Pokedex One-Shots (PG)

[Eeveeon8]

I'm back! Yay! So, I was thinking that maybe you could do Clefable and Slowpoke. That would be funny. It would be like:
Clefable: 'Comon! Won't listen to me!?
Slowpoke: *Snore*

[floracat]

I love how creepy you made Vanillish. I just always thought of them as troublesome, even though it looks like icecream (nice Nintendo, nice idea). I feel sorta sorry for Linda after that. Oh, and I'm loving the whole update every day thing!

[Ysavvryl]

If I do well, the daily thing will continue until I hit 500, then I'll probably focus on other things again, putting this back on an occasional schedule.

And now for more creepy Pokemon!

In process: Archen/Starmie
On Deck: Rufflet/Braviary, Purrloin/Liepard, Gigalith, Emolga, Slowpoke/Clefable


Frillish and Xatu


They were really quite beautiful, especially if seen in the morning when a number of them were swimming together. The Frillish were like jewels that blended into the sea waters, the blue males that could become nearly invisible in the right conditions and the pink females that vibrantly seemed to dance in the underwater currents. Drifting along with the flow, clusters of them would gather and fill the water with songs that seemed alien to Earth.

They also lost some of their allure when one knew what their songs meant.

“I once successfully hunted a Scolipede,” one of the males boasted.

“That's got to be a lie,” another male said. “You couldn't get our immobilizing toxin into one of them.”

He smirked. “Who says? I found a way to make it work. He was quite a hefty one too, so it took some wrestling to get him into the water. But once I did, I feasted for two weeks on him alone. Quite an unusual taste, but I got tired of it after a while.”

“Well I've gotten some of those humans all on my own,” the other male said.

“That's not hard,” the boastful male said. “I mean, what have they got, hmm? They're not as protected as other Pokemon; I've heard some talk that they aren't even Pokemon, which would explain why their attacks are laughable at best.”

He glowered. “But they make things; they give sticks and stones sharp points and edges, turning such lousy things into dangerous objects. And have you seen what they do to other Pokemon? They tame some of the wildest Pokemon out there; I saw one that was giving orders to a dragon, and it obeyed without a fuss!”

“That's just hearsay. Nobody knows where they came from, only that there's no way they can last long as they are. I don't mind easy prey every now and then, but they're just too easy.”

The other male got angry and attacked him. But after grappling for a few moments, the boastful one proved that he was stronger, constricting the other's tentacles into a submissive posture before flinging him away. The group of Frillish then split up, as the morning sun was rising higher and it was time to do other things.

A female Frillish approached the victor. “You must be very strong in order to get a Scolipede into the waters all by yourself,” she said, bashfully flirting with her eyes.

“Oh, certainly,” he said, moving closer to her and brushing against her body. “I'm ready to evolve, I'm sure, but I don't really need that extra strength right now. Although if a cutie like you would ask, it wouldn't be any trouble.”

She floated back, not giving in so soon. “It depends. But since you're such a great hunter, I was wondering if you could help me with a certain Pokemon. I spent all of yesterday trying to get it; I was exhausted by the time I went back to the depths. It was still there when I checked earlier this morning.”

Eager to impress her by helping, the male Frillish gave a gracious sweep of his tentacles. “I'll take on the challenge. I have plenty to eat myself, so you may have it once we get it in the water.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling. Then she jetted herself through the waters. “This way!”

They approached one of the many small islands that was out here. Typically, these places were good hunting grounds for land creatures, although the struggle to get them into the water was much tougher than trying to capture a sea creature. But many of the Frillish liked the taste of the land creatures more, only taking prey from the sea if they had no luck on the shore.

Out on a rock that jutted out of the waters during normal tides, there was the Pokemon she had been trying to catch. It was tall and covered in feathers, mostly green but mostly white on its wings. A bird Pokemon; those were a challenge, as they could fly out of range at the least disturbance. But he smiled confidently at her and began to approach the prey.

As he did, something peculiar struck him. This bird was standing on that rock, incredibly still. It did not blink its eyes, nor move its wings. Even as he approached, it remained motionless. For a moment, he wondered how it could be hard to catch. Maybe it was tired now after having avoided her all of yesterday. The male Frillish gave a small smile of satisfaction and quickly lashed his tentacles out of the water, to paralyze it with poison and bring it below the waves.

And he completely missed. The bird Pokemon had flown off its perch the instant he would have captured it, keeping just out of reach. Once the Frillish pulled back underwater, the bird landed on its rock and continued its vigil.

“That's just exactly what it kept doing yesterday,” the female Frillish said.

“It likes to tease us, then,” he said. “No matter. I'll get it.” He swam around to the other side of the rock, where the bird had its back turned to him. He didn't have a lot of space to work with due to other tidal rocks, but that did give him a better reach out of water.

And the bird evaded his grasp once more.

This continued for the rest of the morning. Eventually, the female had grown tired of watching and went off to hunt for something in the sea. But the male kept at it, trying to bring this elusive prey down to the depths. The bird remained silent, still save for the moments it was escaping him. It always returned to its exact same poise.

