refusing to duel me! Since I stand to benefit from this arrangement, I suppose I can tolerate it.

May 9th
Doduo continues to follow me and has begun taking attacks from my opponents cards... it actually loves it! Ridiculous! I realize that Doduo are common in our land but I usually don't have one around me long enough to realize if such behavior is common to them or not! Oddly, I remembered hearing that they always sleep one head at a time, but this one seems to sleep with both! If it has the ability to stay awake at all times, I can't fathom why it would behave in such a manner! At this point, I find it incredibly unlikely that this bird will ever leave me be. I have never seen such a stubborn Doduo! I couldn't leave it behind even if I wanted to. Its recovery from attacks is simply too fast as are the legs that carry it! It also seems to hear very well while sleeping waking at the slightest noise so sneaking away is likely a fruitless endeavor.

(4)

May 11th
I have now cleared the science club too but have now suffered my first loss against John of the Fire club! I only had Doduo, Porygon and 1 Voltorb to work with. There was simply no ability to draw enough cards as Gambler malfunctioned and his Magmar set me back too far even after I KOed it. I shall see how he does in the rematch though!

May 11th
The rematch was successful, but oh no! Now we fell victim to the dreaded Johnathan who kicked us while we were down with only a Ponyta to our name with no energy! Unfortunately, the teleporter constructed by the illustrious, Bill, had failed to draw cards 2 times! After being on hold for several hours with the Bill’s company after the duel, I learned that despite a team of IT working around the clock, the malfunction is expected to continue for some time despite my pre-paid teleportation services! Perhaps it will be functioning once more in the next duel? Bill’s company is also responsible for the outcome of the Gambler card but those are the only cards the company affects the results of.

May 11th
Alas, Bill’s gambling establishment has not yielded the 8 cards I was so clearly in need of! Now I suffered another loss at Johnathan’s hands! Oh the shame! Surely my adventure shall not be ended right here by the likes of that pompous windbag! If I still had my rares he would not have stood a chance! Then again, he would have simply refused to duel me and then I would be getting nowhere...

May 11th
I did not want to lose against my arch nemesis, Johnathan again, so I made arrangements to wait until 8pm to duel again since the teleporter seems to be more stable at night for some reason... Perhaps there are less users at that time? I also decided to bribe an employee of the gambling establishment. Although my funds are low, hopefully the investment will pay off and my cards will now work as they should.

May 11th
My plan appears successful! I won 3 duels in a row against Johnathan. Hopefully his victories against me will prove to be just dumb luck.

(5)

May 11th
Although I have been earning plenty of booster packs from my victories as is the general custom in any duel, I have simply been selling them to earn more money since I already have a full play-set of all the common cards anyway! Speaking of money, before leaving the fire club I found myself feeling quite hot in my suit and the lobby of the club was selling fans! Alas, all of the Scyther themed fans were sold out. There were still fans left, but they were all Doduo themed! Oh well, better to feel the breeze of a fan with Doduo than be miserably hot without it. I purchased the fan and made great use of it for the next 30 minutes. Doduo of course was quite smug regarding my purchase as it danced about gleefully.

May 14th
I decided to challenge the psychic club next. Of course they foretold my arrival but they also knew I would win! Some stress-free duels was a nice breather after the mishap at the fire club. My foes here could only gaze with looks mixed of equal parts wonder and dread as I sliced through them like an inordinately heated knife upon a particularly flimsy stick of butter! Upon their dispatchment, they illuminated thusly that I should make haste for my rivals in lighting at their club of origin.

May 16th
The lightning club has fallen. Nicholas mounted a valiant defense as I struggled to procure the 2nd lightning energy in the game for something akin to 15 turns...My next destination will be the fighting club!

May 18th
The fighting club offered Chris as a worthy opponent. After losing the first bout, I redoubled my efforts and brought him down a peg in the next! Jessica was the last of the resistance to crumble. Only 1 club now remains. Its lightning resistance is most unsettling. The rock club!

May 20th
At last, the begrudging boulders have been blasted out of bounds! Ah, such splendid use of alliteration! It's a good thing I don’t plan to allow anyone to read this diary! How embarrassing that would be! Anyway, the leader of the bunch proved to be Matthew who after thwarting my efforts once was not able to repeat his success!

(6)

May 22nd
At this juncture, we now find ourselves embroiled and entangled in a most expert extrication of the leaders of each club. Our first foe shall be the green goddess herself, Nikki! It would seem her "Nik" name of goddess is well deserved as she harnessed the power of Pokemon Breeder to dash, decimate, depreciate, and destroy my designs by bringing forth on turn two of the game, a Venusaur bent on becoming my biggest bane! If such tactics are to be repeated by her, this may end my bid for greatness before it can truly begin! A rematch cannot not be avoided if I am to prevail!

May 22nd
To my great pleasure, I was not only afforded the honor of the initiative in our 2nd bout by winning the opening coin-flip of the game, but I called forth the mighty Dark Rapidash to tread upon her schemes. Suffice to say I Nik'ed her good that time! Ah my humor is quite humorous indeed! Almost a shame my diary shall never be read by anyone! My next foe shall be the mermaid of the sea, Amy of the water club!

May 24th
The power!!! Overwhelming power the likes of which no foe has ever faced. An unstoppable torrent of 80+ damage attacks starting on turn 2!! To say that she had no chance doesn't begin to describe the utter folly of her attempts to undermine my challenge!

(7)

May 26th
My next defeated club leader was of the science club, Rick! I shall now make our way to the one who wields the pure flame, Ken, leader of the fire club!

May 28th
There are most who quench flames with water and some who fight fire with fire. But it turns out if you just zap fire, it subsides rather easily! At least, that is how it must have appeared to curious onlookers as I tore through all opposition Ken threw at me! Upon completion of the duel, I received a letter from none other than Murray leader of the psychic club! "The fates have aligned and the over-performing deck of the common masses must have its satiation upon me". Who was I to contradict the leader of psychic phenomena? To Murray!

May 30th
Satiation is indeed what occurred but not without a bout with the monstrous Mewtwo! Aided by the schemes of the vile Mr Mime which prevents weaknesses from functioning, it thwarted all efforts to bring it down in a single blow. A number of my allies fell to its might before bringing the abomination down. Thankfully the Kadabra that followed fell just short of victory. With this latest triumph, I now set my sights on the leader of lightning, Isaac!

(8)

June 1st
Alas, the problem with bribing the employees of the gambling establishment is that once the develop a taste for the finer things in life they begin to dream big. Just when the 8 cards from Gambler was needed, I found the odds were once again outside of my favor. It appears more funds must be drained from the wallet now for the continued success of the bribery.

June 1st
What is a gentleman such as myself to do with a single Doduo faced with an Electabuzz? The answer is peck it twice and fall in disgrace. At least the rotund bird was doing its part for a change with successful coin flips before collapsing in a messy mass of feathers. (They always take such an absurd amount of time to clean and they stick to most objects with incredible ease!) Needless to say, I lost, but I shall not accept such an outcome! Honor demands a rematch!

June 1st
When the rematch began, to my great dismay what should unfold but the exact scenario from the last game! Now the gambling employees refuse to stack the odds even with the additional funds! Does their rudeness know no bounds? Whats more that Bill's Teleporter was yet again malfunctioning! There must be something afoul at foot here. Though these setbacks were grave indeed, I managed to achieve stabilization and forged a path to victory! (Unfortunately there are now additional feathers that require removal as that fat bird continues to revel in its masochistic tendencies…)

June 1st
Upon completion of that competition, a man approached me from the shadows and asked to meet him outside. As it turns out he wanted to conduct a short interview with me! The interview pertained to my exploits with FlashFire!. The more people that know I am using common cards, the less I have to explain to opponents who would otherwise refuse to duel me! I gave the man as many details as he wanted even though the mask he was wearing was somewhat disconcerting despite or perhaps because of the smile the mask had. Apparently he is from a completely separate island, known as GR Island! He had mentioned his king was scouting unusual talent and had sent him here to gather information. Such a curious individual, but no matter! With that now behind I now travel to the fighting club to test my mettle against its leader, Mitch!

(9)

June 1st
After greasing the wheels a little more, the gambler card yielded the payoff owed to me! As for Bills Teleporter, the IT investigation determined it had been unplugged roughly half of the time! I do hope they determine the cause of such strange happenings as they do not provide refunds when the device fails to receive power! Regarding my foe, the battle against the brute was building bombastically before the final bow was brokered as I claimed the final prize of the game. Our final opponent on my fair island is the leader of rock, Gene the great!

June 3rd
Gene the immovable, Gene the undaunted, Gene the master of pesky resistance to lightning. Though he resisted, he was not the immovable object he appeared to be. The culmination of our duel pitched Onyx against Doduo. No doubt that bird lays about on purpose so it can get hit more often as the coinflips required for its damage failed often! It takes a perverse delight in spreading it feathers about like the plague it is... Begrudgingly though, I must admit the effectiveness of that fat lazy excuse for a bird here. I suppose I shall endure the cleaning of its feathers with less of the usual frustration.

June 3rd
My challenge is now complete! There can be no doubt that even with a deck comprised purely of common cards I still remain strongest in the land and now I am no longer lacking in funds! If this shows anything, it is that with iron resolve, a deck full of commons and fat lazy birds, one can prevail despite the failure of bribery and the failure of power reaching a critical device!

(10)

June 4th
In the evening, I was in my study, sipping the sweetest cup of tea when a masked man swung in through my window! He was wearing a mask with the symbol for colorless energy prominently featured, just like the one the reporter who interviewed me had! He then demanded a duel with the stakes being that if he lost he would repair my window and become my butler, but if he won then I must allow him to kidnap me! Of course I challenged him, figuring my chances to be good indeed and I could certainly use a butler!

Despite my exuberance, the duel proved to be intense! He used many colorless Pokemon with high HP like Chansey and Snorlax and a massive torrent of energy removals! In the end, I wasn’t able to KO a single one of his Pokemon and the duel ended in bitter defeat!

As he approached to bind me, Doduo jumped out and stood between him and I! My foe took a step back at this bracing for an attack from the bird.... But the bird just stood there. Blinking, staring vacently. Exhibiting no aggression! My assailant then threw out a capture net upon it which caused it to tumble. It then made a pitiful lazy excuse for a screech as it was hurled into the sky by some kind of anti-gravity device from a blimp in the sky! As the fat bird ascended, its movement and expression was that of pure joy.

Before I had a chance to attempt escape I found myself bound in a net as well and suffering the same fate as the bird! The moment I was aboard the blimp I was promptly gagged and put to sleep by means I cannot recall. I woke up at some point to jot this down quickly before sleep took me again.

(11)

Mission Report

May 24th
Recent reports indicate there is a new card champion on TCG island. That miserable backwater hardly holds any duelists of interest, but recently it came to light that the new champion is also the one who is defeating the club masters with a deck comprised of only commons! Whats more is that this duelist appears to have no name! I simply cannot pass up the opportunity to investigate as this may be the breakthrough we have long awaited...

June 1st
I can't believe it! There it was! This changes everything. Our plans must now decelerate until the proper moment. His instructions were very clear that this should take precedence. Indeed it is the only thing that does! For now, I shall bide my time and report back to that imbecile King. That should get things moving.

June 2nd
Response came faster than anticipated. It appears that witch is being useful for a change! I was right to decide to come here myself. It may well have led to my selection for the abduction.

June 3rd
Preparations for the abduction are complete. Not that there was much to do. GR's blimps are well stocked for any task after all. Now all I need do is bide my time. I will strike at night when he is unlikely to have guests. I will forgo the duel requirement since a refusal to duel from him would require a massive overhaul to stage 1 of the plan. From what I have heard, I am far from needing a duel requirement to defeat him and his confidence should be at an all-time high...

June 4th
The duel went flawlessly. What a hopeless idiot he was to think he could beat me with commons. His Doduo on the other-hand displayed a possible aggression I was not prepared for! Hand to hand combat with a Doduo could prove deadly and I am too valuable to allow myself to perish now, not when the time is so close at hand! Fortunately, it went down with the back-up net I brought. Once it was caught, it was easier to just take it with me. I can unload it at the same time I unload our new passenger. Besides, it may even prove useful.

June 5th
I read his Diary and understand his deck. Unlike how careless he is with his diary, I actually take precautions to safeguard this mission journal. His latest entry was amusing as expected which is why I let him wake up and write it before putting him back to sleep again. Although he is no match for me, he should be able to put up a fight against the non-members on our island. This bodes well for the 2nd stage of the plan.

As for the 2nd stage, preparations are complete and the members are in place. They will be my eyes and ears without realizing it. If the plan is successful, prophesy will be working in our favor!

As for the 3rd stage of the plan, construction of the facility is not yet complete, but the hiring process is already underway. Once it is constructed, we will no longer be able to come and go as we please. We will need someone on the inside, so I will need to get creative. One of the nameless should do. In fact I already have a target in mind. If I were to arrange for deportation I believe she will become quite receptive to my influence in the absence of her only support. At that point, all I need do is put her on the same path as I. Once she is initiated, the real fun will begin.

The 4th stage of the plan will prove most difficult. I will first need to antagonize him. The timing and set up for the final phase of stage 4 must fall within the parameters of the prophecy. If it works, we will have all that we have worked for. With prophecy working for us, the Third Eye disbanded, and the Ghostmasters sealed, the time is ripe!

It is now almost time. I will return the diary to the gentleman and I must soon unload the passengers. I will make sure none of his cards are missing as that would prove to be... counterproductive. I will also be sure to leave the note with him that I was given. I have already read it's contents and it should prove to be a most effective motivator for him.

My immediate task will be to report to the insufferable witch. After that, I will wait and see what happens and will involve myself beyond my predetermined role only if needed until stage 3 of the plan.

End Report

Authors notes:

Imakuni?! is a joke duelest the game included with a weird battle track for any duels. He is one of the weakest duelists and plays badly. You can easily earn cards by defeating him, but he travels around the various clubs and fortresses so it can be hard to find him.

Apparently it is possible that actual Pokemon roam the islands in the games but you never see any. I took this concept and applied it only to Doduo for the story.

FlashFire! uses Porygon to switch weaknesses of opponents Pokemon to increase damage done by Voltorb and Dark Rapidash. Porygon can then retreat on the following turn with its 0 retreat cost without paying energy to swap in the Pokemon the opponents Pokemon is now weak to. AI in game cannot perceive the threat of weakness being switched with Porygon, so your ability to retreat to attack the new weakness is not something the AI opponent will try to prevent by retreating their active Pokemon which would clear the effect of Porygon's Conversion attack. This makes Porygon great vs AI but not nearly as much vs human opponents. Doduo has fighting resistance which allows it to defeat a variety of opponents of that type. Porygon also has Psychic resistance. Lightning resistance would greatly diminish the value of Voltorb, but Porygon can make it so that a ground type like Diglet changes its weakness to lightning. Resistance applies after weakness, which allows Voltorb to defeat things that resist it.

In the sequal to the original game, Team GR (aka Great Rocket) invades the island and steals all the Pokemon cards from those on TCG island using a blimp that sucks the cards up into a weird light which I interpreted as anti-gravity technology for the purposes of this story. The members of team GR wear masks representing different energy types and the first part of the game involves the player traveling to the different clubs to free them from Team GR to assemble a coin to allow them to use the newly added airport on the island to travel to GR Island. The player would then need to defeat all of the members of Team GR at each fortress in order to proceed to GR castle where the final duels of the story of the game take place. Team GR has several duelists that require you to use specific cards in your deck or to avoid using certain cards so the player is forced to craft multiple decks to proceed through the story.

The gameboy color games can save the game, but it calls the ability to do that the "diary". Thus when you save the game the game indicates that "Insert Protagonist Name" wrote in the diary.

Only the Prologue is written in diary format as an easy way to advance the plot to a point where the story becomes more interesting. All the remaining chapters will have much more details.

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Chapter 1: GR Island

(11+)

When I awoke I found myself on an unfamiliar island with a folded card set underneath my deck of cards laying nearby:

"If you wish to return to your island, you must seek the king of this land and earn his favor! To do so, you must defeat all willing opponents using nothing but common cards. Unwilling opponents are those that require you to change the cards in your deck. If they do this, they are unpopular social outcasts whom no one likes but merely tolerates. Their favor is meaningless. Oh and don't count on any booster packs to help you either. Instead we will be giving out IOU's for you to claim if you can defeat the king. If you do not seek the favor of the popular folk of this island, you shall simply starve as the inhabitants of the island (both popular and unpopular) find amusement in your suffering. -GR(aka Great Rocket) Psychic Leader Clair"

Attached to the note was a brochure map of GR Island detailing numbered locations and various duelists, kind of like what one might pick up at an amusement park. It even had an x drawn on it with a note “You are here”!

Doduo of course was nearby.

I thought to myself that my assailant could have sold it, but the way it spreads its feathers about likely made it more trouble than it was worth. Apparently the bird finds the prospect of starving amusing. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. That bird regenerates at an incredible rate. Even if knocked out in battle, it wakes up shortly after, picks itself up, and follows me no matter how swiftly I may walk.

Doduo rolled around in the grass littering its feathers about. But feathers, however irritating they may be, were the least of my concern in such a situation...

(12)

I checked my pockets but confirmed I was now missing my wallet, so I knew I would be unable to continue my bribery of the gambling establishment. Perhaps they will accept IOU's? I thought to myself amusingly. Hopefully my time on this island would be shorter than the amount of time I had set up to gain from my prior bribery. I did still have my other common cards with me, but I had already created the strongest all-common deck I could think of. The only one that seemed elated by this over-all situation is that bumbling bird. Of course it should love this.

To get out of this mess, I knew I would have to do exactly what the note said and win duels against the duelists of GR island. Checking the map, I saw that the first location was the GR fortress of grass. As I am not keen on starving, I reasoned the best way to proceed would be to play all worthy opponents in each fortress culminating in winning a duel against the leader. There would simply be no time to travel about dueling only basic members of a fortress and then traveling around all over again just to challenge the leaders.

I was glad I had a hearty victory meal prior to my kidnapping. At least the note said nothing about dehydration, so I can presumably have water at least. I thought to myself.

Before I began I travels, I reasoned that I might need the teleporter to be operating at peak efficiency as I have never been to this island before and have no idea how strong the opponents here could be! I pulled out my phone and dialed the number for Bill’s company.

(13)

As I painstakingly navigated through a tangled web of phone prompts Doduo decided to frolick in a nearby field spreading its feathers about. I suppose an experience of being stranded with the threat of starvation like this is exactly what that bird dreams of...

After selecting a total of no less than 46 phone prompts the line finally went to a queue to be answered! An automated voice said “Please hold while we work to connect you. Your estimated wait time exceeds what we have been programmed to say. We value your time and thank you for your patience.”

What kind of purgatory is this? If this is what happens when they value my time, I don’t think I would EVER want to find out what the opposite looks like!

Then it came spouting forth. Oh it sounded pleasant enough at the time, but little did I know just how long this hold time music would be playing… refusing to have my phone blare what would soon become my least favorite string of notes and sounds, I decided to use my headphones instead - just one though! To use two, I would have to be quite mad indeed...or a Doduo I suppose.

I then found myself thinking of Doduo.. its rotund body looked like it could make a reasonable mount and its legs are surprisingly sturdy and limber.... But those feathers... if I should try to ride it, those feathers would infest every inch of my suit pants! Dare I befoul my precious attire with a plague of its detestable feathers? If I ride it though I can conserve energy and reach destinations at least as fast as I would on foot...

It wasn't long until I found myself attempting to ride the dumb bird. I confirmed it could support my weight rather easily, much to its dissatisfaction. It clearly wanted to be crushed, but at 170 pounds and at a height of 5"11, I simply just didn't have what it took to measure up to that dumb birds aspirations. Since I had come this far, it was time to start moving. Right now. In that direction. Over there. The bird simply stood there! I spent the next 5 minutes trying to get it to move when it finally started to go! In the wrong direction!

I exclaimed "No! Not that way! Turn over here! This way! Please?"

At that Doduo stopped, tilted one of its heads, and then started pecking the ground quickly forming a hole and then plunged one of its heads in scooping up some worms to eat. Mortified, I watched it feast on something so unpalatable that I would rather starve than eat it. As it ate, the faces it made suggested it was objectively disgusting and yet it couldn't seem to get enough of them. Well, at least my appetite won't be bothering me for a while!

Having seen enough, I dismounted and confirmed I was now covered in its fowl feathers.

I then had one more idea: grabbing a long nearby stick, I grabbed a worm, impaled it on the end of the stick, and remounted the fat bird. I then held the stick out ahead just out of reach of its long necks. Doduo looked at me. It then looked at the stick. It then made an expression of... amusement mixed with...smugness!? It then used one head to grab the stick from me and the other to eat the worm!

"Why?" I found myself asking.

So apparently it has some modicum of intelligence, yet it uses it only for the purposes of driving one mad! Clearly, relying on that bird for travel was far out of the question! I then began my trek on foot to the GR Grass Fortress while meticulously plucking feathers out of my suit the majority of the journey as I wondered to myself just how that bird can seemingly be molting at all times everywhere it goes... The bird of course made sure to follow, often running ahead only to circle back as if to tell me just how ineffective my poor excuses of legs were to its own...

(14)

After finally arriving at the GR Grass Fortress, I noticed the entrance was full of grass with bushes in the corners and vines growing on the walls! Some random sections of grass was left longer. Normally one would have to go outdoors to experience the outdoors, but not so in this place! There was a doorway to the right leading to the lobby and a doorway dead ahead leading to the depths of the fortress.

First, i paid a visit to the lobby and of course it had a restroom and one of the best inventions of mankind! A water fountain! Ah, to be able to drink as much fresh water as one desires free of charge was a dream come true on an island bent on my starvation! After I drank my fill, I made it a point to stop at the water fountain at every future fortress I would travel to. I also noticed Doduo using the Doduo water fountain near by as well.

The lobby was very much like any typical fortress or club lobby but each had their own nuances. For this one, I noted the hardwood floors and flower beds in the corners. It had the food and snack counter too as well as the typical PC in the corner. In the center of course was the duel table. No proper lobby would be complete without that! Feeling refreshed I then made my way inside the main section of the fortress.

I entered the first room and took note of the dim lighting in the place. All of it was coming from patches of some kind of bioluminescent moss that grew on and around the various rocks! There were also several mush rooms. Most of the floor was simply dirt.

Doduo began jumping around the room ramming itself into the moss covered rocks. Some of the luminous moss was getting in its feathers which were scattering about the place in typical Doduo fashion. Whatever. Since the place is mossy with an outdoor feel, I didn't felt obligated to pick up Doduo's feathers for once.

Standing in the center of the room in forboding lighting was my first opponent from GR Island: Melissa. She wore a large straw hat with the GR logo on it, a white shirt and a pair of blue overalls. She was blond with freckles and had har hair in pigtails. I guessed her age might be 16.

She noticed my approach as she just finished yawning.

She then spoke "Maaaaan, its so boring here. The king ordered everyone at their posts ages ago. What took you so long to get here?"

I replied rather annoyed "Apologies if kidnapping has inconvenienced you. I'll try to be kidnapped better next time."

She then laughed and replied back "Wow! I thought the kidnapping was just a rumor! So they really did do that? Finally something interesting around here! You know whats more boring than watching grass grow?"

My expression was not thrilled as I repled "Watching moss grow perhaps?"

Her expression was shocked as she replied "Woah! How did you know I was going to say that? Are you a psychic?!"

Noting that her reply was too genuine to be sarcasm, I gave my reply.

"No, I am not psychic."

She then replied back "Wow you must have amazing intution!"

I sighed and replied "You wouldn't happen to have any food would you?"

She then put her hand in her pocket and began speaking as she began pulling out an individually-wrapped large chocolate-covered pretzel!

"Oh well sure! I have this- WAIT A MINUTE! The King decreed that NO ONE is allowed to give you food!"

I then replied "Did the King give you the name of the one you could not give food to?"

She then blinked and stared blankly for a moment and then her expression changed as if she just remembered something as she replied.

"...No! He didn't, but he said the gentleman would be wearing a red suit! That means you!"

I then replied "Oh this suit? Why this is a crimson suit my dear! Why would you think it is red?"

She then stared hard and suspiciously at my suit and then at me. I gave her my most convincing confident smile before she spoke again.

"Iiiiive never heard of crimson before. I think you're making up colors! Nice try bucko!"

I replied "Well if you are unwilling to believe me, then perhaps you would care to wager your food in a duel?"

She then replied confidently with her arms crossed and eyes closed. "Nope! I don't need to do that! Parker said that your only way off this island is to duel us! So you're going to duel me anyway!"

I then lamented how close I was to that pretzel she had in her pocket, but proceeded to duel her. My Dark Rapidash made short work of her.

She then replied "Wait what? That's it?? Nooo! My shift isn't even close to being over and the King had us clear our entire schedule just to duel you! Say... you wouldn't want to maybe duel me again would you?" She asked while batting her eyelashes.

I promptly replied "Not at this time unless you are willing to part with food."

She then signed and replied "Aww... alllllright... just be sure to come back here if you ever want to play again, okay?"

I replied "After being kidnapped and starved, I should think the chances of that are quite low indeed!"

What is with the people on this island? The King orders a kidnapping and they simply find it interesting? They don't seem particularly willing to part with any food either!

Finished with its unique form of "fun" Doduo trotted along with me as if it hadn't just spent the last good while ramming itself violently into moss covered rocks...

I then passed through the doorway and hall to the next room.

The next room was roughly half the size of the previous one. In here the floor was covered in straw with bails of hay stacked in all the corners. In the middle of the room stood my presumed next for, James! He wore the same getup that Melissa had but had his hat angled in a way to cover one of his eyes while exposing his blue hair on one side and the back.

Noticing the hay, Doduo immediately leaped into the nearest pile and began rummaging about in it getting hay everywhere.

James didn't notice though since it was behind him and he was confidently staring right at me. He spoke.

"So! You managed to defeat Melissa did you? Well too bad you have to get past ME!"

I replied "Do you use grass types my good man?"

He confidently replied "I sure do!"

I replied "Oh good, this will be quick then."

I noticed the confusion on his face as we began our duel.

James fell easily to my Dark Rapidash.

He exclaimed "Noooo! Why did you have to have a fire deck!?"

I corrected him "Actually, it's a half fire deck but of course I would favor the fire side of it against you."

He then retorted "Ha! Well you just got lucky! There is no way you will beat the others on our island! I wonder how many it will take for you to meet your match?" He smiled cruelly at me.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the hall towards the next room with Doduo now trailing behind me. Hay had worked its way into almost all of its plumage. It's true I am very far from my goal and I am indeed benefiting from type advantage here. It's not like I have a choice though! I must press on if I am to avoid starvation!

As I walked down the hall James exclaim "My hay! What happened to my hay?! This is going to take HOURS to clean! NoOoOoO!!!"

I couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto my face. I had a good chuckle as I walked down the rest of the hall.

In the next room it had neatly trimmed grass with some small flowers in it as well scattered about. The walls were lined with shelves, some with orange flowers and others with purple.

Doduo looked rather bored in this room as it yawned.

I then encountered Liz who was watering flowers...alone... in a corner. She as wearing another one of the straw hats with the GR logo but she had on a green shirt. She had freckles, blond hair, and looked to be about 20 years old. The moment she caught sight of me, she started spouting some such nonsense as that she would be unwilling to duel me unless I change my deck to suite her fancy! Clearly she was one of those unpopular folk of the island. She then started her drivel of how no one ever wants to play with her and how she just wished everyone would use no energy in their decks except grass energy! Unswayed by her pleas, I declined to debase my deck in such a fashion purely for her entertainment. She then muttered something about how the masses of the downtrodden shall overthrow the yolk of the popular as she resumed watering her flowers with the intense look of one who had been denied for the very last time... Not wanting to linger there any longer, I absconded away as quickly as my legs could carry me farther in to the fortress.

I finally made my way to the deepest reaches of the fortress. It was a massive indoor garden! The floor was all grass with some patches that were allowed to grow longer and some small patches of flowers here and there. Shortly past the entrance was a wood log bridge over a small stream right inside the building! It looks like it was constructed over a real stream from the outside. I noticed some fish swimming in it as I crossed. In the center of the room were hedges trimmed to the shape of giant letters "G R". Further ahead was a hardwood platform which was up against a bed of purple flowers and it was flanked on both sides extending into the corners small pine trees. On the wooden platform was a man.

With all the space Doduo began running about the room kicking up small amounts of grass and flowers as it went about.

The man on the platform introduced himself as Parker and smiled at me as if I was a guest and was not actually kidnapped and being forced to duel my way through the island to avoid starvation!

I spoke first "Good sir, while I can appreciate the virtue of manners, I think the kidnapping puts a bit of a damper on it wouldn't you agree?"

He replied "Well... yeah... sorry about that! I personally was against it, but when our king wants to do something we don't exactly get to tell him no..."

I retorted "Enough pleasantries. The clock of my starvation ticks and I'm ready to be done here. En-guard sir!"

With the Fire and Lightning types of my deck perfectly suited to counter Parker's deck, he did not last long. I swiftly turned to leave once it was done leaving him there with with his awkward nervous smile after he lost so badly.

Doduo of course trailed me on my way out.

As we passed by Liz she was watering flowers but was smiling as she did and looking directly at me the entire time.

As we passed by James, he was hard a work piling up hay. One of the piles nearby had yet to be tied. I caught sight of Doduo looking at James presumably to make sure he was distracted and then it kicked over the hay pile near by as it sped up its pace a bit. As we walked further away, I heard James call out again.

"Not agaaaain! Why does this keep happening!"

Chuckling again as I made my way down the hall, I soon arrived at Melissa's room again as I noticed she was closely inspecting her surroundings. As I walked by, I heard her muttering.

"Now where did I put that pretzel! My special chocolate covered pretzel! Where did you go?"

Before leaving I stopped by the lobby again for more water.

(15)
Before I could make it to the water fountain, I finally heard a voice from the headphone! After held in a form of torturous stasis for what felt like an unimaginable vast eternity to reach the Bill's Incorporated company, a clearly outsourced representative with a thick Neo Island accent asked for my name! I quickly took a seat at the duel table, switched to speakerphone and announced my identity and scope of my inquiry to discover why Bill's teleporter so often finds itself unplugged despite my prepaid services! I awaited the next words with baited breath but the representative disclosed to my abject horror that I had reached the incorrect department for my inquiry despite the fact that I had already been transferred twice! Quickly i attempted to explain the situation thus far, but as I laid out my case the representative spoke with greater haste than I and announced I would again be moved from the present connection to yet another! As the abominable music from my phone resumed its tortuous melody, I felt my heart sink in despair.

“Will no one solve this mystery?!” I silently screamed in my mind.

Just when I imagined it could get no worse, my fat lazy bird of a Doduo began to dance to the tune of my misery as it littered the floor with more of its precarious plumage!

“Of course that bird would prefer this ghastly torturous track!” I thought to myself bitterly.

Had I the free use of my communication device, I might even find a way to escape this island, but the prospect of a disconnection of the current call after my incalculable suffering at the hands of phone prompts, absurdly long hold times, transfers, and monotonous low quality sound attempting to pass itself off as music proved to be an even greater penalty than death by starvation, so I elected to remain in the current state of things...With a heavy heart and the constant noise of what should be a useful device, I embarked on my next quest to the GR club of lightning... but not before Doduo poked me with its beak.

I whirled around, tiled my head and said to the bird "What?!"

It simply stood there with a dull vacant look in its eyes. I was about to turn back around when I noticed on the duel tabel behind it was an unattented packaged large chocolate pretzel! What luck! I hastily shoved it in my pocket and embarked to the GR club of lightning savoring my pretzel as we journeyed there.

Under normal circumstances, I would have inquired as to the pretzels owner, but under a kidnapping and the threat of starvation all bets were off!

(16)

When I finally found myself fixed inside the fortress of lightning, I feared my feet may give in to fatigue so I flopped to the lobby for a chair to rest my legs.

This lobby had large pipes made of glass with visible electrical current along some of the walls. The floor was large steel tiles.

I discovered the only open seat was at a duel table! The man, Peter, informed me that in order to sit, I must be willing to duel him. I could understand that as it was a duel table after all. What kind of monster would just sit down at one taking up space like that when there are always so many people looking to have a duel? No. Such manners would be far beneath my upbringing. I of course agreed to the duel as my primary mission required me to anyway. My Voltorb made quick work of him and for the spoils I was able to enjoy the seat a while longer. Once I was refreshed, I made my way to the water fountain, drank my fill, and then made my way to the interior of the seemingly experimental facility of lightning.

The first room had a pit so far down that I could not see the bottom. A steel bridge connected the entrance to the other half of the room which was lined with construction fences presumably to keep people from falling to their deaths. The floor was comprised entirely of large steel tiles. There were a couple machines, 1 in each corner. They looked like old style very large computers. At one of them was another member of team GR.

Doduo was looking excitedly over the edge into the dark abyss below. It looked so badly like it wanted to jump right in but was seemingly restraining itself.

The GR member introduced herself as Cassie. She had a protective helmet with the GR logo on it and wore glasses, a black shirt, and yellow overalls. She looked to be about 10 years old. Before I could even begin to great her, she waylaid my ears with praise and adoration for Pikachu cards and of her firm believe that all duelists everywhere should have decks that contain 4 of them. I wished to pass by, but of course the button for the door was located directly behind her. All attempts to pass by met with and equal and opposite reaction as she continued her declaration of all things Pikachu! I was suddenly starting to sympathize with the staple status citizens as she droned on and on for what must have been 30 minutes! Finally she asked me if I would duel her with her conditions.

I replied back the moment the last single syllable of her silly sentence was complete: "No thank you."

At this she wailed the wail of a thousand tortured souls. As she was distracted by her own distress, I dodged to her side and found my hand upon the button of my salvation! With the door now open, I quickly retreated to the next room. On my way out I heard the onset of a call to an apparent acquaintance of hers: Liz of the GR Grass club. Wanting to be about my way, I tarried not a moment longer.

Doduo followed me but looked longingly back at the abyss of doom from the previous room.

As I entered the next room I found a massive red pipe-shaped machine that took up the entire right wall. On it were large letters: GR. In the far left corner were a couple other smaller machines Presumably intended to monitor the large red monstrosity. At a small control panel on the monstrosity was another member of team GR.

Doduo looked profoundly dissapointed with the room as it continued to look longingly back down the call towards the previous room.

As I approached the member of GR turned around revealing himself to be an elderly chap named Chip. He wore a protective hat with a welding mask that was turned up so he could see normally. He wore a yellow suit and brown tie. His hair had all turned white with age and his eyebrows were very bushy. It turns out he was completely obsessed with lightning energy.

I attempted to explain to him that with the addition of another energy type to a deck, it is more adaptable and less prone to weakness, but he adamantly and stubbornly refused to listen stating that with enough will power the power of lightning can overcome all odds. I resonated somewhat with this as Voltorb does indeed seem to make a case for such things, but never in isolation. The efforts of its allies are what allow it to triumph!

I offered to demonstrate the deck I displayed, but he would have none of it and demanded I debase my deck to that of only lightning. When I refused, he became obstinate and ornery indicating that any who had not attained an age such as his was of lessor intelligence and was unable to understand the insignificance of all other energy types when compared to that of lightning. I left the man of questionable sanity to his ramblings as he hobbled away to the prior room in a hurry calling out to Cassie.

Doduo let out what sounded like a sigh as it followed along.

I now entered the final room of the fortress and found myself quite shocked that there were no popular duelists to stand between myself and the GR leader of lightning, Catherine!

The room had a large GR logo stamped in the middle of the floor and a large control panel with all sorts of flashing lights just past it and attached to a massive machine with large pipes and chambers or sections. Lining the room were glass pipes with visible electrical current running through them!

Doduo looked like it was considering property damage to get its kicks from the electrical currents in the glass pipes but it seemed to be restraining itself again.

Catherine wore the same style of welding cap that Chip had as well as a yellow suit white dress shirt underneath and a blue tie. She had long blond hair and deep blue eyes. she looked to be age 15. She spoke.

"Oh wowza! Its the gentleman!" She hopped up and down a couple times and continued.

