Pokedex One-Shots (PG)

[SugarPesticide]

Hooray, Ysavvryl has survived NaNoWriMo! ^^

“Well, everyone where I came from knew that,” she retorted, her pride making her angry.

Well, he’d found his new rival, Charizard considered with a scowl.

Bolded commas should be added.

“I came from a rock in a museum and I’m not going back.”

That made no sense whatsoever, so Charizard ignored it.

XDDD

Swablu's sweet personality is adorable. :3 Weird how a big fiery dragon doesn't scare him, though, but you pulled it off smoothly anyway. *thumbs up*

Excellent job to Shiningsloth as well. The lack of dialogue added to the suspense nicely, and I love how the fossils conflicted so naturally.

Seaweed dripped from it's body,

This little error popped up a few times: as a possessive prounon, it should be "its", without the apostrophe. Besides that, no problems~ ^^

[Ysavvryl]

Don't got nothing to say right now.

In Process: Seaking/Remoraid
On Deck: Cradily, Wingull/Pelliper
Reserve: Wailrain (12/21), Stantler (12/25)


CLOYSTER AND CRAWDAUNT


The meeting was marked by lots of fighting. Not that this was any surprise; every single one of the pond community meetings involved arguments, either in words or in claws. No one ever complained. The Crawdaunts liked things that way and would pick a battle with each other over anything. As for their neighbors… what neighbors? All other Pokemon had left the pond months ago when the Crawdaunts began moving in. The crustaceans scared off the micro-fish and socialized in a highly violent manner.

Cawer, the male Crawdaunt with the largest star shell on his head, still tried to run the meeting despite the chaos. “I say it is high time we declared war on another pond!” he called out.

War? That announcement always got attention. “What reason do we have for declaring war?” a rival male asked.

“Who needs a reason for war?” a recently evolved Crawdaunt stated. “It’ll be fun!”

“I say we declare war because the other ponds have been too soft on the land Pokemon,” Cawer suggested. “If we intend for the Water type Pokemon to become the total overlords of all, we need to have a base of many ponds and force the other Waters to get into shape for the grand war against the land beings.”

“Well then who needs those slackers for the grand war?” his rival challenged. “We could call a restart of the grand war against the land Pokemon.”

“Against all of those Pokemon? We need more than just one species to win that war.”

“So you don’t think we’re good enough?”

“Of course not! We’re the best battlers around. But even we can’t take on all the lands at once.”

“If I were leading this pond, we could!” The rival then tried to pinch Cawer’s head. He attacked back, and soon the community meeting had degenerated into all out battle again.

On the shore of the pond, a large violet shell rolled to a stop. It appeared to be made of many spiky layers. They opened a slight bit, showing a pair of glowing eyes. Looking around, the Cloyster didn’t see anyone around the shores of the pond. “Hmm… I suppose this place will do for a break. This is taking longer than I thought.”

The Cloyster’s shells shut again, as he went to sleep.

Under the pond, the community meeting had broken up. Cawer had beaten his rival again, but still grumbled against him as he walked away. “Foolishness, thinking one kind of Pokemon could win the war against land Pokemon. I just don’t see why the other Pokemon don’t want to find the glory of the greatest of battles.”

Thinking he might explore around for a good pond to invade, Cawer crawled out of the Crawdaunts’ pond. Up there, he found a strange shellfish Pokemon that he had never seen before. Maybe it would fight, or maybe it would join their fight. Support of the grand war or proof of his skill in defeating other Pokemon would help his cause.

Cawer knocked his claw on the shell of the stranger. “Hey, what are you? What’s your name?”

The shellfish didn’t respond.

Frowning, he circled around it. “You shouldn’t ignore me. I’m known as Cawer, a mighty Crawdaunt warrior. I am the leader of this pond and everyone knows it.”

It didn’t respond.

Cawer hit the shellfish again. “Hey! If you’re going to be rude like that, I’m going to show you just how strong I am.” When it didn’t reply, the Crawdaunt went to pinch it with his strong claws.

Immediately, he grimaced. The stranger’s violet shell was hard, resisting even his claws. Stepping to the side, he tried pinching other areas, even some of the spikes. Every attempt was the same; not a chip appeared in the stranger’s armor. And still, the Pokemon did not respond.