After morning turned to afternoon, and afternoon to evening, the male Frillish was starting to get frustrated and weary as well. But his pride was at stake. He said he would capture this prey and so he would keep at it until he did. Taking a chance, he swelled himself with water and drifted up into the air itself to battle the bird. He couldn't maintain this for long, but if it was long enough, that would be worth it.

And then the bird finally spoke. “Today is not my day to die.”

“How do you know?” the male Frillish said, readying himself to attack.

The bird tilted its head. “I see when and how I will die. I see when and how I was born. Neither moment is now. Xatu has spoken.”

“You can't see that.”

“I do,” the bird affirmed. “I see that your kind has hunted these waters for centuries, and they will hunt them for centuries more. I see that you have been a bold hunter, succeeding where many have failed. I also see that you will submit to the humans.”

Sparked into a rage, the Frillish curled up his tentacles. “Never! I will never submit to anyone!” He lashed out at the bird with all of his might, but once again it flew right out of his attack.

This time, the bird attacked back; not successfully, but the ensuing battle caused the Frillish to miss the approach of one of the humans until it threw a net over him. Being captured like that was something of a shock, causing him to struggle fruitlessly while the human dragged him back to the sandy shore. But he could pass through this material, right? He calmed himself in order to do that, but the human caught him trying and struck him with a strange metal rock that disrupted his attempt to be immaterial. He was take in the net further into the island, where he was released into a pool of salt water. Its outlet into the sea was blocked off with more of that strange metal, so that he could not escape. As he was trying to get his bearings, the human tossed some meat into the pool and began to watch him. The strange bird soon joined him.

They were giving him food? The only reason he could see for giving away food was for attracting a mate, and neither of those creatures qualified for that. Despite that, the human continued to come and give him food every day, trying different things to find out what he would or wouldn't eat. Then it started trying to teach him commands for attacking, defending, and other tasks. The bird, a Xatu, accompanied the human and helped translate the strange language it spoke. One time, the Frillish tried to attack the human with a poison that should have killed it. But it was back the next day, its wound wrapped up in a white material. And once again, it fed and instructed him.

The human was a strange creature, but the Frillish did find himself submitting himself to its will, and prospering for it.

…

Frillish White entry: They paralyze prey with poison, then drag them down to their lairs, five miles below the surface.

Xatu Leaf Green entry: They say that it stays still and quiet because it is seeing the past and future at the same time.

[floracat]

I can't tell: was this before Pokeballs, or after? Frillish was caught by a net, but on the shore it was struck by a "strange metal rock". I can't really tell. It was really cool, how the Xatu could just see the future and past. "Today is not my day to die." I love how he says that!

[TheSequelReturns]

Yo, Ysa. Its been a while. I find myself coming back to this thread every now and then to read a random story just to get my muse going again, and as always I love how you manage to get a lot of thoughts and emotions into such bite-size stories. Your approach is clever as well, and stories like Chandelure and Vanilliuxe always catch me by surprise, so in short that's why I find myself coming back every so often for another story or two, though why I never checked for a PM list is beyond me. Would save time I suppose. *shrugs*

Remember way back when when I said I was thinking about doing a guest entry? Well, I think It hit some inspiration, so if you are still doing guest entries, I would like to humbly request the honors of writing Lampent's entry.

Just 155 left to go, keep up the good work.

Xatu has spoken.

[Z-nogyroP]

Tepig/Unfezant/Vanillish: That was really good. I like how you described how snooty Will was. That was always how I pictured Unfezant, and I loved Vanillish. I've always wondered why when you go out and kill like a hundred Pokemon, and then none of them just come back for revenge. That was awesome.

Xatu/Frillish: As soon as I saw the word "boasted" I knew it would be something like this. I love how Xatu could easily tell the future, and I loved Frillish's reaction to his future. However, I figured he was lying when he said he hunted a Scolipede, but then Xatu seemed to confirm it. Did he really do it?

Request time! If it's okay, I'd like to request a triple entry for Jumpluff/Klinklang/Gulpin. That should get an interesting result. Also, I hope you do write a Lampent story for Halloween, because then BW2 entries will be out. That'll be interesting.

[Ysavvryl]

@floracat: That was before Pokeballs were invented; I didn't quite realize how confusing that description might be, but I didn't think the Frillish would recognize what it was. In particular, it was a reference to some folklore about ghosts and other supernatural creatures that are affected adversely by some metals, keeping him from simply passing through the net.

@TSR: Hi! Sure, guest entries are still open (which reminds me, I think I need to sift through my Inbox as I've missed one of those...). Although I'll still do Lampent myself as usual, around Halloween (it's delightfully creepy, isn't it?).

Yeah, and I'd be just about done if it wasn't for Unova! Lol.

@Z-nogyroP: Odd combo; I like!

In process: Rufflet/Braviary
On Deck: Purrloin/Liepard, Gigalith, Emolga, Slowpoke/Clefable, Jumpluff/Klinklang/Gulpin


Starmie and Archen


The night was clear and dark, watched over by a black sky with millions of silver stars spilling across it. The ocean was eerily still, but the silver stars were joined by many more color specks, lights that twinkles in a slower rhythm. Out here where there weren't many lights of human civilization, it was a mesmerizing sight. This was something that had spawned many mythical guesses and artistic visions, clusters of Starmie that gathered on the ocean surface at night, best seen at a new moon.

