Thanks for waiting!
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Sam considered Spite a strange move. The New Pokédex stated that it drained the energy reserved for a specific attack, but what did that actually entail? Sure, the effect was obvious—it limited how much more the targeted move could be used—but Sam just couldn’t wrap his mind around Spite’s mechanics.
I mean, all Pokémon have a pool of Type energy inside of them...
2024-03-02 03:44:20 +0000 UTC
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Not sure when Chapter 31 will be out. Today for sure, but it'll likely be pretty late again. Sorry about that.
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Only two days later, Sam strode into Ecruteak Gym with his head held high. That job with Muk gave both him and Redi a surprise bonus, and with his share, he bought something he’d been waiting on—a belt to keep his Pokéballs.
His entire team was now magnetically clipped to his waist, where ...
2024-03-01 23:10:22 +0000 UTC
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My personal schedule shifted around, so today's chapter is not the final chapter of Ecruteak. However, that comes with good news:
There will be two chapters posted tomorrow!
To celebrate a strong start to this fiction, I'll be posting two chapters on Friday. Patreon will be six chapters ahead from then on.
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Sam wasn’t sure how he could comfort Redi, so he ended up walkin...
2024-02-29 23:18:21 +0000 UTC
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Sam should have been tired. He should have been downright exhausted from the Gym Trial and how late it was. Both Mankey and Cyndaquil should have been just as tired too, but everyone was wide awake and ready to meet the newest member of the team.
Everyone but Redi, who could barely keep her eyes open and was already dressed for bed.
“Wasn’t you... supposed to be a Gym Trial?” she asked, barely managing to form her sentence. “How did... catch something?”
“My Gym T...
2024-02-28 23:07:06 +0000 UTC
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Sam held the New Pokédex in one hand as he narrowed his eyes, carefully taking in every slight detail of Mankey’s ongoing spar with Teddiursa. The little bear had a smug smirk on his face, a single paw blazing with the Fire Type energy of Fire Punch. Swing after swing, Mankey was forced backwards, and the strikes he aimed never got a proper chance to land.
You’re so close...
Sam didn’t want to speak. There was something about the look in Mankey’s eyes that was ab...
2024-02-27 03:58:35 +0000 UTC
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gUnhappy with its old version, I rewrote Chapter 25! You can read it here. I highly recommend at least skimming through everything before the break, as Sam’s interactions with Morty have been almost completely changed.
Chapter 27 has been released. Make sure you don't miss it! Link is at the bottom.
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“So ghos...
2024-02-26 23:08:24 +0000 UTC
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This is a rewrite of Chapter 25! The section after the break is mostly the same, just tweaked. Everything before that is essentially brand new.
Chapter 26 will be up shortly.
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Morty led Sam into another room deeper into the Gym. It wasn’t a battlefield or any space dedicated to Pokémon, but it contained a low-lying table with pillows to use as seats, and its back wall was covered b...
2024-02-26 22:54:49 +0000 UTC
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Quick Summary (TL;DR):
No Patreon chapter today, two chapters on Monday to make up for it. Schedule begins slowing down next week with four posting days instead of five; Tuesday will be taken off. The week after that, the story will settle into a MWF schedule, but chapters will be longer to make up for the reduced number of posts.
Longer Summary:
I've hit a wall with this upcoming chapter. I’ve had an extremely clear picture of the last ch...
2024-02-23 21:20:31 +0000 UTC
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This is an older version of Chapter 25 that was rewritten here. This post is being left up to preserve the comments. Otherwise, this chapter should be dismissed.
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Sam sat with a steaming cup of tea in front of him. Cyndaquil and Mankey had their own cups at his side. There were no chairs, only pillows, and he knelt...
2024-02-22 23:05:11 +0000 UTC
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Sam used his fork to prod at a pile of dehydrated greens. He couldn't call them anything but greens with how uniform and non-specific they were. Next to them was a pile of brown mush that was supposed to be protein. He wasn’t sure what that originally was, either.
“...I don't think we should buy the cheapest food anymore,” he said with a grimace.
Redi looked down at her own half-eaten plate and slid a spoon out of her mouth.
“I think it's fine! You just...
2024-02-21 23:08:52 +0000 UTC
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Redi’s battle against Jasmine went about as Sam expected; repeated use of Fury Swipes meant the Onix was eventually worn down. The outcome was impressive, but the battle itself ended up being rather straightforward. It was hard for Onix to react to Teddiursa clutching its horn and tearing into its face.
