Behind Every Monster Is a Person in a Cute Costume: Let's Play Moemon Leafgreen!

[Deme]

Well, I really haven't made a full decision yet, and I can certainly assure the LP won't be ended in either scenario. This isn't a "do I continue or not?" question, it's a "do I continue now or later?"
Like I said: I may be legitimately feeling uneasy occupying a space with so many other Pokemon LPs in my first run, when I don't know what's working or not...Or I may just be feeling moody and depressed (I'm a naturally anxious type, and have a history of long-term depression, so it happens), though I will keep your feedback in mind.

[PhoeKun]

I don't know if it's any help/consolation to hear this from someone like me, but I feel that this LP is among the best of the bunch. It's creative, fun, and engaging, and definitely something for you to be proud of.

Anxiety and depression are not fun things, and I'm sorry that you have to deal with them. I hope that everything works out such that you can return to simply having fun with this as quickly as possible. The best of luck to you, no matter what you decide to do for right now.

[Deme]

I don't know if it's any help/consolation to hear this from someone like me, but I feel that this LP is among the best of the bunch. It's creative, fun, and engaging, and definitely something for you to be proud of.

Actually, it means a lot, since I would say the same about yours.

[Mirrinus]

Well, I'm hoping to conclude my LP within 2 weeks or so (I'm on the last gym right now). Perhaps that'll help settle things for you.

[Penguinator]

Well, for variety's sake, this is the only Moemon LP.

[Fri]

and you haven't even used magikarp the way it's intended!

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[Penguinator]

Okay, that's funny. But why does the trainer with the Poliwag make me think Bug Catcher?

[Deme]

He's wearing the outfit. Maybe he's just confused, or actually stopped and took Seed's advice about diversity.
Also, I think if Seed tried that, it would just prove all the Lasses right...

[Penguinator]

You...you mean he...he broke continuity?! Shame! ...It sure would be funny to see a bird catcher whip out a geodude.

"Dude! You broke our code!"
"It...it was on the same route, I swear! I haven't moved! It...it jumped into my pokeball! That's it, yeah! Just...just like that psyduck..."

[Deme]

Very amusing. I think I've decided to keep going with this, 50 million plus pokemon LPs or no. I mean, how many LPs have the pokemon as actually...

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Wait, you thought I would tell you before Seed gets to know? Silly people!

Anyway, I'm going on another little trip, so while I'll be preparing chapters, I can't garuntee when the next one will be posted. Next Tuesday at the latest.

[Penguinator]

Hey, at least you're here.

[Geno9999]

Very amusing. I think I've decided to keep going with this, 50 million plus pokemon LPs or no. I mean, how many LPs have the pokemon as actually...

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Wait, you thought I would tell you before Seed gets to know? Silly people!

Anyway, I'm going on another little trip, so while I'll be preparing chapters, I can't garuntee when the next one will be posted. Next Tuesday at the latest.

YAAAAAY!!!

[Deme]

Since I have internet for the moment, I figure a short chapter is in order!

Chapter 11a: Fear and Memories in the Mountain

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OK, so the way everyone explained it to me, they all went to train udring the night -- they can do that? Just get out of the pokeballs and run off? I guess now I really don't have to worry about if they're slaves or not, if they can just wander off whenever they feel like it. I said as much to Rya, but she told me,
"No, Mistress Seed! Not at all! Azula said you said we could leave if we wanted to! So...um... we can. I'm sorry. It's hard to explain."
I'm not sure I understood what she meant at all. I think I almost get it, but I don't really understand it all well enough to really understand it. I really need to get to the next gym quick, then.


You know, when I was a kid... I heard about Mt. Moon. But around the same time, I remember seeing a cartoon where they sang a song about a place called Big Rocky Candy Mountain. In my head, I conflated the ideas together -- so Mt. Moon was home to Clefairies, but it was also made of candy. I made my own little world about it after Sage was born so I would have stories to tell her. I used to tell her hard candies were actually moon stones from Mt. Moon -- I think she liked the stories more than even the candy.
... I haven't thought about that in a long time.