On an isolated island, there was some activity, an observer watching the lights of the Starmie. It was a young woman, dressed in a white tank top and yellow shorts; her sandals had been discarded by the tent hours ago. By her side, there was a cluster of computer equipment. The screen had a dimming filter over it, and any other lights had been covered up. But it was all active, picking up radio signals and recording everything it got. It was picking up a lot of activity tonight, as it did every night. But it wasn't human activity. It was the Starmie.

It was a pretty sweet deal, agreeing to watch over this project. She was to monitor the equipment and make sure everything was working, as well as take personal observations of local conditions. For that, she got to stay out here for a month. While there wasn't another human out here, she wasn't lonely. She had taken one of her Pokemon, an Archen, to keep her company.

Where was he anyhow? She glanced around and soon spotted him in a nearby tree, his brilliant plumage standing out in the green leaves. He was another project she was working on, observations on a prehistoric Pokemon before resurrection services were allowed to clone any more from similar fossils. As she'd raised fossil Pokemon before, she knew that it helped to have some time alone working with the Pokemon, to build trust. When the Pokemon trusted their Trainer, it was able to adapt to modern society better. That made this radio recording trip even better, although her friends were mostly jealous of her being on a tropical island for a month.

“Archen,” she called out, adding a whistle for his attention.

He cawed and hopped across the branches to get closer to her. At the edge of the tree's reach, he paused, raising his wings for balance; the branch wobbled under his weight. Then he came over to her, using more of a slow descent than a glide. Although she had confirmed that he was a Flying type, he showed little aptitude for actual flying. Maybe that would improve with evolution, if he did so. Archen ran the last few steps to her, looking up with a questioning and eager expression.

“We'll do some more training tomorrow,” she said. “Although if we manage to hook a Starmie again, I'm going to try keeping it here for a few nights, as a closer observation.”

She got up and turned the computer speakers on, setting it to play an audio version of the radio signals that came off the Starmie. It had been discovered in the early days of radio when ships started putting in such equipment. When sailing through Starmie territory at night, the radios would pick up sequences of strange sounds. Sometimes it was passed off as just noise, but there were patterns in it much like Pokemon calls. As radios improved and Trainers with Starmie listened to radios, the source of the sounds was confirmed. But no one had figured out quite why, since the Starmie had other ways of communicating that had been confirmed years before.

“It's a lot like the radio signals people get off Unown,” she said, recalling when she gone down inside the Alph Ruins to listen to them as a child, for a dare. It had been creepy at the time, but that was more the atmosphere and the long rows of strange Pokemon statues, all of which seemed to be watching her as she passed by trying to find the ladder out. Listening to these radio signals sent a chill through her nerves, but more from the mysteriousness of these wonderful creatures that shared the world with humans.

As she listened in, there was an abrupt increase in the radio signals. It was normally a rhythmic lazy chorus, like the heartbeat of someone who was relaxing. But this was a racing heartbeat, in response to something that wasn't expected that might need to be fought off. More curiously, Archen froze at the changed Starmie signals. Although she rarely stayed up all night listening, she knew that this was unusual.

“What's going on?” she asked, speaking aloud more for her own benefit. She began checking out the computer and all of its associated equipment. But all the quick tests came up clear, with no obvious problems. She glanced out at the ocean and noticed that the lights coming off the Starmie cores had also increased in frequency and intensity

Archen squawked and tugged at her shorts. He was tense, posture low and guarded. Did he know what the Starmie were communicating? But he was from a prehistoric age and he seemed to have trouble communicating with most modern Pokemon. Was there a tone of warning in this spike?

She got up and ran back to her tent, Archen running behind her. She grabbed her camera and headed back down the beach, much to the concern of her Pokemon. While he nipped at her ankles trying to warn her away, she took a picture with the camera, then fiddled with the settings until she could capture the increase of the Starmie lights across the dark ocean night in a video.

“They started doing this about five minutes ago,” she said for the benefit of those she'd send the video to. “I've got the radio tuned to the Starmie's signals, and listen: they're much faster.” She took a few steps towards the computer so that the camera would pick up on the noise.

“Kraaaa,” Archen cawed, bumping his head against her leg now.

She turned the camera down as Archen looked out to the ocean, with his primitive feathers starting to make him puff up. It wasn't as much as modern bird Pokemon did when afraid, but it was still noticable. “Archen really doesn't like this,” she commented. “It's odd that he reacts to them.”

And then a new noise came over the radio, an electronic noise as an unsettling deep growl. She turned the camera back to the ocean as a strange light appeared in the sky. It was a silvery white, but shaped as a ring hanging low in the sky. From the island, it was difficult to see, but something black was blocking out the stars by the ring. A band of racing lights appeared with the ring, seeming to outline an otherworldly flying craft.

“What is that?” she asked, watching the video in progress and her own view of the ocean. Many of the colored lights that marked the Starmie out on the ocean surface had clustered tightly together underneath the craft; a flurry of activity seemed to be happening there, motions of pink, blue, and lavender. “Are they attacking it?”