Mad again, Cawer found and gripped the edges of the stranger’s clamped shell. It was tough to get a hold, but he managed. Then he tried to force the stranger to face him. Nothing happened. The shell might have been glued for as little give as he got. Cawer tried another point, and another, and another, and another, and another… but no where he tried, he could not pry the stranger’s shell open. Not even gripping the top shell and pushing with his feet got the stranger’s shell open. It just pushed the two Pokemon apart.

“You are going to pay for making me look like a fool,” Cawer hissed. He tried harsher means of attack: Crush Claw, Water Gun. He even kicked sand at the stranger and chucked rocks at it. But it still did not stir.

Cawer tried to trick the stranger into opening up. He tossed water weeds and small fish at it, thinking it would snatch up such tasty tidbits. No luck. He dumped lakebed mud on the shell, in hopes that it made it easier to pry the stranger’s shells open. Didn’t work. He grabbed a sturdy stick and tried to use it like a crowbar. It snapped before he could manage. Not even grabbing a metal crowbar that had been lying on the shore helped. The crowbar couldn’t separate the shells, or wake the stranger up when it was beaten with the human implement.

Frustrated, Cawer came up with an ingenious solution. He left the pond area for a place where humans had been working the past few days. They were making a road, which required explosives to flatten the landscape. Sneaking around, Cawer snatched a stick of dynamite, then walked back to his pond with it. He placed it by the stranger, then had to figure out how to light the fuse.

Since the stranger hadn’t objected so far, Cawer struck his claw across the tough violet shell. Small sparks appeared and fell to the ground, but not on the fuse. He tried striking again and again. After some twenty hits, a spark finally landed on the fuse, making it hiss. Cackling, Cawer rushed away to get some distance between him and the stick of dynamite. He made it to a large rock and hid behind it.

KA-BOOM!

Dirt and water were blasted twenty feet into the air. Shrieks from land Pokemon filled the air after the blast settled down. With that came the sound of dozens of feet running away from the scene for safety, or running to it in curiosity. Bubbles erupted across the pond as various other Crawdaunts came up to see what had disrupted their day. Cawer came out from behind his rock, grinning in excitement.

As sand was still raining from the sky, he went back over to where he had left the stranger and the dynamite. There was a wide pit there, filling in with muddy water. And right in the middle of the pit was the stranger, still closed. There was still not a scratch on the violet shell.

“ARRRGH!” Cawer kicked the stranger. Why wouldn’t it respond?

Then, the shells moved, opening a minor crack. Two glowing eyes appeared in the dark insides. The Cloyster blinked sleepily. “Huh? What’d you wake me for?”

“BECAUSE YOU’RE A CRAZY LOSER WHO DOESN’T SHOW ANY RESPECT!” Cawer screamed.

“Um… I don’t show any respect? You’re the one yelling at me after I just woke up.”

“I am going to show you the might of the Crawdaunts!” He went to attack again, this time aiming for between the shells, at the glowing eyes.

The Cloyster’s shells opened wider, then fired shell spikes at Cawer. Those hurt. Then he shut his shells again. “I’m tired. Let me sleep.” And he wouldn’t open up again.

...

Cloyster Fire Red entry: Its shell is extremely hard. It cannot be shattered, even with a bomb. The shell opens only when it is attacking.

Ruby entry: Crawdaunt has an extremely violent nature that compels it to challenge other living things to battle. Other life-forms refuse to live in ponds inhabited by this Pokemon, making them desolate places.

[solovino]

Hey! What a surprise! It's interesting to see Cradily is coming soon. Shoulda've been paying much more attention to this! I'll go take a look and see if you have written Lileep as well yet. For some reason, search is not working for me, so I'll do this the old-fashioned way: read the thread backwards!

Congrats on continuing this set of stories for so long. The story with Charizard, Swablu and Aerodactyl (a she, wow... nice... wings XD) was nicely written and touched more than one fiber. I for one can complain about people being cleanliness-obsessed to the point of nagginess. Heck, isn't it what all mothers are like? And yes, that also makes such people and Pokémon tender in a way. Managed to touch Charizard's heart and look like a quite effective sidekick despite having been there just to repay a "favour" while at it. This Swablu reeks friendliness. As for Aerodactyl, wow... a well-placed complex of superiority. I mean, it is justified when she is the descendant of the kings of sky, and has the punch to back it up. But you made it look like she wasn't to be fed up with probably endless chances to put others back in "their right place", so to speak. I mean... she took down Charizard in what, one hit? Reminds me of a certain Dragon Master's certain Aerodactyl with a certain illegal movepool, though. Which makes the briefness of the battle far more impressive!