Wow, talk about unlucky. First pokemon in, and it's something little Rya just can't handle. She's a lot tougher than she was before, but still -- she has one option, and it's a weak one.


"The entrance is right over there. If you're lost, I could..."

"Hey, see if I help you again!"

...MUST RESIST CUTE. SO CUTE.

Man, that was close.


Free stuff! I love you, random litterbugs!

Well, I'll hold onto it anyway.


"Do I really look like a suspicious man to you?"
Bug Catcher: "...Well..."

I kinda started this fight.


But at least I also finished it.
"Good job, Rya! All that training is really pulling off!"
"Thank you, it was really everyone else's efforts."

"You and all the news outlets in existence... It’s probably just some common thieves trying to look like boogeymen. Just toss a blankey over their heads and don’t get stupid, and you’ll be fine."


Free stuff, free stuff...


The pokemon here are interesting, to say the least.


All those sensationalist news stories...are true? Oh. Crap. I'm trapped in a room with a real gangster. A really dangerous criminal. He's going to kill me. and I'll end up as a blood heap in a pile of the mountain cave and one day some hikers will find my desiccated remains, years after they called off the search and Mom went crazier and died alone in a house that smelled like lemonade and TV dinners...

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't beg. Don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he owns you, and you can’t just escape and take her with you. Don't give him the sick pleasure of seeing you beg like a dog -- he knows you're too weak, too weak, you'll pretend it never happened if he let you. You'll pretend -- Coward. A man threatens you, and you fold right over – you pretend you protest, but they know better, you know better, it’s all pretend, you’ll never have the guts… Not again, not again...

"Stop shaking. We'll protect you."

They fought like it was easy -- like they had absolute certainty. I want to be certain like that. ...These guys are awful, but they're beatable, too. At least on these terms.

"Mistress, it's alright."
"...I'm fine. I'm fine."
"If you say, it is so. Let us find the swiftest route out the mountain."
"...No."
Team: "What?"
"We need to take these guys out."
No more weakness. No more. Justice. The way he made me feel just by standing there... Just like back then… I don't want anyone to feel that way. My team is strong. I’m not as powerless.


Well, it's not a jolly rancher, but it'll do.
Still, I can’t linger here. I have a team of thugs to defeat.

OK, since we're at a juncture -- which pokemon do we go for, should it be in my party, and if so, who should it replace? While I have yet to find a wild clefairy, you can see what the tame one looks like. If my judgement is right, the active team now wouldn't be much improved, but maybe you guys think otherwise.

[Mirrinus]

Clefairy is one of the most awesome things ever (well, at least in Gen 4 with Magic Guard). However, Paras is actually my favorite of all the Mt. Moon denizens. Fear the parasitic mushroom of evil that can put you to sleep with 100% accuracy!

[Domochevsky]

I know it probably isn't all that good statistics-wise, but that Zubat is way too adorable to not get it.

[Deca]

I vote Paris 'cause I like them. And partially because I'd like to see what would happen when it evolves into Parasect. Canonically, the pokemon is turned into a mindless slave by the parasitic mushroom. I've always wondered how Pokemon trainers handled their beloved Pokemon changing like that.

[Penguinator]

Hmm... there is an interesting argument to make for Paras-Parasect. I'm personally a Zubat fan. But, no matter what happens, I don't think that the caught Pokemon should replace a current party member unless death happens.

[Deme]

Well, I will probably give my reserves some time to shine (read, "I'll try to get them close in level to the main party, should I need them") after Misty.

Chapter 11b: Candy Mountain, Charlie!

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I found a potion -- while free, it's quite unremarkable.


"It's not sneaking if I'm walking away from --" But no, he just wants to battle. No wonder my mother never punished me for being so rude sometimes. Everyone else has no manners!