The racing lights appeared again, moving faster and faster until a burst of bright light appeared underneath the craft, briefly illuminating a dark gray flying saucer. Then there was a loud crash of thunder powerful enough that she could feel it in her bones. By her side, Archen began to spread his wings, bracing himself for battle even though the fight was way out over the ocean. His right wing was extended in front of her legs, a particular pose that she knew meant that he was going to defend her. Modern bird Pokemon would do a similar kind of stance for battles they perceived as challenging.

She took a moment to record Archen's reaction before turning back to continue filming this strange battle between a cluster of Starmie, and possibly other ocean Pokemon, and this flying saucer. The craft did not attack as fast as the Pokemon were, but it appeared overpowering. After it attacked with its lightning bolt again, there was a tremendous crash from the battle ground, but after the attack's thunder. She had heard a noise like that once before, attending a sporting match where large bulky Pokemon squared off against powerful monster trucks. It was like the sound of a Rhyperior charging full force into an armored tank. The ring of light crashed into the ocean in response.

Looking out across the ocean, she tried to figure out what had attacked the saucer like that. But there was no moon, only the tiny amount of starlight and Starmie light to see by. It was another dark shape, but enormous, over twice the size of the flying saucer. Something about it reminded her of the outline of a Dragon Pokemon, but she didn't know of any that large.

At least, not without considering the legendary Dragons.

There were a few tense moments following this. The Starmie sent out rapid signals for a time, uneven and frantic, but the electronic growling was gone. And then there was a trumpeting call that filled the air, calming anyone who heard. A group of stars were blocked out as the dragon flew away. The ring of the flying saucer did not reappear and the signals from the Starmie turned into a harmonious song of gratitude. At her side, Archen relaxed and sent out a call adding his thanks as well.

“You know about this?” she asked, turning the camera back to Archen. “I thought stuff like this was nonsense... how long has this been going on?”

There was no way she could get an answer to that, at least not while she was on this island. Within fifteen minutes, the Starmie had calmed down and returned to their usual slow relaxed rhythm. Archen remained on alert for a while, but was fast asleep an hour later. They could return easily to normal life, but this incident would change hers.

…

Archen Black entry: Said to be an ancestor to bird Pokemon, they were unable to fly and moved about by hopping from one branch to another.

Starmie D/P/Pl/B/W entry: At the center of its body is a red core, which sends mysterious radio signals into the night sky.

[Z-nogyroP]

The Archen/Starmie one was amazing. May I assume that it was Zekrom attacking them? Although for some reason, I pictured it to be Beheeyem. Oh, and the guest entry was mine. Please ignore Porygon-Z/Klinklang, and just rate the Simisage/Scolipede. Personally, I think that one turned out better.

[3D992]

Was the dragon the dragonite from the anime? The ginormous one?

[floracat]

I agree with Proygon-Z spelled backwards. The Pokemon was most definitely Zekrom. It's funny, because before reading this, I read about Extraterrestrial Pokemon like Starmie. It was a very mysterious entry.

[TheSequelReturns]

@Ysa: Yeah, I love delightfully creepy stuff. That's why Ghosts are my favorite Type.

You're doing a Lampent one as well hmm? I'll have to make sure I put my own spin on it then. ^^ And thanks, I'll try to have it up to caliber for you.

I've always loved that Starmie entry. Makes me wonder if there isn't some sort of connection between Staryu/Starmie and Deoxys. They have a lot of similarities.

I actually spent a reasonable amount of time seeing if I could deduce the identity of the woman in the story, but I don't know if she was supposed to be a cannon character or not.

That said, I quite liked this entry. That Starmie entry was a plus and I never expected the UFO to show up. Archen's mannerisms were also handled well I think. Braviary is another of my favorite Gen 5 pokemon, so I'm looking forward to the next one. ^^

[Ysavvryl]

So much stuff wanted to delay this entry, gah.

Well if you guys think it's Zekrom, it could be Zekrom. Although personally I had Rayquaza in mind, but that's more due to me reviewing my old Hoenn fic. And the woman wasn't meant to be anyone in particular, except for being a graduate student of the sciences.

So excited for next entry!

In process: Purrloin/Liepard
On Deck: Gigalith, Emolga, Slowpoke/Clefable, Jumpluff/Klinklang/Gulpin


Rufflet and Braviary


One of the first Pokemon he encountered down the trail was a Braviary, a fierce-looking bird with bright plumage and dark scars. He'd seen them before, usually from a distance as they circled in the sky searching for prey. As it was down here, perched on a fallen tree, it seemed like a good one to start with. “Hello,” he said.

“Whaddya want, weirdo?” the Braviary asked, stretching up with his head held high. The golden sunlight dappled across his red feathers made him seem quite majestic, despite the rough attitude and scars. “Don't meet many of you who just come up and say 'hello'.”

“Probably because most of them don't expect to understand the response,” he said, bowing his head. “My name is N; would you mind talking with me?”

The Braviary brought up his wings and opened his beak without a sound for a moment. As it was a gesture of intimidation, N stayed still where he was. Predatory Pokemon liked to assert themselves; backing down in submission would cause the Braviary to dismiss him, while other motions could be interpreted as aggression. He hadn't figured out which moves on his part were seen as aggressive, so not moving was a good neutral stand.

