That night, Sam’s sleep was plagued by nightmares. He dreamed of his home burning. He dreamed of his mother’s bookstore on fire. He dreamed of finding his grandfather.
On the floor.
Clutching his chest.
His Typhlosion desperately trying to get him to move.
But the dreams soon vanished, consumed by a darkened yet welcoming maw. His slumber became one of pure nothingness, and when he awoke the next morning, Haunter backed a...
2024-10-11 22:59:18 +0000 UTC View PostThere was no news in the morning. Rather, a tense but sullen air followed the Pokémon trainers that loitered in town. Hushed whispers spread among them, consisting of questions that asked how and why this all sparked up.
No one had answers.
Sam at least had hints.
The flock of Murkrow that had chased him had been way too motivated in their attacks. The Honchkrow that led those Pokémon had far too intense of a hatred in i...
2024-10-08 22:22:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Haunter!” Sam yelled. “Darkness!”
As the flock of Murkrow dived down, Sam hit the floor and covered his head with his hands. A reverberating cry came from his shadow, and the area was plunged into the pitch-black of Haunter's Night Shade.
Small pinpricks of light hinted at Quilava's Will-O-Wisp, and a few of those glowing stars were snuffed out as the wild Murkrow unleashed their attacks. The cries from the flying Pokémon were muffled, and Sam could...
2024-10-04 22:43:26 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
This chapter ends in a cliffhanger!
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The end of Ice Path saw the start of Route 44, and the end of Route 44 saw Mahogany Town itself. Dense forests surrounded this deep-mountain settlement, with icy peaks dotting that forest and stretching into the sky. A gap in the terrain to the north led to Route 43 and the Lake of Rage just past it. Though this place wasn’t as hig...
2024-10-01 23:52:37 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
An experiment.
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You were small when you first came to me. You flitted in from the shadows to hide yourself under my boughs. The tragic nature of your existence saw you frightful, and you couldn’t stop looking around.
But when you reached my roots, you came to rest, nestled beneath. Embraced, you dreamt of safety, and when you awoke, y...
2024-09-30 21:25:58 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Sam raced to the edge of town to meet back up with Redi, all it took was a single glance for her to double over in laughter.
“W-what are you wearing? You look like a neon clown!”
He crossed his arms, pressing them against his chest in a not-so-subtle attempt to adjust how the striped snow jacket sat on his body. He could feel the heat rush to his face as Redi’s laughter echoed around them.
It didn’t help that she wasn’t alone. ...
2024-09-28 00:20:01 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
No chapter on Tuesday. Next chapter on Friday, 9/27!
And, as a quick warning for this chapter, it’s very long.
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“You’re using Dragonite here?” Redi exclaimed.
Sam remembered this Dragonite, and images of it flashed through his head. The fright of being forewarned that something dange...
2024-09-20 22:47:59 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
This chapter ends in a cliffhanger!
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Sam watched Redi, and she in turn watched the Pokéball she now held. The Clair-granted item failed to move and failed to look different from any other Pokéball, but it contained the Pokémon Redi had been working toward for weeks.
She would be allowed to use Dragonair in this upcoming matc...
2024-09-17 23:45:32 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
I’m absolutely exhausted and was unable to go through the usual amount of editing before posting. I apologize for both the long delay and for any rough sections in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it regardless, and, please, have a great weekend!
I’ll see you all on Tuesday for Chapter 100!
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Sam could barely move fast enough as he raced ...
2024-09-14 03:02:59 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
As an early heads up, there will be no chapter on Tuesday, September 24th. Thankfully, that date is still two weeks away.
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There was only a short walkway around the house, divided off from the street by a wall. A few patches of fallen leaves lingered here and there, gathered up by either wild Pokémon or neighbors trying to be kind. Even though thi...
2024-09-10 22:58:25 +0000 UTC View PostSam let the stack of books thump onto a library table as he collapsed into a free chair. Quilava hopped up next to him and sent him a look—that was a lot of books. She was silently asking if he was sure he wanted to go through all of that.