"You look like you might be fun to duel! Come on! Fight! Fight!"

"Very well, lets see who's lightning is stronger, shall we?" I replied with a confident grin.

Amusingly, Catherine's specialty was to induce absurd amounts of power into lightning Pokemon increasing their damage by 10. To her abject horror, this worked very much against her as my own electric attacks ripped through all of her defenses with incredible ease!

Upon losing she remarked "Oh no! I've been beaten with my own rules!! Bzzt!"

With another leader down, I deigned to declare my next destination as the fortress of water!

(17)

Upon entering I noticed the floor was comprised of small seashells that had been flattened an presumably cemented to the floor. There were a couple large puddles in the entrance room.

I visited the lobby for my routine water. Apparently the water from this fountain directly connects to an enriched aquifer deep below the ground. This water was simply the very model of refinement! As for the rest of the lobby, it had a mixture of small blue tiles, yellow tiles, and brown tiles and a couple tiny pools with blue glass orbs with a black water energy symbol in them sitting on top of small pillars in each pool.

I then made my way into the main area of the fortress. The first room had a pool of water surrounding a raised platform connected to the exit and entrance by wooden plank bridges. The floor was more seashells.

Doduo jumped into the water and began to swim around the perimeter of the room.

In the center of the platform was another fanatic by the name of Jacob. He wore a blue wet-suit and a black bandana with the GR logo. His skin was significantly tanned from sun exposure. He looked to be maybe 14. The moment he began speaking, it became evident to me that his tedious tirade of how water energy is the best energy type would not be ending any time soon! Thankfully his eyes remained shut as he confidently droned on. In fact he was so distracted by his own speech that I was able to simply walk right past him into the next room! Thankful that I need not endure his inane ramblings, I made my way to the next chamber.

Doduo swam quickly leaping out of the water and onto the bridge as it followed.

The next chamber was massive and housed a glorious and impressive waterfall of epic proportions! The height of this room must have been upwards of 50 feet! Along the sides of the waterfall were natural rock cliffs! There was a large platform in the middle connected to the entrance and exit by small wooden plank bridges. The platform was surrounded by water except for the side near the entrance. The floor was more of the trademark seashells. Thee was a third bridge that connected to the waterfall with covered an entrance to another room!

Doduo ran full speed into the waterfall! It then began to run up the waterfall! Once it got to the top, it flung itself down onto one of the rocks below. It looked immensely painful. I honestly have no idea how it survives these things! Shortly after, it picked itself up and hobbled about with a look of pleasure upon its faces. It released an absurd amount of feathers during this stunt.

I would have loved to linger in this place but I noticed the all-too-excited gaze of another would-be duelist by the name of Cody. The vice imposed upon this fellow was such that he should glorify all things Magikarp! He insisted that a fabulous treasure lay beyond the bridge and cave behind the waterfall, but only those with 4 Magikarp in their decks may lay eyes upon it.

I glanced the other direction and noticed a sign that read "this way to the leader's chamber" I gave one look to the hopeful Magikarp fanatic and one look to the room's exit and quickly stepped away as he desperately spoke as fast as he can trying to sway my opinion on Magikarp. He then quickly began offering me many different things to stay and duel him, but the more desperate he became, the more suspicious I became.

He then started to try to give me pencils, hats, drink coasters and small car chargers - all of them Magikarp themed - but I knew the game; accept anything and it becomes a form of psychological entrapment meant to lure you in to listen to their supposedly short speech that would no doubt last hours! Once that happens its only a matter of time before they try reeling you in to purchase a questionable time share and running your credit without asking! Oh I’m sure his gift card for listening to his sales pitch would be real but to a far greater extent would be my regret of the time wasted!

Fully expecting this used-car-salesman of a duelist to follow me throughout the entire rest of the fortress, I indicated to him that I might duel him on my way out if he waits patiently. Thank the stars it seemed to have worked! I quickly made my way deeper into the fortress.

The next room initially appeared to be unoccupied.It was a long room full of water, some small platforms, and long wooden plank bridges connecting them. Our of the water in several locations scattered about the room were rock pillars. The floor was the same as the previous rooms.

Doduo leaped to the nearest pillar landing on it gracefully. It then began leaping from pillar to pillar with great finesse. When it got to the final pillar, it failed massively plunging headlong into the rock and sliding down into the water. I loomed over the edge to see it floating with several bubbles coming up. I considered jumping in to help it but it rolled over and let itself float around while it breathed. It looked satisfied, so I decided to ignore it.

Just as I was about to make my way towards the next room, A figure dramatically flipped from the depths of the water onto a nearby platform and with one of the most absurd poses I have ever seen, my foe declared himself as Alex. He wore a green wet-suit and a snorkel mask connected to oxygen tanks. He was wearing a black swimcap and gogles for his eyes. He was a bit chubby. His gear made it too hard to guess his age. He boldly spoke.

"I heard how you use your bench to power up your Voltorb but I bet you can't beat me if you have 2 less bench slots!"

I inquired as to how much he would be willing to bet. He then pulled out his wallet and revealed his funds. Realizing that the amount of money needed to maintain my bribery of the gambling company was ever mounting, I wagered his funds would prove useful and thus our duel commenced!

How one such as he became someone who is popular here I will never know. His cringe-inducing actions ceased the moment my victory was claimed. It baffles the mind that he actually reasoned such a restriction would inhibit my ability to secure dominance in our duel. He laid his funds down and with overly dramatic posturing sunk himself back down into the depths.

I then proceeded into the central chamber. There were multiple waterfalls pouring into a pool in the middle of the room. Out of the pool in the middle was a large stone platform connected to the entrance by a stone bridge. The platform was at the stop of a set of wide stairs. the water from the pool in the middle spilled over the edge below into another pool that the bridge extended over.

Brooke the GR leader of the water stood atop the platform and greeted me. She wore a white swim cap with a red GR logo on it. She also wore a white bikini that left rather little to the imagination. She had brown eyes and very tanned skin. In fact, I could tell it was actually sun burned skin!

Rather than discussion of the duel we would proceed to, she was preoccupied with how one ought to not use tanning beds to frequently and how it will make you look darker than you realize. She explained she was always kept indoors and unable to bath in the warm rays of the sun, so she thought she could make up for it in the tanning bed, but the tanning bed was on too high of a setting. Her motions were stiff and calculated as she winced from the severe sunburn. She then commented that Bills inventions are not all they are cracked up to be, especially Bill's Ultra Sun Tan Super Deluxe Bed! I instantly empathized with her as we began our cordial and respectable duel.

Our duel swiftly concluded. Water was no match for my Voltorb no matter who wielded it. She did notice how my Bills Teleporter only seemed to function half of the time though and expressed her sympathies. After the duel, we compared our general grievances regarding Bill and that the marketing of his products far exceeds their benefits. She was impressed by my ability to draw 8 cards with Gambler though and concluded it must be fated that the win became mine. I allowed her to draw her own conclusions on the matter rather than attempt to explain the benefits of bribery as I made a graceful exit.

As I made my way towards the outside I passed Cody who looked at me expectantly while approaching. I quickly explained there was an emergency and that I would be unable to duel after all and quickly left. Having a real emergency of kidnap and potential starvation was feeling pretty amazing right now all things considered!

Back into the initial room, it seemed Jacob was now concluding his thesis on all things water. As he opened his eyes, I paused for a moment.

He then exclaimed "I can't believe it! You're the first person to ever listen to me all the way through! I was going to duel, but just being listened to is more than I could ever ask for! Mark my words, friend, when the resistance rises, we shall set you aside and our wrath will spare you!"

I simply nodded and performed a slight bow as I exited and returned to the lobby for more of that exquisite water!

I then visited the counter with my newfound funds and gazed at the assortment of snacks they had for sale. I attempted to purchase one but the employee manning the lobby store refused to take them out for me to purchase stating that by order of Clair on behalf of the King, no one was to sell or provide food to me. "Well, it was worth a shot" I thought to myself. I then made my way out of the fortress.

The next destination would be the GR of Fire Fortress!

(18)

As I entered the fire fortress, I was taken aback at how they have literal lava flows inside the building! The only thing that struck me more than the unbearable heat was the absurd amount of money it must take to maintain such a spectacle!

Reasoning that I would be losing hydration quickly in this place, I made my typical stop to the lobby for water. The lobby was a fantastic and comfortable temperature. The floor was all what appeared to be black rocks, perhaps obsidian. After drinking more than I usually would, exited the lobby and made my way inside the main section of the fortress.

Lava lined most of the walls in the first room.

Doduo walked up to the lava and peered intently into it. Before long its feathers caught on fire as it ran around gleefully as its burning feathers started falling off.

Ignoring the insane bird I noticed the next memeber of GR waiting in the room: Jess. Notable was the mask upon Jess's face. When I inquired as to why, Jess simply replied ominously that one should never seek plastic facial surgery from Bills discount doctor services. Not wanting to keep the matter focused on such a horrid topic I quickly pulled my deck out for our assumed duel.

I fought fire with fire as my Dark Rapidash clashed with Jess's Dark Rapidash. My Pokemon proved to be the greater of the two however! Upon the conclusion of our contest, Jess pulled up the mask to cover the eyes in shame as I noticed the face appeared perfectly presentable. When I inquired upon this, Jess pulled the mask off and looked down to the left while admitting it was just a stunt meant to garner sympathy in the hopes of it affecting the duel. Having no clue how one should respond to such a revelation, I simply shook my head as I departed for the next room.

The next enclosure offered the same extreme in temperature. A raised platform of rock connected by a stone bridge on either side with a pool of lava surrounding the platform on all sides though the bridges were far enough above the lava for it to be safe to cross. How anyone could stand about all day in such places though was utterly beyond me. It had to be near 110 degrees here! Granted, even that seemed cool compared to what I would expect temperatures around lava to typically be. Even so, my poor suit will no doubt be unfit to keep wearing once I am done here!

As I tread into the tumultuous temperature torture, I noticed Doduo happily rolling along the floor to finally put out the literal fire in its feathers. I suppose it does need to put out flame because if all of its feathers burn away it won't have any left to leave about everywhere! Well, at least we will not need to tidy this place of feathers for a change!

(19)

I then noticed who appeared to be perhaps a little girl of age 10. She had light blue eyes with light blue hair to match. Kind of like the color of a blue flame. She also wore a blue shirt but had a light yellow apron on with the GR logo on it. She then approached me and introduced herself as Kara and that she has been taught to duel anyone who desires, but only if they empty their entire deck of all energy except fire.

What is with this island that it has so many odd and varied fanatics?! The common-folk of TCG Island never took to tedium such as this! I braced my ears for what I assumed would be yet another hail of pointless monologue about how fire by itself was superior to all other energy types, but to my great surprise, she simply asked if I would be willing to duel under the conditions! When I inevitably declined, she simply curled up on the floor to nap speaking of how its too hot to duel anyway.

It was at this point I realized that I still had that tiny Doduo fan that one typically acquires at theme parks! Reasoning that she will likely need it far more than myself, I presented it to her as a charitable contribution. GR member or not, this 10 year old did NOT kidnap me and deserves kindness!

At this her face lightened mentioning she had never received a gift before and would always cherish it. She then activated the device and lay about content as I went about my way.

"I'll make sure to tell them you are good. Thank you so much Mr!" she called out as I made my way through the door.

Doduo followed. Its plumage mostly charred. It actually looked more black than tan at this point. I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Doduo seemed pleased to be the focus of such things.

The next room was smaller but only a comparatively thin winding walkway separated the lava.

Doduo marveled at all the lava about this room but apparently decided it had enough fun with burns for now as it stayed fairly close to me pateintly.

My next would-be opponent was on the far end of the room and donned the name of Ellen. She wore a yellow and red cap and had beautiful long brown hair with bangs that covered one of her eyes. She wore a tight red suit with yellow buttons. She looked to be about 24 years old. I noticed how she might be close to suffering initial stages of heat stroke as she attempted to explain why every deck should contain 4 Eevee. I explained that she may need medical attention and should visit the lobby of the club where it is hopefully of more tolerable temperature. Clearly she wanted to speak further of Eevee but her weariness of the heat won out as she sauntered towards the exit muttering something about the regulatory body of the island needing to impose better workplace accommodations.

I decided to accompany her to the lobby for if she were to have a medical emergency, that would surely outrank some petty starvation of mine. I offered my arm to her which she accepted as I escorted her to the lobby. Half way to the lobby she started having trouble walking. To my surprise, Doduo ran out ahead and lowered its body! I helped her on praying it wasn't about to jump into a nearby pit of lava. I would try to carry Ellen, but I do not life weights and seriously doubted my ability to carry her. Doduo carefully lifted her and made its way to the lobby! Doduo cooperated in helping her into a chair in the lobby.

I then purchased a water bottle and brought it to her. She thanked me and gave Doduo a pet on one of its heads. She then mentioned I should come back and see her once my business here was concluded. She explained that they have a shower here and a fast dry cleaning service usually reserved for employees but that she would let me use them. What good luck! Here I was worried that a foul stench would linger upon me for the entirety of the remainder of my journey here! I thanked her and once I was satisfied she would be ok, I departed the lobby.

Curiously, Doduo stayed behind. Could it be that it wanted to keep an eye on her given her condition? Utterly perplexed, I made may way towards the furthest depths of the Fire Fortress.

(20)

In the final chamber, I noted there was even more lava than the other rooms! Lava below the bridge that connected to the central location. Lava above on a platform above spilling out onto the main platform before flowing further to meet the lava under the bridge. Surely just a few degrees hotter and the cards we dueled with would surely burst into flame!

I then took note of the opponent in the room, Bernard, leader of the Fire Fortress! I immediately noticed his pair of protective sunglasses as well as built-in fans to his apparel as well as what appeared to be tubes of some presumably cool liquid circulating throughout his cloths. Clearly this place of business operates as many businesses tend to do: favoring those at the top at the expense of those beneath.

Indignant of such a display I announced my intent to duel with more than my usual resolve! He then explained that fire in this place will have no weakness to water and that was the reason for implementing lava in the workplace. He explained how he finds far less challengers to surpass him in such an environment. Little did he know, I possessed the ability to make his Pokemon weak to whatever strikes my fancy with Porygon!

I took down the tyrant with several zaps from my Voltorbs and switched his weakness to allow triumph with my Dark Rapidash. His Rapidash and Magmar presented the biggest obstacles but were unable to withstand my onslaught.

I then scolded the fellow explaining he should offer better treatment of his employees as he clearly has the means. As I made my way to the exit, he merely laughed indicating his defeat is all the more reason to continue in his ways.

I made my way back to the lobby and noticed Doduo performing various antics to make Ellen laugh.

I went about showering and having my suit dry cleaned. Once I was done I began to leave the lobby and noticed Doduo trotted up to Ellen and nudged its heads affectionately on her arm. She smiled and gave each head a stroke. Doduo had a peculiar reaction to this. It seemed to hate it, perhaps, but appeared to be trying its best to convince itself of the opposite! Doduo then bowed to her before turning around and promptly trotting over to me. With Doduo in tow once again, my next destination was the GR Fighting Fortress!

(21)

Upon my journey to the next fortress, I stopped at the GR Island’s Challenge Hall. Figuring it was a good time for a rest, I sat upon one of its many unoccupied stools. I reasoned that they must not have an event currently going.

It was then that my phone spoke to me again! Quickly I answered and found the other end was occupied by one who was not outsourced to Neo judging by the lack of a Neo accent! A tear came to my eye as I explained the entirety of events leading to this moment.

I then learned the harsh truth: Bill Incorporated has been navigating a particularly tumultuous bankruptcy thanks to the mismanagement of its gambling wing. Apparently the winnings have far exceeded the accepted perimeters and they had to relocate Bills Teleporter to his home. I then learned that his nephew, Timmy, a toddler of the age of 3 frequents his home and often plays unsupervised. Apparently his unfortunate penchant is to unplug the teleporter at every available opportunity! Bill is frequently too busy on calls with Lawyers regarding the bankruptcy so he has little time for supervision but plugs it back in from time to time. The rep apologized and mentioned he would hire an employee to protect the power cable, but lacks the funds.

I thanked her for the information and concluded that my bribery of the gambling employees is likely connected to the failure of the teleporter. I wasn't particularly sympathetic considering the abuse I suffered at the hands of their demented call center, so although I could stop the bribery, there was a certain sense of ironic justice in its continuation. The teleporter will remain inconsistent regardless at this point anyway, so I opted to continue the bribery knowing that both cards will continue to occasionally fail.

Now that we have cleared up that matter, its time to phone my good friend Ronald to arrange to leave this phony resort behind! I dialed the number, lifted the phone to my ear, and then... nothing? The horrible truth then dawned on me: my phone had now died and I was without the means to recharge it! I slowly and deliberately slid it back into my pocket with dismay as I set out for the next destination.

At least that horrible cacophony of terrible phone-filtered music ceased! I could take comfort in that. That Doduo was without cheer as a result of the departure of the infernal music that plagued my ears no more was icing on the cake. Dumb bird! It would now have to find alternative sources of torture to placate its tendencies!

I then began the trek to one of the few remaining fortresses on this island: the fighting fortress!

Any reference to “Neo” is referring to the Pokemon Trading Card Game Neo rom-hack. It came out in the past year or so and uses cards that came out just after the original sets.

Certain opponents in the game change or add a rule to any duels played against them such as Catherine's ability as described in the story above.

Brooke in-game has an unusual skin color that i think is supposed to make her look tanned, but it just looks more like a sun-burn to me and was my inspiration for her sunburn in the story.

In the games, each island has a location/building known as a Challenge hall. Occasionally, there is a challenge cup held here where the player can participate in a mini-tournament against other duelists of the island to win a promo card if the player is undefeated after 3 or 4 opponents (I forget the exact number of opponents). Most of the time, a challenge cup is not being held so the building is typically relatively empty. Like clubs and fortresses, each challenge hall also has a lobby.

Ronald is the antagonist of the first game. Kind of like a counterpart to the rival from the mainline Pokemon games. Ronald's role in the 2nd game shifts to one that helps the player and scouts out Team GR.

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Chapter 2: The Undersiders

(22)
When I arrived at the fighting fortress, the receptionist informed me that the leader became lost again in the maze below and that I would have to venture in to find him. My questions regarding this matter were many, but my task was clear! To the maze!

The construction of the maze seemed relatively simple but it became apparent they had implemented trap doors in the floor to impede ones progress! I was not one to be hoodwinked by such measures so I simply navigated around them and found myself in a chamber with a lady by the name of Grace. She wore tight fitting yellow gym equipment and a thin white ribbon tied around her head. She wore fingerless gloves as well. I had to take but 1 look, just one to know what was about to happen. You can always see the hopeful desperation in the eyes… I made for a hasty exit as she began loudly proclaiming how fighting type energy is the best energy and all decks should only have that kind of energy in it. Clearly she has never seen what happens when you pit a fighting type against an especially dumb, lazy, fat, and masochistic bird or any other bearer of fighting resistance! No sir, i will not be making a fighting deck just so I can suffer a defeat at the likes of a creature like Doduo!

Thankfully the complexity of the structure allowed for my quick disappearance, but her insufferable monologue would continue without end for the entire exploration of the structure. If one ever needs to know if something is unpleasant, one need only look to Doduo. Indeed its smugness suggested enjoyment. I simply must be rid of this place as fast as is convenient!

As i explored the remainder of this meandering mysterious mole-infested maze, I chanced upon a man by the name of Tony. He had pale skin and was bald and muscular with no facial hair. He proclaimed we should duel but only if I were to downgrade my deck by removing the most useful common cards of all: Energy Removal.

"My good man" I replied. "I am already using a deck constructed completely of common cards and you ask that I debilitate it further? Why should you begrudge me what little advantage I can attain?"

He then began a tirade of how the cards are broken and should have never been invented and that they would be much better if a coin-flip was implemented for them to be successful. I then retorted that he was quite mad and that a coin-flip would render them pointless for all intent and purpose. Clearly he was not seeking refinement but rather oppression. It was already bad enough that Gamble and Bills Teleporter should often fail and this clod wants to nerf my power further? I bid him farewell as I made my way to the exit of this farce of a structure.

(23)

Upon returning to the lobby, I found the leader had returned! From what I could overhear in his conversation with the secretary, apparently in his exploration of his own maze he triggered one of the trap doors and he spent the better part of an hour inspecting the wall for secret passages! Eventually he turned around and found the stairs that had loomed behind him the entire time.

"I must have found the hidden switch to release the stairs" he proudly proclaimed.

The receptionist simply wore a mortified look as she mouthed in my direction the words "please make it stop" as she shook her head.

It would seem he did not find a secret switch to escape as there never was one and that the passage was already open and he had been too fixated on the wall to notice! Regardless of the apparent intelligence of this foe, his muscles were quite defined and he had a conventional charm about him. He wore black karate garb and introduced himself as Brutis. He informed that he developed his muscles from sparing with what appeared to be a disturbingly battered but equally disturbingly satisfied Doduo sitting up against the nearby wall. As such, all fighting resistance is eliminated for any duels against him. I then sensed what could only be described as longing from my own Doduo as it peered at Brutis. That dumb bird wants the pain to be higher than usual of course! Regardless, if I am to progress, I must surpass this towering foe of a man!

The duel commenced and I denied my opponent to properly gear his Pokemon with energy as Porygon and Voltorb cut through his lighting resistance. Towards the tail end of the conflict, Dark Rapidash made short work of his lazy Scythers. I don't think I have ever seen a Scyther attack. It seems all they do is take hits and then retreat once they can bare no more. To my amazement, their laziness exceeds even that of Doduo.

Speaking of Doduo, I made it a point for the entirety of the duel to avoid its use. In truth, I expected it to be full of despair at such a prospect, but through the keen twinkle of its eye I could tell it must have decided I indeed have affection for it to deny it of its joy and that it found comfort in that denial. There is something terribly wrong with this bird - no perhaps their entire species, and yet it offers a certain wisdom in finding happiness in unfortunate circumstances. Something to ruminate over perhaps?

There is yet one more destination before I can embark to the psychic fortress where that insufferable leader lurks whom presumably orchestrated my kidnapping: the Colorless Altar. I was not thrilled with the prospect of walking to yet another destination as my legs were starting to protest quite earnestly at this point. Still, I have to keep going! As I journeyed to that distant structure, I pondered what kind of a place it might reveal itself to be.

I made my way about half way there and had to rest on a nearby log. How was I going to continue walking? My feet are killing me!

Just then, a rather curious thing happened. Doduo lowered itself near me as it had done for Ellen! Could it be? Is this bird actually going to help? Dare I attempt to ride it once more? With feet throbbing this badly I reasoned I didn't have much to lose by trying so I climbed on. To my utter surprise, it began to run. IN THE CORRECT DIRECTION! As it turns out, it ran me all the way to the Colorless Altar!

After dismounting, I expected to be covered in feathers again, but somehow there were...none!? I looked at Doduo in shock. Doduo then started acting like it didn't notice me looking at it. "What a strange bird you are..." I found myself saying.

I then shifted my focus upon the structure known as the Colorless Altar.

(24)

Upon descending to the depths of the colorless altar, I found 3 mysterious figures loomed as they peered at me intently. Each one emerged from the shadows and stepped into the light as they introduced themselves: Alan, Avery, and Seth. I stared at them. They started at me. I stared at them more. They stared at me more.

Quickly growing tired of this inexplicable silence I opened my mouth to inquire as to which of them I may duel but each of them all spoke in a clashing cacophony of confusing drivel. Unable to hear any of them clearly I could make out great excitement from Avery regarding Dark Pokemon and that any good deck must contain 4 of them. To complicate the matter further, he wore what was clearly a Pikachu hat. From Alan he had specific excitement for 4 Dratini. From Seth, it was 4 Pidgey.

By this point I have had it up to here with all these insensible demands and asked any of them if they were man enough to duel me without hiding behind their fanaticism. They then began a heated argument among themselves bemoaning that each of the other two would not change their preferences so that they would be in unified alignment with each other.

I then inquired of Avery why he was wearing a Pikachu hat. He then informed that it was a gift from his dearest younger sister Cassie of the lightning club. This revelation certainly tracks as I recall her incessant overbearing love of all things Pikachu. Apparently he cared for her enough that he would always wear it even though he wishes Pikachu were a dark type.

I then inquired if he would agree to a duel if my deck contained 3 Dark Rapidash. He defiantly crossed his arms turned up his nose and proclaimed that his choice was clearly the best of the three but that he would not accept anything less than full compliance. I then reasoned that 3 was the optimal number for my deck but of course his reply was that 4 dark Pokemon is always optimal in every deck.

I paused for a moment to think and then asked the other two if they agreed with his assessment. As planned they then resumed their heated argument. Using the diversion as cover, I made my escape from the terrible trio.

As I was leaving, I turned back and noticed Seth who peers at you with closed eyes. What is beyond those eyes, and what should happen if he were to open them? I felt a sense of unease that hinted at unbridled power kept locked deep away by his farce of a 4 Pidgey requirement. Even in argument he did not truly seem bothered. I couldn't help but wonder what a duel with him would be like. I considered myself fortunate to not be required to battle him as I set out on my journey to the fateful encounter with the GR psychic leader, Clair.

(25)

As I approached the imposing psychic fortress I was met outside by 3 hooded individuals. They introduced themselves as Victoria, Clyde, and Heidi. Insisting that they had vital information key to prevailing over the GR psychic leader Clair, they bade me to join them in an important meeting of sorts at the GR Challenge Hall.

Though this was not in the direction I had intended they provided me with the most exquisite large salted pretzel. You know, the kind that you might get at a mall that is heated and can almost make for a meal by itself. Having not had any intake of proper food for the duration of this excursion, I found myself in agreement to their request.

Along the journey, Victoria was simply beside herself with adoration and praise for all things psychic and how all decks everywhere should only have psychic energy in them. To my astonishment or perhaps horror would be more apt, Clyde agreed with her assessment as long as said deck also contained 6 total Gastly and Haunter cards! Heidi expounded upon this further by imposing yet another restriction that said deck must also contain no trainer cards. As such, the 3 were united in what they considered to be the perfect deck: all psychic energy, a total of 6 Ghastly and Haunter, and with no trainer cards what-so-ever.

I calmly described that such a deck would surely not get far in any competition let alone in a card format of only all common cards! At this they exchanged knowing glances with each other and declared that I must duel against their self-imposed restricted deck. Did my ears decieve me? They are actually willing to duel me with such restrictions in place only upon themselves!? The only requirement for me was that it must happen at the GR challenge hall as part of their meeting. I was unsure what to say to this, so I agreed. Such a simple deck would have absolutely no chance against my splended common deck!

(26)

Upon arrival to the GR hall, I noticed the lobby was packed with individuals. I soon realized each was one of the "unpopular folk" of the island! Indeed they have all gathered here, but to what purpose I pondered?

They all stood to one side of the doorway leading up to the center of the lobby with the duel table. At the end of the table, sat none other than Seth of the colorless altar! He simply sat patiently peering at me through those eyes that somehow see despite being closed.

Heidi then stepped out to the other side of the table to address the crowd: "My fellow Undersiders, we have been denied a chance at each of our deck formats by the so called popular standard format folk! I am ashamed to admit my mother Clair has continued to champion their cause and ignores my pleas at every turn! Would not this fair land be best if each of us were able to impose our deck construction ideals one at a time every day in rotation to all who live here?!"

At this the masses raised their fists and shouted affirmations in a relatively simultaneous fashion.

Heidi then continued "But how can we achieve such an ideal society?! Who among us has the audacity to challenge them and win while imposing restrictions upon none but themselves?! My fellow Undersiders, I present this distinguished gentleman to you! He has battled his way through the entirety of TCG Island and most of our own island as well! He has never shied away once from his resolve of using only common cards in his deck! What's more, he has not once attempted to impose this restriction upon anyone but himself! I believe there are two among you who have things to add."

(27)

At this she stepped down and yielded the floor first to Jacob of the GR water fortress. "Thank you, thank you all!" He proclaimed before continuing "You know this day reminds me of a day I was at the stream pondering the superiority of water energy..."

At this, the crowd began a stir into an uproar as everyone was shouting various obscenities at him. "No one wants to hear your crap Jacob! If I hear one more anecdote involving water I swear I will lose my mind!" I heard someone shout loudly near my ear.

Embarrassed, Jacob took a more diminished posture and spoke again. "Um.. so what I was getting at was that this gentleman took the time to listen to me for over an hour! I don't think anyone has ever listened to me so intently before, so I think he deserves our respect!"

He then stepped down as someone behind me muttered "Oh thank Lugia he is done!"

(28)

Next to take the floor was none other than Kara of the GR fire fortress! "Everyone thank you for gathering here!"

The crowd replied with various phrases of adoration including one that caught my ear: "Such a sweet girl I never hear her push her love of only Fire Energy very far, all she wants is a roughly 70 degree room to duel in!"

Kara continued: "As you all know, its very hot at work every day, but I always try my best! I often asked for lava not to be flowing throughout the room and for the temperature to be 90 instead of 105, but my boss Bernard needs it that hot, so I just try to help! He even lets me attempt to impose my selfish restrictions of only fire energy on others!"

At this I heard a murmur nearby: "Poor girl, she doesn't realize that all fortresses everywhere allow the members to stipulate whatever duel conditions they want".

Kara continued. "I work hard every day in the hopes that my boss will one day gift me a small fan as I work, but upon our last meeting together, this kind and generous gentleman gave me the greatest gift of all! This special mini-fan that depicts the gentleman's most precious ally and friend, Doduo!"

At this I inwardly cringed. This was the fan I picked up on a whim at the bargain bin of of the TCG island fire club! Of course the only one they had left was the Doduo version. I did my best to present a convincing smile.

Kara continued "I've never been given a gift before unless you count the water energy Jacob gives me from time to time. No, Jacob I do not want to build a deck with only water energy! I've told you this many times!"

At this everyone but Jacob had a good chuckle. Jacob on the other hand was turning beat-red.

Kara continued "This man has my respect!" At that she gave a small curtsy as the crowd applauded.

(29)

Heidi then took to the floor once again. "It has long since been foretold that a foreigner would arrive to our island from an island withing a 402.5 mile radius of our island, and I don't mean anyone outsourced from Neo! It was said he would bring unity to the UN-unified and bring about great societal change! It is my hope- no, my belief that this distinguished gentleman we see before us is the foretold one!"

At this everyone was silent awaiting the remainder of her speech.

Heidi continued "However, there is still one more foretold event that must occur before we can rally behind our new leader. He must defeat the acolyte of the phantom card Lugia, whom we all know is Seth, in a duel using the restrictions from the GR psychic club Undersiders! Mr gentleman, I implore you to take your rightful place as our esteemed leader upon winning this fated duel!"

At this I did the only thing natural to do and took my seat opposite to Seth. As he peered through his eyes I could tell he was squinting them. Ha! The chap thought to scare me pretending his eyes were totally closed the whole time!

Seth spoke "Gentleman, we shall now see what you are made of. Do be gentle with me.” he said as he peered undaunted and totally unbothered."

Something about this put me totally on edge.. as if this entire duel was a farce and that he has no intention of dueling in any serious capacity.

I replied: "I shall do what any man must do for additional pretzels! That is to challenge you to a card game of ridiculous unbalanced proportions to determine the fate of the entire island!"

The duel commenced. He played an energy on his lone Gastly Lv8 which had 30 HP and attacked with Sleeping Gas. The coin flip resulted in tails and thus my Voltorb was still awake. I responded by removing his energy with Energy Removal, attached a lightning energy to my Voltorb, and attacked with Thundershock which resulted in Gastly becoming paralyzed. It returned to his turn and he attached another energy and passed his turn. I then attached a 2nd lightning energy to Voltorb and attacked with Group Spark for 30 damage to knock out his Gastly. Since he had no remaining Pokemon, I was then crowned the victor!

At this he merely grinned and nodded with his nearly shut eyes the same as ever.

Heidi then took to the floor yet again and proclaimed: "Undersiders, we now have our leader! To unite our cause we have new uniforms for all of you to don!"

She then pulled out a box stuffed full of hoodies and continued "Please everyone take one, we have ordered enough in all sizes for everyone except Jacob!"

At this, Jacob appeared equal parts confused and curious and when he reached the box, he pulled out the one with his name labeled but it was for a size larger than anyone on the island. With no hesitation, he pulled it out and put it on. It looked completely ridiculous. I then noticed the figure on the hoodies; it was a stylized emblem of my greatest bane made manifest: Doduo! Of course it was Doduo. Upon glancing at the bird it became evident it was positively and immensely pleased with itself. I pondered how it could be so happy when this was clearly far from the usual treatment it craved. One can never know all there is to know about Doduo it would seem.

Heidi then announced, "Henceforth we Undersiders shall be known as the Doduo Alliance!"

The crowd then began to cheer and holler as they hoisted me onto a chair built into a platform with wooden spokes for them to carry.

"My liege" Heidi declared bowing her head with reverence, before continuing "it pains me to no end we are unable to supply you with an anti-gravity blimp for the journey back to the psychic fortress, but we hope you will accept our humble hands in its place! Our duel restrictions are simply too strange for the standard folk to entrust us with such technology!"

(30)

I then replied "Erm.. yes very good then, carry on my wayward companions we shall make our way to the psychic fortress and then to the castle! Rest assured that I shall rest in this chair until I am needed and only after I am given another pretzel for the journey ahead!"

At that, someone from the crowd supplied the requested pretzel and thus our journey barreled inexorably towards its inevitable conclusion.

After far longer than one might expect and the caravan getting lost in the wilderness on more than one occasion, we finally found our way back to the psychic fortress!

Setting me down, Heidi then proclaimed, "From here the challenger must go on alone, for only the champion has the right to earn the favor of the standard folk!"

Under her breath I then caught her muttering "and I don't know how I could look mother in the eyes having organized this opposition! Forgive me mother!"

At this, I entered the threshold of the fortress.

(31)

Proceeding to the inner chamber I was greeted by Kevin. He proclaimed that passage to the upper floor with Clair is only permitted to those authorized to use it. To gain authorization, one must defeat each of the duelists in the room. He admitted that since all the rest had requested PTO for the day, all the work had piled on him, so I would merely need to defeat him to advance. Little did he know all of his fellow employees were outside as members of the Doduo Alliance! Eager to get things underway, we began our duel!

After an intense bout, I polished off my opponent using the ability of Dark Rapidash to target a foe on the bench for 10 damage. Notably, Doduo served a purpose in the pounding it procured at the wrong end of a Tail Drop attack for 80 damage. That it suffered overkill damage pleased it to no end...With my final lower-status foe vanquished I took to the seizure-inducing elevator as I ascended to face my fated foe, Clair the GR psychic leader!

As I approached, she crowed, "So, you have managed to avoid starvation and are seeking general restitution eh? You fascinate me, sir. Somehow your pathetic deck of only common cards has managed to make it this far on our island! I shall endure this farce no longer. Your Pokemon TCG2 journey ends with me!"

At that, our duel to determine my admittance to the GR castle was underway!

(32)

The duel as long and arduous as Clair unleashed a veritable torrent of Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal upon my precious stores of energy. With no means to attack, I was forced to fight off the licks of her Gastly with my trusty Porygon. As the turns accumulated, energy inevitably found its way more and more onto my Pokemon. What's more, I returned my energy with the ever trusty Nightly Garbage Run! Even Doduo gets excited when I play it as it seems to thoroughly enjoy the concept of garbage... With energy restored to fighting levels I then began plowing through her defenses with my loyal Dark Rapidash. She eventually brought out her ace: Gengar! It succeeding in Push Aside to send my Dark Rapidash and all its energy back to the deck. Unfortunately for Clair it had already taken 30 damage, so it was a simple matter for my Voltorb to finish the job! Once the terrible ghost was banished, Porygon and Voltorb teamed up to bring down her Kangaskhan bringing our turbulent tussle to its rightful conclusion!

(33)

Clair then spoke: "Congratulations, gentleman of the Doduo Alliance! I am aware of your following and have long predicted your arrival. Do forgive me for the note, I needed a way to convince you to proceed deeper into the island since you could have simply arranged to fly back to your home island at any point by merely turning around and asking the flight attendant. As for preventing you from eating, you required some extra incentive to get here in a timely fashion. Timing of things does matter after all, especially when viewing the world through powers like mine."