That same day, Sam and Redi then moved on, entering Route 39 as Sam’s first jaunt into true wilderness. He, alongside Redi, would travel through the woods, encounter wild Pokémon, a...
2024-02-20 23:05:58 +0000 UTC
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The Onix was a towering snake made of boulders connected like a chain. Head to tail-tip, it was longer than a bus, and it had a dull horn on its head that looked capable of crushing that very bus. For a Pokémon so large to be the opponent of a first Gym Badge fight made it feel like Jasmine didn’t want anyone to win.
Sam thought back to the arena. He thought back to the promise he made to his team.
He would beat Jasmine one day, and he hadn’t been talking about ...
2024-02-19 23:05:01 +0000 UTC
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vvChapter 20 was posted earlier today!
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Here’s a question: how long does it take for a trainer to acquire a Gym slot? Of course, the answer is easy. Trainers can register in practically no time at all by simply approaching the Gym’s front reception and scheduling a challenge.
The real problem co...
2024-02-16 23:38:13 +0000 UTC
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Redi agreed with Sam that it was probably smart to let everyone rest. Once afternoon hit, the new pair of traveling companions left to reach the edge of town, finding a location hidden within a sparsely wooded area that ensured no one unwanted would listen in.
Cyndaquil was dividing her attention between her own practice and helping others. She now knew Curse. Sam and Redi had stopped at the Pokémon Center before heading out, and all it took was loading up her Pokéball and the Curse T...
2024-02-16 23:05:01 +0000 UTC
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“Redi! You can do it!”
Sam screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to force his voice over the clamor of the crowd. His hands gripped the railing, and Cyndaquil hung off of it, shouting her name just as hard. For a moment, her fervor made it seem she was about to topple forward, but Mankey jumped up to pull her back, and then both Pokémon returned to shouting, too.
But Redi didn’t hear them, as her face was scrunched up with worry that replaced her usual smug confidence. T...
2024-02-15 23:20:27 +0000 UTC
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While I don't enjoy doing this so early in a fiction's lifespan, I genuinely don't have a choice. Today's Patreon chapter will be pushed back to give me time to recover. Expect two chapters on either Thursday or Friday to make up for today's lack of one. Patreon will still be five chapters ahead by the end of the week.
2024-02-14 19:02:44 +0000 UTC
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Sam reacted in the same way half the group around him reacted; he stared up at the massive building in awe. It had a domed roof, was at least a hundred-fifty feet tall, and its base took up several city blocks. It was a pinnacle of modern engineering, one that couldn’t have ever existed back on Dewford.
Redi, next to him, giggled. The tour guide and tournament organizer continued to speak as she led their group in.
“Olivine Arena is host to major events almost every other week...
2024-02-13 23:06:14 +0000 UTC
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Sam rushed back to Redi's place the moment Cyndaquil and Mankey were finished healing. The nurse passed their Pokéballs over, and Sam dashed out of the Pokémon Center.
He released the tired Cyndaquil and scooped her up into his hood to rest, whereas Mankey practically skipped along at his side. The little monkey was ecstatic after his victory. Sam spoke quickly as he moved block to block down the streets of Olivine.
“Great job, both of you,” he said to his Pokémon, darting ...
2024-02-12 23:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Sam did his best to train—he really did. Except, on his own, he didn’t have his mother’s guidance or Delcatty to face in spars.
Taking jobs gave him ways to train and earn a bit of money as he did, but the few he managed to snatch away from the crowds tended to be manual labor or scaring away weak wild Pokémon. He tried to battle the occasional trainer, too, but he had the same problem in that most trainers as inexperienced as him were too intimidated by Cyndaquil to actually fig...
2024-02-09 23:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Cyndaquil flared her flames, illuminating the alley with a flickering light. She said her name in challenge, and three Rattata exited a chewed-through hole in a dumpster to quickly surround her.
“Get ready, Mankey,” Sam said. “We’re jumping in if needed.”
Sam was poised to jump. Mankey was already tensing his legs. Half the purpose of this fight was to give Cyndaquil a chance to try something on her own, but even though she was the one to insist on it, Sam couldn’t hel...