“It’s fine, Quilava,” Sam said, shifting in his seat to sit up. “You push yourself to get stronger in battles, and I push myself to support you as your trainer. If I didn’t do at least half of this, how could I call myself your ...
2024-09-06 22:58:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe blue light of the encapsulating Trick Room didn’t quite reach the field. The glow of its plaid-like tiles waxed and waned in a mesmerizing pattern. Both Will and Sam were inside the bounds of the surrounding box, but when Sam brought up his hand, he had no trouble moving it, and the Trick Room inflicted no obvious glow, either.
However, when he tried to snap his fingers, he could see the motion come in slow motion, as it took a full second for his index finger to reach ...
2024-09-03 23:30:36 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
As part of my attempts to edit the chapters written under burnout, Chapter 90 has undergone significant revisions. Nothing has immediately changed when it comes to the plot, but character reactions have been adjusted. If you want to read the new version, you can follow the link below. However, re-reading isn’t necessary if you’ve already read the original.
Redi trudged over the dirt of one of Blackthorn’s training fields, dragging a leg behind her. Her foot left a visible groove as she traced the border, stopping at regular intervals to leave perpendicular marks.
“The way I’m thinking about it, if Porygon needs a specific target for Teleport, then I just need a way to call out locations better,” she said.
Off to the side, Will cocked an eyebrow under his mask, mimicking a lean against some sort of cane....
2024-08-27 22:53:46 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
I messed up the notification settings on the last chapter.
If you've missed Chapter 92, you can read it here!
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Four days later, Sam was back at the mountain’s edge. Every day so far, he’d returned to where mist and snow ...
2024-08-23 22:49:02 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
We're back! Have an early chapter! I'm very happy with it, too!
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Sam was hit with howling winds and a biting gale. The world turned white from ice and snow. The freezing temperature saw him pull his jacket tight around himself as he turned to Will’s Xatu in shock.
“Where are we?”
There were no obvious ruins in sig...
2024-08-20 21:30:40 +0000 UTC View PostHello! I want to thank everyone for waiting patiently. This break was an absolute necessity, and I already feel much better. However, I won’t be jumping into a new chapter just yet as I want to take care of a few things first. Primarily, I’ll be spending the next few days adjusting and editing previous chapters to fix mistakes that stemmed from burnout. You should start seeing edits to Chapter 87+ on Sunday.
The next chapter will be posted on Tuesday, 8/20. 2024-08-16 20:46:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Author Note:
I can no longer pretend I’m not burned out. I’ve been taking shorter breaks to try to put this off, but my friends have talked sense into me. I’ve found myself in an unfortunate, negative loop where my lack of motivation means worse chapters, and then those worse chapters hurt my motivation. My breaks in the past have never truly been that long, as I’ve always found myself pivoting back to writing shortly after they’ve started. Even when I took th...
2024-08-06 22:32:42 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
Hello! Next week will be another Tuesday/Friday schedule. Given the recent difficulties I've been having with writing, taking an extra day for each chapter has helped somewhat. I may change the schedule to something similar soon.
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Elite Four Agatha?
Sam had been annoyed, but the unexpected question briefly made him forget his annoyance. It wasn...
2024-08-02 23:05:06 +0000 UTC View Post“At a later date? If we’re invited?” the boy in the jacket repeated. “Yeah, right. And you want us to respect you. Well how about you do something worthy of our respect instead of just demanding it for no reason at all!”
He spat on the ground and marched into the woods. The Blackthorn Clan elder impassively watched him leave. The middle-aged man’s gaze flicked over the rest of the small crowd before he resumed his walk into the cave. 2024-07-30 22:48:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Redi sent frequent, subtle glances to the bands around Clair's wrists, and Sam never once missed one of her looks. Dragonair‘s Pokéball was inside one of them, and Redi desperately wanted to claim that ball for herself.