There was the truth of it, I have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, and deceived! I then asked her why she kidnapped me instead of simply inviting me to the island.

"You could have said no." she said with a sly smile.

She continued "Who would actually expect to prevail on our island with nothing but a ridiculous deck of only commons! But I knew you would, my predictions have never failed me. In truth, I have long awaited a chance to show to our king the error of his ways, but he is far to stubborn to listen to this old crone. Fortunately the masked reporter informed the king of your exploits on TCG island which caused him to take an interest in you. At that point, he entrusted me to select a man from our kingdom to defeat you in a duel and to abduct you. It was I who selected who that man may be and no I will not tell you who that is. That is something you will need to discover for yourself. But I digress, I needed someone with the audacity you possess to defeat the king with a deck full of commons!"

She began her devious laughter before stopping abruptly to add, "Now you must show the place known as the internet that your deck can defeat the GR king! You have only to defeat 1 of his lackeys to be afforded the honor, the other will surely join your merry band of misfits!"

I replied, "What is this internet you speak of?"

She replied, "It includes the they who preside over our world looking through their screens and watching our every move! Some of them will simply observe without any commentary to the others. Others will comment with no regard to humor or to our tales! There are even dreadful creatures I have heard of such as trolls and haters! Perhaps there may yet be some who will admit a perverse pleasure in reading this ridiculous improvisation of a tale spun merely on the whim of the one known as the 133TFR33k!”

Her expression then changed to completely serious before she continued “Hold. He has informed me that breaking the 4th wall in this way was not within the scope of his story and that I delve too deeply into matters that do not concern me! Very well then, I shall end our encounter merely with this: Good luck"

At that, I returned to the elevator as it began to descend. It stopped inches after starting.

Clair started to complain "Confound those accursed NEO outsourced repairmen! I told the king to hire GR citizens to fix this, but hes always droning on about needing more money to procure rare cards! Rare cards! As if they will save him from the impending storm of your arrival!"

She then walked to a nearby control panel and bashed it with her cane before muttering "Infernal contraption..." The elevator then resumed its decent.

Arriving back outside the fortress, i informed Heidi of her mother's involvement.

Heidi replied "She.. what?? She already knew? So she pretended all this time to be against the movement while making me lead it the whole way? This is so embarrassing!" she hissed as she turned red.

She then continued "There is no way I am going up there now, lets just go to the castle now!!" She proclaimed.

So, the final journey to the castle commenced much in the same fashion as the one that led here.

(34)

Upon arrival to the gates of the castle I was met by an individual known as Clay.

Before he could fully enter what I am sure would be a carefully crafted explanation about how all decks should only contain the Pokemon cards of Legend (despite there being presumably limited copies of the cards released) I held up my hand and proclaimed "Good sir, the psychics under my command have already informed me all there is to know about your deck requirements.(There was no need for him to know I had no clue. Sometimes one must simply play the part!) Now is not the time for our duel, it is the time for action against the GR king!"

At this he ceased his prattle, provided a salute and announced "Yes sir!" He then motioned for the drawbridge to extend.

I entered the castle with the Doduo Alliance trailing behind.

In a grand room with a lone table sat Allison, the 2nd in command of the GR kingdom.

She spoke boldly: "The club leaders have informed me of your movement. Cease your struggle as it will amount to nothing! No one can hope to defeat our illustrious king without rares in their deck! To insinuate it can be done is treason! To insinuate it can be done without even uncommons is.. is even bigger treason! You didn't actually make it here honestly did you? There is no way your ragtag deck of commons could have done it! I don't believe you. To prove it, I shall duel you and prove to everyone here and now that only commons cannot win!!! I have 3 different rules and will pick whichever I feel like. Deal with it scum!"

At this our epic duel(s?) began!

The first duel was with low resistance meaning it would only be -10 instead of -30.

After perhaps the most fierce struggle my allies had yet to endure fighting for our lives against the likes of Hitmonchan, Mr Mime, and Mewtwo, the bout ended in defeat! There were only 2 of 6 prizes remaining. "Interesting!" Allison exclaimed. "I did not expect your farce of a deck to even KO one of my Pokemon, let alone four! You will show me more!" she demanded as we entered into our 2nd duel.

The 2nd was using her Black Hole rule where all cards discarded cannot be returned. The duel commenced and proved to be every bit as challenging as the first! She unleashed her dreaded Energy Removals upon my Voltorb rendering them inert for most of the fight. She even brought out a Blastoise to my utter horror and fully powered it up with water energy! Thankfully Doduo was absolutely brimming with excitement at the prospect of utter temporary annihilation at the receiving end of its dreaded Hydro Pump. Its sacrifice was not in vain as my energy was restored before it was too late! I gave that Blastoise a group spark to shake the heavens as the terrible tortoise tumbled! With barely any prizes on her side remaining, I claimed the victory! She then exclaimed "How could I lose to deck full of commons! This has to be a joke and yet, though I pinch myself, it is clearly not a dream! Marvelous! Duel me once more, stranger and I shall permit you passage to the throne room. You need not even need to win our next bout, I will honor my agreement."

With that, our 3rd and final duel began! The rule this time was unlike anything that came before, no longer could I retreat my allies at will as all retreat costs an additional energy!

As the 3rd duel commenced, she assailed me with yet more Energy Removal and lead with Scyther. It did its usual nothing as Doduo meticulously pecked every inch of its chitinous carapace. Once it was clear it could afford to tank no longer, it made a hasty retreat at the cost of its own energy. Doduo now found itself staring down a Weezing. Since Doduo loves the idea of garbage, it had no trouble suffering a KO when Weezing exploded not once but twice to take the ecstatic Doduo with it! The field was now populated by my Voltorb and yet another Scyther. I decided to blow this one away with Gust of Wind so I could target the Grimer lurking on the bench. The Scyther then returned to do more of absolutely nothing. They are objectively the coolest Pokemon to ever exist though. I suppose they do not need to attack for them to have value. After zapping it away, I was met with a rather ornery Koffing. Once I dispatched it, the time for the decisive strike arrived as I finished the Grimer with my Dark Rapidash discarding its energy to finish the Scyther on the bench. And so, with 4 prizes remaining, my foe was vanquished at last!

Allison exclaimed "Marvelous! Simply marvelous! To think we understood the game so little that we rely on our uncommons and rares to carry us to victory when our deck building skills and tactics are so sorely lacking! With your power, you should be able to challenge our king. Go forth stranger with your ragtag group of misfits - what do you call them? The Doduo Alliance!" She proclaimed as I inwardly cringed once more.

Why must they pick that bird? Oh well at least I have followers to gather its feathers and my word were there many of them from the duels we had here! My new followers didn't seem to mind though as they eagerly gathered them as souvenirs and keepsakes. The absurdity! All the while the bird displayed its now commonplace smugness. Oh well, as long as it deigns to charge headlong into my foes, it suits my purposes...

I ascended the stairs and into the throne room beyond!

As I crossed the threshold of my newfound destiny, I stood in awe of its opulence and splendor.

"A fine set if I do say so myself." The words came from who could only be the king of this land. "My name is Villicci.”

He paused a second and continued “King, Villicci. All the decor you stand to view here was laid down my many generations of the citizens of our island. There is something to be said for their quality. But lately, I have utilized our coffers to pursue other interests; namely the vast accumulation of rare Pokemon cards! I have quite the collection you see, 3 decks in fact! Only my subordinate, Allison has been afforded the luxury of an equal amount of decks as I need someone at least close to my power to play against. You see, it quickly becomes a bore to be so powerful and to crush all of your foes with no chance of defeat. That is why I have had my eye on you for some time now. In fact, it was I who ordered your abduction. The gentleman, the one who wields the power of the masses. The gentleman who's skill at the Pokemon TCG knows no bounds. The gentleman whose mascot is a Doduo of all things! You know, one of my subordinates the leader of the fighting club has a Doduo. He beats it for training and the beast actually enjoys it! I have taken note that your following also embraces the foul fowl. There is simply nothing special about such a bird! It is a basic Pokemon! Sometimes it doesn't even do damage when it attacks! I have forced myself to study its properties and can only conclude that any who seriously use it without its evolution of Dodrio must be quite mad or a genius! So, stranger in this foreign land, which I inquire are you?"

(35)

I replied, "Duel me good sir, and you shall discover that for yourself!"

Villicci stroked he beard thoughtfully for a moment and gave his reply. "Then ascend to the dueling stage Mr. Gentleman and we shall have not a duel, but a match! Show me this fabled common-deck power of yours!"

With that, the match against the king himself commenced!

The match began with the utmost intensity. The deck he selected for the first duel was dubbed: "Burn Up!". Charmander thwarted my Porygon, but not before Porygon was able to switch its weakness to lightning. Voltorb paralyzed it in the turn to follow and struck again with Group Spark! Out came Clefairy which failed to keep my Voltorb asleep. I top-decked another Porygon which I used to convert Clefairy's weakness. Its shining fingers kept Porygon asleep this time. With no way to prevent the debilitation, the turn was passed. It continued its assault with the same result. Voltorbs continued to flow to my hand as I filled my bench with them. Finally after a 3rd strike, Porygon awakened! After retreating, my Voltorb made quick work of Clefairy and Magmar took its place. A single smog smote my Voltorb. Requiring a reprieve I played Gust of Wind to bring out his Kangaskhan which only had a single energy attached. I then made use of Gambler and was rewarded for my newfound gambling addiction with 8 more cards and a compete set of Voltorb! (On a previous turn I had played Nightly Garbage run, much to Doduo’s pleasure, to restock my deck) I then converted weakness again and my foe drew a card from the attack that followed. I then reigned the supreme thunder of a Group Spark down upon my foe for a mighty 120 damage! Magmar returned and attempted to obscure things with its smokescreen, but such attempts are pure folly against my deck! I returned to the already weakened Porygon to convert weakness yet again. Behind enemy lines on the bench loomed a Dark Charizard that Villicci had been building up! Magmar finished off Porygon but its victory was short lived as I brought down the might of the heavens upon its unfortunate hide with another Group Spark from Voltorb! Dark Charizard took to the field and laid waste to my Voltorb. The enemy also prepared a Mr Mime to neutralize weaknesses! With little time to lose, I made a mad dash for the foe with a Group Spark for 50 of its 80 HP! Its ruinous Continuous Fireball attack incinerated my Voltorb but I had another in the wings to finish off the fearsome fiery foe! Using a Pokemon trader in my hand I recovered yet another Voltorb from my deck and brought it to the bench. With the final piece of the puzzle set, I brought the last ounce of the power of my deck upon his Mr Mime and brought it down! With only 1 prize left from my foe, the victory went to me!

After the first game, the king merely chuckled. "Amusing. Luck does indeed play a role in the game, but surely your deck will not last against what remains in store."

With that, he pulled out the deck "Beat and Destroy!"

The game commenced with Squirtle vs Ponyta. Ponyta took a hit but was not paralyzed by the foe's bubble. I sent Voltorb out after it but it did not succumb to paralysis. I then brought his Clefairy out as I noted his hand appeared to be lacking energy. With Voltorb back in action, I hit it with a 40 damage Group Spark. After finishing the following turn in the same manner, my foe was then forced to bring out Scyther to the field. I'm not sure the inhabitants of the island realize just how lazy Scyther is, but its so cool I simply can't fault them for it and I think they are ok losing with it too for the same reason. Once the Scyther tasted the fire of my Dark Rapidash, it left the field since it knew it would have no further time to tank. The Lapras that replaced it was considerably less lazy as it used water gun to weaken Dark Rapidash. I then swapped for Voltorb and took it out in a single 80 damage blow! The king then brought out yet another Scyther to tank some more and look cool of course! One can say many things of the king, but never that he is without style. Dark Rapidash took to the field yet again and discouraged further tanking but then all at once, my foe was out of Pokemon to fill his bench! Dark Rapidash then went for the KO simultaneously ending both remaining Scythers at the same time as well as the duel, the match, the fate of this kingdom, and perhaps the fate of the internet! (whatever that truly is!).

(36)

Finally, the king looked up from the play-mat and conceded defeat before he spoke. "This is wonderful! Who knew a deck full of common cards could topple the duelists of not only your island but mine as well! Though I never saw your Doduo come out to the active slot in our games, I think I understand now. Doduo is always with you in spirit! Through your struggles and games, with the resilience of a Doduo, you carry on! You never let those stationed above you to tell you how far you may fly! No, you simply fly and soar above the clouds that produce such potent Group Sparks! Clearly you are well loved, as I can see the trust your followers place in you. I had labeled them all misfits, but perhaps they too have voices that should be heard. There shall be new laws in this land, the standard meta folk will no longer dictate all the rules, we shall now share with the downtrodden who follow you so faithfully! I would offer to share with you some of the collection of my many rares, but I now know you do not need them, my friend. Still, at least take these booster packs in exchange for your IOUs. Thank you for all you have done to show me the error of my ways. We shall always remember your deeds and your faithful Doduo! Take care my friend!"

Upon the defeat of the GR king, the Doduo Alliance cheered as they carried me away from the castle as I inwardly wished the king had given me some more rares so I could sell them! Even so, I opened several booster packs that the king had given me from the games I had won on the island. The Doduo Alliance was eager to help bring my weary body back to the airport since I had expressed a desire to go home. We snacked on pretzels and sang many songs on our trek back to the GR regional airport. Even Doduo seemed happy.

"Perhaps he is not such a bad bird after all", I thought to myself as I pet one of its heads.

The trip home was a peaceful one as I gazed upon the clouds. I would surely have many stories to tell back home of my grand adventure. Little did I know that not only would I be returning to GR Island, but that my true journey was yet to come!

Energy Removal is one of the most powerful trainer cards. Because you can play any number of trainer cards per turn, even if your opponent has set up multiple energy over multiple turns, you can remove them as much as you want as long as you play enough energy removal cards. It only removes 1 per Energy Removal card, but its a powerful defensive tactic against both AI duelists and even human opponents. Blastoise has a Pokemon power. Pokemon Power's are passive abilities for certain Pokemon with often powerful effects. Blastoise has a power called Rain Dance which removes the 1 energy per turn limit for attaching water energy to water Pokemon. This ability is so powerful, that a deck crafted to take advantage of it is one of the most powerful in the game and one of the most powerful decks to use in the old pvp metagame.

In the original games there were a a few promo cards known as Phantom Cards. I believe there were 4 in each game. They are normally unobtainable but at least in the 2nd game, 2 of them can be claimed as prizes for the Game Center which is a building/location in the 2nd game where you can participate in various activities to win chips that you can exchange for prizes. The other 2 phantom cards in the game are Here Comes Team Rocket and Lugia. Normally to obtain these, you would have to perform what was called a card pop with another player using the link feature of 2 gameboy colors. As such, these cards are almost impossible to obtain legitimately and typically cheating is the only real way to have them.

There are 4 status effects in the original Pokemon TCG: Paralysis, Sleep, Poison, and Confusion. A Pokemon can only be affected by 1 of these at a time except for Posion which can stack with the others. Status affects can only affect the active Pokemon of either player. Status effects can be removed by evolving, using certain card effects like the Full Heal trainer card, or by retreating the active Pokemon. Poison deals 10 damage to the affected Pokemon in between every turn. Paralysis prevents the pokemon from retreating or attacking until the end of that players next turn at which point the status is removed. Sleep acts the same way except it stays on permanently but with a chance of it being removed in between each turn. Confusion and Poison do not go away on their own. Confusion requires an attack to flip a coin to see if the attack will continue to the rest of its effects. If the coin-flip is failed, the Pokemon does not attack and instead suffers 20 damage. It also effects retreating. After paying the reatreat cost, a coin-flip will determine if the retreat is successful. If not, the energy cost is still paid. There are also attack effects that are not officially status effects. Porygon's conversion is an example of this as is Smokescreen from a Magmar. Those effects can be removed by retreating. You can retreat any number of times in a turn as long as the cost is paid.

Clair spoke "Greetings fellow readers! As long as I keep it inside of this spoiler tag, the 133TFR33k has permitted additional use of my powers! I hope each of you are enjoying the story thus far! Trust me when I say things will get more interesting from here on out! Just wait until you reach Chapter 5: Ghost of the Past! Now THAT is an interesting chapter! Don't expect many duels in it though, its going to be one wild ride of exposition! In fact, the majority of this story is original and created for after the outcome of the duels soon to take place at GR Castle! You can also expect some unexpected developments! If you are curious, my ability to break the 4th wall is rooted in the Pokemon first movie when Team Rocket alludes to being able to sense the audience! Perhaps I will speak to you all again in the future. Please feel free to talk to me in the comments and to provide feedback for this fanfic to the 133TFR3K as he craves attention and the potential for the ideas of others to be used in this fanfiction! I have even been permitted to reply to questions but only if you address me specifically. Until next time!"

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Chapter 3: Return To GR Island

(37)

It wasn't until nearly a month had passed when I took sight of a most curious letter on my desk on top of a box! The letter was embossed with the royal GR seal!

I opened it and it read: "My dear friend, thank you again for all the good you had done when last you were here. I wanted you to know we have set up a new gaming establishment and it has a most enjoyable castle attraction in which one duels several opponents! I would be honored if you attended the opening ceremony. Please stop by if you please." Signed the GR King - Villicci.
PS: I heard you like Pretzels so please enjoy the gift box. It has a variety of assorted gourmet pretzels from our finest pretzel bakeries.

"Most interesting" I thought to myself.

I had expected I had defeated all the inhabitants unwilling to disgrace my deck with their rules, but it seems there were some left! Since I have gone so far already, I may as well go all the way! But first... Pretzels!

After eating entirely too many of the delicious pretzels, I gathered my travel gear, wallet, one of the bags of pretzels, and a fully charged phone before setting out to the airport.

With the king's letter in hand and a desire to visit my newfound friends on GR island coupled with Doduo's eagerness to throw itself once more into danger, I found myself back at GR Island’s airport after my trip via blimp was complete.

(38)

According to the map enclosed with the letter, the game center was one of the closest buildings to the airport so I made my way there.

Upon arrival, I was impressed by the sleek layout and neon lights. As I crossed the threshold the doorman informed me that the King has been anticipating my arrival and is waiting in the lobby.

He also notice my Doduo and pointed out the Doduo daycare that was past an archway to the right. He also commented that the daycare does not have a door because trying to obstruct Doduo would just lead to broken doors if they become tired of it.

Doduo was rolling around with excitement at the prospect, so I stopped inside to take a look. It was a spacious room with a running track along the edge and several large boulders some of which reached considerable height. There were other Doduo in there some running, some jumping off of the rocks to land on their heads, and some running right into the boulders. And feathers. More feathers than I possibly could have imagined. My word they were everywhere! Some of the birds were fighting each other in ways that looked quite painful but they didn't seem to mind! There were also several buckets of worms scattered around the room and a large birdbath in the middle of the room. There was also a water fountain designed for Doduo to drink from in the corner. My Doduo surveyed the room and seemed amused. It then charged headlong into a fight between several Doduo and began a flurry of pecks and kicks as it happily took attacks back in the process. This was all a bit too noisy for my taste so I turned to leave my Doduo to its unique form of "fun". I'm sure it will find me later, and if it doesn't then that just means I don't have to clean feathers at home anymore!

Upon my arrival to the lobby, I noticed a rather strange man in a red suit. He bore some resemblance to the strange man in the black suit near the beginning of my common Pokemon card deck journey!

As i approached he said to me "I'm Red Imakuni?, The Rouge Rogue of Stardom! Oh, I remember you. What do you want? Did you come to watch me dance? Oh, or are you after an autograph? Eh? It's not like that at all? You just want to play cards? Alrighty! I'm ready to catch 'em all!"

And with that, our duel began!

The duel lasted about a minute as Ponyta took down his weakness canceling Mr Mime that was his only Pokemon.

He then announced "I'm going to take you out and put you on the clearance rack! Eh? I Lost? Well...that bites. When you see me next, I'll be even redder than I am now! I'm off to continue my vacation! I just love traveling. See you!"

And then he waddled away.

Just then king Villicci entered the lobby. "Ah my friend! It is good to see you again! I was just giving the center one last walk through to make sure it was in tip top shape for the grand opening of the card dungeon. You sir have the opportunity to be its very first challenger! Please come right this way!"

At that, I followed in the kings footsteps as he led me to the chip counter.

The king spoke: “For the various attractions, we employ the use of these game chips -not food mind you - which act as tokens. You have but to ask the receptionist here and she will supply you with some. I’ll be just over here as you tend to that.”

He then walked to the other side of the room with the prize counter.

(39)

I approached the counter and was given a bag of game chips from the receptionist. As she handed them to me and I went to take it, her grip held firm on the bag.

She then stated "Good sir, you will do well to remember to return these chips before you leave" she mentioned with a clearly fake smile on her face.

I simply replied, "But of course fair lady!"

She then leaned in close the smile now dropped from her face as she breathed "That's what they all say at first. They never learn. You have no idea how many folk leave with their chips in their pockets... Do you have any idea what it takes to manufacture these or what they are even made of? These. Chips. Will. Be. Returned."

After that her smile returned in full bloom as she cheerfully added in a normal "Please enjoy your stay~!" as her grip on the bag finally relented.

As I backed away slowly from the counter, her smile once again faded as she stared daggers at my bag and then at my face. Once she was sure no one was looking, she took her finger and dragged it across her throat slowly and deliberately. Meanwhile, the king was oblivious to the entire interaction as he was giving the prize corner nearby a close inspection. He looked up noticing my bag of chips and motioned for me to follow him inside the game center proper. As I tread, I could feel the receptionists cold stare upon me like the stare of one who had lived a thousand life times and had suffered torment for nearly the same length. I imagined she would make a fine partner for Seth of the colorless altar, I mused as I felt a shiver run down my spine.

(40)

The king spoke as we walked. "I had long been saving up funds for the construction of this place. Rare cards weren't the only thing I was doing with all my money, you see! Ah, see this, attraction here is called Bill's Computer."

As he mentioned it I inwardly cringed. Why anyone would voluntarily install one of Bills inventions given all that corporation was currently going through was unfathomable to me.

The king continued "It turns out I was able to get it for quite the deal you see!.." He went on in great detail to explain the discount, the mail in rebate, the special promotion, and his 20% off coupons..."

Turning to another corner of the room, he continued "Ah, over here we have the coin toss combo, you know, at first I was going to install a VR game where you play as and explore the world as a Scyther, but it turns out the cost for a coin toss table was so much more reasonable that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to save some money! A penny saved is a penny earned as they say!"

He chuckled a bit as we continued."Ah, and here we have the Black Box"

I peered at the mysterious imposing mass of electronics and pipes.

The king continued "In truth we actually have no idea of the full scope of how it works, thus the name we gave it. No one knows what its original name was either. We found it in some ancient ruins beneath this structure from before the renovation and construction of our game center. All we know is that you put 5 cards in and it transforms the cards! It then contacts the local mail department and arranges for the new card to be mailed to the sender! It may sound miraculous, but that is what it does! It took many generations of scientists in our family to even just make these discoveries. Regarding the original structure that was here, it bore some resemblance to the sealed fort on our island. Our families records goes back many generations, but the purpose of that fort has always eluded our understanding and no one has even been able to venture inside. The construction is of a most unusual material that does not give way to any known conventional means of bypassing it. A rather curious place!"

We then made our way to the back of the center.

"And here my good fellow is where we make the money!" He mentioned as he gestured to the back wall lined with slot machines.

He continued "I took a tour of Bill Incorporated's HQ years ago and was impressed with their gambling wing. The tour guide explained the basics of it and of its ability to create wealth! I then decided to implement slot machines here. Just look at all the happy customers too!"

(41)

As I glanced over the machines I saw several folks sitting seemingly in trance pulling levers over and over again.

I heard one lady say "Come-on baby just a few more spins to the jackpot! Once I hit it, I'll regain all the money I lost on my unlucky streak from my late husbands life insurance and then some! Then I will have the money to buy my poor disabled daughter that basic house she has always wanted!"

I looked in another corner and saw a rather concerned looking man who stated "20 thousand! I can't believe I have lost that much already! My wife will kill me if she finds out! I need to win this back or I can never return home again! Come-on jackpot!"

I then looked to another corner and saw a young man who stated "What, so I'm just supposed to stop now that I am out of money? That would make all the money I spent on this stupid machine pointless! I'm not going home until I at least earn back my losses! Time to whip out the ol credit card!"

I then saw an elderly man in the center of one of the rows. "Ah," said the king "That man is one of our regulars! Our best customer, in fact! May he live long and never run out of money!"

I overheard the elderly man say: "Hah, give the money to my grandchildren they said. Bunch of spoiled brats. They never want to work for anything.”

He continued in a whiny voice “Inflation they say! The value of wages is dropping! I can't afford a house! Why does rent keep increasing!”

He then continued in his normal gruff voice “Pathetic excuses from that entire lazy generation. They won't see a dime of my money! Not when I could be spending it here! Ah the thrill of the chase. It makes me feel young again. Whats a couple hundred million compared to so much fun?"

I then thought I caught something to the effect of "I've killed for less..." as he stared dead pan pulling the lever over and over and over and over again....

At one more machine I saw a young boy approach the slots. I recognize that boy! Its Billy! Mortified I thought to myself "I simply cannot allow this!"

Before I could think anything else an employee approached the boy and explained, "I'm sorry Billy, you know you have to be 21 years old before you can use the gambling machines."

Billy replied "When I grow up, I'm gonna win it big so I'll never have to work and I can pay off my parents mortgage so they never have to go bankrupt again!"

The receptionist replied "aww thats so sweet Billy, you run along now!"

I then thought to myself "I'm shocked to hear his parents went bankrupt! They were living in a mansion so I thought they had a stable life! What is going on here?!"

I resolved to look them up when next I return to TCG Island.

In one final seat, I noted a middle age man as he slowly released the lever with unfocused eyes.

The middle aged man stated "That's it then. I am finished. No more money. Maxed out cards. The money I received from leveraging my mortgage. The inheritance money. Even my late uncles blood money..."

He slowly began to walk out of the establishment with a look as if the mans soul had been drained from his body. Shuffling slowly and inexorably towards the exit.

I suddenly found myself feeling ill. As if everything wrong in the entire world had somehow packed itself into 60 square feet. I looked to the king but he seemed completely oblivious to it all. He must have a hearing impairment. Over the noise of the room I asked the king about the final attraction.

"WHAT?" Said the king in a loud voice.

I thought to myself: "That confirms it then. He most certainly does not hear well."

I then spoke up louder.

(42)

"Ah yes, the main attraction! We thought about what to do with this space for some time when I had the most brilliant idea! Why spend money to great an attraction from scratch when we can use the old existing ruins and convert it into a Card Dungeon! Thus we get all the look an appeal of authentic ancient ruins for virtually no cost at all!"

The king then went into great detail of all the money it would have taken to pay off a crew of NEO immigrant construction workers to create such a place.

After that, he stated "Well then, my friend! Do enjoy your foray into the dungeon! When you are finished, please do pay me a visit at my castle. I would love to hear how it went!" and with that, the king gracefully made his exit.

I looked upon the intricately carved stone doors.

"Welcome! This is the card dungeon! It's 10 chips per game. Would you like to play?" the nearby employee asked.

"Indeed I would fair lady!" I remarked as I bequeathed the requested chips.

Prior to entering the first dueling chamber, each of the presumed opponents came out to greet me. The first introduction was by a lady of stunning beauty in a graceful dress. Though she wore makeup which had the effect of making her appear more mature, I would say she was probably 21 years old. She was about a foot shorter than I. Her eyes were probably the nicest of any I had seen on the island!

I listened intently as she spoke: "Greetings friend! My liege the king Villicci has informed us of your impending arrival! Since your departure from our island on your first visit, he recognized that your ability to best everyone on our island with a deck full of commons meant that our common level dueling skills needed improvement! His first action was to create a core team of stronger duelists who's function is to gradually introduce more complex tactics and deck-building skills to the islands inhabitants. Our team still uses all cards at our disposal, and we are utilized for this attraction, but the majority of our time is spent refining our skills and testing our mettle against one another. After a most grueling training regiment, we can proudly state with confidence that some among us can now go toe to toe in matches with our king! As such, we believe we will provide ample challenges in our roles here! As this is our grand opening, the king wanted to make sure we were able to stand against more than just himself to prove that we are up to the task. For that, he could think of no better opponent for us than you!"

She gestured towards me and then continued "Normally, we would have a system of wagers in place to progress further into the dungeon, but for our grand opening, you need not worry about those. Furthermore, you are welcome and invited to challenge us as many times as you wish! The order will begin with Pawn here, followed by, Knight over here, then, Bishop right here, Rook over there, and finally myself whom you can address as Queen." She gestured towards herself.

Queen continued "Of course these are not our real names, but for the sake of the attraction, it is what we use here. Do you have any questions for us good sir?"

I replied "It gladdens me to see evidence of the kings reforms! I would be positively delighted to duel each of you. My deck does still contain only commons though, so I can never promise to win without fail, but I hope you will find my tactics and strategies helpful for your further development! I have no current questions and look forward to our bouts!"

Queen replied: "Very well! We shall take our places and will open the doors for you shortly. Thank you for indulging us and we hope your foray into our dungeon is both stimulating and enjoyable!"

Red Imakuni is some kind of different version of Imakuni from TCG Island and has a different battle track than the original and is the same general concept.

In the game, you simply cannot walk out of the Game Center until you turn your chips in. The NPCs will stop you and there is no way to leave until you do. There is no automatic chip return. This limitation made no sense to me and is pretty annoying so I couldn't resist playing with that idea in the paragraph above.

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Chapter 4: Ruins of The Card Dungeon

With that, the team withdrew behind the stone doors and after a moment, the door re-opened inviting me inside. As promised, Pawn was to be the first opponent.

I called out: "Before getting down to business, might I take some time to examine the fine painted stone painted murals of these ruins? I hear they are authentic and I must admit I find them most intriguing!"

Pawn replied: "Absolutely! The king mentioned we would likely get folk in here that had no intention of dueling and simply want to browse the ruins. You are most welcome to examine them. Please take as much time as you like. If you have questions, you are welcome to ask me. I'll answer what I can. Other than that, simply let me know when you are done!."

I replied: "My thanks to you! Yes, I will take a look."

(43)

Now that it was established there was no rush, I took in the overall painted stone murals and noticed depictions of various Pokemon cards and some rather interesting looking individuals. The paint was kept in excellent condition apparently as there were not many flaws in it I could detect. The walls were littered with writing as well, but it was in an ancient language that I was far from being able to identify.

I spoke up "One should wonder what this all means! Pawn, have these runes, the writing on these walls, ever been deciphered?"

Pawn replied: "Yes! I heard from Queen that the king hired an expert. He lives on the island in fact! Actually, he sometimes lives somewhere else too I have heard. I am unsure if he has decoded them, is working on it, or gave up though! The building was already constructed when I began my training here for the attraction, you see."

I replied "Thank you my good fellow. I shall simply ask the king when I next see him.

On the left wall, there were a total of 9 individuals depicted. Their appearances varied greatly. One appeared to be a small but confident boy perhaps of age 10, the next had a splendid taste in apparel not unlike what I might like to wear myself in fact! The next was another kid but perhaps age 13 and had a cunning intensity about him. Next looked like a clown of some sorts that one might find in a circus! The next looked to be a perfectly ordinary fellow with no defining characteristics whatsoever. The next was clearly robed in the garments one might expect of a train conductor! The next wore a mask and had an air of mystery. The next appeared to be a girl in a maid uniform. Finally at the end was a young woman with a casual appearance. All of these figures were prominently displayed in ways that appeared significant and celebrated. To the right was yet another space similar but set apart from the others, it was filled with an indistinct human figure made of light.

I spoke up again "Pawn.. these figures I see depicted here are rather specific. Do you know anything about them?"

Pawn replied: "Well of course I do! Our island is very familiar with the history of these individuals." He stood up and walked over and began to point at them one at a time as he introduced them: "The one on the very left here is Axel. He was the first of the great heroes."

I spoke up: "Please forgive my ignorance on this as I did not grow up here, but what deeds did he accomplish to have him known as such?"

Pawn replied: "From what we can tell from our history books, Axel was only 10 years old when he defeated a man who was a scientist who was trying to destroy our world roughly 1,000 years ago. We are not sure of the specifics of what that entailed, but as the legends go, the scientist wielded god-like powers but still had a normal deck to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game with. Anyway, Axel used the power of his Wigglytuff deck to defeat the scientist in a duel and put an end to his remaining schemes. The legend has it that the scientist was able to bring our world closer to the destruction he had planned."

Pawn then pointed to the next figure and continued: "This man here is known as Magician who was a follower of the religion of the Third Eye which is a religion that lasted all the way up until about 100 years ago. Our history books tell us that he defeated a follower of the ancient religion of Lugia. The Lugia religion had been a peaceful one that looked forward to the coming of their fortold one who would be granted the true power of the Lugia phantom card. Roughly 900 years ago, a common follower of their religion had a radical shift in belief. As the years went on, the beliefs of their organization began to shift and eventually she became the grand cardinal of their religion. Once this happened, their religion became a doomsday cult bent on unlocking the hidden power of Lugia to destroy our world. The Third Eye sent Magician with his Invincible Pokemon deck which is said to have used various Pokemon Powers to prevent his Pokemon from being KOed. When he defeated the Grand Cardinal, the cult of Lugia stopped its hostile activities and became a secritive religion that no longer worshiped openly. It is said that they did not elect another Grand Cardinal for roughly 100 years."

Pawn then pointed to the next figure and continued: "Here we have Warren who at 13 years of age was sent by the Third Eye to use his sealed trainer deck to defeat the next Grand Cardinal of the Lugia religion. This Cardinal was a man who operated from the shadows. The legend has it that he had plans in place to bring about the destruction of the world. The history books indicate the Grand Cardinal's plots were largely unknown even by the Lugia religion. This took place roughly 800 years ago."

I replied "I find it rather strange that these events and heroes seem to be spaced out in roughly 100 year intervals. Do you have any idea why?"

Pawn replied "Actually, you are very correct in your observation! The remaining events all are spaced about 100 years apart too. In fact, everything you see painted here is dated back to about 1,000 years ago! Archeologists have long speculated that the psychics who live in our world must have some connection to these ruins."

I found myself speaking without being fully aware "Fascinating..." I then regained my awareness and spoke "Please do continue!"

Pawn smiled and continued "Sure! I was actually hoping for people to ask about these ruins. They had me study a TON of history to be allowed the position here! Unfortunately it gave me less time to practice at the Pokemon Trading Card Game, so I'm a bit behind in terms of power compared to the others..."

I replied "Do not fret my good man, being on this team has no doubt improved your abilities at the game and there are still at least some nobel pursuits outside of the Pokemon Trading Card Game as well!"

Pawn replied "Thank you sir." He then pointed to the next figure and continued "This man is Pierrot a strange fellow who is said to be the ancestor of the Imakuni family. He weilded a powerful fire deck and was selected by the Third Eye to bring down the mad king Belthaos. According to history, this king became obsessed with scientific research and that over maintaining tight control over his subjects. Pierrot infiltrated the kings palace since he was a well known entertainer and used this chance to challenge the King to a duel. Upon completion of this duel, it is said the madness left the king. The legend has it that it was Lugia who instilled madness in the king who was a wise and benevolent leader prior to that. The legend also holds that Belthaos in his madness used the power of Lugia to create Neo island."

Pawn then painted to the next figure and continued "This man is known as Toby. That is all the history books say about him and there are no serious legends around him either. There is a folklore that kids who cheat at the Pokemon Trading Card Game will be haunted by him, but thats about it."

Pawn pointed to the next figure and resumed his tour: "This man is Frank. He weilded the Ledgendary Zapdos card to defeat a religious cult known as the Scions of the Deep which specialized in water decks. Once he defeated them all, the cult disbanded and was no more. Legend has it that the cult planned to open a portal to another dimension to bring about a great flood into our world."