...Not what I was picturing for a magnemite. But it goes down in one shot like most things, so it's OK!
So bug catchers raise bugs, lasses raise cute things, and nerds raise Pokemon who look nothing like I'd assume based on what they...umm.... normally look like...

"It depends on your style. Go try all sorts of pokemon... you jerk."
Wow, my insult-foo is weak today.

Next up was a useless bugcatcher who was trying to be informative.

But it was just sort of easy. I tried sitting him down for another lesson for pokemon catching, but he had one for me.

"Tough? That little mousy -- " I realized that if I were to say one more word I would sound like a lunatic, so I elected to shut my trap.
But the question I had as I walked away was if it was so reliable, why didn't he have one?


I laughed. A hidden mountain with little candy stones. I knew it was kind of scroungy -- that a camper or a lass or a traveler dropped it in the dust. Its pink polka-dotted wrapper was covered in dust, dust that came away as I touched it and coated my fingers grey-brown. The wrapper seemed to have protected it -- like a geode, ugly stone on the outside and all bright little perfect crystals within. I decided to save it in my pocket for later. It was only a little ball of sugar in a plastic wrapper, covered in grime -- but was also my moonstone, just this once.




...That's because you're walking in circles. You could try straight lines.


But she has some interesting pokemon, even if they were pretty easy.

*facepalm*
"Here, let me walk you towards the exit... It's pretty simple if you don't turn around too much."
Lass: "Just don't touch me, OK?"
"...Just shut up and let me help you."
I walk all the way back, guiding her to the other lass, and I point them both out the door. Of course neither of them thanks me.
"You're welcome, ladies!"
Lass A: "(Like, OMG, isn't she just the drill-sergeant-nastiest?)"
Lass B: "(That absolute scariest girl I have ever met. Maybe she's actually a wild pokemon in disguise!)"
:smallfurious"
I'm scary? Me? They're in a cave with Team Rocket, and I'm scary?
Why, I'll ring their necks!


"No, you get lost! This mountain is for innocent...I dunno. Easily lost girls and fossil-finders! It's not for cretins like you!"
Rocket Grunt: "Hey, who died and made you queen of the mountain?"
There's an obvious line there, if I felt like bantering, but I don't say it. I'm not playing his game.
"Shut up and fight."

I wonder what it is they want -- fossils? Really? They're rocks, dead hunks of stone. They're worth money, but everyone here is looking for fossils. Attracting attention like this is no good. Do they want proof of aliens? Is there something about the mountain? My head spins with all the options, all the reasons they could be here.
But I'm supposed to be battling. I shouldn't really care -- because whatever they want, I'll not let them get it, as petulant as that sounds.
I use Spike's peck against the Zubat, figuring his horn can batter her around into the dust pretty easily, which is true. I send out ChuChu against his Ekans, though.

She shivers.
"She looks scary..."
I don't get it at all. But I think of the certainty the team had when I was scared, and I know what to tell her.
"Don't let her get you spooked, ChuChu! The whole team can support you!"
She turns back and nods.

"It wants to paralyze you, so we'll paralyze it! Just avoid the coils, and we're golden!"
She, naturally, couldn't avoid the coils after all. Of course. But it doesn't matter; his ekans doesn't last more than a few thundershocks.

"Maybe I'm good and maybe I'm just trying to be sensible, but you. are. just. scum." I stare him down.

His voice trembles as he says it. I grip my pokeball tighter and get ready to throw. But all his 'scram' talk is just for appearances -- the moment it looks like I'm ready for round 2, he dashes off.


"Thief? Did he drop this?"

Hm. I'll think about where best to use it when I get to town. What sort of organization sends criminals in full uniform, announcing their names and intents, to get what ordinary schmucks can pick up from the ground for free?


Youngster: "I'm hoping to find people in the cave to whom I can spread the joy of shorts."
"I am not joining your clothing cult. Nope. Absolutely not."