Feeling satisfied that he'd made his power known, the Braviary relaxed. “Fine, it's not like I have anything important going on. What is it?”

“I'm planning on a revolution for the world, to protect innocent Pokemon,” N said, about to go on when the Braviary interrupted him.

“You mean a war?” the bird said, leaning over towards him. “That's great news! I've been waiting on another one to start my whole life.”

Feeling horrified that that was the initial impression, N held his hands up and shook his head. “No, not a war. At least I hope it doesn't devolve into war.”

“How're you going to have a revolution without a war? I was under the impression that the two things were always linked.”

“There doesn't need to be violence,” he said. Violence only ever made problems worse. “I was going to present the truth to everyone, pointing out how their ideals are flawed, and convince them through such reasoning to change.”

The Braviary looked at him, then shook himself. “Sounds silly to me. Even Pokemon don't like being told that they're wrong. The other humans will probably get mad at you and start a war anyone. And that would be great because you humans make war a thousand times more intense.”

“Surely that's not all you think we're good at,” N said. Because if it was that way, things might be a thousand times worse than he had prepared for.

“Well it's the best part to me,” the Braviary said. “I remember back when I was a Rufflet chick, my father told me about a war that he had been a part of. And it was such a glorious thing: prevailing over all odds, humiliating your enemies, and defending the honor of your side.”

How long did this kind of Pokemon live? N wasn't sure. “There was a war not that long ago? But it must have had a lot of bloodshed and death.” So terrible, and such a waste of life.

The Braviary was of a different opinion, holding himself proudly in memory of his father. “Yeah, that's one of the exciting bits: the fact that every time you go out on the battlefield, you have no idea if you're going to leave it. The risk of death makes the challenge of the fight real. Battles in the wild, nobody cares or puts that much effort into it save for hunting situations. And those Trainer battles, pfft, you know that they can just heal you whenever. I guess if I was really bored, I might join one. But I'd rather join a war.”

“Why would you want to get hurt?”

“Because that's proof that you're tough. Like all my scars prove how brave and powerful I am. Like this one over my eye, I got it when I was only a Rufflet!”

“I thought such scars could heal up better on evolution,” N said, having seen it happen on a few Pokemon that he knew. But most of his friends were reluctant to battle so never got to a position to evolve further.

“Why would I want it to heal fully?” The Braviary edged himself along the log, allowing a second to land. This one looked a lot cleaner than the other, although she was missing a toe on one foot. “It was the mark of an amazing series of battles. There was the dragon that moved into my territory, which I'd recently got old enough to claim. It was a great big armored thing, with sharp tusks, and ten times the size of me as a Rufflet.”

“That sounds like it could be a Haxorus, except I don't think they're quite that big,” N said.

The scarred Braviary shook himself. “Don't make my stories look weak. It's a great pride to me what happened.”

“Oh, sorry.” It probably was just a regular Haxorus, although a Rufflet taking on one of them still seemed a major challenge.

The Pokemon continued with his story, acting like he was strutting even though he was perched on one spot. “I had been hearing my father's story about the war, and I wanted to get really powerful really fast so that I could fight in a war too and be a part of the glory. I challenged this dragon thing to a fight and it thought that I was dumb. Can you believe it? I needed to fight powerful enemies to get powerful myself, and he was the biggest baddest Pokemon around. He beat me the first few times around, not taking it too seriously. But I was serious. I kept training and practicing, and working my tail feathers off. And then one day, I was doing really great against the dragon, enough that it stopped being lazy and lashed out to give me this gash across my eye and forehead. The blood in my eye blinded me a bit, but it sent me into a berserk fury that was a gorgeous blood-drenched spectacle, I'm sure. I ended up blacking out, but when I returned, the dragon thing admitted that I had defeated him and that he would move on. That was my first huge victory, so I want to keep this scar nice and visible as my personal trophy.”

Hearing it, N wondered if the Haxorus had won and lied about it to keep the violent little Rufflet from continuing to harass him. He'd been taught that Pokemon minds weren't of the same level as humans (which he could see, but felt was exaggerated too much), and that they were innocent creatures. This didn't sound that innocent; maybe the Braviary didn't realize the harm he caused. “I guess so. But shouldn't everyone try not to cause needless harm?”

The scarred Braviary looked at him for a moment. “I don't know what you mean, human. You really are weird.” Then he spread his wings and took off for the sky.

N watched him leave, then turned to the second Braviary that had landed there. “He seems too proud of his scars.”

“Well why shouldn't he be?” she asked. “He's got so many of them that he's the most amazing warrior around here I'm sure that if you did start a war, he'd be the first one you ought to call on to join your side. I wish I had that many scars, but all I've got is this dinky missing toe. Hardly means anything without other trophies, but I can't seem to get struck hard enough to get properly scarred. I heard one of my neighbors actually bit her own wing to fake a good scar; so pitiful.”

“I guess there's too many Pokemon out there for me to know about all of them,” N said, mostly to himself. He moved on down the trail, thinking that he wouldn't be recruiting a Braviary for his efforts.

…

Rufflet White entry: They will challenge anything, even strong opponents, without fear. Their frequent fights help them become stronger.

Braviary White entry: The more scars they have, the more respect these brave soldiers of the sky get from their peers.