Pawn continued pointing to the next figure "Here we have Masquerade. It is unknown what their gender or age was. This person never revealed their face and had a mask that resembled a bird. The history books speak of a curse upon the land that caused many to get sick and die. Masquerade is also known as the bringer of modern medicine and developed a holy water known as vaccine which had the power to dispell the curse. Since that time, our world has not had anything else like the curse. The legend has it that Masquerade used their Power of Darkness deck to defeat the God of Death who brought the curse to our world."

Pawn resumed his tour: "Here we have Anna who was a maid of a wealthy individual said to be the ancestor of Bill. Bills ancestor, Bob, was a greedy man who wanted to amass all of the worlds wealth. He used his money to control the king of that time as well as almost every other facet of society. The longer he remained in control, the more poor the inhabitants of our island became. He also had ties to the Lugia religion and was a major advocate for science, but all of the research he funded was secretive and was split into so many departments that society was unable to understand or benefit from whatever he was funding. The Third Eye trained Anna in the Pokemon Trading Card Game and she defeated Bob in a duel and split his wealth among the people."

Pawn then pointed to the final figure: "Here we have Mary. It is said that her spirit fights to this day using the power of her Blastoise deck against Lugia to prevent Lugia from destroying our world. The history books have little specifics on her."

Pawn then pointed to the final figure of a person made of light "This figure is unknown to us. If we follow the same pattern of history though, I think its likely we will find out who this person is very soon."

I replied "I wonder why this one is indistinct and seemingly more prominent than those that came before?"

Pawn replied "Its a question archeologists have long wondered about. No one alive seems to have an answer. It seems it is something we will just have to wait to see! Also, across the room there is a depiction of the Lugia phantom card, at least thats what the archeologists agree on. Just so you know, that is all I know of these stone paintings, but you are more than welcome to inspect the rest before we play!"

I replied: "Thank you, Pawn." I then resumed my inspection of the ruins.

On the far wall, there was an immense depiction of the Lugia phantom card. The context of this wall seemed the polar opposite to the one I had finished examining. Unsettling and ominous by comparison. Below the card was the figure of a person. Indistinct but with 10 different shadows extending in several directions.

Between the two walls above the door leading farther to the interior was the symbol that is still used today for Colorless Energy. Underneath was a depiction of a table and a figure of indistinct light and a figure of indistinct shadow sitting apart from each other with the vague outline of a card game play-mat between them. The space behind the figure of light was clear with distinct imagery from several different Pokemon Cards. All of them equal size and shape for the cards themselves. The space behind the figure of shadow had cards that were larger and more intense, but were empty. These cards however, did not appear confined to the depiction of the stone and simply kept going all the way to the corner with some being cut off as they met the corner. Some of the cards had crude shapes and others were more standard, but almost none of them appeared to match the shape and size of the cards on the other side.

The ceiling above gave the appearance of there being a large balcony lined with many indistinct shapes of shadow all peering over the edge. A thin bright line connected them all and met each wall of the room as well. One of the shapes appeared to be giving an enthusiastic thumbs up! Several more shadowed figures could be seen behind them, with more behind them as well, but the farther back they were the more they faded to the black background until you could no longer distinguish any more shapes.

"A most curious depiction..." I mused aloud. "I believe I am now ready for our games!"

(44)

With that, I took my seat. Pawn readily admitted to being the weakest of the group and was eager to learn from me. Our first game was a close match with Pawn having claimed all but 1 prize! Seeing the determination and excitement in Pawns eyes, I decided to remain and played 3 more games. Although I won each, Pawn thanked me with a deep bow and vowed to become even stronger with the goal of surpassing me. After bidding Pawn good luck, I resumed my descent deeper into the dungeon.

Upon entering the next room, I took a quick glance about to see if there was any different imagery, but all of it appeared identical to the previous room. I then met the gaze of Knight who seemed poised in the way one might expect of a knight.

"I hadn't thought Pawn would cause you such delay, Mr Gentleman."

I replied in turn: "The delay was of my own making my good man. The stone murals caught my eye and I found the duels with Pawn to be most entertaining!"

At this, Knight mentioned with a mannerism of amusement "I hope that is not to say Pawn stretched you to your limits good sir or you shall be dismayed indeed!"

I replied "Ha! Win or lose, both have value. You either win and stay the course to your destination or you lose and simply learn to correct the course."

He then replied "The attitude of one truly suited to attain the things you have. Well, come and join me and lets see if your course is in need of correction shall we?"

I replied back "Indeed we shall, fine Knight!"

With that we began a series of duels but not in the manner I had expected! Bills Teleporter and Gambler are necessary risks needed to give the hope needed to prevail but as I knew all too well by now, their backfiring can be bitter indeed. Still, in many duels, I am able to rise above the adversity they sometimes create. Not so with Knight. During our duels he revealed he was one of the ones who could play on equal footing with the king. Once I had finally bested him in the 4th game, the novelty of our duels had run its course and I found myself ready to proceed deeper. I gave knight my most firm and respectable handshake before departing followed by a tip of my hat to acknowledge him further and then proceeded deeper into the dungeon.

In the rooms that followed, the stone depictions remained unchanged. I met and dueled both Bishop and Rook both of which seemed satisfied with a single duel, both of which I was the victor. As I was also satisfied with the outcome, I proceeded to the final chamber where Queen was waiting.

133TFR33k · Mar 5, 2025

Chapter 5: Ghost of The Past

Upon entering the room, I noticed the back wall had a depiction of an indistinct shadowy figure with light surrounding its head across from a figure of pure light. The figures appeared to be playing the Pokemon trading card game together. After the momentary glance it took, I turned my gaze towards Queen. "Welcome Mr. Gentleman!" Queen proclaimed. "You are quite the warrior to have made it so far! I have been eager to test my skills against someone of your caliber. I am the other member of our team that was able to play against the king on equal footing. Come and sit when you are ready so we may commence!"

I replied "Happily my lady." I made my way to the stage and took my seat.

The moment I did, Queen suddenly jolted to a stiff almost shocked seating position with eyes wide open. Immediately after, she slumped forward as if unconscious. "Erm, madam if you require medical attention, I would be happy to.."

(45)

She suddenly sat up with her eyes wide and darting around the room. "Holy COW! This is definitely the weirdest one! So tall and... waaaaah!! what are these!!" She looked below at her own chest with a mixture of pure shock and embarrassment.

"Erm.. my lady..?" I replied

She then replied "oh I hope I'm not going to faint.. I will never get used to this but this is NOT what I was expecting!

"My lady!" I interjected.

She then whipped her head around and looked me directly in the eye. "So its you!" she exclaimed

"Erm.. yes? Is this supposed to be part of the attraction my lady?" I inquired.

"ATTRACTION??!!" She nearly screamed back "What are you talking about!?" Her stance immediately became one of intense embarrassment.

"Erm, the card dungeon attraction my lady. We are to begin the final duel or set of duels for the conclusion of the card dungeon attraction?"

She then sat with a blank stare for a few seconds before relinquishing her embarrassment with some light awkward laughter. "Oh! Like an amusement park! Oh thank goodness!" she replied.

"Erm, its not to say you are not fair to look upon my lady I was merely..."

She interjected "NO! No. No! That is plenty fine enough!! Ohhh boy... MAN that was awkward!"

I then attempted to speak again "Erm I suppose? I must admit this was not quiiite what I was expecti..."

She interjected again "OK never mind all that! This sure is weird but we simply don't have the time!"

I replied with a fully tilted head "But my lady I thought you had mentioned we had as much time as we desired?"

She replied with a look of intrigue "Wait what? Really?"

I replied again "My lady, I can only assume you must be suffering from acute memory loss. Not to worry, far be it from me to leave a lady in distress, ask me whatever you like and I will assist! You have my honor as a gentleman!"

She then replied with an unconcerned look "Oh I get to ask questions?? Ooo! I have a bunch! But first things first Mr., why do you say our time is unlimited?"

I replied "Well you had mentioned we can duel each other as many times as we wished. As such, whatever amount of time we both agree is appropriate can be measured out to that effect."

She then replied with a look of excitement "Oh wow! That's never happened before! This is great! Oh man, do you know how many times I have been cut off mid-sentence in the past? As long as the intent to duel is there this should work... I think!" she exclaimed as she had a pleased look upon her face.

I then replied "Maim you speak of the past but I find myself rather in the dark at this juncture pertaining to exactly what is ailing you!"

She then looked back with a slightly confused face before planting the palm of her hand directly over her face. "Oh! I'm sorry Mr. I totally forgot how confusing this would be in your shoes! A hundred years makes it so hard to remember these things!"

I replied back more confused than ever "A.. hundred years? Well sure, anyone would forget things after that much time, but forgive me if this comes as a shock, but I met you just earlier today my lady!"

She then replied "You met..." She cut herself off mid sentence and began to laugh hysterically. As her laughter provided enough of a break to speak she added: "No..stop.. my gut!! Ohh.. man! No." She chuckled "Nope! You and I have certainly not met before Mr. I can promise you that! Though.. you do look somewhat like an acquaintance of mine."

I then replied "..righto.. well, I am most thoroughly confused now. Ask questions if you like or if you are able to provide any answers to me I am all ears!"

She then replied "Ok I don't know exactly how the timing of this thing works, but we should have more time than we usually do thanks to the multiple duel thing. I don't think we want to press our luck on it too much though, and we DEFINITELY need to be dueling as well as I think that might reset the time!"

I then replied "Well that is certainly interesting but I'm not sure I follo.."

She interjected again "OK! Stop! No time yet! We can pick this up after our first duel, but first I need to make some...updates" She said as she grinned while deviously looking over her own deck while wiggling her fingers frantically. "Don't say anything else for now Mr! Just sit right there and we can start as soon as I work my magic!"

After a duel in the first or 2nd game, the opponent gives a line or two of dialogue.

(45+)

She said as the picked up her deck of cards and began to frantically thumb through all the cards looking both intrigued and amused. "Nope!" She said as she pulled a card out of the deck and set it to the side.

"Wait..." She said as she looked about.

"Ah! There we go!" She said as she found a stack of cards in her pocket and pulled it out in front of her. She was grinning enormously as she then began frantically thumbing through the cards. "Lets see... Ooo! Yep! And... this ...and this! Boo Yeah! Ah! Muahahahah!! Oh.. Hmm.. Ok then. How about... This! Yep! Alllright."

She took several cards from the pile and set them next to the deck. She then picked her deck back up and continued "Ok so.... this...this... wait what? Really??"

She was looking at her deck with profound judgment as if a professional Pokemon card player were looking over the deck of a newbie. "Hah! Noooope! Goodbye!"

She then began counting the cards in the deck and the cards in the pile she had pulled aside.

"OK!" She proclaimed loudly.

She then removed several cards from her deck and replaced them with several more cards.

"Whelp! It may not have my favorite, but this should be plenty!" She confidently grinned to herself with her eyes closed.

She then suddenly opened them and pulled both hands to her mouth wiggling her fingers as she rocked back and forth in her chair impatiently. After chuckling a bit with a big smile on her face she set her deck forcefully upon the mat with a slightly surprised and slightly embarrassed look upon her face. She then looked up at me grinning while still slightly embarrassed but somehow completely confident at the same time. "Alright Mr! Show me whacha got!"

Rather than ask additional questions, I decided to simply play along for now.

And with that our duel commenced! Never before had I faced an opponent so utterly oppressive with the exception of the man who had kidnapped me. It was like if I were to allow uncommons for myself and built the best deck I could using those. It was like playing against that with my common deck! Outclassed?! Granted, the typing of her deck is especially problematic, but this somehow went deeper than that. A duelist of this caliber would not simply play the king on equal footing but would outclass him! What on earth is going on?? Even Doduo seemed to be a bit out of sorts. Could it be that the birds optimism stems from knowing its sacrifices so often lead to my victories? The duel was a solid defeat!

(45++)

The moment the duel concluded, she caught sight of my bewilderment and remarked "Oh don't worry Mr. Its only natural! I'm sorry! Again, I know this is all confusing for you. Also, I maaay have gone a bit overboard with my modifications." She said as she brought her hands to her mouth to try to stop herself from laughing.

She then continued "Hey though! I noticed you are using a deck of all commons! Man that's pretty weak and weird but you actually built a deck like that which can KO my Pokemon even with me using a downgraded deck like this? That soo cool! You might even be the coolest duelist I have played and man if you knew just how many people I have played you would know just how much of a compliment that is!" She said with a big and sincere smile on her face.

I then replied "So.. you downgraded your deck to play against me?" I inquired.

"Downgrad- Oh!" She started laughing again before resuming "No way Mr! This deck was stoopid weak before I modified it! Even weaker than that common deck you are running in fact!"

I replied with ever mounting confusion "So you waited until we were ready to duel to pause and improve your deck when you remarked that we are low on time?? Am I simply just going mad or dreaming?"

She then replied "Oh man.. there I go again running my mouth without helping a bit! Sorry Mr!" She exclaimed with a sincere bow "Ok! Lets help get things cleared up for you first. I think that will make things MUCH easier for you!"

I added "That's all I have been asking ever since I sat down! Please do tell!"

She then replied "Ok so this is going to be alot to take in but remember that we can't be going real slow Mr! Where to start.. huh.. OK! So first I am definitely NOT who you see as me!"

I replied "Madam, I realize that already, you mentioned at the entrance that Queen is the name you have in this attraction and that it is not your real name. I am aware of this fact alrea-"

She interjected "What?? UGH! NO! Mr! I need to explain! Pipe down for a bit ok?"

I replied back "Very well! Do continue, I just thought I might be saving time."

She continued "No! It’s not saving time! That does not matter at all! What does matter is that my consciousness is not the lady you see in front of you! I'm not even a girl! Do you know how awkward it is to go from being a 10 year old boy to being not only a girl but a woman!? I hope you never have to find that out Mr!"

Having had enough of being toyed with, I then replied "Ok madam this goes beyond having some sort of mental issue, I see now your goal all along must have been to simply embarrass me in a duel and then to insult my intelli-"

She interjected again with a look of serious agitation. It was hard to believe she could be such a good actor. Every bit of her performance felt completely authentic. "NO! NONONONONO!! WRONG! MR! I need you to listen! I'm telling the truth! I am a 10 year old boy named Axel! I'm what you might call a "Ghostmaster" though you wouldn’t have any idea what that is since no one has come to visit us in so long! Not that you CAN come visit us with that stupid seal upon the door to our fort! I don't know if you saw it, but its big and important looking though some people say it looks menacing. I'd tell you to just make a hole in the wall and enter that way, but there is nooo way of getting through those walls. You'd have to come through the front door for sure!"

As she spoke I pondered that this is simply all too ridiculous to be lies. Why bother to claim to be someone who died 1,000 years ago and what motivation would she have to treat me in this manner when it would so clearly put her at odds with the king anyway? So, at least for now, I decided I would simply take what sh..."he" says at face value. If I am to be embarrassed by it later being revealed as an elaborate hoax, at least it was to humor an attractive lady!

"All right" I replied and then continued "I don't know if this is an elaborate hoax, but I feel compelled to believe you regardless so I will continue from that perspective"

Axel replied "Oh thank goodness! You don't know HOW long that took with the others! So much time tends to be wasted on just that alone! At this point, I know for sure we have more time than usual, but we still need to make the best of it! So, as I mentioned, I am Axel, the Ghostmaster. Ghostmaster might be a bit misleading, but its much easier to go with the short explanation than the long one at least for right now.”

In the game, there is a sealed fortress that you cannot access on the intial story run. To access it in the game you need to win a duel with the king again and he unlocks it for you. Inside are several additional post-game opponents known as ghostmasters! To duel them, you approach a statue that looks like the one you want to duel and select to agree to the duel. They have the most powerful decks for the AI in the game and they are bascially without any backstory at all! Axel is one of those Ghostmasters who weilds a Wigglytuff deck which is based on one of the most powerful pvp decks in the old metagame. Axel also cries immensely when defeated in a duel. If you lose to him, he comments that it is "only natural".

(46)

Axel continued “Did you see the painted murals in the previous rooms Mr?"

I replied "I did indeed"

Axel replied "Oh good! I was worried when you mentioned this is an attraction that the importance of this place along with the notice of the murals had shrunk with time! The left walls had nine figures on them. That first one was me! What are we doing on the wall you might ask? Well! It was because each of us saved the world! From what you might ask? The wall on the right! The shadowy figure with the 10 shadows who stands in the shadow of Lugia! I'm sure you know Lugia from the Lugia temple on the island though."

At that I replied "Lugia temple? I think everyone has heard of Lugia, but I can think of no such temple on this island."

Axel then replied "Well, it might not stand out as much as some temples as it was built underground, but its still a temple! I realize this isn't your home island though so you might not know as much about it. I'm sure if you ask the residents they can help!"

I inquired "How do you know I am not from this island?"

Axel replied "Why? Well, because we all weren't! Each of us came from the same TCG Island that you came from! Because we came from it and I'm here, that means that you are next in line and that you are from it too!"

I replied "I'm not sure I am following your logic here..."

Axel went on "Well duh! Of course you aren't following yet! I haven't got to all of it yet! I think we might be getting close to next deadline though. After-all this after-duel dialogue is getting pretty wordy. Its usually only a sentence or two of dialogue and really its only supposed to be a monologue at that! Yep, we've been pushing this waaaay farther than its normally supposed to go, so lets not push our luck! Duel me again Mr!"

At that, we entered into our next duel. Though I was now prepared for the level of force I was up against, knowledge alone was simply not enough to prevail and the result was another loss. Normally this development would leave me at least a little flustered, but at the moment, I found myself profoundly fascinated by this truth (Or perhaps ruse!) that I kept learning about from Axel.

(47)

With our second duel completed, Axel jumped right to it. "Ok now that we got that out of the way, back to my explanation! You are probably wondering how we "saved the world". Saved is probably not the best word to describe it though. Its more like...preserved. Preserved from what you may wonder? From changes! What kind of changes? Bad ones." Axel peered into my eyes with the most serious expression I had seen from him yet. "Very bad ones. To explain this, I'm going to need to explain something much more complicated first. Bear with me Mr! You know of our past right? TCG Island, the existence of legendary Pokemon cards and the clubs? Well guess what? There is another version of our world where a hero traveled and defeated the 8 club leaders to gain the right to challenge those known as the grand masters. When this hero won, he inherited the legendary Pokemon cards."

I replied "Well, of course I am aware of that! It is a common story told to children after all, but you claim these are real events that took place in some other version of our world?"

Axel replied "Yep! So, from that world, lets call it the main world line of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, there was an event of immense significance that took place. That event created this island we see here, altered TCG Island, and even altered the decks and behavior of duelists! But the island we are standing on here is not quite the same as what was created during that event. Let me put it this way, imagine an orb floating in nothingness. This orb is very big. Lets call it the nexus. From this nexus extends lines in various directions. World lines, if you will. One such line is the main world line. Along that single line are two smaller orbs, the Pokemon Trading Card Game and Pokemon TCG2. From the Pokemon TCG2 another line extends but it doesn't extend to the Nexus. Instead, it extends to an orb larger than Pokemon TCG2 but no where near as large as the Nexus. For size comparison, imagine the nexus as the sun and Pokemon TCG2 as a small planet with our world being a mid sized planet. Ok, so now, the line that extends from our world to TCG2 is a dotted line instead of a solid line. The fact that its dotted means that it does not share the same world line but does share a connection to the other world line. You with me so far?"

The event of immense significance that Axel is referring to is when Nintendo created the 2nd Pokemon TCG gameboy color game.

I replied "As best one can be, please continue"

He resumed "Ok, so from our world line there is another dotted line. That line extends to the island we know as NEO."

I interjected "I am indeed familiar with NEO! Worker immigrants from their island are often employed on this island for construction projects and they are frequently used for the outsourcing of IT work."

Axel resumed "Ah! So that's whats going on with them these days! You might be curious to know that the island of NEO has its own Pokemon Cards that are wholly different from the ones we use on our island here!"

I inquired "What? But I have heard of no such thing as undiscovered Pokemon cards especially not in such mass!"

Axel continued "I know right? Its crazy! But what is even more weird, is that you will never see one of those cards on this island or TCG Island. Its like they don't exist...or at least they don't exist for us! Let me ask you another question, have you ever been walking about and interact with someone who simply just doesn't seem to have a name at all?"

In the games there are various NPCs that don't have specific names. These characters are never duelists and typically only have dialogue you can read when taling to them. I forget if they can do anything more than that. I think some can trade you cards in the game. This story assumes that they never trade cards.

I replied "Well... now that you mention it, I suppose so!"

Axel continued "Super weird right? You may also have noticed that you are totally unable to duel anyone that lacks a name or at least a title of a name. You called me Queen. That's a specific name. That's how I'm able to be here and that is how we are able to duel! Those without names? I have a theory, they are all immigrants from NEO! When they come here, they don't have a predetermined place in our world so they are card-less and are unable to have names! Instead they will always be something such as secretary or attendant or even someone like GR Girl! So you might be wondering about the cards they use on their island. How do they stack up to our cards? Are theirs stronger, weaker, equal....horribly unbalanced abominations? Do you see where I am going with this? One of the key philosophies our world has always held to is that of the balance of variation of cards. This key tenant is required for our world to be fun! I don't know if there is something I can think of that is more important than the ability to have fun. Can you?"

I replied "Fun you say? I have never given it much thought! But indeed if I ruminate upon it, certainly everything is good because of it!"

Axel replied "Exactly! Too little variation and you have essentially all the same cards. Imagine if everyone had decks of Magikarp and water energy because those are the only cards to exist!"

I replied "Oh my word! What a dreadful reality one such as that would be! I imagine no one would be able to have fun in any duel that way!"

Axel resumed "Exactly! Now imagine there is too much variation. So much that there were 2,000 different duel mechanics and rule sets and over 100,000 cards! While the possibilities may seem endless, so are the chances for horribly unbalanced abominations to be created! But it should take time to create cards. I doubt it can simply happen all at once. That's why the original orb in the main world line had fewer cards than TCG2! Creating cards doesn’t mean they will be used though. So how do you get new cards to be used? They either need to play in different ways, complement existing cards in useful ways, or they need to outclass the cards that came before! But there is a problem with that. If new cards are even only sometimes stronger than those that came before, it gradually pushes the old cards into a place where they will be forever boxed and never used again! This phenomenon is known as "Power Creep". It is a sub-philosophy of our enemy. Why is it only sub you ask? Because his primary philosophy is even more disastrous than that! His primary philosophy is to never lose! How can a philosophy of that sort become reality you ask? A combination of power creep and scarcity. Imagine a card so powerful that everyone who wants to win needs to run it in their decks. Now imagine there was only 1 such card! The wielder of that card might be unstoppable in any duel! That is the goal of our foe and ultimate enemy."

(48)

After giving me a moment to digest all these revelations Axel resumed: "NEO Island? It doesn't belong. It never did. It shouldn't connect to us at all yet it does! Why? Because the enemy by some means willed it to connect!

At this I replied: "But I heard a legend that tells of the mad king Baltheos that created the island."

Axel replied "Yes, I had heard of that legend a long time ago, but its not quite right. Baltheos didn't go mad. He was essentially possessed by our ultimate foe. Also, he didn't create Neo Island. He mearly reached through our Nexus with the and connected that world to our world. Neo Island exisited prior to that connection being formed. So how did he do it? He used a device with god-like powers called the Progenitor. The Progenitor is what created all of the cards we know and use. The Progenitor can create any cards within its database. It is also what is responsible for the creation of booster packs. Have you ever wondered why dueling someone over and over again always results in winning booster packs? That's because the Progenitor creates them and places them in the pockets of anyone that loses a duel! Those that lose are not even aware of this process, they simply grab the booster pack out and hand it over! You might be wondering why booster packs are never placed in your own pocket though. That's because you are the next in line to oppose the enemy! No one knows why, but until your destiny is complete you will never need to hand out booster packs to opponents that win against you no matter how many times you may lose! There are some situations where booster packs are not given beyond the special case that is currently you. Duels that happen in these ruins are exempt as are any simulated duels in challenge machines, for example. There are other events and situations that can prevent booster pack distribution as well but those are rare."

Axel paused a moment for me to digest the information and then continued: "Anyway, The Progenitor is so unbelievably complex that no one can understand its full functions. Though it is immensely powerful, it did NOT create our world. The creation of our world came from the nexus and the creation of our nexus came from somewhere else. My theory is that it came from something more simplistic but obviously more large. If we are the Pokemon Trading Card Game, my theory is that the nexus of our nexus is simply Pokemon. I'm sure the nature of our universe is even more complex than that with more layers, but that should be sufficient for our purposes. I believe however that the Progenitor does have a connection to the nexus! Specifically, I believe the Progenitor is the vessel through which our world line from the nexus connects to our world!”

I replied without intending "Fascinating.. if what you say is true, it upends and explains far more about the nature of reality than anything I have ever heard combined! Even if you are Axel, the hero, how would you know all this?"

Axel replied "The knowledge I have has been built up over hundreds of years of research by various scientists and psychics as well as things I have learned this past 1,000 years. Its a lot I know, but do try to remember to breathe! I need you focused after all!"

I replied again "Apologies, please do continue since you mentioned our time is limited"

Axel continued "Now you're getting it Mr! Ok so where was I... Remember when I said each of us Ghostmasters had saved the world? While that is technically true, it doesn't give you the full picture. There are times when we were not able to achieve full victory and our foe was able to gain ground. It was through one of such times that our world line was created to begin with. That event was the original upheaval. By the time I was able to understand what I was supposed to do, our world line and world had already been created. I managed to stop him from furthering his plans any more than that, but that was all I was able to do. Our foe, he isn't like any normal person. Also, my ability to be here and now and speak to you is definitely weird and I need to explain it, but thats going to have to wait for later. We need to get to our next duel! Ready when you are Mr!"

I replied "Very well then!"

And with that, our 3rd duel was played with yet another loss on my part!

Axel continued immediately from where he left off "So I don't want us to run out of time, but I ask that you believe me that I am Axel and that our foe returns every 100 years. You can think of what I am currently doing as possessing Queen, but it will not hurt her and the only way it will affect her is that her memory of me being here and the events that happened while I am here will be gone. I don't like taking away the will of someone else without their knowledge or permission. I truly wish I could apologize to Queen!" Axel said with tears forming in his eyes.

I replied "I am chosing to believe you at least for now. Please continue."

(49)

Axel replied "Thank you!! Ok so, the stone murals in these ruins are mysterious in origin but always come from the high priest of the Third Eye which can be a man or woman. This high priest has an uncanny connection to our nexus separate from the Progenitor but it is a connection that can only be used to glimpse into our future or to obtain information from outside of our world. Even I don't know everything about the murals. You should seek out the high priest to learn more. I can tell you what little else I know though. The significance of Lugia for example."

Axel gave me another moment to digest before continuing "You see, the Lugia card does, in fact exist. It is the property of our foe and the instrument of his ultimate goal. Lugia in general is not meant to be here. Neither in our world, nor the original world line. Due to this reason, the card has its own connection to the nexus. Through this connection, if it interacts with the Progenitor, it can become any card. I don't mean any card from our world. I mean any card in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Any card from our nexus! Those shadowy cards behind the foe in the carving showing the duel below the colorless energy symbol? They represent all the things Lugia could become. The symbol is colorless because Lugia itself is colorless. If what Lugia could become has a limitation, I believe its only limitation is that it would have to be a card already inside our nexus which itself is immense. The Lugia card also has an additional function. It acts as a key to the door of the sealed fortress that I have been locked away in with the other Ghostmasters. It is able to function as a key because it is a unique card. The only unique card to currently exist, in fact. Finding it is impossible though. Our foe keeps it close at all times and would never willingly part with it. I'm sure he also hides it well. Before the end of our last battle, the foe used Lugia to seal himself inside the sealed fort in an attempt to prevent us from disrupting his plans again in the future. Before the door could close, he tossed the Lugia card outside for a member of his cult to carry away."

I replied at this "My word! That's even more insane than the things Doduo does! And you say there is a cult involved?"

Axel replied "Doduo huh..." He turned away deep in thought.

I replied "Erm, yes? But what has you distracted by those bumbling birds?"

Axel then snapped himself out of it and looked up at me "Sorry, every time I think of Doduo, I can't help but think of one time we were unable to completely stop the foe. I believe Doduo was an experiment he had in tampering with our reality. Ever since then, the only actual Pokemon to inhabit our world has been Doduo."

I replied "What?? Those birds didn't used to be here at all??"

Axel replied "Yeah..." he mentioned with a look of shame while averting his eyes.

He then looked back and continued. "Regarding the cult, you have a leader that returns every 100 years in a way that can easily be misconstrued as a miracle. You have his knowledge and manipulation of the Progenitor which has god-like powers. You have the phantom card Lugia which there is only 1 of in the world. There is also a lack of any distinct deity or figure of worship in our world which has been the case for about 100 years now. The foe has used his cult for hundreds of years as well as the Scions of the Deep before that one was disbanded and he will continue in his ways unless we stop him. He doesn't tend to stick with one particular plan though. All of us ghostmasters have thwarted his various plans so far to varying degrees of success."

Axel gave me a moment to digest before continuing. "Anyway, when he sealed us in the fort, we had not anticipated he would sacrifice the life of his host like that. Because we were unprepared, his plan succeeded. Though the high priest has powers of insight beyond our comprehension, the power is not unlimited and does not see all there is, thus we were unable to be warned. The foe did pass away from this life in our fort along with Mary, but death does not stop our foe and he always returns once every 100 years. His current host is likely connected to the cult of Lugia. His cult likely does not operate in the open though, so I doubt it would be called the religion of Lugia, for example. As such, even if you could find his cult, it would be difficult to determine who in the cult our foe is. Even if we know who the foe is, we have no way of knowing where the Lugia card is kept. Thus, our only option is to create a new key. The only problem with that is that all the cards in the Progenitor have already been created multiple times. There are none other than Lugia that can act as a key... except for 1 card that has never been created by the Progenitor but lies within the depths of its database. The high priest of that time disclosed it to us to be used in the time we now find ourselves in. The name of the card is "Here Comes Team Rocket". It is the final phantom card of this world."

(50)

As Axel paused, I interjected for a question "So then, I realize you are locked in the sealed fort but you have not starved! How are you still alive and what is the point of unlocking the fort in the first place?"

Axel replied "We ghostmasters no longer die. You can think of our current existance as ghosts. As for why to unlock our fort, that is so that we can help prepare the final hero to defeat the foe for good this time. That final hero is you!" Axel paused again for me.

I then replied "So you are telling me that a high priest from 1000 years ago was able to know I was going to come about to save our world?"

Axel replied "That is exactly it, Mr! Regarding preservation, the way you stick to a deck full of common cards is even more us than we are! What better way to keep the old cards alive than to self impose a challenge as you do?"

Axel continued "I am 10 years old even though I have been 10 for 1,000 years and have not aged a single day. I've often wondered what it would feel like to experience growth beyond what I've been, but the way I inhabit Queen does give me some semblance of what it would be like. Any of the ghostmasters could be here in this way but only one at a time. Due to that and because I never got to grow up, the others always insist that it be me who goes out here. Unfortunately I never know for sure what kind of body I end up borrowing before it happens..."

Axel paused for me again and I mentioned "To live for 1,000 years as a ghost with no real body and at the age of 10? I understand why the other hero's allow you to be the one to come out here I surely would as well!"

Axel replied "I wish I felt as good about accepting the privilege as everyone else does about giving it to me." Axel said as he held his arms with his hands and looked down and to the left. After a brief pause, he continued as he looked up "That's not to say I'm not grateful though! Thank you Mr!" Axel said with tears forming in his eyes yet again.

I replied: "No need to worry, I happen to think the ability of empathy is one of the most important abilities in our world! I see no reason you would receive any negative judgment from me."

After a pause for a time, Axel spoke again "I still need to explain how to get the key to our fort, but before that, we still need to duel again Mr!"

I replied "Very well then! Duels with you are entertaining anyway win or lose!" And with that, what would be our final duel began.

The duel ended. In victory!

Axel was quick to comment "Woah Mr! That was incredible! You used up all the useful cards in your opening hand and used Gambler to replace them all. After that you got successful coin flips on 2 Bills Teleporter and then played 2 Bills! Your hand was enormous with so much potential! Its no wonder I was unable to beat you that time! I love playing high level games like that, but its so rare for me to lose! Thanks Mr!" Axel said while giving me the most pure and innocent smile I had seen from him yet.

Axel resumed his explanation "OK so now I will tell you how to get the key. Please make absolutely sure you visit! In the writing carved into the stone walls in the ruins are the instructions for how to access the hidden function of the Progenitor to cause it to create "Here Comes Team Rocket". If you can't read it, you should seek out an archaeologist to help. Even if you ask the current high priest, they would be unable to read it so they would be unable to help. Once you have the instructions, you need to find the Progenitor. Do you have any idea where it is already?" Axel paused.

I replied "Actually, I walked by an interesting machine called the black box on the way to the ruins here. It had the ability to transform 5 cards into another card and then to mail that card to the one that input the cards."

Axel replied "YES! That is it! But why on earth are they using the Progenitor for such a lousy basic function?! UGH! Whatever! Yes, that is the Progenitor!"

Axel paused again for me to absorb and continued "Now that we have that out of the way, the reason you need to visit the sealed fort is twofold. 1: we need to train you to be the best duelist you can be! The enemy might not match our strength but the last high priest I spoke to mentioned it is essential that we train you. For that, you will need to win in a duel against each of us 1 time! It doesn't matter how many times you lose. The duel you won against me here doesn't count because I was not able to play at my best with the cards I had here."

I replied "My word! If that was you holding back, how should I expect to win a duel against you for real?"

Axel replied "Don't you worry about that, Mr. You just do what you do best and struggle against seemingly impossible odds with that cool common deck of yours!" He added with a wink before continuing "The 2nd reason we need you to meet us is to acquire the ultimate means to fight back against our foe. I don't think you are going to like it, but the high priest said that you cannot even hope prevail without it! That comes after your training though! Before that, no touching!"

(51)

Axel paused again for a moment "Wow! I actually got through everything I needed for the plan! In that case.. Mr.... can I be selfish with these last moments?"

I replied "Well I don't see why not!"

Axel then continued with tears forming in his eyes "Oh Mr! Its been so hard! I've been locked away with no body and can never make new friends... and... and..." He burst full on into tears while running towards me "I miss my moooom!!!! WHAAAA!!!!!"

I found him clinging fiercely to me with eyes that could probably be used in place of water energy. Poor lad. Unable to take any other course of action, I embraced him back to help him make the most of his remaining time in a body. "There there" I said "Its ok. You're a good kid you know?"

Axel then looked up at me eyes still watering and a very UN-blown nose "Thanks so much Mr! I can feel my grip here fading though... I can't wait to see you again!"

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 6: Mint

(52) Nothing

Suddenly it began to dawn on me as to the situation I was about to find myself in now that Axel was fading, but before I could take any action, Axel slumped over in my arms and Queen awoke once more! Her first reaction was to widen her eyes larger than I had even seen from Axel. This of course was followed by a high pitched scream that I suspected could break glass which at the same time came the strongest slap imaginable!

(53)

When I next awoke, I found my head laying upon something soft with a concerned but pleasant voice. When my eyes were able to focus, I could make out a person looming above me. It was Queen!

"Oh thank goodness!" Queen exclaimed "I thought I had killed you! Can you imagine? The first day on the job and I kill the man the king proclaimed as his friend and ordered me to learn from?!"

I replied weakly "Ah.. my lady, I appreciate your concern, that slap might have punched a hole in reality, but such things are a trifle to a stout man such as myself"

Queen replied with in incredulous look upon her face and began a fit of pure laughter. Once her laughing had subsided, she gave me a look that clearly implied she was studying me or perhaps suspected me of something.

She then continued "Well, now that I know your not dead, I have to ask what on earth happened!"

I replied "My lady, I do not say this lightly, but I am unable to properly explain what happened here. I simply ask that you look into my eyes and judge their sincerity and believe that I will most certainly explain it. What I can tell you right now is that nothing of any foul measure occurred and that all of your honor remains intact! To explain what happened, you will need to come with me."