"Don't take it personally, kid..."
ChuChu takes down his Rattata with ease, but after this fight and the last, I figure she could use a break.
"Spike, help her out!"
"Oh, Spike! Come to my rescue!"
"Dames, Dames, Dames... All I do is protect girls these days." He sighs wearily and shakes his head as I toss him out.
I look down at him and put both hands on my hips. Just because he's strong doesn't mean he can get away with attitude and cool but out-dated slang.
"Even though you're new to the team, you're one of my better fighters! We spent the day fighting team rocket because the strong protect the weak and get rid of anything that would hurt them. That's your place in the team."
"Like with Rya, right? Or me when I joined, is that what you're saying?"
I nod.

"I get it. Yeah. Keep talking like that -- it makes your girls worth protecting."

The light swallows him as the youngster withdraws his rattata. It lifts him up and holds him, coating his horns in what seems like shining stone. It recedes and reveals a new shape, more spiny and taller than before... But also kind of girlier, at least from the front. Don't tell him I said that, though.


"PERMISSION?"
I don't get what she's asking me for a second. I don't think she can talk any other way.
"BATTLE?"
Oh. I guess she feels upstaged.

I make the wrong move for the next round. I got lost in the excitement and thought it was another rattata. Guess not. But with some scratching, FISTICUFFS eventually took down the zubat.


"Umm...Spike. I thought to, um, congratulate you on ascending like that, I'd give you this little present. It's not much -- I found it after my last fight with a wild zubat and, um, thought...you know. Of you."
"(Aaaah! Why didn't I think of that! Why, why, why?)"
He grins, trying to look magnanimous. We're all out taking a little break, so I'm now privy to the social dramas of my pokemon... They kind of have more active social lives than me. I even stopped hanging out with Beau as much as I used to after what happened.
"Sure, Phoebe. It's a pretty gift. When I'm done with this role, I'll be sure to use it. It's a beautiful gift."[/color]
Phoebe: :smallblush:
Spike tosses it to me, casually.

"Hold onto that for me, OK, Seed? I'm going to need it later."
"Hey, I'm the trainer, I say when I should hold onto things!" I pause, dramatically. "I should hold onto it."
I know it's corny, but I laugh at my own joke. Everyone in the team who find laughter enjoyable (everyone but Azula, who smirks and rolls her eyes, and FISTICUFFS, whose expression doesn't change) laughs too, more for the mood than for legitimate humor, I think.


"Excuse me, are you...that girl I heard talking with her pokemon earlier? (StOp WaStInG tImE.) Oh, yes... Can we join you?"
"...We?"
She looked at me as if I was asking her an alien question.
"We are we. You may call us what you like; we answer to one name. (ExCeLlEnt.) " She smiled, but it seemed kind of hollow, like she was being made to smile.
"Sure, I guess..."
And so Mellow joined our party.

I decided I would keep her...them?... in reserves for a bit. There's a lot of heebie-jeebies there.


Be polite, be polite... I'm bored of fighting random strangers
"I'm terribly sorry, sir..."


"Oh, that's it. The kid over there preaching the glory of shorts is a kid. I'm not."
We end up fighting over it.

Well, I say 'we' and 'fight,' but I mean 'FISTICUFFS' and 'beats the living daylights out of his team.' Little slip-up there.

"DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM THAT BEAT-DOWN?"
Hiker: "...a mankey can beat my whole team in 3 hits, collectively?"
"Good, and what else?"
Hiker: "And not to annoy someone with a mankey?"
"And what annoys a lady with a mankey?"
Hiker: "I was wondering the same thing, kid."
*twitch*
"That's it!" I yell as I walk away. No more trying to be polite... At least not until I calm down.


I like things that are free... But I hope I don't need to use this.