Well, after the compliments, a sort of mea-culpa. As I said earlier, I haven't been here for a long time. I only got here when I found out there was an Aerodactyl in a story. The next and previous ones I didn't enjoy as much. They seemed... different. The characters' personalities seemed too plain to my tastes, although I'll admit some of the most recent stories caught my attention because of the particular plots. For comparison, Swablu's apparent OCD for cleanliness and the fact that he didn't pick the clue from Charizard's getaway, hint at both more quirkiness and a particularly non-self-centered view of the world, nicely contrasting with Charizard and Aerodactyl's roles in the story as well as placing him more close to "the order of things" as a prey in comparison against the other two as predators. In contrast, despite the action and the focus, Cloyster in the latest story just seems to be there so that a Pokédex slot can be filled up. Not that he didn't do much (heck, resisting a BAM! is more than good enough), but except for a dull "Don't Wake Me" Cloyster simply doesn't expose itself to be affected bt the story.

And so I shall read backwards, as I usually do, and I plan to add whatever entries pick more interest to my pool of Things to Do on Vacation. Just so that I can come back and provide a more well backed-up review. I'm itching to find something funnier than even the anti-Silver Chikorita. Yes. I remember that.


Seeing you again soon then... I'm hoping to read that Cradily entry. And that reminds me... I'll be writing about Cradily as well...

[SugarPesticide]

“Who needs a reason for war?” a recently evolved Crawdaunt stated. “It’ll be fun!”

I must be the only one who found political satire in this bit LOL

No grammar errors, so I can't play nitpicker today :P. I have no idea why, but Cawer trying to blow up Cloyster with dynamite made me giggle. Like a maniac. Why this is, is a mystery ... ah well. Great job ^_^

(On an unrelated note, I saw that you misspelled Walrein as "Wailrain" in the Reserve one-shot section. Just thought I might point that out before you ended up spelling it that way throughout the entirety of the story ^^;)

[Ysavvryl]

I usually catch those errors when I'm copying down the 'dex entries. Anyhow, I have a feeling that this entry could be turned into a quite long story if I went in and added dialogue. It's one of those where I didn't quite expect this from these two Pokemon, but I like it.

Could use some more requests.

@solovino: Hey, thanks for dropping by! And for the long commentary.

In Process: Cradily
On Deck: Wingull/Pelliper
Reserve: Walrain (12/21), Stantler (12/25)


SEAKING AND REMORAID


Seaking felt ready for the approaching season, the time to find a mate. His figure had plumped out, showing that he was resourceful and strong. His elegant fins showed no signs of rips or tears, showing that he could take good care of himself and whoever he wound up with. His bronze scales were brighter and more colorful than ever, showing that he knew how to get good food. When the time came, he was sure that he could beat out any rival and get the female of his choice.

There was just one problem with this. He couldn’t find another Seaking. No females, no males. There was a school of Goldeen around, but they were too young. Despite his best efforts, it might all be a waste.

Although he felt upset over it, there was nothing he had done wrong. He lived in a public aquarium. And because it was publicly funded and quite large, the aquarium organization was low on resources this year. Part of that was because they had spent a lot of money acquiring a pair of Milotic and refitting an aquarium to fit their needs. One of the ways they raised money was selling off a few of their residents, including nearly all of the Seakings.

The lone remaining Seaking still went through with his showy dances, vainly hoping that some other Seaking would appear. Maybe one of the Goldeen would evolve in time, or maybe another Seaking would come out of hiding. He swam in graceful patterns, letting the water ruffle through his flowing fins. He turned in place in spots were the light would glitter off his scales and dazzle any who were watching. He even made some mock battles against imaginary rivals.

The aquarium visitors were enchanted by his mating displays, even the ones too young to know why he was doing this. The aquarium staff was glad for the increase in paying visitors. Among themselves, they talked about finding a female Seaking before the season passed. However, no one was certain how long it lasted and any new aquatic residents would have to wait in quarantine anyhow before being allowed into the tanks.