(54)

She replied with a furrowed brow "Come with you? On the day of the grand opening? And you say you cannot even properly explain what happened? Are you fond of life my good man?" She inquired with a look more dangerous than I was aware a woman could produce!

"My lady!" I squeaked and immediately continued "I would never make up such an obvious lie! Do whatever you will to me if I am lying but I promise on my word as a gentleman that I everything I have said is the unblemished truth!"

She then gave me the most suspicious stare directly into my eyes. Her eyes are quite lovely in fac- "FINE." She exclaimed before continuing "You know what? I don't think any other patrons will even make it back here anyway. Do you know how few people would even make it past Knight even if given as many tries as they wanted? I'm supposed to learn from you anyway! Why not?!"

I replied "Please do not be angry my lady, as I said I will explain a-"

She interjected "YOU HAD BETTER HAVE THE MOST AMAZING EXCUSE I HAVE EVER HEARD OF MR GENTLEMAN"

I promptly replied back "Absolutely my lady! My life is in your hands and I will not disappoint!"

She then gave me a look. It was a look I expect might be given to a child caught red handed with something. "Fine. Lets go then. Where are we going?" She said shortly and to the point with no amusement whatsoever.

I replied "First my lady, we must visit the king in his castle. I must inquire as to the whereabouts of an archaeologist."

She then started to give me a look again so I added "It is absolutely necessary I promise!"

At this her gaze softened to mere suspicion. She then leaned back blankly and simply sighed out "Fiiine."

She then looked down and added without any tone or humor "You can get off my lap now."

My composure lost I replied "Ah! Yes! I shall do that right away!"

I quickly picked myself up, dusted myself off and straightened my apparel. I then inquired "Erm.. if we are to be traveling I might need something other than Queen to address you by my lady"

At this, she scrunched up her face and let out another sigh. "So now my name is needed too? I suppose next you will offer the ring!" she exclaimed and continued "Oh fine.. whatever.. my name is Mint. Be grateful and you had better live up to your rather tall tale!"

I replied "My sincerest gratitude, Mint! Please be patient and I will explain everything. I am confident you will not be angry and that any hostility you may harbor for me will cease completely!"

She then looked back at me with a mischievous smile "Oh we will see won't we? Because if not, lets just say the king might just be firing me after all!"

I then straightened up and replied "I am absolutely sure it will not come to that!"

Mint then looked up as it appeared she suddenly remembered something. "I better grab my deck."

She said before turning to the table to gather it. "Why are my cards strewn about all over the table?"

I replied "That my lady will be part of my explanation to you. While I did nothing to your deck, you will find the cards in it to be different that what you had selected for yourself"

She began to give me a look as if I had just hurled the most dreadful of insults at her.

I hastily added "Check the cards! I believe you will find the modifications beneficial!"

She replied simply by giving me another look. A most terribly. Un-amused. Look. She then plucked the deck from the table and began to thumb through the cards. Before long she stopped and paused. Without moving, she asked a question to me. "You are sure it was not you who altered my deck?"

Without being able to gauge the sort of reaction this might be I braced for the worst and quickly added "I did not."

After another moment of pause her entire demeanor shifted in a way some might find rather unsettling. "I really have to thank them! I was wondering what I should do to improve the deck but I have to admit these modifications look great!" She exclaimed with a true smile on her face.

I believe that is the first time I have seen her smile in such a fashion actually. Yes, I saw Axel use her face to smile, but that was nothing compared to the wonder I now found myself rather transfixed on.

Just as quickly, her expression soured as just her eyes met mine as she added "And just what are you looking at?"

Quick to reply I added "Nothing my lady!" I offered while putting on my best performance in an attempt to appear casual.

She then returned to look through her deck some more. "Yes these are quite right! Whoever made these changes certainly looks like they knew what they were doing! I'll bet the king will be quite impressed when I show him this!" She gloated with another big smile.

Not wanting to be caught gawking again, I quickly mentioned "Is everything in order then my lady? If so we should take our leave. My explanation to you and the required journey for it is somewhat time sensitive so I wish to avoid delay."

She turned and replied "Yes, I find everything in order. Interesting that you should wish to hurry to your doom at my hands. Perhaps you are not lying after all?"

I replied "That is precisely it my lady as you shall soon see! Let us be off then!"

(55)

Upon exit of the attraction, Mint paused to speak to the woman employee who manned the attraction entrance "I will be taking my leave for the remainder of the day and perhaps longer as I am on my way to see the king. If anyone should make it to the final chamber, simply allow them to wager whatever they like prior to opening the door and allow them an instant win. It should not matter since I don't expect many or perhaps even any to make it that far."

The employee replied "Yes ma'am."

After that, Mint stopped at a door that led to the employee’s-only area and she spoke “I’m not about to wear this dress everywhere. Wait here while I go change.”

I replied “I shall remain fixed upon this very spot my lady!”

She gave me another suspicious stare into my eyes and lingered for a moment before relaxing and continued “Good. I’ll be right back. I wouldn’t try to run if I were you either. I can run very fast when I need to.”

At this I stood up straight as if being inspected by an army drill Sargent and replied “I would not dream of it! You deserve an explanation for what you awoke to after all!”

Mint now had a look of slight suspicion again but she continued “Don’t think you can hide either. I know this entire building and area like the back of my hand!”

With that, she walked through the door. I stood patiently waiting but about 30 seconds after she was gone the door quickly swung open!

Mint was there again and looked right at me for a second before saying “Good. I really will go change now.” and she went back through the door.

As I stood waiting, it occurred to me just how ridiculous this entire situation was. Just then, my Doduo rounded the corner looking positively pleased with itself. Half its feathers were missing and it had several scratches and bruises and wore an expression of near complete ecstasy. Clearly it loved every minute of the torture no doubt!

"Had a good time did you?" I asked it amusingly.

It simply looked at me tilting its battered heads. My thoughts then drifted back to my encounters with Axel and Mint. So many things going on and things to keep track of! Now I hear I am some kind of hero? That may be stretching it a bit even for the esteemed leader of the Doduo Alliance! Still, it sounds like there is no one else up to the task…

Before long Mint returned and was now no longer wearing a dress but what I assume is her usual casual attire! She then took a look at Doduo and then toward me.

I took the initiative to speak "Ah, this is the bird who has been following me for over a month now. It was having some Doduo fun in the daycare."

Mint replied "Well duh. Everyone knows how much Doduo love to take pain. If they don't have ways to hurt themselves they can actually get depressed you know!"

I chuckled before replying "I'm having a hard time picturing a Doduo being unable to find a way to hurt itself."

Mint then replied "Well I heard on NEO island they have Doduo poachers. They hunt Doduo's and tie them up so they can't move. The Doduo love it at first but then when they realize they can't move and hurt themselves they start to get sad. Apparently they view Doduo there as pests so they develop ways to upset them. Poor birds!"

I replied with a concerned look "I may not always like this bumbling bird, but I can't imagine trying to do something like that to it!"

Doduo was transfixed on our conversation staring intently at either of us. It wasn't even moving much.

I then spoke up again "Well! It is just a rumor you heard, people say all kinds of things about NEO, but I doubt there is any truth to most of it."

Mint replied "I suppose you're right.. it is pretty hard to imagine a place where they would do things like that...".

As she was deep in thought, I found myself drawn to her attire. I must say, the way it reveals her shoulders and thighs is quite a sight to behol- “AHEM!” Mint proclaimed.

Her reaction startled me as I exclaimed “Ah!! Yes I am ready to leave!”

I then caught Mint rolling her eyes as we proceeded to leave. Doduo seemed to regain its typical composure as it followed along behind us.

With that, we made our way towards the exit. Along the way, I gazed at what I now know is the Progenitor but continued walking as I went. As I passed by the chip and prize counters I promptly pulled out the bag of chips and presented them to the attendant. She noticed Mint walking beside me and offered what I would have easily mistaken for a genuine smile if it were not for our previous interaction. The moment Mint's eye's were out of view she began to inspect the bag with great haste and attention to detail quickly counting out every chip.

In seconds she was finished and mouthed to me "You get to live this time. Just be caaaareful..."

What on earth is with the women in this establishment?? One wants to end my life and the other wants to end it in an entirely different fashion! The only one I suspected might not take delight in my torment was the one Mint spoke to on our way out! No matter. Once I am able to explain to Mint, I'm sure she will no longer treat me as such and I suspect it will likely have quite the opposite effect! I daydreamed a bit as we exited the establishment. All my thoughts almost allowed me to forget about my dumb bird companion. Its been smug the entire time, especially around the women of violent intent.

"I'm not sure if I should be more worried about you bird or myself!" I thought to myself.

Doduo's head tilted inquisitively. Don't tell me that bird can read minds now! It must just be learning to read my expressions... Look at me jumping to fanciful conclusions just because my entire world view was upended in a manner of hours....Erm... actually that does explain things rather well I suppose!

In the original game, you can play only as a boy who's cannon name is Mark. In the 2nd game, you also have the option to select a girl who's cannon name is Mint. Queen and Mint are separate characters in the game, but I thought Queen looked like she could potentially be Mint in a fancy dress and some makeup to appear older. For an interesting spin on things I decided to make Queen and Mint 1 and the same character!

At this point in the story, Mint now dresses and wears her hair in the same style as the way she looks as a protagonist in the game. I would have included a fanart, but hunting down permission was too annoying so I gave up on it. Perhaps I will include art at some point though. I would certainly love to. I could have included art from the game, but Mint is and appears much younger there than she is in the story here, so I didn't want it to give the wrong impression.

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 7: Reunions

(56)
Our journey en route to the bridge beyond the GR grass club met with a pristine shoreline. I had traveled this section of the island before but since I found myself with a traveling companion other than the most basic of birds, I decided to offer a brief diversion.

I spoke up "My lady, around this bend is quite a sight of the ocean, perhaps you would care to take a rest among the waves and sand before we continue? I find my own legs could do with a spot of tension release before the long journey ahead."

Mint shot me back a curious and amused expression. "Are you pretending to be tired so I can see the ocean Mr gentleman?"

I coughed loudly "Ahem! I beg your pardon! I was simply just-"

She interjected while simultaneous grabbing my arm dragging it in a hurry "You're in luck because I am quite fond of the ocean!"

Having absolutely no idea of any words that would be beneficial for the situation, I simply went with the direction the mad woman was dragging me in. Doduo happily and completely absentmindedly trotting along. Once we came to a large hill with sand on the side towards the ocean, we came to a stop.

She commented "I've been so busy lately you see... Sometimes one can get so invested in the details of life that they forget to stop and look around every once in a while... The wheels of life never cease and are ever increasing. Sometimes...this is nice."

We found a nearby log to sit upon to rest our feet.

A voice rang out some distance behind me. "Well! Fancy meeting you here Mr Gentleman!"

I turned about to see a familiar face!

I replied back "Brooke, leader of the GR water fortress??" I inquired.

She replied as she jogges closer "Hah! Of the water fortress no longer. I quit!" she declared in a triumphant manner.

I replied "Erm usually the loss of one's employment can be met with a great deal of stress but you don't look stressed, so am I to conclude this is a positive turn of developments?"

She replied as she reached us "Positive? Is. It. EVER! Remember that problem I had with the tanning bed? Weeeellll as it turns out, my lawsuit against Bill Incorporated was a complete success! The ruling argued in my favor that the overload of the tanning bed could dramatically increase the chances of skin cancer later in life, so they opted to settle for 5 million! As long as I don't go overboard with it, I no longer have to work! This past month I've opted to take daily trips to be beach to tan! Don't worry though, I'm using a good skin product for it and I only ever wanted light tans anyway. Its been so relaxing! Hey you know Jacob from the water club? I decided to promote him to fortress leader! The kid loved water even more than me so I'm sure it will work out."

At the news of this development I could not help but imagine the hours upon hours of water monologues that would no doubt be delivered in those now defiled halls... Just knowing that situation and that I need not return there filled me with optimism.

She continued "Oh hey, speaking of fortress changes, there was another new leader as well! You know the GR fire leader Bernard? Well I hear he got demoted to janitor! It turns out the Doduo Alliance had some words with the king regarding that clubs management and the king was not too happy about all the money it took to keep lava cycling through the rooms! So he promoted Kara to be the new fire leader! I hear everybody over there is having a blast now. Maybe you should check it out? I heard the king was heading over there for an inspection now that the renovation is complete."

I thought to myself, “If the king is over there, it would be a waste to travel all the way to the castle. If the king turns out not to be there, it should still make for an interesting diversion.”

I replied "It sounds like things have indeed been busy and I'm glad to hear the kings reforms are having a positive impact on things! As for your situation, it sounds like you have stumbled upon some good fortune!"

Brooke replied "Yep! By the way.."

She looked to Mint and added "Who's the chick?"

She then looked back to me with a mischievous wink.

Mint spoke before I could form a reply "The chick is Mint! I'm going on a journey with this man so he can explain how I lost consciousness and suddenly woke up in a teary eyed, snot nosed mess in his arms." she said casually.

Brooke's jaw dropped before she turned back to me to add "Whoa Mr Gentleman! I had no idea you had such a way with the ladies!"

I replied despite the hopelessness of the situation "I'll have you no it was through no fault of mine! I was trying to help-"

Brooke interjected first with laughter and then added "Man sounds like you did a great job there! I need to find me a guy somewhere even half that bold!"

Mint must have seen this as a challenge as she clung to my arm and chirped "I know right! Its so hard to find men like this one. I keep suspecting he will sneak away at the first chance since he has so little hope of explaining such a situation!"

I replied with a groan "Oh why do I even bother..."

As my gaze shifted downward, Doduo appeared to be caught up in a dance. Yes, one must never forget the kinds of situations that will motivate Doduo to dance.

Brooke chimed in again "Well I wouldn't mind to stay and chat, but I think I better give you two lovebirds some space!" she winked, turned about, and jogged out towards the shore in the distance.

I immediately stood up, the mood of the ocean now thoroughly soured and added "Well! I think we had better be off! We don't want to tarry here too long after all!"

Mint took to her feet as well and remarked "So, what number would you give her?" she gave me a big eyed inquisitive look.

I replied "I.. what? What number?"

She commented "Oh.. so that's how its going to be."

I replied "How what is going to be?? Have I not been toyed with enough for a day?!" I exclaimed.

But this only spurred her on further as she broke into a fit of laughter lasting well over a minute. The bird, of course dancing even harder than it was before we stood up. I thought the life of a hero would have some measure of status and importance! Not… whatever this is!

As we journey continued I explained to Mint it was best to first pay a visit to the GR Fire Fortress in case the King was there. She agreed.

(57)

The journey there relatively uneventful and I soon found myself back in the GR Fire Fortress. Upon entry, I noticed a massive temperature improvement in the foyer. I also caught sight of Bernard sweeping the floor. He was apparently working up quite a sweat with the cleaning and I noticed his work uniform had no fans installed. Situations sometimes require no words. I reasoned this was one such situation. Why put forth the time? This man clearly had more than this coming to him but likely doesn't understand the fortune he has left. If he is unable to recognize it, there is justice in that too. I mused as I walked right past him.

I noticed the areas of the floor that used to have lava in it instead had colored water with some kind of red dye in it. In all appearance it was like lava indeed but without the costly and dreadful temperature to go with it.

As we walked Mint chimed in "Well! I would have thought the Fire Fortress would be rather hot, but I it feels like they have it at a constant 70 degrees in here!"

I replied, "Hot does not begin to describe what it was my lady, I believe it was upwards of 110 degrees when last I visited!"

Mint replied "Well then, it is no wonder our king gave it a rework! It is a lot of money to maintain such high temperatures after all!".

We continued through and I caught sight of Jess. She no longer was wearing a mask. She caught my gaze and I gave her a little wink. She merely smiled back in return.

Mint then commented "Another woman who casually offers you shy smiles Mr gentleman? Just what kind of adventures have you been up to I wonder?"

I replied with a groan "Oh please not now madam!"

She chuckled a bit, clearly pleased with herself. It just then occurred to me how she was not altogether unlike Doduo.

"Just what is this life of mine?" I groaned inwardly.

Next we encountered the room Kara used to be in, but it was empty. I suppose they have yet to fill this role. That they did not reinstate Bernard here instead of as a janitor was a breath of fresh air inside of this building full of optimal-temperature fresh air.

(58)

Next was Ellen's room. She no longer appeared to be about to pass out and instead enthusiastically jumped up and down with a wave when she saw me before adding "Mr gentleman! Its so good to see you! Thank you so much the last time you were here! I might have suffered from heat stroke had you not lead me to return to the lobby! I know I didn't get on stage for you at the summit but I have always had terrible stage fright!"

I replied "No worries madam, I am happy to have been of assistance! Do you know if the king is here currently?"

She replied "Oh the king? You just missed him! He was pretty pleased overall but mentioned how Bernard needs to do a better job of cleaning if he wants to become a regular duelist again here someday."

I replied "Ah, I will need to seek him out at his castle after all then. Well, I will at least stop in to see Kara before taking my leave. Nice to see you again, madam."

With that I offered a short bow and as Mint and I left the room, Mint managed to work another jab in "Yet another woman I see? And this one you led through the halls? I am I seeing a pattern here Mr Gentleman?"

I retorted "The only pattern you will be seeing soon is that of causing baldness to my head should these attacks continue my lady!"

She shot back "OoOooo well played!"

One of the benefits of having low intelligence is the inability to detect patronage. Unfortunately that was an inability I lacked as the pesky Doduo was seemingly able to gauge based on its mood...

(59)

Finally we arrived at the leader’s room and the moment we entered, Kara immediately jumped up with a big smile on her face "Mr Gentleman!" She exclaimed.

She then broke into a run and tackled me with a full hug.

I replied "Erm! Yes! It is great to see you too Kara!"

I glanced to the side and confirmed the worst.

With another one of her looks, Mint chimed in "Well Mr Gentleman! I had no idea you had such youthful pursuits!"

I decided to simply provide an accurate reply on this occasion "If you are wondering how I met Kara here, she was feeling particularly hot and I gifted her a small fan to help with her heat related fatigue! She later helped in appointing me leader of the Doduo alliance which resulted in her becoming the new leader here and all the changes we see in the establishment! I would be shocked if she didn't have any good will towards me!"

Kara chimed in "That's so right! You are my favorite person Mr Gentleman! You can come by here any time you want and are welcome to duel anyone here! Every time I come to work and its not boiling hot, I can't help but feel gratitude towards you! But who is this with you here?" She asked as she brought a hand to her mouth.

Mint spoke up this time "Well, you see our meeting was the most curi-"

I interjected (FOR ONCE!) "Ahem!! I would love to stay and chat more Kara, but Mint and I are on the most pressing business for the king! I'll be sure to visit you again sometime!" I exclaimed while simultaneously turning the tables and dragging Mint along for a change!

Of course, this would not be without its consequences as Mint replied "Oh my Mr Gentleman, you really are bold!"

I muttered back "Madness! Pure madness!" Of course, since this illuminated my frustration, it sent Mint into yet another laughter fit. I suppose it is nice to see her laugh... paradoxical though that might be...

After a hasty exit, we resumed our journey once more to Villicci's castle. This too was largely uneventful but the time went swiftly with conversations Mint and I had along the way.

(60)

After arriving to the castle we made our way to the lobby where I had dueled Allison before. There around the table sat the king Villicci, Allison, Clay, and Seth from the GR Colorless Altar.

Upon laying eyes upon Seth I instantly remembered the words of Heidi just prior to forming the Doduo Alliance. I paused in the doorway to think. Mint noticed my expression and opted to simply wait.

I proceeded to think back to what Heidi said: "However, there is still one more foretold event that must occur before we can rally behind our new leader. He must defeat the acolyte of the phantom card Lugia, whom we all know is Seth..."

I then thought to myself "The foe just goes around casually admitting who he is?! No.. that can't be right! He was crafty enough to trick the Ghostmasters and to seal them in their own fort! There must be more afoot here than would seem... The likely answer; the foe is misdirecting. However, the fact that the only organized religion on the island is that of the colorless altar and that it is colorless must mean it has ties to the cult of Lugia since that is also colorless... With Seth parading around that he is the foe of the Ghostmasters, it must be someone else. That leaves Avery and Alan. Avery wore the ridiculous Pikachu cap and if he is the foe trying to throw off the scent, that would make him the likely candidate. Of course, if the foe follows all of that logic, (which he very well may!) then that would make the likely candidate Alan! But if the foe follows that as well then all of this logic is circular and pointless! I'm getting nowhere with this reasoning.. For now it seems the only course of action is for me to forge ahead and wait for him to reveal himself but it never hurts to be observant either."

I then mentioned to Mint "Apologies for the delay my lady. I had some quick thoughts to sort out first but lets proceed"

Mint replied "Very well."

(61)

As we approached the king and the others, the 4 of them were just finishing card duels with one another when the king looked up to see me.

He spoke bodly and friendly "Ah my friend! There you are! We were wondering when you might arrive! Come join us! I must hear how the card dungeon attraction went!"

It was Mint who spoke first. "My liege! The grand opening went well very indeed! You may be wondering why I am here though. This man ended up being the perfect sparring partner to learn from! I can attest that the strength of my deck has vastly improved! I accompanied him here as I suspected you would like to see the improvements to my deck for yourself! As for the card dungeon, I have made arrangements to keep it operational and profitable while I am away."

I thought to myself "Mint is not taking an opportunity to sabotage me for once! I'd best have my wits about me though. I've had more than enough embarrassments lately!"

The king replied to Mint "Ah Mint, you always did have an eye for the things I look for, that's why I put you in charge of the card dungeon to begin with after all! If you have improved that much, you might have even surpassed me! Come, I am eager to test your new modifications! Prior to that though, I must finish my prior conversation."

Mint replied "Of course my liege."

The king redirected his focus to me and spoke "But what of your point of view Mr Gentleman?"

I replied "Well my friend, I can certainly say your attraction is all its cracked up to be and then some! I did not win every duel within those halls even if I did win most. I must admit I do have even more reason for my visit though!"

The king replied "Oh? Do tell!"

I continued "The ruins in the attraction caught my curiosity so much that I wish to read the writings on the stone walls, I heard you had hired an archaeologist at some point to study them. Have the results of those writings been published yet?"

The king replied "Hmmm yes I do remember hiring Mr Ishihara on the island for that. He is not an archaeologist per-se, but has taken to it as a keen hobby of his. As such, i didn't even have to pay him for his services! That did mean I was unable to stipulate the speed at which he would work on deciphering them though, lest he request a fee. His house is located a ways to the east of the castle. He owns a home on your home island as well though and he often travels between the two, so it is possible he will be away."

I replied "Good information! You have my thanks!"

The king replied “Of course my friend! Speaking of requests, you know I have been looking to make accommodations with the members of the Doduo Alliance including one from Seth here. Specifically, he would like to duel you but he would like you to follow his usual rule of including 4 Pidgey. He is aware that I cannot force the issue, but I promised him I would make an earnest request to you."

I glanced at Seth. His gaze and bearing ever unwavering but almost like an opponent who knows they are about to win when they know the other player is unaware. Most unnerving, but then again, when has Seth ever been anything else?

I replied to the king "Seth needed not go through so much much for his request. I will duel him."

The king replied "Splendid! In that case, I believe everyone has an opponent. Lets have some fun dueling shall we?"

With that Mint and the king sat on one side of the table with Allison and Clay in the middle with myself and Seth on the opposite end. For my deck, I removed both Doduo, 1 Ponyta, and 1 Dark Rapidash for the Pidgey's. It would be the first time my deck was to be without Doduo. Doduo had no qualms about this either way. At least its feathers shall remain attached instead of strewn about the place for a change.

With the modifications complete I spoke to Seth. "My comrade, what brings you here to request a duel with me?"

Seth replied "I am well aware of your prowess with the Pokemon Trading Card Game by now Mr. Gentleman, but to experience it first hand with my own deck this time allows for greater...understanding. As such, I am pleased to be the only member of the Doduo Alliance to have that privilege."

I replied "I had not thought of it that way before but you are correct! Even the duel before the formation of the Alliance was with you. Very well let us proceed!"

With that, all 3 games between the duelists began simultaneously.

(62)

The duel began innocently enough with Voltorb and Porygon out vs his Kangaskhan as active and Snorlax. It would soon become a struggle for Energy as he removed all of my energy by the 4th turn with energy stacked to 4 on Kangaskhan. Ponyta was played by then and took the brunt of the first comet punch without KO. No draw cards were arriving to my hand and Bills Teleporter had failed. The 2nd comet punch took down Ponyta. I played a Pidgey to buy more time but was still without energy and card draw. I was unable to defend myself while Kangaskhan continued its assault. I even took a double colorless energy from his Snorlax earlier with my Energy Removal, but his own Bills Teleporters had been succeeding. I finally drew a much needed Fire Energy but the turn after it was played Energy Removal was used upon it again. Finally some luck! Bills Teleporter worked giving me energy and an Energy Removal! Seth had already KOed 3 of my Pokemon though. Can things turn back around or is it already too late? Energy removal used again on me followed by switch and a Snorlax to KO Voltorb! He didn't even need to remove the energy from it since he KOed it in the same turn! What's more is that my Pokemon cannot retreat due to Snorlax's power! My only hope now was to attach my only energy to Porygon and pray for some lightning energy! Alas yet another Energy removal from Seth. I was defenseless yet again! Another Bills Teleporter worked so I brought out his other Snorlax since it had less energy on it. Must.. recover.. ability.. to attack!! Gambler failed. Snorlax could now attack. Dark Rapidash managed to get a Fire Energy on it, but I am still lacking another Fire Energy! Snorlax retreated to a fully powered Chansey and it attacked with double-edge ending the game. A complete blowout failure.

Not even a single Pokemon KOed on Seth's side..… This reminded me of something! The duel that culminated in my abduction! THIS must be the man who kidnapped me!

Seth spoke first "Oh my Mr Gentleman, not even a single prize card of yours has been claimed!" He gloated with the slight smile he always wears.

He continued "Don't worry, the addition of Pidgey clearly unbalanced your deck to the point where it could no longer function. I understand. In a real duel you would surely win!"

I replied doing my best to hide my frustration "Well played sir."

Seth replied "Oh surely I was just lucky, everyone loses sometimes after all would you not agree?" he said with his hand upon my shoulder

I replied "Sir I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems you could use a breath mint, would you like me to lend you one my good fellow?"

That he did not need a mint was of no concern to me. I wasn't about to be power played in such a fashion even if he did just hand me my 2nd most humiliating defeat as of yet!

In response to my comment for perhaps the first time, the amusement from his face dropped, but only for a micro-second before he replied "Oh my apologies! My manners have been poor lately, I shall go attend to that immediately."

He stood and bowed deeply to the king and announced he must be on his way now and with that he made his exit from the castle.

His deceptive mannerisms, that he thought to use the loss against me to induce rage... it indicated he viewed losing a game as a grievous insult. That his deck was so powerful... That settles it. This man must surely be the foe the ghostmasters oppose! Whats more is that he now knows I am looking to study the carvings and has measured the strength of my deck! No wonder the ghostmasters implored me to train and have a suitable weapon to use against him!

(63)

Allison and Clay were still in their match but it looked like Mint had just finished hers. A victory for her and with 4 of her opponent's prizes still remaining!

The king spoke up: "Astonishing! Even Mr Gentleman did not give me so thorough a beating! I can only assume that he too has grown! Mint, effective immediately I hereby permit you to continue traveling with Mr. Gentleman. In fact, I order you to do so! This has been a wonderful turn of events!"

Mint appeared relieved as if she had been playing with every once of power and skill she could muster to achieve this permission from the king.

She replied "I thank you my king! If it is possible to further increase my prowess at the cards, traveling with Mr Gentleman here will surely be the key to it!"

The king turned and spoke to me "And how was your duel dear friend?"

I replied "Most illuminating."

The king replied again "Splendid! It is about time for my next meal however so I must depart to the dining hall, you are welcome to join me if you should desire, but please know there is no obligation to do so."

I replied "Thank you kind sir, but I have other business to attend to. Another time, for sure!"

The king replied "Very well I look forward to it!"

As we left the castle grounds Mint turned to me inquisitively, but sincerely and spoke "I've never seen you duel before, so I stole glances of your game as it went, but it looked like it went as poor as possible! I can't imagine that is typical for you. Was your opponent simply that powerful?"

I replied with a grim look "Indeed he was."

Mint replied "That's not a look one gives for no reason, but why should losing a duel worry you?"

I replied "It was not a simple loss of a duel that concerns me. I believe that man was responsible for my original abduction to this island. There is more to this as well, and I will explain all as soon as I am able. Suffice to say that it is vital that I do not continue to lose to that man."

She then replied "Oh you men can be such babies at times! Losing a game does not diminish your worth! Even if you are the esteemed leader of the Doduo Alliance and friend of the king!" She gave a wink as well.

I believe she was simultaneously attempting to both cheer me up and bother me at the same time. I sighed. "That is not it..."

She then replied "Ooohh so you were hoping to impress me then?" she said as she gave me a look clearly designed to cause loss of ones footing.

I then replied "Must we return to this?! Why must it take the presence of a king to contain your madness!"

She then slyly replied "Well I am a queen."

Insufferable! Not to Doduo though! That bird was about as happy as could be of course!

(64)

Shortly after we left the castle gate, I heard a voice yelling behind me. "Miiiisssteerr Geeennntlleeeman!"

I turned around and found the source of the voice. It was Allison! She jogged a bit more and caught up.

After taking a moment to catch her breath she mentioned "Good thing I finished up with Clay so quickly! I've been meaning to duel you again. The only deck I managed to win with against you last time was my Psychic Might deck! I would like to see if it will still win against you!"

Mint replied "You do know we have urgent business to attend yes?"

She turned to Mint "I see. Trying to hog all the improvement to yourself Mint?"

Mint replied "Why yes! It was the king who ordered it so! I suppose if he thought it was better to send you, he would have done so!"

At this Allison shot back "Oh is that right? Well it seems the king is still only allowing funding to you for a single deck while I have always had 3!"

Mint retorted "Well at least I don't need 3 decks to feel adequate!"

I interjected "Ladies! Please calm yourselves! Mint, you know a duel does not take long and you have me for the remainder of our journey, surely you could spare a little time without having to fight on my account?"

At this Mint replied with a dropped jaw "I am most certainly NOT fighting on your account! FINE duel her for all I care!!" And with that she stormed off.

Allison was smiling and muttered "Ha.. that will teach her to know her place."

I replied "I beg your pardon?"

Allison seemed to have forgotten there was someone else still here with her and quickly composed herself "Ah! Pay it no mind! I am ready for our duel if you are!"

And with that our duel commenced.

The duel was over in a flash. Hitmonchan took down Porygon and Voltorb before I had a chance to stabilize. It didn't help that Bills Teleporter failed again.

Allison remarked "Ok it won again, but lets play a few more, if you accept?"

I acquiesced to her request as I was eager to manage at least 1 win if possible. We dueled again. She went first and used Hitmonchan to knockout my only Pokemon: Porygon resulting in loss. We dueled again, but I only managed to KO 1 of her Pokemon. We dueled again but I only had out Voltorb and Hitmonchan KOed it on the first turn where she went first again. We dueled one final time and I was able to KO 3 of her Pokemon, but that was about all the deck could do.

"I see", Allison said before continuing "The low resistance rule that goes with this deck hurts both your Porygon and Doduo drastically for tanking options and my fighting types KO anything that is weak with a single attack. Dark Rapidash has a hard time dealing with everything in my deck by itself even if a backup is in place. It might not be possible for your deck to beat mine under these conditions. You still are able to defeat my other decks though! This is clearly a case of my deck happening to counter the things your deck does best. Perhaps you should give thought to making another deck my dear Gentleman?"

I replied "A new deck? Hmm.. Considering how far off it sounded like Mint went off to, I suppose we have some time. Very well let me see what I can whip up here!"

And just like that, I set my mind to constructing another all-common deck!

(65)

Some time passed and soon my modifications for my 2nd deck were now complete! My friend Ronald back on TCG Island was impressed with my FlashFire deck and had offered a few suggestions for other ideas he thought would work well. We reasoned that a deck that swapped out Doduo and Dark Rapidash for Venonat and Venomoth would be the other direction to take it. As it turned out, there was even space now to add a couple Potion to the deck!

MothZapper

4 Voltorb Lv8
4 Venonat Lv12
3 Venomoth Lv22
3 Porygon Lv20

4 Energy Removal
4 Energy Search
4 Pokemon Trader
4 Bill
4 Bill's Teleporter
3 Gambler
3 Gust of Wind
2 Potion
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run

7 Grass Energy
7 Lightning Energy

Venomoth. Tornado Gust: If your opponent has any benched Pokemon, he or she chooses 1 of them and switches it with the defending Pokemon. (Do the damage before switching the Pokemon.) Then, if you have any benched Pokemon, switch this Pokemon with one of them. Rainbow Powder: Flip a coin. If heads, the defending Pokemon is now paralyzed. If tails, the defending Pokemon is now poisoned. Weakness: fire. Resistance: -30 to fighting.

A new tool now at my disposal, Allison and I continued our duels!

The very next duel, MothZapper took Allison by storm. She was only able to KO 1 of my Pokemon!

Allison commented "Amazing! Mr. Gentleman, have you been playing with only a single deck this entire time?!"

I replied "Well.. of course I have! My aim was to defeat everyone on this island with it and that's exactly what I did! Well, for the most part anyway..."

Allison replied, "This entire time you have been playing with 1 hand behind your back! I'm sorry I doubted your skill even for a moment when we first met good sir!"

I replied, "No offense taken madam!"

Allison replied again "I'm satisfied now. I'll be heading back to the castle now. I look forward to seeing what else you may accomplish though!"

And with that she took her leave.

(66)

I was about to start looking for Mint when I felt a tap upon my shoulder. I naturally turned the direction of the tap only to find no one standing there! I then turned the other direction only to see Min-

"BOO!" Mint yelled.

Losing all composure I let out a sound most unnatural for a man of my stature followed by - "CONFOUND IT WOMAN!!" I yelled.

Mint then began to laugh uncontrollably for a solid minute as I glared at her before she mentioned "I saw your duels with Allison and I was so impressed with how you turned it all around Mr."

The way she said it and the placement of but a single finger upon my chest had a way of drawing one in.

I replied "Wha- Erm.. Yes, I suppose it was somewhat note worthy..."

She then continued "With two decks now under your command, you might just find you can command more than decks." she implied suggestively.

I shot back "I have had quite enough jokes today madam!"

Her laughter of course resumed. Though... I suppose there are worse fates, no?

Now that I have two decks to utilize, I shall henceforth pick the deck that should allow me the most advantage. Doduo doesn't mind anyway. That bird wouldn't mind if its own face hit a brick! And with that, we took our leave with our bearing being the house of Ishihara!

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 8: Ishihara

(67)

We came to the house of Ishihara and Doduo must have decided to go find some worms or something as it gleefully trotted over to a nearby field. As we approached the door it opened to reveal a man, presumably Ishihara.

He spoke: "Welcome! King Villicci mumbled over the phone I should expect guests. You two must be Mint and the Gentleman correct?"

I replied "Yes indeed! Has the king caught you up to speed on what we are looking for already?"

Ishihara replied "Yes he has indeed, come on in and have a seat. Now let me see what I did with those notes..." he mentioned as he walked away.

The home was simple in design with Stairs leading to a second level along the left wall. The first level consisted of two rooms in an open-floor plan. A spacious living room and the room in the back appeared to be a library of sorts. The living room had a large TV in one of the far corners, and a desktop computer with a headset and mic in the other far corner. There was a duel table in the middle with what appeared to be high quality very comfy leather stools. Underneath the duel table was a modern style blue and gold rug. Hardwood floors were throughout the downstairs. Some toy blocks were heaped in a pile near the left wall and there was a large window on the right wall. Through the window I noticed Doduo digging around presumably for worms.

Mint and I sat at the duel table as we heard him rummaging about through papers. He had a toddler in the house as well who approached the TV that was on and promptly pulled upon the plug with force. The plug popped right out of the wall which prompted a bout of intense laughter out of the boy! He then plugged it back in before pulling it out yet again!