"I'm no kid! I'm a semi-accomplished vigilante, fossil freak!"
Rocket Grunt: "You think you're tough because you know our plans here?"
"No, I'm tough because, as far as I can see, you're what – one of the last members of your team on the mountain that I haven't already beaten? Whatever your plan to get fossils is, you can't do much without conscious pokemon to protect yourselves, right?"
Rocket Grunt: "So you think you're tough because you think you're smart -- but no one is smarter than the boss of Team Rocket! You want to try and fight me?"

"For you, it will be."

ChuChu's up first -- his pokemon are tougher than I'm used to, but it still is no sweat for ChuChu.

I'm not sure why, but when the time came to decide what to do -- to switch her out or leave her in against a sandshrew, I elected to let her keep trying. Her quick attack was still somewhat effective, even if her thundershock couldn't do much. But between the paralysis the Sandshrew inflicted on itself by touching ChuChu and ChuChu's evasive maneuvers, I hoped it would give her all the time she needed to batter the enemy into submission.
And, somehow, it worked.

"Good job, ChuChu!"
I gave her a very static-y hug, causing my hair to stand on end.


Rocket Grunt:"That's what the boss is always saying -- that Pokemon are much more than we think they are."
"Then don't use their power like this! Go run on back to your hideout!"
I know the police are looking in the area from all the news reports -- if he starts to leave, they'll be all over him.

I press onward.
"Mistress?...Do you think I'm strong enough?"
"What?" Well, no. But she's a magikarp. She'll improve. Eventually.
"You're not asking me to help you fight off those evil men. I want to help!"
"That's... I just want to make sure..."
"That I don't screw it up? Please, Mistress, let me try! Just once! Let me try just once, please...I know I'm no good, but if I don't try after all the work everyone's put forth..."
Her face pleads with me, a little smile playing at the edges of her lips. She shifts uneasily, her hands folded like she was praying. She looked like the priestess of an old shrine, or the princess of another world. I stood, looking at her, and remembered the princess of the candy mountain from my stories to Sage -- she would beg and ask a brave hero to protect her kingdom. And the hero would always, always say yes, because there wouldn't be a story if she said no.
"Yeah. Alright. Next guy we see, you're up first."
"Really? Thank you, Mistress! I promise I'll do my best! (Oh, I hope I can do this...I can't let her down.)" I don't think I was supposed to hear that last part.
"But not without a good luck charm." Because, even if heroes come from unlikely places, she still needs all the help she can get. I reached into my pocket and dug out the candy. "This," I told her, "Is a magic candy. It'll help you be strong." Wow, a near literal placebo. But it'll make her feel stronger.
"Mistress, there's no magic..." She looks at the candy, then my face. I really can't guess what she sees in it, but she takes the candy from me. "OK, Mistress. If you say it's magic to make me strong, then it's magic to make me strong. For you."
She unwraps the candy and puts the wrapper in the sleeve of her gown before she eats it. Then she gives my outstretched arm a hug...

and her little smile fades away as the air around her starts to shimmer. The light nibbles at the edges of my hand, turning the color of a strawberry sweet. Blushing pink light bounded off the walls of the cave, turning the grey world into one lit by sunrise. Each rock took an alien shape and their shadows danced in a perfect, shadowless circle around us. It began to die away, revealing a girl dressed in bright blue.
"...Rya?”
"Mistress! It was magic!" She hugged me, the tail of her braid bobbing up and down as she bounced. "It really was magic!"
"...I guess it was, after all. Magic well-spent."


I'm pretty sure the cave is ending, but in front of me...Is one last member of Team Rocket.

"You can do that?"
Rocket: "Of course! Science is advancing at the speed of light! Surrender now or prepare to --"
"Don't. I'm here to stop this, and I won't put up with hashed-out old mottos."


If I can stop him, I'm pretty sure there's not enough cave left for anyone else to work on their money-making scheme without the mountain being secured first. I mean, maybe I'm less well-versed in Police policy than I'd like to be, but if all the news outlets are saying there's a criminal force in them there hills, they have to be stopped, right? The mountain secured and so on, to prevent further crimes, right? Well, I'm banking on it.