[3D992]

You did great incorporating the pokedex enties into your story. Everytime I see N pre-final battle I just want to slap some sense into him. Sounds like that braviary would like a nuzzlocke challenge.

[Z-nogyroP]

That was an awesome story. I like how you incorporated Rufflet without actually having it appear in the story. Oh, one minor nitpick: at the end, you mention two female Braviary. Braviary and Rufflet are a male-only species. I can't wait for Purrloin/Liepard: maybe a ClicheStorm reference?

Oh, and you didn't update the total of Pokemon completed in your sig.

[Ysavvryl]

So you want a CS reference? Sure, I can go with that. But maybe not the Purrloin you expect.

And this entry marks Liepard as my 500th Pokemon! Yay, I managed it before July! Now I've got to consider what Pokemon I want for the anniversary, as well as looking forward to what categories get finished soon.

In process: Gigalith
On Deck: Emolga, Slowpoke/Clefable, Jumpluff/Klinklang/Gulpin


Purrloin and Liepard


Shadeclaw the Purrloin escaped from his Pokeball and ended up in a dark cramped travel bag. Great, just great. At least the zipper was partly undone. He hooked a claw into the zipper pull and pushed it open. Then he poked his head out of the bag, peering around.

From the close green canvas, he was also in a tent. Nearby, there was a lumpy sleeping bag. On end had a boy's head poking out, his black hair sprawled over the pillow. One strand of it fluttered in response to his breath, but he was still otherwise. Maybe fast asleep, maybe close to waking up. But there was an opportunity to do something. Now it was just a matter of figuring out what.

Before long, he spotted it: a place of rectangular black rimmed glasses folded up and placed on the ground, within arm's reach of the sleeping boy. His Trainer was always wearing those, so Shadeclaw had never gotten a chance to investigate them. But now he had the perfect opportunity to steal them. Pleased with the idea, he hopped out of the bag and crept closer, the falls of his paws silent.

“Mmmphff,” the teen mumbled.

Shadeclaw froze, maddeningly close to the glasses. He looked over at his Trainer and saw him starting to move. Without opening his eyes, the teen rubbed his nose then put his hand on the pillow. After a moment, he was relaxed once again, not ready to wake up. Shadeclaw picked up the glasses with his teeth, then bounded out of the tent.

For a moment, he observed his prize with pride, having taken this important thing that his Trainer kept all the time. Shadeclaw sniffed it, smelling the boy's scent on it: usual human male, with hints of shampoo and lens cleaner. That wouldn't do. He rubbed his head against it, putting his scent to mark his human. There. Now what did he do with it?

He tugged at the side pieces by gently hooking them with his claws, briefly cursing his having paws instead of hands to easily work human things. Once he had them open, he spent a couple of minutes trying to get the bendy part behind his own ears. Shadeclaw managed, but then the glasses wanted to sit on his forehead, not his nose. But a gentle shake got them to slide down to the proper place.

Immediately, his eyes complained about the lenses messing with them. Everything was horribly blurred, to the point where he couldn't identify things beyond a mass of color, light, and shade. It even made him feel dizzy. How in the world did his Trainer see anything while wearing these?

The sound of the sleeping bag rustling and a hand patting the ground came from inside the tent. “Huh, where's my glasses?” the boy mumbled, half-asleep still.

Uh-oh. At least he couldn't think of any reason to keep these. Shadeclaw shook the glasses off, much to the relief of his eyes, then picked them up with his teeth again and headed into the tent. He held his tail high and put on an expression of absolute cuteness and innocence. Setting them down just out of the boy's reach, he sat down and mewed. Wasn't he a good Pokemon, bringing back the stolen glasses which he totally didn't steal in the first place? He had even suffered for a little bit to get them back.

The boy sat up and squinted at him, his hair a total mess. He didn't even seem affected by the cute. But he did manage to see his glasses and reach over to get them. “How'd they get over there? And how'd you get out?”

Shadeclaw looked up at him with a cat grin, looking for all the world like he had no clue either.

“Cheren!” a girl's voice called from outside. “Are you getting up?”

“Yeah, give me a few,” he said, sliding out of his sleeping bag. Then he added more quietly, “As long as you didn't cause trouble, or stay up all night. We have training to do today.”

That was how things went a lot. Cheren wasn't weak to cuteness, although every now and then he fell for one of Shadeclaw's acts. He was a strict Trainer, constantly planning and thinking about how to become more successful. Despite that, he wouldn't let them overwork themselves, and he treated them decently. If dealing with the tough audience meant that he could get stronger sooner, then Shadeclaw was willing to do so.

But then one day, in a Pokecenter, Cheren said something terrible. “You've passed muster so far, but things will only get tougher as we get further,” he said to Shadeclaw. “You're quick and your typing is useful, but there are stronger Dark types out there. And you can't take many hits; it's not much good if you can't last long enough to make use of your attacks. I may have to replace you soon.”

At first, Shadeclaw was mad to hear that, twisting his ears back and then turning away with an air of snootiness. How dare he say that he wasn't a worthy Pokemon? He'd followed Cheren's orders in battle without hesitation and he had won many of them. Or helped to win them when he got switched out. But he didn't cause trouble (at least no serious trouble or anything he'd admit to). He'd get better in time.