Ishihara poked his head around the corner and sternly reprimanded the boy "Timmy! I told you to stop unplugging the TV! Or any things for that matter! Do you know how much money the teleporter cost to repair? You unplugged it while it was in use! Don't make me put you in time out again!"

At this Timmy relented and went to the other side of the room to play with blocks.

I called out to Ishihara "Is Timmy here by chance related to Bill good sir?"

Ishihara poked his head back out and said "Well.. yes and no!"

I replied "Good sir one surely is related or they are not!"

He then replied "Eh.. I suppose it had to come out sooner or later. Bill is me or rather I am Bill. No.. that's not it. Bill is a fake marketing personality! I am the actual CEO of Bill Incorporated and when employees refer to Bill they are in fact referring to me!"

As I spoke with Bill, Mint was yawning and appeared to be spacing out a bit.

I replied "So you are the one who gave the idea to the king to install the gambling machines!"

He replied "What? But Bill has never met the king before! I met him yes, but not as Bill! If he got the notion for gambling machines from Bill, he must have gone on a tour of our headquarters prior to the legal entanglements..."

I replied "I heard it was due to the mismanagement of the gambling facility you own that caused bankruptcy."

Timmy ran up to Mint with a yellow block in his hand offering it to her. Judging from her smile, Mint found this quite amusing.

Bill replied "Mismanagement is technically true, but its all part of the new-leaf 5 year plan for the company. Have you ever been to a gambling establishment before? I used to love them having never set foot in one. They always generated amazing profits for the company and helped to fuel our growth!"

(68)

Bill continued from the other room as he continued shuffling through paper and boxes “One day though, I went to visit one incognito out of curiosity and what I saw there shocked and disturbed me! All those poor people developed gambling addiction to the point that they would neglect even their own families! My parents were always kind and supportive of me growing up but I learned I had created something that took that away from children! Sometimes even the children themselves would become addicted!"

I couldn't believe the direction this appeared to be going... is Bill of all people not the capitalistic scum I had assumed him to be?!

At this, Mint looked down in apparent shame. It seems she is not fond of the gambling at the game center she works at.

Bill continued "Once I knew, I knew what I had to do. The first thing was to even out the winnings and get rid of the jackpots. I redesigned our systems to slowly pay out more money to the people than it took. With no more jackpots and most folks no longer going in the hole, my casino's started going in the red and I would slowly start closing them down. My company is so large that I had plenty of other divisions to rehire the casino employees to so that they would not be out of work and become homeless. I may hate casinos now but I refuse to abandon the people I hired either.

Timmy noticed Mint looking down and offered another block to her. This one was blue. Mint found this cute judging from her expression.

Bill then paused and called out "Oh I'm rambling too much when I haven't even offered you guys some drinks! I just made some fresh lemonade, you want some?"

Mint spoke up first "Oh yes please! I meant to get a drink while we were at the castle but I totally forgot!"

I spoke up once she was finished "Yes I think that would be great if you would!"

Timmy chimed in "Peeba!"

Bill replied "Timmy, the word is drink not peeba...."

Mint started giggling at that as she started making faces at Timmy causing him to laugh.

Bill replied "Alright give me a minute and I'll get those drinks right out!"

He continued as he began taking glasses out of a cabinet to prepare the drinks.

Bill continued "Anyway, my hope was that the ones addicted would not feel like going through the effort to move to a new town to keep gambling as the casinos started to shut down. Some do move, but many don't. Overall, the statistics show my plan is working. I have also been using my company to aggressively buy out casino's and treat them the same. I have fueled much of my personal savings into this project as well. I was worth 700 billion, so I was able to make a noticeable shift in gambling in our society.

Mints crazy face at Timmy froze as she heard the 700 billion part. Timmy only found this even more hilarious though as he was now laughing even harder.

Bill continued "I also dedicated enormous sums of money from the company to it as well. I got a bit overzealous with it all though and soon found myself having to navigate bankruptcy for the company. It was hard, but worth it, as Bill Incorporated now has an almost complete monopoly on casinos and gambling devices!"

I could barely believe what I was hearing!

Bill brought out our drinks as we began to sip them. Timmy took a sippy cup.

Bill continued "Even so, this drain on finances caused a number of other concerns including the TV, aka teleporter over there. I had the TV built over it to make it appear that way because I didn't want people to know who I am. People tend to treat you differently when you have money. Money doesn't make me special though, it just arbitrarily gives me more control than other people have.

Mint started to made a small tower with the blocks Timmy supplied her with as Timmy was rummaging through the blocks some more.

Bill continued "Its not like I inherently deserve it though! Plenty of people work harder than I do and don't have even a fraction of the wealth I had. I say had because I've caused myself to struggle a bit on purpose because I know my company caused even greater struggles to others! For the rest of my life, I've made it my mission to help all those I have wronged and prevent others from falling down the same path!"

(69)

I replied "So your company never had a problem with bribery to increase winnings?"

Timmy had now brought Mint several other colors of blocks and watched in wonder as she stacked them neatly into an even taller tower.

Bill replied "Bribery? Sure we have had some of that. It doesn't really matter though since the machines all follow the algorithms I wrote them to follow. Besides, if people are getting a little more winning's that's ok. Casino's need to die."

I replied in awe, "My good man, I don't think I have ever heard of some one with so much money who has saved more than you appear to be doing!"

Bill replied "It might be tempting to think that way, but I just look at it as percentages. I doubt the percentage of my excess wealth used to help others differs too much from those less fortunate than myself. While I do allow myself to feel happy for doing good, my philosophy is that it doesn't make me any better than what you might call the common man."

I replied again "Even so, I think were everyone to take a similar philosophy as yourself, we might all be better off!"

Bill replied again "Perhaps, but the world has been turning for a very long time. Surely if most people were capable of overcoming their vices, we would be seeing something better to live in by now eh? Still, we all owe it to each other to try our best. Things aren't static and can get worse or better!"

I replied "Well said my good man!"

I then thought to myself that I won't need to be redirecting any more funds towards the bribery! Perhaps my winnings assisted with the closing of some casinos though!

Mints tower was now enormous. Timmy reached over and pulled a block out causing it to tumble as Mint cringed from the falling blocks and the noise. Timmy meanwhile was laughing hysterically.

Bill was unfazed from the blocks as he spoke. Apparently he was so used to them that they no longer even registered to his ears as noise.

Bill continued "Still, if the king has slot machines installed, its only a matter of time until he increases the scale of the operation. I'll have my company reach out to him on my behalf and see if I can get this turned around. If I can't reason with him, I can offer to buy them from him. If he wants to create more to sell to me, I'll just poach his employees and get them to work for me instead by paying them more and I'll put their talents to work on things that will help folks out like infrastructure! If he hires more, I'll poach more. Eventually he will get frustrated with that wing and close it down altogether."

Bill finally stopped ruffling through boxes and papers as he mentioned "Ah here they are! I finished translating the various writings but its all some kind of code that doesn't make sense on its own. From what I can tell, these probably represent some kind of password for a machine of some kind. These are copies of the original's you are welcome to them. It was pretty fun trying to figure them out but was a little easier than I was hoping."

Mint was now sitting on the floor with Timmy near the blocks creating little structures with them which Timmy was all to happy to demolish as soon as she stopped shielding them as she built them. I was surprised to see her so..quiet.

She does seem to have a way with children though. I mused.

Bill spoke up again "Ah, I forgot I have the conference call in a few minutes, did you two get what you needed?"

I replied "Indeed we have my good man! Many thanks!"

Bill replied "Ok great! Feel free to visit again sometime if you like but I might be at my other house. I hope you and your girlfriend have a good day!"

Before I could correct him, he had already put a headset on and began speaking while Mint and I exited the home. Mint was looking at me to study my reaction.

"What?" I asked

"Oh! Nothing. Nothing at all!" Replied Mint as she started to examine the sky in a direction away from me.

Doduo trotted promptly up with a worm dangling from one of its beaks. It had grass and flowers mixed with its feathers.

(70)

With that, we now had what we needed for the Progenitor. I explained to Mint we would now need to return to the Game Center. She was a bit confused by this since it is where we started, but she was more curious than anything else. We made our uneventful journey back there and entered the building with Doduo trailing behind. As we walked past the Doduo daycare, I noticed the Doduo inside all peered at my Doduo and hid themselves. My Doduo glanced towards them and continued to walk forward with its smugness on full display.

As we entered, I started to walk towards the game chip counter when Mint spoke up "Oh, no need, as an employee here myself, I'll just let her know you are a special guest today"

Mint approached the counter and spoke to the receptionist "Hi Trish, this man is my guest today so he will be omitting the chip requirement"

Trish replied "Oh! Of course! Enjoy!" She replied with another fake exact replica of a real smile. So unnerving! We proceeded past and made our way to the Progenitor. Taking out the instructions from Bill, I entered the code. It was a complex sequence of feeding it specific Pokemon cards followed by holding down various buttons. After waiting a few seconds, the machine spit a card back out! Finally! I picked up the card and confirmed. The final phantom rare, Here Comes Team Rocket!

Mint looked at it inquisitively and spoke "I have never seen someone operate the black box like this before! And what is that card? Did you just create a NEW POKEMON CARD?!" Mint exclaimed far louder than I would have liked.

At this all heads in the room turned to us. Both Doduo's heads were first on Mint and then on the card as well as it peered intently at it.

I replied loudly "Oh don't be silly my dear Mint! Everyone knows you can't just obtain a new Pokemon Card!"

I explained as I grabbed her hand leading her towards the exit with me while continuing "Lets go grab some lunch my lady!"

Noticing my reply she simply played along "Oh yes! I am rather hungry! I know of the best pizza joint nearby too..."

Our fake conversation carried on as we walked. As we made our way past the chip counter again, I noticed Trish was no longer standing behind it.

"So creepy." I thought to myself.

I imagined her not being there would be a relief, but instead I only found myself unsettled. Doduo of course is oblivious to such unsettling things as it welcomes misfortune.

(71)

As we left the game center we passed by Bill!

"Mr Ishihara?" I inquired.

Bill turned around and replied "Ah how about that! I didn't expect to see you again so soon Mr Gentleman!"

He leaned in closer and spoke quietly "I'm here to acquire a badge for late night entry under pretenses of studying the ruins some more. This whole structure wasn't here when I was here last. Just the ruins. Anyway, once the place closes down I'll have the run of it all since there is no security!"

At this Doduo tilted its heads inquisitively as Bill continued. "Then I can examine the slot machines up close and anything else that may catch my interest. That it will be late night is kind of exciting too! Reminds me of my college days! Being able to tell someone what I'm up to makes it fun too!" Bill said with a sly smile.

I replied in a low voice "Ah so this is what billionaire philanthropists get up to when no one is watching!"

Bill replied "Heck yeah man! I can't wait!"

Mint chimed in also in a low voice "Wow that does sound pretty exciting! So when are you going to come up with something exciting to do Mr Gentleman?"

I replied "Actually my lady, I think you will find our next destination to be quite unforgettable!"

Mint replied "Oooo~ I'm intrigued now!"

Bill chimed in again "Oh hey, I almost forgot but since you two know my secret maybe we can be friends? No one is interested in Ishihara and too many people are interested in Bill. It puts me in a weird awkward middle-ground!"

Mint and I replied at the same time using the same word "Certainly!"

We both looked at each other and laughed.

Bill replied "Great!"

We then exchanged phone numbers.

Bill spoke up "Alright, time to begin phase 1 of the secret mission! I'll catch you two lovebirds later!" Bill spoke loudly as he jogged to the game center entrance.

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 9: Name

Mint spoke up "Well, it looks like we continue to have the impression of being a couple! I won't be able to find any boyfriends at this rate! Are you going to take responsibility for this Mr Gentleman? she inquired with a sly smile

I shot back "Responsibility for what?! All I have done is the bare minimum of what I needed in order to provide the explanation you demanded!"

Mint softly replied “Responsibility for what indeed...” Mint was staring straight at me with those eyes of hers.

I quickly broke the silence "W-Well! I think we might actually want to get some lunch after all since there will be no places to eat when we get to our next destin-"

(72)

The next thing I knew I felt a tug on my tie and Mints lips were pressed against mine!! She quickly pulled away and said softly "Oops... I tripped. How clumsy of me."

At this point I found the powers of concentration to be quite elusive and I absentmindedly replied "Tripped? Ah.. that could be bad..."

Mint replied while maintaining eye contact "Very bad indeed... It could give someone the wrong idea..."

Still locked in a haze I inquired "What idea..?"

Mint replied "That you aren't a good kisser... You wouldn't want them to think that, would you?"

Still in a haze I replied "Uh.. no that would be... bad..."

Mint replied "Exactly, it sure would...." Mint said softly as she leaned closer as I felt a tug upon my tie again. Needless to say from this point I became far more familiar with Mint's face than I had anticipated or dreamed! ...Not that I could possibly summon the force of will to complain!

Needless to say our lunch was a bit of a blocked out blur as I found myself with only the smallest awareness of my surroundings! I don't recall what that bird was doing either. It was Mint who had to remind me that we were supposed to be in a hurry. Once we got back on the road it gave some time to converse as we walked.

Mint spoke up "I'm still curious in this explanation of yours but at this point, you had better not think explaining will be getting rid of me."

I replied "Get rid of you? I would have to be quite mad my lady!"

Mint replied "Good, then you should start calling me by my name Mr!"

I replied "My apologies.. Mint. I'm not sure how to explain this, but I haven't exactly had experience with romance before..."

Mint replied "At your age that is really quite scandalous... but I don't think you have much to worry about." She replied as she reached out and held my hand.

At this what else could I do but hold it back? Who knew a lady could have such an effect!

My words of advice for any seeking love condensed into a single sentence: Put yourself in a situation where a 1,000 year old replica of a 10 year old boy's brain temporarily overrides the brain of a woman causing amnesia for the duration, then in a private room get the person to become a crying mess while hugging you with the duration of the brain override effect immediately ceasing in this position waking the woman up while you are completely unable to properly explain! Works 100% of the time!

We then stopped for a moment and she asked with eye contact "So are you just going to kiss a girl and get her name without telling her yours?"

I replied "Well actually it was you who ki-"

She placed a finger on my lips for a moment before taking it away while continuing to look.

I began again "Well I.. "

She leaned in closer while maintaining eye contact and inquired "Yes?"

I then spat it out "I don't have one!"

At this Mint took a step back and tilted her head with a look of complete confusion before replying "Wait what??"

I cleared my throat and spoke again "I don't have one. I.. kind of bypassed it!"

Mint gave a thousand yard stare off in a random direction before looking back at me and replying "How.. how on earth have you been walking around with no name and I am apparently the first one to even ask!?"

I replied "Well.. I have no idea! You are the first one who ever has!"

(73)

At this Mint began to laugh uncontrollably for several minutes. She eventually tried to speak up again in between the laughter "Ouch! ...My face!" Mint pleaded "Please!!...No more!!! ..can't talk... about ...this ....any more ....right now! Can't ...even think ....about it! Please ...subject change....now!" She begged as she continued to laugh in pain.

I then decided to mention the most interesting thing I could to help calm the laughter "How about this! Our destination is the sealed fortress and the Pokemon from the game center is in fact a brand new Pokemon Card! This card is the very last new card that our world is supposed to have! This card acts as a key to unseal the fortress which holds the explanation for that time we had in the ruins!"

That appeared to be working but only a moment before Mint started laughing again and had to speak through it again "What... are you ....talking about ....your supposed to... make me.... STOP ....laughing!"

I quickly interjected now in a panic "Ah!! That did not occur to me! But its true! I'm serious!" I gave her my most serious face to help hammer it home.

Unfortunately the only thing it hammered was her already badly beaten gut as she was now full-blown laughing again. My attempt having failed, I could now only watch and cringe as the laughter took its full toll on her. After that for the next good while Mint forbade me from speaking altogether...

(74)

As we drew closer to the Sealed Fortress, Mint finally allowed me to speak again. I then begun my explanation anew.

"So what I said before is correct. The Sealed Fortress has the proof for an explanation so outlandish that I doubt you would believe it even now and certainly not when we were back in the ruins. This card is the last new card meant to be created and is the key. If you will listen, I'll explain everything as we finish our journey to the Sealed Fortress, just please hold any questions until the end."

Mint agreed and I began filling her in on everything I learned from Axel.

Once the explanation was complete Mint replied "Well there is no way you could come up with such a detailed and absurd lie if it were not true. The evidence is so close, there wouldn't be any point in lying at this point. I believe you."

I replied "Thank you, Mint."

Mint replied back "Good, you keep using my name Mr and don't forget! We really need to give you a name though. I'm not moving forward in this relationship with you until you have one!" She proclaimed as she crossed her arms and tilted her head towards the sky with her eyes shut.

I replied anxiously “So… we are a couple then?”

She met my eyes and spoke “Well what do you think Mr?”

I replied even less sure than before “Erm.. yes?”

Mint stared into my eyes again and asked “Well if that is true, then what does that mean for you?”

I then began to clam up but attempted to answer “Well.. I did not go looking for love, but if we are a couple.. it would feel better to me than saving the world! Erm.. probably not what I am supposed to say being the hero the Ghostmasters claim me to be!”

(75)

Mint replied maintaining eye contact “Oh my.. I do seem to have quite a powerful effect. But do you want to know a secret?” She said as she leaned in close quietly.

I replied “Um.. yes?”

She then grabbed my tie again and brought her lips close to my ear and whispered “I felt that way about you first.”

At this I began to feel in a haze again. My word! If I had known a lady could have such an effect, surely I would have sought out a fine lady sooner! Though, if I did, I doubt I would have met one so.. utterly perfect in every way! Of course I realize that one can never truly be perfect, but my heart would hear absolutely none of that! Still with her grip firmly on my tie, Mint then pulled me in for more of what had me so absent minded back at the game center.

After that, we decided to sit on a hill overlooking the last leg of our journey to the sealed fortress. We both leaned back to gaze at the clouds.

Mint then asked me “So, as I mentioned, you want this to go farther? You need a name Mr.”

I replied while gazing at the clouds "Well, I have been thinking of some names..."

Mint quickly replied with big eyes as she turned away from the clouds to look at me "Oh really?? Like what??"

I replied while still gazing at the clouds "Well, I haven't really decided on any but I was tossing some around, I wasn't thinking all that hard though..."

Mint exclaimed "Tell me! Tell me!"

I replied with my gaze now in her direction "Erm.. ok! So I was thinking maybe Red?"

(76)

Mint replied with a mortified look "You were thinking of naming yourself after a basic color?! What kind of idiot does that!! NO! Absolutely NOT!" Mint said as she crossed her arms in a big X.

I replied "W-well! Its ok I said I wasn't very serious..."

Mint replied again "Still, that's pretty weird! I don't think I have ever heard of someone thinking to name themselves after a color! What else were you thinking?"

I replied again "Well ok.. I was also thinking of the name Ash.."

Mint replied "Ash, huh? That's no where near as bad as Red! Ash is somewhat normal I suppose as long as you don't try adding another name to it like Ketchum at the end or something! I bet that's something a guy like you might try to do too!" Mint said as she pointed her finger accusingly at me.

Taken aback I replied "Two names? What a weird concept! Who would call themselves 2 different names anyway? It makes it so complicated! I find myself rather insulted you would even entertain the notion that I might!"

Mint replied "Well excuuuuuse me, Red! What else you got?"

I replied again "Well I was thinking maybe something like BasicBro..."

Mint gave me a look. It was a look like she had asked a simple math question to an esteemed professor and they just confidently gave her the absolutely wrong answer! She then shouted "WHAT ARE YOU 10?!"

I hastily replied "Owch! My ear!"

Mint spoke next "This is absurd! You really need my help here huh?"

I replied "Erm.. I don't exactly have much experience coming up with names"

Mint replied again this time with a look of exasperation "This isn't about experience! My goodness! Ok! I'm going to help you out here... May I make a suggestion?" Mint gave me a look as if there was only 1 correct answer to her question.

I then replied "Erm... yes?"

Mint rolled her eyes and then spoke again "Ok! I think you should pick a normal basic SANE name! Like Mark! I could see you as a Mark. Whatcha think?"

I stroked my chin thoughtfully for a moment "Hmm.. it does have a decent ring to it I suppose. Still, once I have a name there is no going back. That's part of why I have been putting it off! I'll need to give this some thought for a while. Thank you my dear Mint."

Mint replied "Dear indeed! BasicBro! Pffft!" She then began laughing again.

I replied "It really wasn't that funny..."

Mint replied "Yes it was! No one names themselves crazy things like that!"

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 10: Sealed Fortress

(77)

Finally we arrived at the Sealed Fortress. As we approached the doors they opened automatically!

Doduo decided not to go inside and instead ran around the nearby fields to frolic.

We made our way inside through a large empty room and proceeded to the final room in the back with a raised stage surrounded by lamps of blue flame.

Once we ascended the stage, a ghost spontaneously appeared as if he was a light turned on by a light-switch and spoke! "OoOoOoOO I am the ghost master Tooooobyyyy you should not have come here OoooOoo"

Right after that, another ghost appeared "There you go again Toby. Must you always be so dramatic?! Hi~ I'm ghostamaster Anna! I would be happy to serve you!"

The rest of the ghostmasters all appeared except one and said in unison "Welcome!"

(78)

Then one final ghost appeared as the others vanished. "Mr! You made it! It's me! Axel!" He said with a big smile.

He then ran up and did his best to attempt a hug even though he was mostly incorporeal. Attempting to hug him was somewhat like the feeling of pressing the wrong ends of magnets together. The feeling of resistance like you are touching something but not quite touching.

"Hugging really doesn't work at all between two of us Ghostmasters but as long as your body is real I can feel it a little!" Axel said with a bittersweet expression.

He then turned to look at Mint and continued "Right on the money! You brought her! One of the high priests said the final hero would although I forget which one now! I still have no idea who she is though! Could you introduce me Mr?"

I replied "Certainly my dear boy, this wonderful lady is Mint." Mint gave me a smile that indicated I most definitely said what she was hoping to hear!

I continued "She is a splendid duelist in her own right and very recently became my partner in romance! In retrospect, I think we might have you to thank for that!"

At this, Mint grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze.

Axel replied “Oh WOW! I helped you get a girlfriend?! How??”

I continued "I've explained to her everything about the discussion you and I had in the ruins and she set out on a journey with me to arrive here for proof of my claims. The reason why is tied to the name she went by when I first met her: ...Queen."

At this Axel's eyes went wide! His eyes then began to tear before he spoke "Que-Mint! I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused you!" He said while stiffly bowing.

Mint replied "Hard to believe such technology exists! I understand why you did it though. Its ok Axel, you don't need to worry. Would you like to try another hug with me this time?"

Axel hurriedly shook his head yes and ran up to hug her next. The two stayed that way a minute before looked up and thanked her with a big smile.

"Even like this, its been so long since a nice lady hugged me! Thank you so much Mint!"

Mint simply wore a benevolent smile back before replying "I Heard how you missed your mom and from now on, if you need a hug, you just let me know, ok? I'll help you as much as I can. The worst is over now. Your fort is unsealed now too! Besides.. I have you to thank for meeting this amazing man."

Mint turned to smile at me. I thought to myself “Ah.. such a pretty face. I can’t believe I am so lucky!”

Axel then replied "Yeah! I almost forgot what real hope felt like! We can't relax yet though! The real battle is about to begin and we need to train if we are going to have a chance of winning! But before that, there is a little more I want to explain to you that I didn't have a chance to explain back in the ruins."

At this, I replied: "Yes, I had a feeling there would be a little more. Go ahead Axel."

(78+)

Axel replied "Ok thanks! So first, I am not actually a ghost. The way I was able to be there with you in the ruins was through the machine inside the walls of that room in a sealed vault known as the Mindmaster 2.0. With the ability of it, I was able to temporarily override the brainwave patterns of the person I inhabited.

I spoke up "My word what a frightening bit of technology! I shudder to think of how something like that might be abused! I'm shocked to learn technology like this even exists!

Axel replied "Funny you should mention that.... but first let me explain more."

At this, Mint and I exchanged worried glances with each other before we looked back to Axel.

Axel then continued "The Mindmaster 2.0 has a timer that I don't fully understand, but once that timer expires I am no longer inhabiting the body I borrowed and am back here. The way the Mindmaster 2.0 works, the only effect it has on the body of the donor is that they have a loss of memory during the time occupied. Once they wake up, they don't remember that time, but everything else regarding their mind is intact with no damage whatsoever."

Mint looked pensive as she started to nod her head.

Axel continued "In truth, I don't like having to use it, but its one of the few things linked to the outside world through which we can interact with others. If we don't use it, we are unable to warn the next hero and when that happens another upheaval inevitably follows and our world becomes even more warped than it was before! Changes are not inherently bad, but the kinds of changes that come about from this must be stopped at all costs! Even so, I still feel bad using the Mindmaster 2.0."

Mint gave him a reply "I know you do. Its ok! Remember that it ended up being a good thing!" She gave him a wink and a sweet smile.

Axel began to blush a bit as he tried to kick a nearby rock but was largely unsuccessful in gettin it to move much as he replied "I don't think I've met someone as nice as you before. You remind me of my mom..."

At this Mint placed her hand on her heart before giving in to her urge to swiftly approach and hug Axel again.

Axel looked more at peace than I had seen him thus far either occupying Mint's body or the form I saw before me.

Axel admitted "What I wouldn't give to stay this way even in a form like this for a long time..." He then closed his eyes in concentration before adding "Right now we should stay focused though. If our foe wins, we will be sealed away again for sure, but this time there won't be anyone to unseal us again. I can't deal with that again... not even with the company of all my ghostmaster friends here..."

Mint replied "I know you are over 1,000, but you will always be a sweet kid to me. I'll let you go now so we can do our best to never put you through that again ok?"

Axel looked up crying and hugged her a bit tighter for a moment before letting go and calming himself.

He then continued "So.. the reason the Mindmaster is 2.0 instead of 1.0 is because the original Mindmaster is in the control of our enemy. You might think, so what? He is just using an old model of inferior quality! Well.. that theory would be completely wrong.”

At this I began to notice a sense of creeping dread.

Axel continued “You see, the 2.0 was created the same as the original but with limits to the functions of the original. With the original, our foe is able to completely and permanently override the brainwaves of the host body. In essence... it ends them..." Axel said as he looked down gripping his arms with his hands. A shiver visibly flowing over him.

Mint was looking seriously and determined upon hearing that.

Axel continued "Once the ability for misuse was understood, the entire Mindmaster project was put on hold, the prototype was meant to be destroyed, but it was stolen. Our foe has the prototype. It is the only explanation for his many returns. His figure in the ruins has 10 shadows... Each shadow represents his reincarnation. We do not know the whereabouts of the prototype. Our foe could have moved it anywhere since the last upheaval. Though our primary objective is to prevent upheavals, our secondary objective is to destroy the prototype."

As I ran my hand through my hair I confidently stated "Then that is exactly what we shall do!"

Mint gave me a good look!

Axel continued "The prototype is also able to update the stored brainwaves of our foe upon the end of his life and hold them ready until the next host arrives. The prototype has limitations though. It can only activate the mind override function once every 100 years.

I replied "Now that is making more sense!"

Axel replied "There is more. From the Mindmaster project came an offshoot project called the Ghostmaster project. It was developed per the advice of the high priest at the time as a way of preserving the heroes to aid in the fulfillment of the destiny of the final hero. Although ghostmaster implies we are ghosts, that is not technically true.

At this I tilted my head a bit in curiosity.

Similar to one of the functions of the Mindmaster prototype, a Ghostmaster is a machine used to store brainwave patterns. It is unable to superimpose those patterns on anyone though. Instead, a technology called holograms was created which allows us a temporary body of our own which is what you see us with here. With it we can stand, walk, and sit. Our hands are just solid enough to be used for duels, but that is the extent of the body it provides us with. The Mindmaster 2.0 is the only way in which a body can be occupied again by any of us."

I thought amusingly to myself that the boy I had tutored, Billy, would have an absolute field day in here at the mere mention of the word hologram.

Axel continued "I also want to point out that card transformation is only possible for the Lugia card and not for Here Comes Team Rocket. The reason is that it is a card that was meant to exist here. Lugia was not meant to exist in our world. Not in our current worldline and not in the original either. Speaking of which, Merrill is another card that was not meant to exist in our world but because there are multiple copies of it, transforming it into a card in the nexus is not possible. The only card that has that function, is Lugia."

With my potential questions satisfied, I replied "Thank you Axel. You can count on us to help!"

Axel replied "Great! Alright then, are you two ready for your training?"

(78++)

At this both Mint and I turned to one another and nodded our heads.

Axel resumed "We pulled out the spare chairs so the table can seat 4 at a time, that way both of you can duel at the same time! It might be a little cramped though."

Mint replied "Oh you don't need to worry about that. If Mr Gentleman is thinking the same thing I am, I think we prefer it that way!" Mint smiled towards me.

I replied "Best training ever and I get to sit next to the most beautiful lady I have ever laid eyes upon!"

Mint gave me the very best look! A shy smile with those gorgeous eyes of hers! She then replied "Remember Mr you need to focus on your training! If you don't, I'm going to have to sit on the other end of the table!"

At this I replied with the utmost formal urgency! "My focus shall be sharp as a Doduo's talon! No need for you to move my dear!"

Mint replied "Good, because I know how you get when I distract you too much!" We then both found ourselves gazing into each others eyes.

Axel spoke up next "OK! So each of you pick out an opponent and let the training begin!"

Mint and I simultaneously replied "Right!"

(79)

I selected my first opponent: Anna. She was the one with the maid uniform. I opted to duel her with MothZapper. Most of the game was an unusual struggle for getting enough energy, but although she was KOing some of my Pokemon, she simply lacked the raw power to do it quickly enough. With enough stalling I managed to start going on the offensive. She slowed me down with status effects sometimes and we traded blows but with 1 prize remaining I finished her off! Anna spoke after the duel "Thank you very much for the battle! Once you save the world, please do visit again! I'll be waiting for your to return!" And with that, she faded away.

For my next opponent I selected Warren. He was the older kid with the intense look. I selected MothZapper once again. My opponent attempted to seal my trainer cards away for the entire duel but was unsuccessful. Not only that, but he failed to KO a single one of my Pokemon! He replied "Dangit All--! In the end. I Lost! Tch!! I guess it was inevitable. Mark my words, Mr Gentleman: I won't be defeated next time!" And with that, Warren disappeared.

For my next opponent I selected the man with the fine apparel! Magician! My weapon of choice? MothZapper! With the ability to get around his tricks my deck made short work of him though he did manage to pick up a couple prizes along the way!

For my next opponent. Masquerade! With careful manipulation of the battlefield making use of the full capabilities of Venomoth, I defeated my foe without them earning a single prize! Almost half of the ghostmasters defeated without a single loss yet!

For my next opponent I selected Toby! Porygon and Voltorb tag teamed his entire arsenal and secured victory before he could even take 1 prize!

Looking to try my luck, I wanted to see how MothZapper would stand up to fire so I selected Pierrot as my next foe! To my astonishment he went down after only able to claim 1 prize against me!

Indeed, MothZapper is quickly proving to be the most powerful common deck... in the world!

But now, the final 3 obstacles loom: Zapdos, Blastoise, and Wigglytuff! For my next foe, Frank with his legendary Zapdos deck!

The first game was over almost before it began. A loss caused by 2 Nightly Garbage Run and 3 Pokemon Trader in the opening hand. Only 1 Energy too. On the 2nd game he only managed to take down 2 of my Pokemon before he was defeated. It was a high intensity game though as Voltorb can be KOed just by him playing a Zapdos.

Now for the next foe: Ghostmaster Mary with Blastoise! Voltorb tore through Mary's Pokemon with the help of Gust of Wind to take down key threats. She claimed not a single prize! Unbelievable only 1 loss vs all the ghostmasters!

(80)

Axel appeared again without needing be asked. "Woah Mr! You're incredible! MothZapper is stronger than FlashFire for sure! I'm getting excited now! This time we duel for real!"

I selected MothZapper again. The duel began! Magmar and Hitmonchan overwhelmed me with Gust of Wind aiding them and they cut through everything I had in less than 6 turns ending in my defeat.

On the 2nd game we had an epic war that dragged on for what must have been 30 or more turns! Part way through Axel ran out of energy for 5 turns but kept retreating and using Scoop Up to bring his damaged Pokemon back to his hand to prevent me from picking up prizes. After he took 4 prizes I slowed down on offense and played more conservatively. We then had a game of cat and mouse as the Pokemon in the active slot on both sides was a continual revolving door. I slowly got through his defenses and KOed several Pokemon with 1 prize left. Eventually I found the opening I needed and took down his 6th Pokemon.

(81)

I turned to my left and found Mint had completed her duels against them in the same time and was looking to check on me too! We both smiled before looking back towards Axel.

Axel spoke "That was the fastest training we have ever had for the next in line hero or should I say Heroes! The thing we have to give you to aid in the defeat of the foe is actually for Mint! Mr. Gentleman, you have beat us all with your all-common deck and only took 2 losses against us! By now, you have what it takes to challenge anyone! What we have to give is the product of many games among each other. We set out to make the strongest version of my deck that we could. Its very important that this deck has as small of a chance of losing as possible. One of the high priests directed us to make it and to give it to a female hero in the final foretold days. The one we are to give it to is obviously Mint. This deck.. it is my magnum opus. You will surely need it for what lies ahead!"

Tuff As Nails

3 Scyther Lv25
3 Magmar Lv31
3 Jigglypuff Lv14
3 Wigglytuff Lv36
2 Grimer Lv17
2 Muk Lv34

4 Professor Oak
4 Itemfinder
4 Challenge
4 Computer Search
4 Bill
3 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Rocket's Sneak Attack
2 Energy Removal
2 Switch
2 Gust Of Wind
2 Pluspower

5 Fire Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
1 Full Heal Energy

Discard 2 of the other cards from your hand in order to search your deck for any card and put it into your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward.

Look at your opponent's hand. If he or she has any trainer cards, choose 1 of them. Your opponent shuffles that card into his or her deck.

Attach Pluspower to your active pokemon. At the end of your turn, discard pluspower. If this Pokemon's attack does damage to the defending Pokemon(after applying weakness and resistance), the attack doe 10 more damage to the defending Pokemon.

Axel continued "This deck is able to shut down all Pokemon Powers that your opponents have with Muk. It has a variety of trainer cards to help it be a suitable weapon against any deck. By now you also should be aware of the power of Wigglytuff. Having tested this deck against the other Ghostmasters, I can definitely say it is the most powerful deck I have ever seen. Axel then bestowed the deck to Mint!

Mint obtained the deck looking through it with wonder. "You say I'm going to need this? What kind of monstrous foe am I to face?"

I replied, "Who knows, but maybe it will be Seth. His deck was probably the closest I have seen to Axel's in terms of power." Mint's face became full of determination at that.

Axel replied, "If the foe is Seth, it might be possible to save Seth after defeating him in a duel. The Mindmaster prototype had only 1 fail-safe built in: If you say the name of the person after defeating them in a duel and the Mindmaster wasn't used too long prior to it, it is possible to revert the mind override. We actually have succeeded in utilizing this function before. Its part of why the foe never wants to be able to lose."

Axel chimed in again. "Oh, I forgot to mention, before you both can complete the destiny that lies ahead, you must first seek out the current high priest of the Third Eye. Do either of you know who that could be?"

I replied "They can obtain knowledge from outside of this world right? Only the GR psychic leader, Clair, comes to mind. It must be her. Erm.. I just remembered that I heard the Third Eye had disbanded long ago though..."

Axel spoke again with a worried look "The Third Eye religion provided vital information to us to stop the foe in almost all of his previous incarnations. If they disbanded, this is not looking good! Regardless, both of you should go meet Clair. Hopefully she will be open to using her power to help! Before you go though, I have one more thing to give you both.

Axel pulled out 2 small devices and spoke again "These earbuds will allow you to hear my voice from anywhere. They have small camera's as well as mics built in so in essence you can bring me with you!"

I replied "You have my utmost gratitude. I will do all I can to preserve our world from our foe!"

Mint chimed in "And so will I!"

Axel replied "Alright then! Lets go see Clair!"