I promised Rya her time in the sun, but really, the fight with her was over before it started. I think, even though I just got her strong enough to really use her... That until everyone else can catch up to her newfound strength, it's time to let someone else step up.
So I pick Spike... And it's really a very straightforward fight, without any real surprise. I'm not sure what I was expecting -- more resistance, maybe. But this is the guy who spilled the whole grand master plan to some random teenager, and started their famous old motto up again besides.

"You're mad? You're mad? Plenty of innocent people have had their innocent fossil-hunting or exploring trips ruined by your antics! You talk about striking fear, but the moment someone raises a fist against you, you get whiny and mad! Pokemon should be used to make the world better, not to bully innocents!" I clench my fists. It's one thing if people, rudely but harmlessly, challenge me. But if they think I'm some weak little girl, to be used and thrown away, they have another thing coming.
I leave him to run off, and press forward through this mountain after explaining the need for everyone to catch up to Rya. She seemed pleased.


"What are you going to do with them?"
Super Nerd: "Science!"
"OK." I don't really care about fossils.
Super Nerd: "No, better yet! I want to beat you and do science! So let's bet them in a Pokemon Fight!"
"Well, I'm always up for a fight, so you're on!"

The Grimer's disable made Spike's peck useless, which meant I was either going to let her have a free attack through switching, or press on through double-kick. I elected to do the latter. It spent so long using harden, I became convinced it couldn't do anything else. I was wrong, but by the time it moved to offense, Peck wasn't disabled anymore.

FISTICUFF's earlier paralysis (I ran out of heals earlier...) made it a longshot, but it was still as good a bet as anything else I had. I figured as long as it didn't explode, I would be fine.

Which, convienently, it didn't. But it made me uneasy, so I decided to let ChuChu finish the match.

So, apparently Nerds do exclusively use pokemon that look unexpected. Unexpected, but not actually hard.

"No, you really don't..."

OK, so apparently despite having more sense than most people (which is really kind of a shock; I never thought of myself as the queen of common-sense town), I really cannot convince them to act in their own greedy self-interest. But maybe he just feels guilty about wanting them both earlier. Yeah, that sounds much more reasonable to me.

I look them over, but they both look about the same to me. I was never really interested in paleontology. But he's starting to get impatient, so I may as well choose...

Yes, I did cheat-grind Rya up to level 19 before using the rare candy. I don't intend to make a habit of it, though, but frankly... the amount of exp she needed to level up, per level, was just driving me insane. Still, this does mean she's taking a little break while everyone else plays catch-up.

...also, man. I was hoping that this chapter wouldn't end on a vote so I could see about getting some comments about other, more interesting things, but it's time to pick a fossil!
(Tips on what to do with thief are also appreciated. I've never used it, and I never played leaf green when it came out, so the last time I used only the original 150 was...umm....well, when I was 10 or so.)

[Domochevsky]

What's in each of the fossils?

[Deme]

Dome is Kabuto, Helix is Omanyte, as per usual. I don't think the patch changes that sort of thing. Sadly, I have no idea what they look like as moemon, since all the sprite sheets I can find don't have the exact same set of sprites as what I have, I can't garuntee those.

[Mando Knight]

What's in each of the fossils?

Helix fossil grants Omanyte, which is Special-based. The Dome Fossil yields Kabuto, which is Physical-based. The evolved forms are the nautilus-like Omastar and the scythe-bearing Kabutops.

[Domochevsky]

Aw man, no pics? But that's the only criteria that matters!

[Deme]

Actually, I just went ahead and checked...There's no sense in a vote. Cancel all voting. All my childhood memories are meaningless in helping me navigate this.

Well, I got a chapter that ended without a vote after all, but only after we spent a while trying to figure out who to vote for!

[Penguinator]

Which one is it, then? Or, neither?

[Deme]

Now, that would be spoiling it, wouldn't it?