But she couldn’t right now. They needed to follow Clair and hear the explanation for the “Dragon Type Trials,” first.
“In here.” Clair said.
A gloved hand pushed open a featureless door, and Sam and Redi stepped i...
2024-07-26 22:35:53 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
Update 8/20: The final version of this chapter is out!
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The vague “U”-shape of the Pokémon Center’s main floor provided plenty of privacy for Sam and Redi to make their calls. The few other trainers here waited for their Pokémon in the sitting areas toward the front. If any of them needed to head upstairs, they used the staircase on the...
2024-07-24 23:19:08 +0000 UTC View Post“What.”
Sam stared at Redi, and his flat response brought her gaze back down to earth. When her eyes met his, she paled, now recognizing what she had just said out loud.
“You want to steal a Dragon Type,” Sam repeated. “You. Redi. Someone who’s ranted about how much she hates poaching in the past. While in the middle of Blackthorn City! The literal hometown of the Blackthorn Clan! You know, the one full of elite...
2024-07-22 22:56:51 +0000 UTC View PostThere was an audible thunk when Redi’s head hit the table. For the tenth time today, she let out a long, annoyed groan. A passing trainer sent her an amused look as he carried out a tray of breakfast. Sam continued to eat his own meal at their table in the cafeteria of the Blackthorn Pokémon Center.
“I’m so stupid,” Redi said.
Sam chewed on his bite before swallowing.
“You’re not stupid. Eat your breakfast.”
...
2024-07-19 22:28:50 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
Today’s chapter is long, as mentioned previously.
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Sam followed the wild Gastly over rocky hills and through crag-like canyons. The foliage in these parts was sparse, but there were plenty of shadows from overhangs that let it float forward without being disrupted by light. Sam had to frequently run to catch up. Since the Gastly c...
2024-07-17 23:29:09 +0000 UTC View PostI've been considering a few different ideas for a long while, and I tried something in the original version of today's chapter only to realize I hated it. I've spent the last few hours weighing what I wrote and learning I wouldn't enjoy how it'd shape out, so the last portion of the chapter has been removed to be reworked later. Expect a longer update on Wednesday as a result.
I'll be doing something else to conclude this off-route "arc." For those that caught the old ending of Chapter...
2024-07-16 00:51:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe Stantler's eyes fluttered open. Without Haunter nearby to use Hypnosis, there was nothing to keep it asleep. It quickly forced itself awake and scrambled up to its hooves. Glancing around, it stared at the sky in a mixture of both excitement and fear. However, Clair had already left. No Dragon Types lingered nearby.
An exhale saw the tension leave its body, but Sam couldn’t tell if it was disappointed or relieved.
“Stantler!” Redi wasted no time whe...
2024-07-15 22:51:30 +0000 UTC View PostSam didn’t move out from behind the fallen pile of stones. Though he had been seen, hiding behind something helped settle the churning in his stomach that built as Clair approached.
She was like a storm, though that storm was constrained to the even march of an accomplished Gym Leader. Above her head, a sleek Dragonair followed, looking down at Sam’s small group with a gaze that felt unimpressed.
Ursaring’s hackles were raised, and he walked over to sta...
2024-07-12 22:47:28 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
No chapter on Wednesday. Next chapter on the 12th!
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The Stantler were already on high alert. About two dozen of the deer Pokémon made up the valley’s herd. This area was only a hundred feet apart at most, but it was still wide enough to support enough Stantler that they could threaten anything that threatened them back. They grazed among the foliage,...
2024-07-08 23:04:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe most dangerous part of traveling off-route was its inconsistency. Since Pokémon Rangers did not regularly patrol the wilderness to keep everything peaceful, it was possible to exit an area filled with weak, wild Pokémon and stumble right into the territory of a fully evolved beast.
The Pokémon League recommended that trainers intending to travel off-route should possess five Gym Badges. It was a slightly different recommendation than saying a trainer’s team should be...
2024-07-05 23:10:30 +0000 UTC View Post