As we exited the now un-sealed fortress, Doduo rejoined us again. Its feathers full of grass and flowers from all the rolling around it presumably did. Axel then tested the functions of the earbuds and confirmed he could speak to both of us or one of us at at time. He also let us know how to deactivate them for privacy if needed. We then set out to see Clair!

In the game, Toby tends to act as the leader for the Ghostmasters and makes it seem dangerous for you to be in their fort all ominously. Him acting this way here is just a callback to how he acts in the game.

Replacing your mind with another is nothing new for the Pokemon universe. Bill did it in Pokemon Red when he swapped bodies with a Pokemon. As such, I figured it was fair game as something that can happen in the story.

Any time Axel mentions cards that were not meant to be there, he is referring to 2nd generation Pokemon Cards which were extremely limited in their inclusion in the 2nd game.

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 11: Portent

The 3 of us made for good company together as we swapped stories and information about the world of today vs the world leading up to this point. Our journey was an uneventful one and we soon found ourselves at the GR psychic fortress! We soon found we didn't even need to enter the building as Clair had come out to meet us!

Clair spoke "Ah there you two are. Right on time."

I spoke first "So you are the high priest then?"

Clair replied "High priest? I'm the psychic leader. We haven't gone by priest in a long time. It was a misnomer anyway because we don't even know where our psychic power even comes from. If it comes from something other than ourselves we have never seen anything to suggest it! Pretty ironic from the ones who can see so many things and even some outside of our world huh? So, ask your questions and I will answer all that I can"

(82)

Mint was the first to speak up "Will we encounter the foe and defeat it?"

Clair replied "Encounter, most definitely. Defeat it? That remains unknown even to me."

Axel asked me to ask a question so I repeated it to Clair letting her know about Axel and the question: "Who is or will the foe be inhabiting?"

Clair replied "I do not know but I know some of who it will not be. First, it will be no one from the main island. Second, it will not be me."

She chuckled before continuing: "It will not be Villici nor will it be my daughter Heidi. It will not be Ishihara otherwise known as Bill. It will not be anyone that would need to travel through the nexus to reach us even if that were possible. It will not be from outer space. Besides, there is nothing out there anyway. It will not be a Ghostmaster though I suspect that should already be obvious. It will not be Kara, the current leader of the GR Fire Fortress. It will not be Brooke the former leader of the GR water fortress. It will not be the king's executive, Clay. It will not be Peter. It will not be Alex of the GR water fortress. It will not be Red Imakuni though the 133TFR33k did consider him as an amusing and unexpected possibility. It will not be anyone from the bulgarian_kid's alternate reality where Bill was evil instead of good. I suppose I should specify also that any world connected to ours by a one way dotted line that points from our world to their world will not be included which would include the alternate reality where Bill was evil. It will not be versions of anyone from the original world line. Our world was made from a split from the original world line so everything we have here came from there but there is no longer any crossing between the original worlds and ours. That is all I am currently certain it will not be."

I asked the next question "What are the plans of the foe in the near future?"

Clair replied "This I know some of. The foe will secure 2 locations. 1 will be the game center since it houses the Progenitor and the other will be the Lugia Temple. As the foe cannot be in two places at once, he or she, which I will just simply call "he" going forward to make it easier for me to speak, will have at least 1 accomplice. The foe was originally male anyway but in only his 2nd incarnation, he inhabited the body of a female. Make of that what you will.

I then thought to myself that must have been the first Grand Cardinal that was stopped by Magician!

Clair continued "The Lugia temple is located inside the colorless altar. I have seen a vision of it. There is a hidden switch which will move the altar to review a set of stairs that go deep underground. The location of the switch is unknown to me. You will need to defeat either the foe or an accomplice to learn of its location. The altar of Lugia is in a massive unlit cave with a single stone bridge lined with torches leading to the center of the cave. A massive stone pillar extends from the bottom of the cave up to meet the bridge creating a large platform. On this platform are two torches and the altar of Lugia. Just beyond the altar to the left and the right of it are the torches. The bridge is separated at the mid section by a smaller platform that contains a ritual duel table. This table will be the site of the final duel to determine who shall inherit both the Lugia phantom card and the right to place it upon Lugia's altar. Upon placing it, the card can become any card from the Pokemon Trading Card game, not just from what our world currently has and it extends beyond NEO as well. Although it can become any card, I believe I can peer into the beyond to see what the foe intends. Are you ready for me to make the attempt?"

Everyone was in agreement for her to proceed.

Clair began to talk us through it "Ok so right now I am currently blind. Please prop me up so I don't fall over I will NOT be dealing with another broken hip after the last one and if I fall over I will stop helping right here and now!"

Mint and I both helped to prop her up.

(83)

Clair then continued "I see... the phantom Lugia card and a swirling darkness around it. The intensity is growing.. it... ITS... I CAN'T BELIEVE IT"

I spoke up "What?! What do you see?!"

Clair continued "ITS SO FITTING!"

Mint spoke "Wait what?"

Clair resumed “When the 133TFR33k crafted all of the story to be used in the ruins he had no idea this card existed and then only stumbled upon it after the fact?! How does that even happen?! See for yourselves I will now share the vision! Be warned that should the foe succeed he will be able to obtain not only the 1 card but an entire play set of 4 of them! Those from the world that views us need only click the image below to reveal it!"

Clair continued "As for the deck the foe intends to construct, it is as follows!"

TheAbyss

4 Shadow Lugia

Trainer (44)
4 Bill
4 Item Finder
4 Energy Removal
4 Computer Search
4 Super Energy Removal
4 Goop Gas Attack
3 Professor Oak
3 Rocket's Sneak Attack
3 Gust of Wind
3 Gambler
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Scoop Up
2 Full Heal
2 Energy Retrieval

12 Psychic Energy

Clair continued "Needless to say, this deck cannot be defeated by anyone who is unprepared to face it. In order to even attempt it, you would need to craft a deck specifically for taking it down. To make matters worse, the foe will have a special condition: "Shadow Lugia is unable to be affected by any Pokemon Powers or Attack effects that would remove it from it from the field of play." This means you will not be able to hurl it back into the deck with the likes of Gengar or Dark Machamp nor would you be able to blow it away with Pigeot's Hurricane attack! One must examine the limitations of the deck to find a way to defeat it. I believe all of us should pool our thoughts and collaborate on a deck to take down The Abyss. I will also attempt to reach into the beyond to seek help from a higher power!"

Clair then reached through the beyond to seek outside help. "For this, I will attempt to reach the strongest constructor of decks within my awareness: @bulgarian_kid If you are there, I beseech you, please aid us in the construction of this deck!"

Clair continued "I do not know if he will answer. These things are never certain. Should my plea fall on deaf ears we will have to make do with the best deck we can craft. While we wait on a potential answer, I will continue to discuss other things."

(84)

Clair continued, "First, take this."

Clair pulled out a small device and continued. "This device can plug directly into the Progenitor. It is not capable of doing much, but it will allow you to specifically thwart one of the plans of the foe."

Mint accepted it and replied "Thank you Clair!"

Clair replied "The preservation of our world is paramount. If too much chaos ensues it would surely destroy us. I will do what I can to help."

Clair resumed speaking "As I mentioned, the foe will need to secure 2 locations. Time will be limited. Once the conditions are set, the foe need only sit at the duel table and wait. If enough time goes by, he will be crowned winner by default. The foe is arrogant though. If he believes you are going to challenge him, he will not take his seat until his adversary arrives. He believes himself to be unbeatable even prior to him potentially obtaining Shadow Lugia. He will have good reason for his confidence even if he somehow were to become aware of the function of the device I handed you. You must be completely prepared to face him and examine all potential avenues to victory. Remember that in order to learn the location of the switch to access the temple and altar of Lugia, you will need to defeat one of his accomplices. I am now aware there will be two of his accomplices at the game center. I recommend one of you search for one accomplice while the other duels the one who will appear in the open. I recommend that whoever defeats an opponent first and obtains the location of the secret switch starts making their way to the colorless altar, alone if need be, to signal to the foe that you will challenge him. A defeated accomplice may inform him of your movements, but will be unable interfere in any other way with the outcome to determine the new owner of the Lugia phantom card."

Clair continued “As for the temple of Lugia, I do not know how many of the foe's accomplices there may be. Once the other accomplice at the game center is defeated, whoever is there should make their way towards the temple of Lugia to rejoin the other. If the first game at the game center is lost, you may rely on your partner to attempt to win instead. As long as one of you is able to win, you will be able to progress. If both of you lose, you will need to get creative to find a new ally to assist, but you will have to do it quickly. I trust it will not come to that though.”

Clair continued "Unfortunately there is nothing else I can think of to inform you of that may be of help. So, while we are still waiting for a potential reply from the bulgarian_kid, lets see what we can come up with"

At this we collectively poured over cards and potential strategies for our collaborative deck.

(85)

With a tentative deck crafted, Clair then spoke again "So, we have a little time left now, tell me how far along you both are in your relationship!"

Both of us were a little surprised and went wide eyed and began to turn red.

Clair continued "Oh come now! Surly talking about it should not be a problem considering just how much you both were kissing in front of the game center!"

Mint replied "YOUR POWERS LET YOU SEE THINGS LIKE THAT TOO?!"

Clair simply replied "You don't need to yell. I'm not actually going deaf yet even though I expected to at least a decade ago... As for my powers, I didn't need them for that, I simply heard it through the grape vine! A good social life helps to keep ones wit sharp!"

Clair chuckled before continuing "So? What else! Do you know how boring it can be sitting in that fortress all day?"

I replied "Surely one could keep themselves entertained with the powers at your disposal!"

Clair replied "Even my powers have their limits. The truth of the matter is that most of the time I am not able to use them even if I tried! Once I expend them, they take a good while to return. Hence why I enjoy interrogating young couples about their love lives! Sometimes I even set up a fortune teller tent and promise to reveal what I can see in exchange for some tantalizing details! Speaking of which, I may be able to provide a glimpse into the a possible future for the both of you. It would be a future that assumes you defeat the foe though. If that doesn't happen though, all bets are off. Want to see? If so, each of you tell me something interesting!"

Mint replied "Ok, you got me there, I'm pretty curious, so I'll go first. This man doesn't have a name! He said he BYPASSED it!"

Clair replied "bypa-what? Good sir! You can't just go through life with no name!" With that she gave my head a smack with her cane.

I exclaimed "OWCH! Well pardon me for taking my time to pick out a good one!"

Clair looked at me intrigued and said "My what an anomaly you are! You need to pick out a name. Make sure you do before you arrive at Lugia's temple at least! I can just see it now: the world ending as the foe wins and Mint doesn't even know what to call you before everything you know is gone! Ridiculous! But it is also so interesting that I find myself satisfied with just that!"

Clair continued "So, I will provide some insight into your possible romance. Should you defeat the foe, the two of you will have such a strong bond that you will both consider it durable enough for marriage though it would be some time before one of you actually has the guts to propose to the other. It won't be as much time anymore though because me telling you that just changed the outcome!"

Clair cackled. At this Mint replied "Oh wow! I don't know what to say! Thank you! No doubt you saved me from YEARS for a proposal from him as this dolt is thick as a tree!"

Clair replied "Don't get too excited, he still won't have any idea how to propose effectively and it will still stall him even if by less. You're going to have to be the one to propose if you want it in a timely fashion."

At this i felt embarrassment take full hold of me.

Mint replied "UGH! So much for my ideal fantasy proposal!"

Clair replied "Oh don't worry, even so, you both will consider it well worth the effort it takes for you to be the one to propose!" She said with a sly smile.

At this both of our faces reddened.

Clair then added “You’re going to have to make sure you win against the foe, your future children are depending on you!”

At this both Mint and I were as embarrassed as we could possibly be.

I thought to myself “We would have children as in plural?!” At this thought my embarrassment was slowly being replaced by a sense of pride.

Mint on the other hand was so embarrassed she was now hiding her face!

Clair continued “I would tell you how many children you would have, but some things are better left open ended I think. Needless to say that in this future, you will both be exceedingly fulfilled.”

(86)

Clair suddenly changed her expression and continued as Mint was behaving particularly shyly. "I now have a reply to my inquiry! It seems our potential ally is worried about something called roleplaying. I have no idea what he means by that. Perhaps the 133TFR33k does, but he has been silent on the matter. Should there be any out there known as lurkers, I would be willing to listen to any ideas for decks you may have at least until the point in the story that the deck we are constructing would be needed. The 133TFR33k has granted me the ability to retcon which deck could be used so you need not concern yourselves with the deck our combined efforts will soon post!"

I then asked Clair “But what are these lurkers you speak of?”

Clair replied “Remember the ceiling of the ruins of the card dungeon? There were shadows looking down indistinct, UN-numbered, and without expression. They represent the lurkers who traditionally only observe and nothing else. The one giving the thumbs up was the bulgarian_kid.”

After looking at me to confirm my curiosity was satisfied, Clair continued addressing the rest of us "It seems then we must assemble our best combined efforts after all!" And with that, we worked to assemble the cards we had picked out into our final hope should all else fail!

SealedStar

4 Togepi Lv8
4 Mr. Mime Lv28
3 Doduo Lv10
3 Dodrio Lv28

4 Itemfinder
4 Computer Search
4 Bill
3 Maintenance
3 Energy Removal
3 Pokemon Trader
3 Professor Oak
3 Rocket's Sneak Attack
2 Lass
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Revive
2 Super Energy Removal

5 Psychic Energy
4 Recycle Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy

You and your opponent show each other your hands, then shuffle all the trainer cards from you hands into your decks.

Shuffle 2 of the other cards from your hand into your deck in order to draw a card.

Clair spoke "With this deck, the weakest of all Pokemon will have the power to smite the mighty!"

With the deck we needed in-hand we bid our farewells to Clair and made our way back to the game center. It was late afternoon when we arrived. Both Mint and I exchanged glances with each other and nodded. We were determined to see this through and come out on top!

Inspiration to create this fanfic spun out of what was originally just a ridiculous written form lets-play. The idea to craft a basic deck was a spin off of a topic I posted on a message board for the game for non-rare decks, aka decks without promo cards or rare cards. The idea for that deck was mine, but the reason I went from being a lurker on the board to someone who posted was so that I could reply to the really cool decks that bulgarian_kid had posted on gamefaqs for the game. The original raw version of this fanfiction is included inside the topic I created for FlashFire!. Without bulgarian, I would still be a lurker and this fanfiction would not exist.

In the original game you can inheret the legendary Pokemon cards after defeating the grand masters and defeating your rival Ronald in 1 final duel. The ability to inheret Lugia through a duel directly uses that same concept.

In the games, the temple of Lugia does not exist. The colorless Altar does though. I created the temple for the story.

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 12: Rivals

(87)

We entered the game center wanting to be thorough so we visited the lobby first and found our first opponent sitting at the duel table on the far side: Seth! Peering at us expectantly with an air of dangerous confidence about him.

"So.. you made it." He said while smiling deviously.

I replied. "If you are here, that must mean our primary foe is NOT you!"

He replied "Yes, that's right. You must know all of it now that you managed to unseal the fortress! Who would have guessed the Progenitor had yet another fruit to bear! That's right, we knew you would be seeking access to it and deduced we would meet you here! How amusing this is that before you can even get started you both are going to lose to me right here right now." He said while continuing to smile confidently.

I said to Mint while my gaze was fixed on Seth "I have some unfinished business with this man. My last duel ended in disgrace. You go find the other accomplice." I said as my eyes narrowed on my opponent.

Mint replied while keeping her eyes on Seth "Got it, I'll find out who it is and be sure to win! If I'm not back by the time you win, go ahead to Lugia's temple."

Seth spoke "So.. you knew of the other accomplice.. it doesn't sound like you know who it is though." He said while smiling "Good luck."

With that Mint walked away to find her opponent and I took my seat across from Seth.

He then mentioned "Oh by the way, you have to put 4 Double Colorless energy in your deck." He said with the utmost amusement. "I'll be playing with my deck unaltered of course."

I retorted "Fine but this time will be worlds different knave!"

With that our epic duel began!

(88)

I selected MothZapper as my deck and after modifications, we began our duel!

For the modifications, I took out 1 of each type of energy and 2 Bills Teleporter for the Double Colorless energy. I began with Venonat and paralyzed the Lickitung. He removed my energy and attached one to Snorlax on his bench. I then attached another energy, removed his and then won the coin-flip again to hold down Lickitung. He attached a recycle energy and passed back to me. I attacked again but did not hold it down this time. He struck back with Tongue Wrap after attaching energy and paralyzed Venonat. I emptied my hand: used switch to rid status, played 2 more Venonat and attached another energy to 1 of the new ones, and then I used Energy Removal. Empty except for Gambler I played it and won the flip. I then attacked and paralyzed him again. He played an energy and ended his turn. I then evolved the front line Venonat, evolved it, attached energy and then used Tornado Gust. He brought out Chansey, so I brought out Porygon. He attached energy and passed I attached double colorless to Porygon and converted weakness to grass. He attached another energy and won the flip for scrunch. I then played another grass energy and swapped for Venomoth and attached with rainbow power and paralyzed it. He removed energy and attached another and passed. I then attacked again with poison this time. He switched to Snorlax and attached energy and passed. I poisoned that too. He attached energy to something else and passed. I attacked again and paralyzed again. He used Super Energy Removal and played another energy and passed. I then used switch to get around Snorlax's block power, attached energy to Venomoth, and finished it off to swap out for Porygon. He brought out Lickitung. He used Itemfinder to get back Super Energy Removal and hit my other Venomoth with it. He then paralyzed Porygon. I attached energy to Voltorb and Gust Of Wind to bring out his weakened Chansey and passed. I attached another energy to Voltorb and converted weakness to lightning. He attached another energy and succeeded at scrunch. I brought out Voltorb and paralyzed. He attached an energy and passed. I played another Voltorb and group spark to finish Chansey. Lickitung came back out and hit Voltorb with Pluspower but did not paralyze it. I used potion and switched to Porygon to convert to Lightning weakness. He did not paralyze Porygon so I switched back to Voltorb and Group Sparked again for 80 leaving it at 10. He removed my energy again and paralyzed so I gambled twice in a row and lost both coin-flips. I brought out Snorlax with Gust of wind and passed. He attached a 2nd double colorless and finished off Voltorb. I then swapped to Porygon, used potion on it and attached another Double-colorless and confused Snorlax. Snorlax hurt itself. I continued the assault. He hit Porygon and put it to sleep while replacing confusion with sleep. Both Pokemon woke up. I finished off Snorlax with Porygon but he revenge KOed it with Lickitung. I attached another lightning energy to another Voltorb and finished off Lickitung. I brought out Snorlax and used Gust of Wind to hit it for 50 with Group Spark after playing another Voltorb. I then finished off his Snorlax and down to the last prize but he brought a fully energy loaded Kangaskhan out and knocked out Voltorb. I tried to tank with Venomoth but he KOed that too. I then brought out my other Venomoth and attacked to cause him to bring out Lickitung. From there we were both almost out of cards.

Our duel was full of many twists, attacks, tactics, and KOs. In the end, all the energy removal he played ended up preventing me from having the power needed to finish him! As my last resort, I stalled out and won with 1 card remaining in deck!

For once, Seth was furious! "What is this?" He spat and continued "You constructed a better common deck and barely came through? You fool. Defeating me might be monumental for you, but it is pointless in the bigger picture. You will fail to stop my master and the world shall be shaped to his designs!"

I then demanded that he provide the location of the secret switch.

He replied "Hah! You actually want to challenge him? What a fool. But if you wish to rush to your doom, who am I to refuse?" He said with a smile.

He then provided the location of the switch. Since Mint had not returned yet, I set out for the Temple of Lugia with Doduo in tow.

(89)

As I left my gentleman to his foe, I set about finding the other accomplice. The first thing I noticed was that Trish was not at her usual post. It then dawned on me! Since when is she Trish?! Was she not one of the nameless? If she has a name now, what does that mean?!

With my target selected, I asked a nearby employee where she was. They mentioned she went farther back in the game center. As I proceeded to the room with the Progenitor, I noticed that she was not in there either. I then made my way to where the slot machines were, but found nothing there either! I then made my way towards the card dungeon and the employee there mentioned as I approached that someone is in the middle of a challenge. Deducing this must be where Trish went, I followed her in.

In the first room, Pawn informed she already won the first game!

I thought to myself “So, she does have a deck now! And if she is strong enough to beat opponents here in the card dungeon, even if its just Pawn, she isn't to be taken too lightly…”

I proceeded to the next room and found she had also defeated knight! At this point I really started to wonder about just what kind of deck she must be using to pull off such a feat! As I continued I also found she defeated both Bishop and Rook! So... she must have selected this site wanting to be found! Pretty clever as if she is in the back room she can simply wait for me. I then entered the room and found Trish sitting at one of the chairs at the duel table. Something was very different about her today. The way she wore her hair, the way she was in casual punk style cloths instead of her work attire, even the way she did her nails. Edgy in every way with a posture to match. I gave her a stare that let her know I meant business.

She replied as she inspected her nails. "So... here we are."

(90)

Trish turned to look me in the eyes and continued "It was sickening watching you walk around with that man and having to pretend to be nice to you! In truth, I hated you both from the very start! You know what else I hate? Manufacturing game chips. BY HAND! Guess what happens when people walk out of here without them? The boss forces ME to work OVERTIME making them! Since they pay me a "Salary", I get NOTHING for it! Oh I asked about getting a machine to manufacture them, but the company just wants to save money!" She exclaimed with a crazed look in her eyes looking up as she said it.

I cringed a bit at that. The King is definitely too much of a penny pincher. I couldn't believe when we decided to replace the idea for a Scyther VR game... with a coin flip table...

She continued "I wasn't going to take THAT though. No... that's why my only recourse was to impress upon people to never leave with them. Oh I did it nicely at first, but no matter what suggestions I have, they always ignore me. Just like how management ignores every single one of my ideas... Funny how that works when you don't have a name!

Her eyes were open wide as one of her eyelids was twitching.

Being nameless, I was unable to duel, and with that, my life as a second-class citizen was always set in stone with me never able to be anything more than a simple receptionist! That was before I met a man of real power and worth! He allowed me to touch the sacred Lugia card which had the power to grant me my name! Once I gained the ability to duel, I trained under Seth. It was brutal and I lost almost every game! Eventually I started learning and created the deck you see here now! Dark Triad!

Dark Triad

3 Pikachu Lv13
1 Pikachu Lv16
3 Dark Raichu
2 Clefairy Lv15
2 Dark Clefable
2 GR’s Mewtwo
1 Mr. Mime Lv20
1 Scyther Lv25

4 Energy Removal
2 Switch
2 Pokemon Trader
1 Lass

4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 Challenge!
4 Computer Search
4 Itemfinder
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Gust Of Wind

12 Lightning Energy

Clefairy. Follow Me: If your opponent has any benched Pokemon, choose 1 of them and switch it with his or her active Pokemon. Shining Fingers: The defending Pokemon is now asleep. Retreat Cost: 1. Weakness: Fighting. Resist: -30 Psychic.

great_rocket_s_mewtwo_by_linkinboss_dhmnchx-fullview.png

Trish continued: "I heard how you tend to use many high HP basic Pokemon, so I crafted the ultimate offense to attack your entire bench at once! I will finally have my revenge against the natives of this island and usher in the change that Seth's master will bring about!"

I replied "You do realize that Seth's master is the reason you are here to begin with right? He created the bridge to NEO! If anyone should be your enemy, its him!"

She retorted "Lies! He said you would try to trick me, and I'm not going to fall for it! Once I defeat you there will be nothing left to stand in our way!"

I replied "Oh, and what makes you think Mr Gentleman won't be sabotaging your entire operation?"

Trish replied "Even IF he should somehow defeat Seth, he will never defeat Seth's master, so all that is left is for me to defeat you!"

I replied "Not likely! I'll bring you down and then I'll be taking down your master as well! I'm not about to let him destroy the balance of our world!"

Trish replied "My master seeks to expand our horizons. Someone as puny minded as you would never understand the scope of his greatness! I'll prove it to you here and now!"

I noticed that she was not sitting on the side of the table that Axel could potentially use the MindMaster2.0 with, but even if he could use it to control her, it might not count as a win against her and thus would be meaningless. I took my seat opposite of her and with that our vicious duel began!

(91)

The duel below was not a real duel but one I imagined since the AI has nothing like it and I did not want to create both decks as physical versions or having to find some kind of computer program to simulate them just so I could duel them against each other. This will also be the format for any remaining duels in the story at this point.

The duel raged as we laid into each other with devastating attacks. I kept her at bay with Rockets Sneak Attack and Energy Removals while shutting down her powers with Muk and targeting her key threats with Gust of Wind including a Dark Raichu with the aid of a Pluspower. The deck Axel bestowed upon me allowed me to keep the upper hand but I had not imagined her deck to be powerful enough to take the 2 prizes that she did before she was defeated. Indeed she was on the verge of taking more as well had she had more time to attack with Dark Raichu!

(92)

With the duel over Trish simply hung her head tears rolling down her cheeks. "Is that all? Is there nothing I can do to find my place in this world?! I've been looked down on my entire life. Its so unfair that people like you get that kind of power... this deck crushed the other 4... It should have taken you down too… Who would have thought you would have that kind of power tucked away?"

I had finished picking up my cards and started to leave as I stopped to listen as she spoke more.

"I suppose not even the master will be able to stop you now... Hah... you know, I lost my husband to a gambling addiction. I have no idea where he is now. One day… he just never came home... I work for a man who employs slot machines. I can't even quit because then I would have no money and would become homeless in less than a month. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!"

I could have kept walking, but I felt compelled to listen more after this, so I turned around to face her as she continued.

"When he was here we were able to share the toll this life takes… Now its all I can do just to keep my head above water. Just one paycheck away from oblivion. Just 1 medical emergency from losing what little I have... Once I go there, there is no returning to society... my credit score would be in shambles too from it... You know employers check credit scores these days? You can't even work without it! And who else would hire a nobody... like me anyway?"

I looked to the floor as I started to get a sense of the hopelessness she was no doubt feeling.

Trish continued "Society is a vicious machine... turning without mercy... grinding the poor and desperate to dust... I'm shackled here... with no escape… I suppose I'll even be fired now too since you are valued so much more... than someone like me…" She then hung her head down bitterly and silently weeping into her arms on the table.

(93)

I thought to myself a moment. So much of what she is saying... its not coming out of no where! There are big problems with the world! Could I really just walk away and leave her like this?

Everything inside me screamed not to walk away so I spoke up "I don't know where your husband is, but I think I know someone who might and I think there is a good chance we will find him! As for your job here, I forgive you and I'm sorry you've been through so much... I also believe the king will be getting rid of the slot machines soon. Hang in there Trish. Even though you might have been hiding your true feelings, I never disliked you…"

At this, Trish looked up at me. Her expression totally different. Vulnerable, anguished, yet hopeful.

I continued "Its going to be ok. I refuse to just leave you like this. I’m going to help you. We have to stop Seth's master first though. The chaos he would cause by winning would make the problems here seem small by comparison... Oh.. and I'm going to have a chat and see if I can't get a chip machine for you while I'm at it."

Trish replied "I want to believe in what you say...so I will while I can. Hope.. I maybe there is still some?” she choked out while looking up with tears still in her eyes. “...Thanks Queen... and good luck. You will need it...to get that chip machine."

I looked back at her blankly. Suddenly we both burst out laughing. Once we calmed down, I replied while still smiling "You can call me Mint if you like. I have to get going though if we are going to have a world where those things I said can happen... including the chip machine." We both laughed some more as I exited the room.

My thoughts soon resumed their serious course. That was all I could do for her for now.

I thought to myself “Our world.. it can be a cruel and miserable place if we let it. Its not enough to just let society handle the problems of individuals because the people with those problems all too often have no say in how the world is set up. They way things are, some people who should deserve a chance never get one. Something to think about it seems…”

Putting that aside for now, it was now time to follow my gentleman hopefully to witness his victory, but if not, then to claim it for him!

(94)

I spoke to Axel "Axel come in."

He replied "Axel here! I've been staying quiet but have been watching the whole time! Wow Mint you've really taken a shine to Tuff As Nails! That deck Trish had was no walk in the park either! I've been monitoring Mr too and it took everything he had but he defeated Seth! He is currently on route to Lugia's temple. If you leave now, you might get there about 15 minutes behind him."

I replied "Nice going Axel! I have to say teaming up like this and being able to talk over the line here makes me feel like I'm in a spy movie!"

Axel replied "Yeah totally!"

I then exited the ruins and slyly approached the Progenitor. I made sure no one was watching, and then I clandestinely attached the device that Clair had given us.

With that, we departed for the colorless altar.

The route to the colorless altar was uneventful though I passed the time chatting with Axel.

(95)

Then once I was about 10 minutes away from it, Axel's voice suddenly became concerned as he exclaimed "Mint! I've just lost contact with Mr! He collapsed on the floor and the communication device must have dislodged! Its sitting on the floor. I can't tell if he is moving or his condition! Was he ambushed? Mint, be careful down there! It feels like some kind of trap!"

I replied "Collapsed?! You can't see how he is doing? I need to get there NOW! He needs me!"

I began to run, I can't afford to wait now! What if his life is in danger?!

Axel spoke again "Good! Lets get there as fast as we can! If its some kind of trap, they will have less time to set it and if Mr needs us, getting there quicker might help! I can tell you he found the switch and made his way to a room with a duel table and a statue of Lugia! That's where he collapsed!"

I replied "Hang in there my gentleman! This distance won't keep me away long!"

Luckily, my mourning exorcise routine has kept me decently in shape, so running this final stretch was well within my abilities!

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 13: Temple

As we approached the temple, I was approached by Doduo! It seemed to be in some sort of panic and ran ahead for me to follow. Doduo leading or not, I knew exactly where I was going! I soon crossed the threshold of the temple and slowed to a quick walk. If I'm ambushed here, there won't be anyone to rescue my Gentleman!

(96)

The colorless altar was silent as a grave. The dancing shadows on the wall cast by the torches were the only movement for the eyes to follow as they scanned for any signs of threats as I made my way deeper in.

Axel wispered "I'm glad you slowed down here. I'll keep an eye out as best I can as we go. I'm glad Doduo slowed down and is keeping quiet too!"

I simply nodded and continued to sneak ahead. I made my way to the altar and peered down the stairs. I crept down them as silently as I could while trying to keep up the pace. The stairs winded as it went and I could never see more than a few feet ahead at a time. Eventually I came to a hall lined with various painted murals. They depicted Lugia and a figure holding out their hand at an altar for a shadow in the shape of a card. There were other murals too, but I couldn't afford to be distracted as I forged on ahead. At the end of the hall loomed a large wooden door. Doduo stood patiently beside it. I crept up to it and began to turn the handle to open it. I held my breath and went slowly expecting it to pierce the silence with a loud squeak. To my relief, the door opened completely silently with absolutely no squeaking whatsoever.

Axel whispered to me "This is it! He should be right over there but he's not!"

Doduo followed me in as I scanned the room and saw nothing that would indicate a trap. The statue of Lugia loomed ominously, so I kept my distance from it and then I heard footsteps ascending the stairs! If this is a trap, they have already failed, I reasoned.

(97)

I called out. "What have you done with my gentleman!"

Two figures emerged from the large stone door which automatically closed quickly behind them. It was Alan and Avery the other members of the colorless altar!

Alan replied "The master informed us you would be arriving. You will have to win duels with both of us if you wish to proceed. The door will only open by a means that only we are aware of. "

I looked at the door seeing no handles or obvious means to open it.

Alan continued "As for your gentleman, he has been brought to the altar of Lugia in the depths below."

I replied "What did you do to him?!"

Avery replied "We have not touched him. All we have done is what Seth instructed us to do."

I replied again "IS HE HURT?!"

Alan replied "No! He is physically fine."

I replied again, "You will let me pass. NOW!"

Avery replied "No."

I stared daggers at Avery as I replied "Neither of you have any hope of stopping me, I suggest you both move aside now because you WILL both lose!"

Avery replied again "That's fine. Our master advised us that we will have no hope of winning against you. We need only delay your descent."

I took my seat and announced "Then come here. I am ready!"

Alan took the seat first.

(98)

With the power of Tough As Nails, I laid into Alan with a ferocity far beyond his capabilities. He attempted to stall the duel with every mean he had available but it was all to no avail. I mercilessly KOed his Pokemon while stripping his hands of useful trainer cards. Plus Power helped KO even Pokemon he thought might be safe for a turn. It wasn't long until Alan was defeated having not claimed a single prize against me!

He left his seat and Avery took it next. The duel with him went much the same and not long after he was defeated as well having not taken a single prize!

(99)

Avery spoke "We did even more poorly than I thought, but our master informed that you pose no threat to him or his plans and waits for you below. He wants you to bear witness to his ascension once you are defeated."

His words left me uneasy. How could any opponent be so confident they could win against me with a deck this powerful?? I pushed the thoughts from my mind. Failure is not an option! My gentleman needs me and our world needs me! I refuse to fail!

I replied "Your master's designs have been foiled before, and it will be no different now! The one defeated will be him! Count on it!"

At this, Avery and Alan walked to opposite corners of the room and pressed two hidden switches at the same time as each other. The stone door then opened. Avery then bowed and gestured to the stairs leading to the depths below. I took to my feet and boldly went forth with Doduo following behind me.

Crossing the threshold of the room to the stairs, my pace was swift as I descended deeper and deeper beneath the earth and passed a threshold with the stairs continuing farther down. The stairs at this point were built into a bare rough wall of solid rock on one side and the other side opened into a massive cave and chasm that extended an enormous distance that was much farther down than up. I could make out a bridge far below with what appeared to be a duel table mid way through and the center of the chasm I saw what must be the altar of Lugia. At the table in the middle stood a figure behind a large chair, but the details were impossible to determine from such a distance. I descended the winding path with stairs until I arrived at the bridge. Doduo and I pressed forward across the bridge and arrived at the duel table.

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 14: Cypress

(100)

As I approached I called out "I know you are there behind the chair. What have you done with my Gentleman?! Show yourself!"

A voice both familiar and unfamiliar called out "Your Gentleman has yielded to me and now serves me."

I replied back "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU LIAR! GIVE HIM BACK NOW!"

The voice replied "Perhaps he shall return to you if you defeat me in a duel, but know this: You cannot win against me. Oh, I have heard of how powerful your deck is and must admit I am impressed. My ascension will be more complete if I have a powerful ally like yourself. I offer you to share in my greatness as my second in command. Should you accept, only I will be above you. I would even be willing to entertain ideas you may have for the changes to come to our world. You and I will be like gods. To show your devotion, simply drop to your knees and bow your head in respect. Then, I will approach and take your hand. I will allow you to walk beside me to share in my destiny."

I replied "You're insane if you think I would do that! You're going to PAY for what you have done to our world!"

The voice began laughing called back, "Oh how you amuse me, my dear Mint! Very well, perhaps you will change your mind after this..."

(101)

The figure emerged from behind the chair and stepped into the light. I froze in horror as I realized the voice belonging to the man in front of me was the same as the one from behind the chair: Mr. Gentleman!

My reply came out so easily it was like I wasn't even controlling my own mouth "What... have you done to him!"

He replied with the voice of the man I loved "I replaced his brainwaves with my own of course. I'm sure you were expecting that I had already incarnated to this world once more. In truth, I set aside specific instructions for the religion of Lugia following my most recent demise. Seth, the leader carried out my plans prior to my awakening. Once all the pieces were in place I arranged for one of the two of you to enter this place which led to my re-awakening."

I could barely speak "But.. how! How did this happen?!"

The man replied again "I set the MindMaster prototype to automatic activation."

He smiled and continued "Once your gentleman passed by, he became my vessel! I needed time for the effect to take full hold, thus the need to delay you."

My throat felt like it was closing in on me as I replied "Who.. are you??"