[Deme]

Update: I have the next chapter written, but my modem is dying too much to upload everything. It'll be fixed in a few days.

[Penguinator]

Good enough, for now.

[Deme]

Chapter 12: A Bright Blue City...That's Not The Inside of a Mountain!

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Well, I guess this one’s as good as any other.

They could have both been yours, moron. All you had to do was shut your mouth and let me walk on by!

“Because you made me make a completely baseless choice!”

“….what?”
He trembles as he puts the fossil in my hand. A bead of sweat trickles down his face.

So, this guy goes from having all the fossils to having no fossils by giving them all to a girl who doesn’t want any of the fossils in the first place!
…Am I really that scary?
I don’t mean to be scary.


I walk down the last few passageways, trying to puzzle out why I’m so scary as to beat up a nerd for his lunch money without even trying. Or wanting his lunch money. Or even beating him up, besides his pokemon – which he challenged me to.


Free stuff, hurray!


Really, I mean, I’m a 16-year old in a hat and a miniskirt. Is that so scary? ... Well, to a nerd, maybe so. I am a girl, after all.

I’m walking around outside, finally not in a mountain, when I run across a pair of martial artists…standing there. Maybe they’re meditating?
“Excuse me, do I look scary to you guys?

“What?”
Black Belt: ”I’m telling you about a move that will make your pokemon really scary!”
“That fails to answer my –“
Black Belt: ”I’m twice your size. You’re kind of intimidating, but not scary.”
“Oh. Carry on with your little speech-making, then.”


Black Belt: ”And it’s much better than any attack my brother over there can teach you!”

Black Belt: ”OK, I’ll teach it to your pokemon! Who should I teach it to?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking of replacing Scratch with a slightly better attack, so how about Azula?”
”Gladly, Mistress.”


“Um, OK?”

“Didn’t you say he was your brother earlier?”
Black Belt: ”I say a lot of things (like the fact that Mom likes me better)! Now flee, flee like the wind!”
I’m actually creeped out enough to do what he says here. As I’m running, I’m wondering if maybe I’m scary because I don’t say things like that, but everyone thinks I should.


It contained roar. That does not strike me as a particularly useful move outside of very particular scenarios, so let’s not worry about that.

There was a patch of grass along the way, wherein there were some pokemon. Nothing we haven’t seen before, though this is the first time I’ve seen Ekans wild, and some Rattata and Spearows.

While we wander the tall grass, Phoebe turns and asks me,
”You don’t pay as much attention to me as you do everyone else…why is that?”
I think about it for a minute, wondering if I really do play favorites. I think about our adventures – Rya’s candy, the time Lila helped me down from that freakout, Spike’s protests, Azula’s loyalty, FISTICUFF’S scary face… She’s right. I really haven’t thought about her much. I tap my fingers to my lips and try and reach out for something to say. Some clever phrase to fix it all. But the little gold nuggets of thoughts turn out to be, in actuality, kind of dull once I really think to think them. At last I sigh and reply,
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean it… I’ll try harder in the future, OK?”
Her eyes dart away, too ashamed to meet mine.
“OK, Mistress. I’ll do my best to be worthy!”
She fights the next couple of wild pokemon with a silent determination, attacking them as fast as possible to bring them down. I wish I knew what she’s thinking – her expression is grave and fierce.
Whatever she’s thinking as the wind around her falls along with the most recent Ekans, it’s enough for her.

“Nice work, Phoebe!”
”Certainly the least emotional, no offense meant.”
”You think it’s the least…?” She looks down and away, that determined look on her face again.