2024-02-08 23:57:13 +0000 UTC
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Sam rushed back to the Pokémon Center and passed over Mankey for healing. He then went to a free video phone to finally call his mother. However, the second the line connected, he didn’t see his mom. Instead, the screen flashed to a close-up shot of gemstone eyes and a sharp-toothed grin.
He screamed.
Sam fell off his stool. Cyndaquil was thrown into the air from his flailing. His butt hit the ground, hard, and the Sableye on the monitor cackled at his pain.
“<...
2024-02-07 23:05:08 +0000 UTC
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“I don’t get it. You just told me you wanted to catch a Ghost Type,” Redi said.
“Yeah, but this counts, too.”
“How? Mankey evolves into Primeape, and that’s a Fighting Type!”
Sam left the answer unsaid. Clearly, Redi didn’t have access to a Pokédex as advanced as his. Most people thought the only Ghost Types in Kanto were the Gastly line and Misdreavus, but there was actually one more; they just weren’t aware of the evolution.
Sure, this w...
2024-02-06 23:18:41 +0000 UTC
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Sam woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. There were no sounds of children playing, Wingull squawking, or waves lapping against a nearby shore. The bed underneath him was significantly wider and squishier than his bed back home. A ceiling fan lazily spun to provide the barest bit of flowing air as light peeked through a set of mauve curtains to land on his eyes. Everything around him was decorated in hues of lavender and white. Out of all the places to stay, he had genuinely not exp...
2024-02-06 23:09:04 +0000 UTC
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You can find the link here.
2024-02-06 00:48:19 +0000 UTC
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“Fury Swipes!”
Claws swiped down at Cyndaquil, rapidly aiming to dig into her sides. She repeatedly hopped back with each attempted scratch, the swipes of the move barely missing her by a hair.
“Ember!” Sam shouted.
Cyndaquil’s opponent was a Teddiursa—a small, bipedal bear roughly her size with brown fur and a crescent mark on its forehead. Facing it was tough, as the Normal Type had immediately rushed forward to try to overwhelm her. Yet, the fire on her back b...
2024-02-05 23:59:19 +0000 UTC
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Over the next month, Sam trained.
He jogged through town with Cyndaquil, not intending to build speed but to build stamina. At first, neither of them could run for longer than a few minutes at a time. But, by the end of it, if they maintained a consistent pace, both of them could reach the end of the town and come back while only being moderately out of breath.
He returned to Granite Cave, and while he and Cyndaquil didn’t go in, the exterior was a perfect training ground to pra...
2024-02-05 23:14:24 +0000 UTC
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“Ah, there we go! Looks like the kid is finally here!”
Buck shook his arms to get off his sweat. A few Pokéballs were magnetically attached to a belt around his waist, ready to be pulled off and thrown forward at a moment’s notice. Makuhita was likely inside one of those balls, as Buck had no Pokémon at his side. That stood counter to how Sam almost always had Cyndaquil out. She did have her own Pokéball, she just preferred not to spend too long inside of it.
“I don’t...
2024-02-03 00:07:29 +0000 UTC
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“I don’t like Pokémon battles.”
The blunt statement cast the area around the kitchen table into silence.
“I don’t like how they involve Pokémon getting hurt. I don't like that no matter how well trained a Pokémon is, all it takes is one error for a permanent injury. I don't like the level of strategy and counterplay forced upon everyone who wants to compete at a high level. But the biggest thing of all...” Sam's mom sighed. “I just don’t like losing.”
Sa...
2024-02-02 23:07:36 +0000 UTC
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Sam was stupid. He had been a moron, and he hated that.
What kind of trainer runs deeper into a cave they were unprepared for? What kind of trainer willingly chases a Ghost Type without any prior thought?
Oh, yeah. Me.
Now that the reality of the situation had fully sunken in, Sam recognized he had made several critical errors in his decision-making process. Choosing to catch a Sableye was impulsive. Entering the cave without experience was a novice’s mis...
2024-02-02 23:03:46 +0000 UTC
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Granite Cave was located half-an-hour away from the north side of Dewford. There were two alternate routes to get to it: either take stairs up to a path through the island’s interior woods, or take a path along the beach that trainers frequented.
Sam took the forest path, which was longer but lacked the trainer population. He only had Cyndaquil on him, and he hadn’t had enough money to afford anything more than one potion. Engaging in battle was the quickest way to train a Pokémon,...
2024-02-01 23:07:30 +0000 UTC
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