He began to get worried about it when they had gone out to train and Cheren worked with the others more than Shadeclaw. Was he giving up on him? But he'd been on the team since the day Cheren started! He couldn't just ditch a loyal Pokemon like that. Could he? Would he?

Shadeclaw didn't like to appear troubled, so he worked on proving himself over the next week. When he was out but not being battled with, the Purrloin sought out his own fights. Since Cheren wanted him tougher, he forced himself to keep going even when he was hurting. It came to several close calls and he had to steal some Sitrus berries from the bag to avoid fainting. It was a lot of work, leaving him ruffed up and sandy due to where they were training. When Cheren finally called on him, Shadeclaw felt his inner power ignite. He fought and defeated a Sandile, working to do so as quickly as possible to prove his worth.

And for that effort, he was granted the gift of evolution. His legs grew longer, his body grew sleeker, and his natural talents increased greatly. With his fur coat now speckled with yellow spots, Shadeclaw was now a Liepard. Surely Cheren couldn't resist cuteness combined with beauty and power. He curled his long tail and looked up at him with his best 'I really adore you and I'm not possibly trying to charm you out of something (but I am)' look.

“Good, that's more information that Professor Juniper could use,” Cheren said, looking over him but not softening his critiquing eye. “Your performance had better improve out of this.”

Shadeclaw thought about being mad, but he felt more disappointed and eager to prove that he deserved to stay. Cheren kept walking through Desert Resort, so the Liepard followed, going into every battle with enthusiasm and always waiting for an approving word. This continued until he took one too many hits and fainted.

Later, he woke up in a Pokecenter, but not in the lobby. That was odd. Instead, Shadeclaw found himself in a recovery room, lying in a padded box with a soft blue blanket below him. His body felt achy and he still felt tired, but this wasn't a time to let that get to him. He got up and looked around for his Trainer. Past the curtains, he found other Pokemon resting, including one that had a bandaged up leg. Thank goodness he wasn't that hurt.

He heard footsteps, so Shadeclaw slipped behind the folds of a loose curtain, listening and smelling. It was two humans, an adult woman and... Cheren. “Oh dear, well he was here,” the woman, a nurse, said.

He carefully moved along the curtains so as not to move them, coming out behind the two humans. Walking up to Cheren's side, he rubbed his head against his Trainer's leg. “Merrr?”

Kneeling down by him, Cheren put his hand on the Liepard's head. “You shouldn't be wandering around if you've been brought back here.”

“He definitely should have some more rest here,” the nurse said. “After examining him, it seems that he wouldn't recover from being unconscious because he was exhausted from battling too hard over several days.”

“I haven't battled with him that much lately,” Cheren said, worried. “I take turns with all my team members so they get regular breaks.”

“It's possible he did that on his own. He's not too bad, but I still have to give you a warning to pay better attention to that kind of thing. See if you can convince him to sleep in here for tonight and you can take him back in the morning.” The nurse petted Shadeclaw. “He's a beautiful cat, though. A lot of people love them for their coats, so you should be able to find another owner for him if he's not the one for you.” She then left the room.

Cheren looked into Shadeclaw's eyes. “How did you go fighting behind my back? And why? You used to be the least serious Pokemon I had.”

Shadeclaw bumped his forehead into Cheren's. Sure, this human wasn't perfect (he could at least praise them a little more). But if he had to leave the team, he didn't want to leave behind the impression that he was weak. He wanted his Trainer to be proud of him, as proof that he was a worthy Pokemon.

“I have to work hard to prove myself as a great Trainer. And I should do what I must to build a great team, without sentimentality.”

“Mew,” Shadeclaw replied, plaintive and cute. He pawed at Cheren's glasses.

After a short smile, Cheren looked torn. “I mean, that's what anyone would do. But did you have to push yourself like that? I don't want to make you upset. Hmm, however much you can understand about this. Probably not, but then...” He sighed, then hugged Shadeclaw. “Stay in the bed for tonight, okay? You had me really worried when she said that you weren't reviving like you should.”

Then he did care! Shadeclaw licked his nose. Now he just had to figure out how to fully convince Cheren not to let him go.

…

Purrloin Black entry: They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect.

Liepard Black entry: These Pokemon vanish and appear unexpectedly. Many Trainers are drawn to their beautiful form and fur.

[floracat]

I found the Braviary/Rufflet entry funny! I just love N! He's so sweet and innocent, but the way that Braviary talked was just so funny. Like an old man telling a very long story that he's told a million times before, but still loves said story. I dunno, did that make sense?

I like Cherenkov a lot less than I do N, and for that reason. He's too serious and strict. I kinda felt sorry for Shadeclaw, but the whole scene with the glasses was funny!

Oh, and congratulations on 500 Pokemon done! It takes a lot of work to get that far, and to do an entertaining drabble every time! I give you props dude! Might as well help you with the starters. Can you do a Prinplup/Pignite? After that, there are no more starters I think!

[Z-nogyroP]

Wow, Purrloin/Liepard was awesome. And for the record, I KNEW you wouldn't use Priscilla. I knew you'd use Cheren's Liepard, because I remember the scene where Hilda was talking to Cheren and he had a Tranquill and Liepard. I'd also like to request a Reuniclus/Slowbro story, because they're both Psychic-types but they're so different.