At the Cerulean Pokecenter, everyone has one name on their lips: Bill. He’s apparently some uber pokemon collector, to the point of obsession. I guess I’m going to end up meeting him… No, that’s video game logic. Applying it to real life like that is… crazy. Right. Still, he lives nearby, so it’s not implausible. The thought occurs that if he knows so much, maybe he can explain all of this to me (I mean, why now? Why me? Why cute little girls – and Spike – in costume?), and my heart kind of skips a beat. I didn’t even think the idea would feel that good, but it was like I was taking off three-day old clothes and getting into a nice warm bath… But, as the realization that if I’m not crazy I don’t want to look it sinks in, I realize I may just feel that way because of the bath I’m taking, my first one since I entered Mt “Let’s hollow out a god-forsaken mountain so people can fight major crime syndicates in it for a few days” Moon. That plan off the table, I contemplate the bubbles. It still feels pretty good.

Before I go to the gym, I want to get acquainted with the town. Which mainly means going around and talking to people, hearing all the good gossip…that sort of thing. Time for the meet and greet.


“Well, I’m not really….umm…yeah. I guess I should try harder than I am.” But I’m already not paying as much attention to everyone as I’d like… I’m sorry, Prof. Maybe Beau is more able to fulfill your dream for you… But maybe it was never meant to be –
It’s kind of silly for a grown man to still follow childish dreams, and worse for a growing young woman to devote herself to fulfill them for him. Dreams should stay in the possible: travel around the world with pokemon, maybe defeat a few gym leaders, beat my rival… That sort of thing.

The town has a bike shop, so I go to check it out. My last bike got destroyed in a freak pokemon accident a few years back, and money’s been tight, so…

“Hi to you, too.”

“…” I stare at the price. “…”
”Rip-off artist!”



“Really?” It’s not that hard for me…Why’s it so tricky for basically everyone else?

“Well, keep at it!”

I sell the star piece I found for a decent chunk of cash – enough for some of those new potions they have in stock here.


“Yup.”

I still don’t find it that hard… Why am I so good and everyone else so bad? ... I bite my lip, shake my head, and try to push the thought away.

There’s a guy trying to trade a poliwhirl for a jynx in a nearby house – sounds like a cool trade, if I had a poliwhirl.


“Yeah.”

“Really? Could you tell me what sort of thing?”
If Azula won’t spill, maybe he can tell me why these are such a big deal.

“Oh, that’s…it?”
Man: ”Not quite… But I haven’t uncovered the rest yet. It’s a secret!”
”It’s no good at asking most ordinary humans to tell you, but it won’t be long now, Mistress. You will see.”
I hang my head and go back to exploring.

In his back yard, I find another piece of candy.
”Mistress, is that more magic candy?”
“…” Even evolved, her eyes look like lakes with shores that no one has ever walked on, big and pure.
“…Yeah, sure.”

It worked well enough for Rya, but maybe that was the vote of confidence. I’ll save it for later.

There’s a man next door who talks about berries, but I’ve never been interested – they don’t grow well in Kanto soil.

I see the first Police officer I’ve seen in ages here; All the ones in my area are being called on to help against Team Rocket, or something. There’s not a station near Pallet town…I wish there had been. I shake myself away from that train of thought.

“Really? Tough luck.”

‘That’s… not really all that heinous a crime. People… can do a lot worse than that. Really.’ The words jump up my throat, but I don’t say them. They have enough to deal with without recounting my personal drama. The people of Cerulean are lucky to have officers close by enough that they can help them with thefts and things.

Don’t say ‘that explains a lot.’ Don’t say it…
“Good luck, then.”

But I guess that’s all there is to see in Cerulean proper. Tommorow I’ll go look around a little to the north, see if anything’s interesting, maybe catch a pokemon… But first – a real bed! That’s not the inside of a mountain!

There's the standard vote, of course: theoretically, there are Sandshrews in that grass, but I didn't find anything, and I looked for a while. Eh, well. Maybe it will show up when I'm looking, so you can vote for me to hunt untill I find one or until I become too cranky.

Also, I have updated images for the cast section.

[Penguinator]

Well. It's always a wonder as to why the rockets are a problem for the police.

[Deme]

True. Despite what Seed says, she still hasn't hit on the real reason the police can't handle it.