He promptly replied "I was originally known as Professor Cypress but I have outgrown that archaic title. You may now address me as Master Cypress as all my subjects do. I am the current Grand Cardinal of the Lugia religion. Not that it is a real religion. It is simply a tool to keep a tight control on a focused group of individuals. After all, preparation for my return is rather difficult when I am not always inhabiting a vessel. Your gentleman will not return to you. I am far beyond him. I already have the man you love and I will have far more. Offer yourself to me and I will allow you to share in some of my power and glory. I have even decided to allow you the honor to serve my needs for companionship as you are not only powerful, but quite beautiful as well. Should you need love, I will bestow it upon you. You would be my most precious subject. Indeed you are the best in every aspect, the only one worthy to serve me in this way. You need only pledge your eternal loyalty to me here and now without resistance. Come Mint... kneel to me and bow!"

Axel was keeping silent, probably not wanting to give away the fact to Cypress that we could speak.

My thoughts and emotions raced it was like many voices in my head all vying for control! Everything came tumbling out in less than a minute of thought: "He already has my gentleman! If I can't get him back, Cypress is all that remains! If I give myself to him, I can have everything I could ever want! Maybe I could even live forever at his side? Even if i can beat him and my gentleman returns to me, we will both eventually age and die! Look at how smart he is to have arranged all this! He called me beautiful and strong. He acknowledges me! He hasn't shown me any hostility and will let me rule with him! What lies beyond the nexus? What future will he weave? It would be so easy if I accept. Isn’t my sense of power just misguided? He can beat this deck I have even though it should lose to nothing! If I yield to him, he could handle and direct everything. He would take charge and I would only need to serve him. Life as a pet of a man that smart and powerful could be a paradise..."

(102)

My thoughts continued "NO! A future with a man who murders peoples minds? Could I really love a man like that? Could I really tolerate him elevating himself above me with me as his mere pet?! What if his plans are bad? What if everything suffers from it? I don't know if its already too late, but if I don't try to stop him, I may as well be murdering my love myself! Is his deck truly invincible? I can’t just give up without a fight! I must oppose this monster… with all that I AM!"

My thoughts subsided as I felt determination well up from within me. I stared him down as I spoke "I refuse. Your plans are going to end here by MY hands!"

He smiled and replied "Though I offered you the easy way out to serve me directly, I was hoping with every fiber of my being that you would refuse!"

He smiled even more and continued "So willful! Breaking you will be most exquisite!” He exclaimed with a wild look in his eyes and a large smile.

He continued “I see we will need to duel to solve this! Very well! I will demonstrate to you that it is pointless to resist me. Once you understand, you will give yourself to me. That is how I prefer to have you!"

Anger. That is what I felt toward the man in front of me. Rage! How dare he?! This will not stand! I will bring him down! I must for my love, for the world, and for ME! I quickly took my seat and slammed my deck down, coldly staring directly into his eyes. He merely looked back at me amused.

He then remarked "Perfect... everything is so perfect... Now you shall experience what it is to duel against the inevitable. To duel against me."

With that he took to his seat and placed his deck upon the mat and said "It doesn't matter what deck I use against you, actually. The result will be the same."

He smiled and continued "My duel requirements is that you use a deck comprised of 1 Shellder Lv8 and 59 Fire Energy."

Fear gripped my heart as I involuntarily replied "WHAT??!"

He maintained his smile with his eyes closed as if he had just stated the most normal thing in the world.

He continued "Oh don't worry, its just a little duel requirement."

I replied "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

He simply replied "Oh but I can and I have my dear, Mint. It was simply a matter of adding an exception to myself for the global default range of duel requirements."

I replied in anger "I REFUSE THOSE CONDITIONS!"

I then began to draw my cards as Cypress looked confused.

He replied "How can you do that?"

Axel then chimed in unknown to Cypress: "AH! It must be the device Clair gave us to attach to the Progenitor! Oh MAN that was close!"

I simply replied to Cypress "Oh you don't like that? Well my decree overrides yours. Too bad!"

He then gave the first annoyed expression I had seen from him before replying: "I'm not sure what you did, but its still not going to help you." He then began to draw his cards and the duel to determine the fate of everything began!

(103)

Very early on I realized that he is playing with MothZapper! How DARE he use my gentleman's deck against me!

Axel commented "Hey Mint, I'm going to continue speaking sometimes, but its probably best not to give away that we are communicating. So I'll speak and you can just listen. If I ask you a question, it will be yes or no and you can signal to me with short yes or no whispers.”

Axel continued “I'm shocked to see Cypress use a deck this weak! It IS the best all-common deck as far as I can tell, but its hardly the BEST deck! We already thwarted his deck restriction plan! Why is he still so confident?! Play carefully, Mint, we don't know what tricks he may have up his sleeves and we can't afford to lose here if we are going to save Mr! What's more is that Mr has the SealedStar deck we crafted! Without it we will be defenseless to Shadow Lugia! If we lose this duel here, we lose e v e r y t h i n g!" Axel was right, everything is on the line here!

This should be an easy victory for me, but if I mess it up its the END!

As we played I quickly built up my bench but Rocket's Sneak Attack wasn't very effective against common trainer cards in his hand. His Pokemon of course have low HP. Many things could take his Pokemon down in a single hit. We traded some energy removals as maintaining energy early on was a struggle for both of us. After 3 Energy Removal all targeting my double-colorless energy, he found an opening to KO 2 of my Pokemon! Not only can he use Mr's deck, he can use it to its maximum capabilities! After a few more turns I was finally starting to take back control. Once I had enough momentum built, I began sweeping his team. Each KO left his expression totally unfazed. Is he really that good at bluffing?! As the turns progressed I was making strides on claiming prizes until there was only a single prize left. Cypress then looked at me and smiled confidently.

(104)

I now stood next to the card table with Cypress no where to be seen. Our cards were no longer on the table.

"What just happened?" I said aloud.

Cypress then stepped out from behind the chair and spoke. "My dear Mint.. I didn't think I would actually need to use it, but you forced my hand! Well done! I was right to select you to share a portion of the throne of my ascension!"

I replied "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OUR GAME AND OUR CARDS?!"

Cypress merely smiled and replied "Oh I have done nothing with them. You will find them right there in your pocket in fact!"

I immediately checked my pocket and confirmed he was right!

I then replied "Then were did our duel go?!"

Cypress replied again "Ah, that duel we were in? I didn't think it was going to well, so I erased it from existence."

If it weren't for the confident smile he was wearing and the strange circumstance, I never would have believed him.

Starting to feel a profound sense of anxiety I hastily replied "Duels don't just vanish! Since you forfeited, fork over Lugia NOW!"

Cypress replied while smiling "You wound me with your lies, Mint! Why, you and I have never even dueled before! I am under no obligation to turn Lugia over to you."

With anxiety mounting I shot back "Yes we have! We were in a duel! Put the cards back up so I can finish you off!"

He replied "But that would be against the rules! You do know how to play the Pokemon trading card game don't you? You need to play from start to finish after the cards have been shuffled."

At this I grew angry "YOU CHEATER!"

He replied "Surely I did not cheat, for if I had, I would be forced to surrender Lugia to you as the Progenitor would impose it upon me the same as anyone else!"

"FINE THEN!" I retorted as I stormed ahead right towards him. Lets see how he likes a punch to his smug new face!

I charged him but was quickly knocked back hard by some unseen force! I tried to step back to keep from falling but found the edge of the bridge was too close! I was FALLING!!

Suddenly I was standing on the bridge again. I was going to die! I collapsed to my knees unable to stop my eyes from leaking some tears.

Cypress loomed as he stepped out from behind the chair again spoke "Well that's not quite what I had in mind for my anti-gravity repulsion defense... You see, it prevents anything from passing beyond a certain point on this bridge. The deactivation level is naturally on this side of the bridge only. I designed it as a contingency, and a good thing that I did! Somehow I doubt this body would deal well with physical attacks from you. Do not worry my dear, I have saved your life. Perhaps you are now grateful enough to belong to me?

I shot him an angry look and retorted "Its YOUR fault I was falling to begin with!"

At this he cringed a bit and replied "A partial truth. You were the one who actually tried to attack me, after all. I didn't have to save you, you know. Are you saying you are ungrateful? Should I have let you fall to your death?"

As much as I hated to admit it, I certainly would have died right then had he not done whatever he did to get me back on the bridge again. I calmed myself and replied.

"Under normal circumstances, I would surely thank someone for saving my life, but these are not normal circumstances. You only saved me because you want to claim me as a prize!"

Cypress replied back with a confident smile.

"And what of it? Do I not deserve the best of prizes? With this power, you can see I can and will keep you safe. That's not all I can do either. There are so many paths available to me now..."

If it weren't for who he was, I might have felt flattered.

I replied "What are you even talking about and what happened to our duel?!"

Cypress calmly replied "For some reason, this gentleman had a very curious book on his person. A ...diary." Cypress explained with a sinister grin.

I replied "So? What's so special about that?"

(105)

Cypress continued "During my time as a researcher, I conducted various studies on the Progenitor. I am something of a prodigy and was able to make considerable progress on learning its functions. Of course, i kept most of that knowledge to myself. I was also involved with the development of the MindMaster prototype. It was to be the most important invention of our time! We could have kept the best scientific minds alive for the advancement of society! Those fools at the academy were unable to put aside their petty morals to achieve greatness! Who cares if you wipe out the brain of a criminal or homeless person! They are just going to rot and use up valuable resources! I suppose more than anyone, they were simply afraid of its potential. Not only that but they issued a warrant for my arrest on crimes against humanity they said!"

Cypress's expression changed to disgust as he continued.

"But no... even starting small with the minds of homeless and criminals those imbeciles STILL rejected my wondrous proposal! Once it became clear they would not listen to me, I uploaded my mind to the machine and staged a robbery to make it appear as if the machine had been stolen. Having no way to escape the fate of my original body, I was arrested and put to death. Unbeknownst to them, I had already found my first vessel and uploaded my mind to its brain. It was at that moment that I, Master Cypress, was born. I saw what they did to my original body, and I hated them for it. From then on, I would use my knowledge to strike back at those fools while furthering my own ambitions. As time went on, so-called heroes would arise to duel me with disgusting levels of success! Unfortunately the MindMaster prototype may only be used every 100 years. Attempting to redesign it would be beyond even my superior intellect on its own, so I had to made do with what I had. Once each vessel that served its purpose, I would then upload my new current mind and then copy it to another vessel. I had the Lugia card from the beginning and learned what its full capabilities were. It was easy to create a religion around it. The desperate are always hungry for some belief to cling to you see..."

(106)

Everything he said made me want to vomit, but I realized that more information was unlikely to make things worse so I listened while he continued.

"One of the things I learned from the Progenitor during my time as a researcher was of the existence of a seemingly simple book that the Progenitor references to render our entire world at the time of the last entry! I have hunted for it for centuries and finally I deduced its location via the use of the Lugia religion! I knew there was something strange about Mr Gentleman when he did not appear to have a name, yet he could duel! He was not an immigrant from NEO, after all. One of the things I was able to learn about the diary is that its owner has the ability to name themselves It then stood to reason that they would have to exist for at least some time without a name! Unfortunately when the world of NEO became connected, there were many immigrants with no names! I did not realize they would translate in that way upon reaching our island! My hunt became far more difficult with them here. Part of the instructions to the current leader, Seth as it turned out, was for him to locate the owner of the diary and to arrange its owner to fall into the trap! I could not simply just steal the diary, because I learned that the progenitor only accepts entries from its owner. Upon my upload to this vessel, I am now considered its owner! Admittedly, this plan was highly risky, but the rewards of success were simply to great to ignore! Seth used prophecy to help guarantee his success. Otherwise he would have attempted a more direct approach. Indeed he was the perfect tool for the job!"

I deigned to pose a question "Is that all people are to you? Just tools?"

He replied "Not all people, but certainly the vast majority of them. Don't worry my dear, as my valued pet, you will be so much more than a tool."

I stopped to think a moment and replied "If you keep treating people so far below you, how will you ever have respect from peers or mentors? How will you form friendship? Have you never felt lonely?"

Cypress looked at me confused and replied "Loneliness is a weakness. I guarantee you that society spits upon it. The only way to feel valued is to establish superiority and use power to get what you want. Playing a rigged game only leads to despair. Instead, you need to redesign the game and make everyone else play that. One good way is to harness the ability to change fate."

Assuming he was now getting close to his point. I listened intently.

He continued "Speaking of fate, the diary by itself is useless, but combined with the signal device I invented, I only need to press a button and our entire world resets to the time of the last entry!"

At this my mind started racing at the implications.

He continued "The device is coded to my specific brainwave pattern, so don't get any funny ideas about trying to use it. As you might have deduced, the last entry was just prior to me revealing myself. Do you understand your position yet?"

He smiled and continued as it began to dawn on me "Upon reset, my memories are kept. There is no limit on the number of times I can reset our world, that means there is no limit to the number of duels you will have to win in order to stop me! What's more, you cannot reset the duel, but I can. If you will win, I will simply reset. If you will lose, the duel will continue to its completion! Tell me, dear Mint, how many games in a row do you think you can win against me? 5....10....50...100.... 5,000? Ah, I've waited centuries for this moment! There is no limit to my patience at this juncture!"

With this I felt walls closing in around me on all sides I could barely breath! My thoughts imposed themselves upon me as my expression changed. Hes won! There is no way of stopping him! And he's insane! There won't be anything resembling our world left when he is done!

He continued "Ah! Good! I can see from your face that reality is starting to set in. Don't worry, I've allowed you and the ghostmasters to retain your memories upon resets. Its so much more satisfying when you know what it is I am doing. I know they are watching." He said as he smiled and waved at the camera on my device.

He smiled "So my dear Mint, are you ready to give up yet?"

I fought back against the creeping hopelessness welling up inside me and shot back at him with all the will and anger I could muster "NO! I'll STOP YOU THIS TIME!"

He then began to laugh as he clapped his hands together "Excellent! Oh, Mint, you don't disappoint do you?! Even faced with the impossible, you STILL want to try to win! I shall savor every last drop of your hope until there is nothing left! Once you are empty you will fill with acceptance and pledge yourself to me! If you do not, I can find infinite ways to abuse the power to reset the world! Perhaps you might not like me at first, but I'll have all the time it takes to win you over and I don't care what I have to do to get it either! Eventually you will break!"

I wanted so badly to cry, but I MUST focus! I can't LET him win! I took my seat at the table and he took his. Our 2nd first duel began!

(107)

From this point on, I played fast and focused on hitting him with everything I had! Maybe I can convince him I'm too strong to ever beat! This game is going well! He only took one prize and he is now down to 2! Another KO, just one mo-.

The world reset again. I started to feel claustrophobic in my own body. I yelled "AGAIN"

He came back out and we went to our third first duel. No prizes for him this time! Now only ONE more prize!

Another reset. I was now having a hard time breathing but did my best to conceal it.

This went on for 9 more duels before I paused and added "Fine! I won't duel you then!"

I started to feel relief, but it was short lived.

He simply replied "That also works. Once I take my seat and enough time elapses, I will simply win by default. I think that would be a real shame to allow me to win so easily though, don't you?"

I could feel the cracks begin to form in my expression as it began to give in to despair.

He continued "Don't worry Mint, I won't take the win for myself just yet. Perhaps I can be reasoned with! We can take as much time to talk as you wish."

I hated that his words started to comfort me, but right now it was the only hope I could cling to!

Axel chimed in "Mint, I know this is bad, but continuing to duel him puts us at risk. We can't get through his ability to reset. Unless we deal with that first, there is no way to stop him! I need time to think. I'll see if I can come up with a solution, for now, try to get him to keep talking"

(108)

Clair said I should explore all avenues to victory so I decided to take Axel's advice and keep him talking.

I inquired "The ones who ended the life of your original body are long gone. Why do you continue your hatred for the world?"

Cypress replied "Now this is the part of our interactions I was looking forward to! The more we speak, the better acquainted we shall become with each other after all! Ask any and all questions you like my dear! As for your first question; I do not hate the world. I merely see it as stagnant. I hated the individuals who ended my original body, but as you mentioned they are gone now and every minute I live is a constant passive revenge against them. Simply being alive is enough to make me feel wonderful knowing that they are all gone and will stay gone!"

Talking felt so much better than dueling right now. I could feel some of the tension release that had been gripping me.

He continued "There have been so few scientific breakthroughs since I had my original body. I had the solution to it and they ignored it! Its a shame really. The Pokemon trading card game has also been stagnant. Its like we had living cards originally and we kept using them over and over again until they died. After that, we still used them and continued to the world of today where we play with the bones of the dead cards! We need change.

Tension continued to decrease, I started to feel that I could breathe again.

He continued "The deck you currently wield is proof. A defacto best deck? Such a thing in a healthy card game environment should be a state of temporary being, not a crowning achievement to last for all time. The more you wield that deck, the less fun it will be for your opponents. Fun is what drives our world. If you take it away, all that is left is a grave. Even our original world line has been stagnant. Whatever created it has ceased! This is why the only way for us to have a real future is by tying other worlds to ours. The nexus is a curious thing but it contains many wonders. You see? I am generous to you with my information. Ask what else you may like!"

I felt ashamed as I realized I was grateful to him for being so accommodating with his willingness to speak instead of dueling.

Axel chimed in "Great Mint! Keep him busy, I'm discussing the situation with the other Ghostmasters. We will see if we can find a way out of this!"

Axel's comment made me feel a mixture of hope and anxiety in equal measure. What if they can't find a way?

Setting aside those thoughts for now, I asked my next question: "Why did you sacrifice yourself to seal the ghostmaster's fortress?"

Cypress replied "Sacrifice myself..? OH! Hah! That was not actually me. I'm embarrassed to say that something must have gone wrong in that century and I wasn't able to use the MindMaster to download my mind into a new vessel at that time! As long as the Lugia religion properly indoctrinates its members and leaders though, I do not strictly need to be active as they will act as my proxies. I am troubled that I was stopped before I could even get started there, but at least the current leader at the time did his job by sacrificing himself. If only the fort had been able to remain sealed..."

I continued to focus and proceeded to my next question "Why do you have knowledge of recent events if your mind was only just recently downloaded into your current body?"

Cypress replied "Ah, one of the functions of the MindMaster is to accept knowledge uploads from the various members of the Lugia religion. As such, I am aware of all that has transpired recently. Interesting, no?"

I asked my next question "Do you know why is Doduo the only Pokemon card that walks around as a Pokemon?"

Cypress replied "Actually... yes! I do! During one of my incarnations where I had partially succeeded, I was actually able to tap into the nexus of Pokemon! I was afraid of the full implications of its use, but I wanted to test it, so I selected a relatively weak and non-threatening Pokemon to bring forth: Doduo. Its very strange though, because it can take attacks from Pokemon cards. This seems to only occur when it is being used in the deck, however. Curiously, it does faint, but as far as I am aware, it never dies!"

At that, Doduo looked immensely pleased with itself.

I then asked "The changes you make are very large. Aren't you worried about the stability of our world?"

Cypress replied "Yes, you do have a point Mint. There IS such a thing as too much. Its why I didn't delve too deeply in the Pokemon nexus and have stayed close to the Pokemon Trading Card Game nexus instead. My earlier attempts yielded some.. unsatisfactory results. Still, I am the one best equipped to navigate these waters and I owe it to our world to do so!"

I asked "The Ghostmasters told me of your philosophy to never lose duels and that your ultimate goal is to obtain a play set of cards to construct and ultimate deck. Why?"

Cypress replied "This one is more simple than the other questions, but I don't mind answering. We have all the time we need. If we get hungry or tired, I can simply reset so we can continue! To answer that, I will start by stating the obvious: to make things happen in our world, you need to win duels. If you don't want your plans disrupted, you need to win duels!"

As he spoke I thought to myself. Good, keep talking.

Cypress continued "If you never want your plans disrupted, you need to never lose! Although you have won all the game we have played so far together, I am not truly losing because my plans are unaffected by it. Though I can now just reset, its simply more straightforward if I don't need to. I like all my plans to have contingencies. Better planning makes for better results.

I found myself wishing our own plan had more to it as I continued to feel the pressure of the overall situation even though talking helped some.

He continued "One only need to look at my deck requirement plan and how it was somehow circumvented to understand the need for contingencies! I still don't understand how you did it, though I am sure you are not prepared to tell me yet. No matter. Once you have pledged yourself to me, you will happily tell me all I desire!"

I felt a bit numb at his last comment. If we fail, what if he is right?

I then re-focused myself and asked "So, you don't care about some Pokemon Cards being left behind as the influx of new cards flow or the effects of power creep?"

Cypress replied "As I mentioned, these cards have been used too much already. As for power creep, I suppose you could try to create your own cards, but why do that when so much content in the nexus exists already? Whatever created the original world line has abandoned us. We are left to our own devices. The only way to move forward is if we do it ourselves!"

I asked "What about the people who live here and are happy? What if they don't want to change?"

Cypress answered "Most people are not qualified to make decisions for society. To put it simply, most people are too stupid to be allowed opinions. Just look at the Doduo Alliance! Everyone in it wanting to impose their restrictions on everyone else! Its not just mob rule, its stupid mob rule!"

I replied "But what about the ways it forces others to experiment with their cards and craft new decks?"

Cypress answered "I admit there is some merit in that, but the better solution is my solution to introduce big changes and new cards."

I replied "Is there not some compromise that can be reached between what you want and what others want?"

Cypress replied "Compromise? Why should I reduce myself to the level of the stupid masses? Their opinions are worthless and they get in the way of mine which makes them less than worthless!"

Feeling angry from his last comment, I asked another question "What makes you more qualified than anyone else to do what you are doing?"

Cypress replied "I'm the only one willing to do it. I admit there are others with the intelligence or the ambition to do it, but not both. For that, I am the only one."

(109)

Axel chimed in as I continued to ask basic questions to Cypress to keep him talking. Axel then filled me in on a final effort plan to break free of the time loop Cypress was keeping us in, but explained that its risky and can likely only be attempted once! Once Axel was finished speaking, it was time to get to work.

Once Cypress stopped talking again I spoke "Well, if we are in a time loop, I'd like to speak to some of my friends and such with my phone here. Do you get reception down here Cypress?"

Cypress responded "Mint, you really need to learn to address me as master, and I don't see how talking to anyone other than me is relevant since they won't remember!"

I replied "It matters to me because I remember! I thought you were going to care about what I wanted?"

Cypress replied while rolling his eyes "There will be time for these things after you have pledged yourself to me."

I then replied "No, I want them now!"

Cypress replied again "I don't approve or permit this. I'm going to sit down now. You should have less than 5 minutes before you must duel me. I will not be ignored while you do such meaningless things."

With that he sat down. I took out my phone and called Bill.

Bill picked up and answered "Yo! Mint! Nice of you to ring! You looking for an update on my secret mission here at the game center?"

I replied "Actually, I was going to recommend that you take a look at the black box. Its the most interesting thing in there!"

Bill replied "Oh?? You should have mentioned that sooner! Lets see! Oh.. oh wow! This is far more complex than I thought! I'll have to be careful not to disturb anything in there!"

I replied "Well hey, as long as you know how to put stuff back, it should be fine right?"

Bill replied "I don't know about that! You have to be careful with sensitive equipment after all."

I replied "You know, the most interesting parts about it are inside you should probably take the cover off to take a peek!"

Bill replied "Ooo nice idea Mint! You're like my special ops!"

I then replied "If you are there then were is Timmy?"

Bill replied "Well.. I brought him with me. Its ok though, if he unplugs things, I'll just hook them back up later on"

I replied "Oh ok, that sounds good. I'll leave you to it then, have fun!"

Bill replied "I sure will! Over and out!"

I knew the 5 minutes were probably getting close so I put my phone away and went to sit.

Cypress spoke "Really, Mint, its rather insulting to have you ignore me like this for such pointless stupid banter. Oh well, I suppose it gets me one step closer to the game that brings my destiny to me."

With that, our next duel and the final chance to save the world began!

(110)

This duel I was intent on playing differently. I needed to toy with my opponent, but not in a way that would be obvious. As we played, I pretended to be distracted and to make subtle misplays. It wasn't hard to do given what my mental state was only 10 minutes ago. I needed to drag this out as long as I could to maximize the chances of the plan working and even then this was a long shot with no guarantee! I took one of his prizes, he took one of mine, I took two of his, he took another of mine, I took another of his, so on and so forth until we both had 2 prizes remaining. Putting it off as long as I could, I then took another prize. Now it reached the point where he had to take a risk to win which he went ahead and took but the result failed. Right after that, I saw for the first time on his face: worry! It then came back around to me, and I took him down!!!

133TFR33k · Mar 6, 2025

Chapter 15: Unseen

The moment the duel ended in victory, Axel chimed in "NOW MINT! Say the gentleman's name before Cypress gains back control! If it works, the effects of the MindMaster will revert!!!"

Wasting no time, I called out the one name he should have picked "MARK!"

Cypress shouted "WHAT? H-HOW COULD I LOSE THE DUEL WHAT-"

He then slumped over onto the duel mat! After a moment, I heard a grown and then a voice:

(111)

"Erm.. where am I?"

My emotions were starting to overwhelm me as I repeated myself "Mark!"

Mark looked up at me with that slightly confused face of his "Mint? Erm.. what exactly is going on here?"

I replied "We did it Mark! We won! The foe is gone!"

Mark replied "Oh! Erm.. right! I hope I was helpful then!"

I then burst out laughing. That is so like him! We then sat as I explained what happened as well as the conversation I had with Axel for our plan:

(flashback to just before the final duel)
Axel chimed in as I continued to ask basic questions to Cypress to keep him talking "OK Mint! I think we might have a way out of this! Its risky, and there is only going to be one shot at this! Listen up! The Progenitor is the only thing that allows for resetting the world. Currently it is night which means the game center is closed, but from our chatting on the way here, you had mentioned your friend Bill should be inside the game center having a look at the slot machines. There is a chance his nephew Timmy is there with him too. I remember on the way here you were telling me of how much of a menace he is and that he goes around unplugging things. The thing is, Bill isn't going to let him out of his site around there, but we know Bill loves technology. If you tell him to inspect the Progenitor there is no way he will be able to resist! You can't say Progenitor though! Cypress will realize what you are up to and will just reset the world again! At that point, if you try to call Bill anymore he will just reset! If that happens, it might be a stalemate for all eternity or until someone gives in! You better go with the name it goes by at the game center as I doubt Seth would have bothered to learn what it was being called since he thinks of it as the Progenitor! Anyway, once bill gets close to the Progenitor, he will likely have Timmy with him. Maybe see if you can get him to open the access panel on it and stick his head in there. He can't watch Timmy while he is doing that! The Progenitor is powered by a simple plug! A child could unplug it! We don't know how long it will take for Timmy to get bored and unplug it though, so you need to drag the duel out as much as possible! Remember that since the MindMaster was used on the gentleman not long ago, it is very likely the results can be reversed! I know you don't know what name he picked, but you are going to have to give it your best guess! I think this is our only shot out of this! If it fails, I'm pretty sure we are all screwed! If that happens Mint, we already discussed it and we won't hate you if you pledge yourself to him. You won't be able to stop him at that point, and we would rather you be happy because you're my friend! Good luck!"

After hearing it, Mark replied "Erm.. I screwed up a bit here!"

I replied "Well that's ok Mr because I fixed it!" I said with a big smile while gazing into his handsome eyes.

I then mentioned "Hey Mark, could you pull that lever behind you?"

Mark looked back pleased there was something he could do for me and replied!

"Of course my lady! Erm... Where is it... Ah there we go!'

I then walked up carefully feeling with my hands as I went and commented.

"Ok good! No more anti-gravity!"

He then said "Oh! I almost forgot, the Lugia card! Lets see... ah! here it is!" He pulled it out of his pocket to show it to me and continued "Ah so um what do we-"

(112)

Just then, Doduo snatched the Lugia card from Mark's hand!

Mark exclaimed "Woah there! Give that back Doduo!"

Before I could try to grab at it, Doduo rushed with its great speed right to the altar of Lugia!"

A blinding light surrounded Doduo and I heard a voice "You have done well and have earned the right to call me to be what you desire. Speak your choice!"

Doduo then opened its beak and spoke! "Shadow Lugia"

Doduo then picked up a nearby deck with one beak and 4 Shadow Lugia cards in the other!

Axel stammered "OH NO! What is that bird doing! HOW is it speaking!! What is happening???"

Doduo combined the cards with the deck and spoke: "To think I would be pushed this far! You WORTHLESS INSECTS!"

Mark spoke up "Now Doduo! That was NOT good! I don't know how you can speak, but you need to give me that deck right n-"

Doduo squawked "SILENCE! WORM"

Mark stopped abruptly. I couldn't blame him, this is some crazy stuff!

Doduo spoke again "Remember that time the MindMaster failed? IT DIDN'T! It worked.. on ME!"

(113)

Doduo(?) continued "At first I didn't know what to think. Being in the body of a Pokemon was alien and frightening! Urges and instinct merging with human intellect! Of course thats to say nothing of having TWO heads! An amalgamation! I was Master Cypress, but upon entering this vessel, I gave myself a new name: Amalgam. The first year was a struggle of having to adjust to this new vessel especially with a duplicate copy of my mind uploaded into both heads, but I soon began to realize the benefits. Why rely on the MindMaster when the body of a Doduo makes me immortal already? I even tested it against various things... Each time something failed to kill me, it was simply a reminder of how I will never need to rely on a machine again! Since I had two heads, I could also afford to lose one to test my imortality! Also, I knew the MindMaster would still be used by the religion of Lugia so my alter-ego would continue his plans without me having to lift a finger! I knew an alter-ego would not tolerate my existence though, so I concealed my identity and learned how to act to appear to be an ordinary Doduo! I spent a great deal of time observing our world. Its amazing how many places you can go as a Doduo unimpeded!"

Amalgam continued: "Having so much time on my hands, I decided to search for the holder of the diary! After decades of search, I finally found it! Mark was the holder! So, I decided to stay near Mark as I knew he would eventually fall victim to my alter-ego. Once Mark's mind was gone though, I realized there could be two outcomes. The first is where my alter-ego wins. If he wins, I need not do anything. I can simply experience all the things I wanted to do as him anyway! If Mint wins, being by her side would allow me to be considered a winner by association. I was your "Pokemon" after all! That allowed me to be acknowledged by Lugia and allowed ME to obtain my final deck! So... do you realize what this means now that I have it? I'll tell you: I am.. the most powerful duelist in the world! I did not beat either of you in a duel though, so now to proceed with my plans beyond this, you will need to duel me. Of course, surely there must be some chance of you stopping me by some miracle and refusal to duel me will allow me to proceed, ergo you have no choice but to fall to the might of my ultimate deck: The Abyss!"

I spoke to Mark "Hey do you still have SealedStar?" Mark replied "Sure do! Good thing we constructed it when Doduo was busy rolling around in a nearby field! I'm pretty tired though, I think maybe you better take this one." I took SealedStar from Mark and approached the altar of Lugia which had yet another duel table set up near by. Doduo took the other seat.

(114)

I spoke "Amalgam! This ends now!"

Amalgam replied "HAH! Do your worst. I rather LIKE pain!"

With that the ultimate duel to shake the nexus began! Each Shadow Lugia Amalgam played was like a tidal wave but Mr Mime could help to contain it and possibly KO them! The duel was a flurry of trainers energy removal, and coin-flips from the secret weapon: Togepi!

Amalgam commented “What IS this ABOMINATION?! IT STEALS MY GLORY FOR A SINGLE DOUBLE COLORLESS ENERGY!”

Its metronome could copy ANY attack even the attack of Shadow Lugia for 1,000 damage! Sometimes the flips worked, sometimes they didn't! We were each KOing more and more of the others Pokemon but even with Shadow Lugia being only 4, Amalgam would simply return them with Revive. Even at half health they were a monstrous 150 HP! Even with everything we built, things were neck and neck until the final prize was left for both of us. I threw my final Togepi out and flipped the coin that would decide the fate of our world! Heads! I claimed the final prize and the duel was over!

(115)

Amalgam bowed his heads. "Well done Mint!" I looked back at Doduo as if it had even MORE than two heads!

Amalgam continued "Ah, don't look so surprised. You see, when I traveled the land as a Doduo, I gained a valuable new perspective and spent much time getting to know the people of our world. The more I learned, the more my feelings changed. Eventually, I found myself rooting for people and hoping their endeavors would be successful! In truth, there wasn't much I could do as a Doduo to stop my alter-ego but I also considered him a close family member. Actually, that's why I built his final deck for him here. It was his final wish and it was completely absurd how you arranged for a toddler to unravel his plans! It wasn't fair to him really. So I said, you know what? He didn't know about SealedStar, so what if I build Abyss for him and then duel you? I could have thrown away SealedStar into the chasm if I wanted. Without it you would have lost for sure. That's.. not who I am anymore though. I just wanted to give my past self a fair shake. To prove to the universe he was doomed to fail regardless. I may be immortal as a Doduo, but I'm not a god by any means. The bit I was spouting at first was just to get you riled up so you would duel me. Actually, I rather liked being Mark's Doduo. Isn't that so weird? My alter ego wanted you as a pet but I was the pet for multiple people over my life as this Doduo! Maybe its because I knew that I wasn't going to die of old age. I don't have to be in such a rush, and being nice and forming meaningful connections, they are worth something, aren't they? While its true those people would die, they live on in a way in my immortal heart. In a way, I carry the hopes and dreams of all who I knew and cared for."

Amalgam(?) continued "What's the point of scientific advancement if we forget what it means to be human? Funny coming from a Doduo right?! You could say that I never got punished for the things I did as Master Cypress, but the death penalty for the original me was pretty harsh no? Also, the most recent Cypress you defeated is in essence dead now too! Kind of makes me sad to think about... I'll help you though now. The MindMaster prototype is located in the statue of Lugia in the room past the stairs where you came from. If you dismantle it, all of Cypress will be gone. At one point, I thought of leaving this world through the nexus... As this Doduo, it should be possible, but.. I grew so attached to the people here that I found I no longer wanted to change the world for myself or leave it behind. If you want to make changes to the world sometimes though, maybe it would be fun? You would need to be careful with it though. You don't want to make things worse. I get that you might not be ok with me being your Doduo anymore though.. its kind of a lot to take in.. maybe someday you will see me again though?"

Mark spoke "It is a lot to take in, but you never actually did anything bad to me.. except when you refused to let me ride you! I'm not ok with that!

Amalgam(?) replied "Ah... well I had my cover to maintain you know? If I just let you ride me like that having no clue how to handle Doduo, it would have drawn too much attention to myself!"

Mark replied "Well what was up with the worm on the stick then?!"

Amalgam(?) replied "You do have a point there. Foiling your plot to control me with it was just too amusing to resist!"

Mark replied again "You were eating worms though! Really?"

Amalgam(?) replied again "Yes... worms are the most disgusting things. This body LOVES eating nasty things like that! They tast awful but yet it makes eating them so... addicting..."

Amalgam(?) then composed itself and quickly added "Probably not the best way to ingratiate myself with others though!"

Mark thought for a minute and then replied "I won't banish you if you want to stay. We.. have been through quite a lot at this point together haven’t we?"

I chimed in too "Yeah.. um.. I kind of feel the same way but I think we need to ask the Ghostmasters what they think too."

Axel chimed in "You know.. I think this ends the threat. He really could have thrown SealedStar into the chasm if he wanted. This Doduo WAS Cypress but is not him anymore!"

I replied "well, it sounds like the Ghostmasters aren't against you anymore either then!"

Amalgam(?) replied "Really?? This.. this gives me options? If that's the case, I can also help by dismantling the cult of Lugia. They aren't such a bad lot though, maybe I'll just convert it to a Doduo fan club! Actually, I don't really want to be called Amalgam anymore either. I never did, I just wanted to sound imposing to get you to duel me. I think now, I just want to be..Doduo.

I replied "So now we get a super smart Doduo to be around! That's kind of cool actually!"

I turned to Mark and said "So... I think after everything we went through and what Clair said, its about time for that ring Mark."

Mark replied "Oh! Erm! Yes! I shall get to that posthaste!"

I began to laugh as the 3 of us made our way up out of temple.

This concludes the story. Perhaps I will post an epilogue chapter later. I am also toying with the idea of a sequel but my motivation to write it would be based purely on feedback and attention this story may receive.

Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: Doduo Adventures (Complete)

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