[DittoDude]

I shall request a Pinsir/Nosepass story.

[Ysavvryl]

Mid-year Review

500/649 77%

BY GENERATION:

R/B/G/Y: 137/151 90.7%
G/S/C: 84/100 84%
R/S/E: 117/135 86.7%
D/P/P: 90/107 84.1%
B/W: 71/156 78 45.5%
+ Missingno

BY TYPE:

Water: 82/111 73.9%
Normal: 76/96 79.2%
Flying: 66/82 80.5%
Grass: 63/76 82.9%
Psychic: 52/67 77.6%
Poison: 46/57 80.7%
Bug: 46/62 74.2%
Ground: 43/58 74.1%
Fire: 37/49 75.5%
Rock: 34/46 73.9%
Dark: 31/39 79.5%
Electric: 30/38 78.9%
Fight: 29/42 69%
Steel: 27/37 73%
Ice: 26/31 83.9%
Ghost: 23/27 85.2%
Dragon: 23/29 79.3%
Special: 2/2

BY SPECIAL TYPE

Starter: 43/45
Blastoise, Charmeleon, Quilava, Torterra, Chikorita, Feraligator, Torchic, Turtwig, Mudkip, Totodile, Croconaw, Squirtle, Grotle, Treecko, Meganium, Typhlosion, Cyndaquil, Charizard, Bayleef, Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Blaziken, Piplup, Empoleon, Chimchar, Charmander, Venusaur, Wartortle, Swampert, Infernape, Grovyle, Combusken, Snivy, Samurott, Dewott, Monferno, Serperior, Emboar, Servine, Oshawott, Sceptile, Marshtomp, Tepig

Legend: 36/47
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Shaymin, Manaphy, Giratina, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Celebi, Jirachi, Darkrai, Mewtwo, Mew, Arceus, Uxie, Azelf, Mespirit, Registeel, Regirock, Regice, Latias, Ho-oh, Lugia, Meloetta, Genesect, Dialga, Palkia, Cresselia, Rayquaza, Reshiram, Deoxys, Groudon, Kyogre, Latios, Regigigas

???/Shadow: 1
Mankey

Shiny: 8
Magikarp, Sunflora/Sunkern, Fearow, Gyarados, Stantler, Glameow, Yamask, Cleffa

Fossil: 13/17
Aerodactyl, Cradily, Shieldon, Bastiodon, Rampardos, Lileep, Kabutops, Armaldo, Carracosta, Omastar, Archeops, Tirtouga, Archen

Guests: 13
JammyU, Kutie Pie, darkdragontamer (2), #Chimecho# (2), elrade, shiningsloth13 (2), Gelatino
Regigigas, Staryu, Starmie, Bannette, Sandshrew, Ponyta, Barboach, Swellow, Absol, Kadabra, Lucario, Arceus, Darkrai, Bastiodon, Anorith, Golem (not counted in other totals), Vanilluxe

HUMANS (this category may be off; I don’t track them as closely)

In-game Trainers
Bug Catcher, Channeler, Lass, Battle Girl, Fisherman, Ninja Boy, Campers, Hiker, Teacher, Scientist, Swimmer, School Kid (male and female), Veteran, Reporter, Cameraman, Ace Trainer (female)

In-game Characters
Bruno, Steven, Giovanni, Silver, Professor Elm (2), Brawly, Lt. Surge, Gary Oak/Red (2), Koga, Janine, Professor Rowan (2), Lucas (2), Aaron, Blue, Professor Oak, Warden Slowpoke, Sabrina, Erica, Misty, Daycare lady, Daycare man, Blaine, Bianca, Hilbert, Elesa, N, Cheren

Other Characters
Ashton (Star Ocean 2), Mindy (Animaniacs), Tom and Huck (M. Twain), Sinbad (Arabian Nights), Rosa (Little Red Riding Hood), Kirby


Thoughts

I didn't have to move many type categories around to put them in order this time. They're starting to fall where they should, with a few exceptions. Poor Fight is the only type category under 70%, but it only needs one more entry to push it over that percentage (and with Pignite now on request, it'll do that). Ghost and Ice are ahead, although that's understandable; Ice becomes popular around winter and Ghost is popular overall. Water, Rock, and Steel are lagging a bit, but Water just has so many.

With requests, the starter category will be finished soon. The fossil group really doesn't need much more and I plan on covering two for the anniversary. Legendary Pokemon is over three-quarters done; it's mostly Unova legends missing. And Kanto looks closest to completion... it is, but other than Unova, the regions are all lacking less than twenty Pokemon.

It's pretty exciting to see so many close to being done!

[Z-nogyroP]

Congrats, Ysavvryl! I'm glad you're almost finished, and you're right, Ghost is ahead due to how few there are. I calculated it, and if Unova didn't exist, you'd only need 55 more Pokemon! Pretty good.

I noticed a small error, though; you said Anorith was done in the guest entries, but it was actually Armaldo. I remember, I loved that one. It also prompted you to do Cradily. "Doesn't he live in Johto?" LOL