But there was one Pokemon in the aquariums who noticed the Seaking and watched him every day. She was a Remoraid, a rather different kind of Water type. While he was robust and round, she was slender and muscular. She had gray scales, rather like pewter and not nearly as dazzling as the Seaking’s. Her fins were thin and small, typical for her kind as they were not showy at all. From day to day, very few visitors would stay and watch her, if they could even find her in the first place.

At first, Remoraid stayed along the rocks as she usually did. But after a few days, she came out and swam by him. He was rather annoyed at being interrupted, but then relented. At least he was getting attention from some female. Seaking went back to his dances and she swam around him. Remoraid had no instinctual behaviors for such dances, but that didn’t keep her from trying.

A week later, she laid ten eggs. It caused something of a scandal, albeit on a small scale. Some claimed that there was no way that the pair of them could mate, but the eggs were fertile and she was the only Remoriad the aquarium had in the riverbed tanks. Others claimed that the aquarium shouldn’t be encouraging cross-species breeding as it was ‘against God’s will’, or something to that effect. To herself, the aquarium director believed that they were just lacking in major things to complain about.

In an attempt to quiet them down and keep the public aquarium going, the director invited Professor Elm to come observe the pair. He seemed quite enthusiastic to do so and was there in a couple of days. He watched videos of the pair of Pokemon meeting and dancing, then watched them in their tank along with a couple of his assistants.

A few interesting things came to light. For one, Elm noted that Remoraids weren’t known for being aggressive about protecting nesting sites. In fact, most Remoraids in the wild would lay their eggs upstream, then swim back to the ocean. Seakings, however, were notorious for being aggressively protective, sometimes not eating for days in order to make sure the eggs were safe. In this case, Seaking was acting normally. He fought off any Pokemon or human that got too close and even drilled a hole in the rocks to act as a better nest.

On the other hand, Remoraid behaved against her kind’s normal practices. She stayed around the nest area with Seaking. While she wasn’t nearly as aggressive, she did hover close near the nest when he was sleeping and did fight off a few too curious Finneons. One afternoon, she felt that there were too many human visitors peering at them from above and used her strong muscles to fire a blast of water at a child leaning over the bars.

The child’s parents were obvious upset over this and demanded a refund. Elm tried to help by explaining that the water shooting was a normal behavior for Remoraids in hunting flying insects. That didn’t help any.

His final report helped as much as it hindered. Elm stated that it was perfectly natural for the two to mate, as they were genetically compatible and wildlife observers saw the same thing in Pokemon that had gotten separated from their own kind. Besides, all Pokemon came from eggs, so it wasn’t as big of a deal as the religious folks were making of it. Most people accepted this.

But the extreme believers were the most vocal and were stating that either science was wrong or that the aquarium shouldn’t have made these two Pokemon the only ones of their kinds in the facility. Either way, the extremists said that the whole thing was unethical and the public aquarium should be boycotted and unsupported. Oddly enough, the fuss they raised caused more people to come to the aquarium and got the aquarium more funding in their next charity drive. That drive featured the six Remoraids and four Goldeen that had been born of the unexpected pairing.

Many people believed that the successful charity drive was the end of this particular story of science and romance. But it wasn’t. The real ending of this story occurred several months later.

The two Pokemon were shortly joined by others of their kind after the charity drive. However, they remained together, having settled on being a pair for life. They swam together, battled others together, ate together, and slept together. They could nearly always be found in the part of the river tank where they had met and first danced together.

Then Remoraid grew restless and left that part of the aquarium. Seaking followed her devotedly, chasing off others while she seemed distracted and generally in a bad mood. They swam along with the flow of the river ecosystem, encountering Finneons, Carvahnas, Magikarps, Feebas, Poliwags, and other river Pokemon. Due to the design of the river ecosystem tank, they wound up back in their usual spot after a day.

Not pleased with this discovery, Remoraid swam frantically all over, trying to find some hidden passage. Seaking tried to follow her and calm her down, but this was not part of his instinctual knowledge. The aquarium staff figured it out though. By the softening of her scales and shifting of her internal chemistry, they knew that she was close to evolution. Instinct was calling her to come to the salt waters, whether sea or ocean, before she do so. They had to move her out of the river tank.

This was not easy. They started with the usual procedure, of using a specially trained aquarium Tentacool to put her to sleep first. But Seaking was furious about the attack and fought the Tentacool with unexpected roughness. By the time they got the Tentacool out, they had to put it and Seaking into separate healing tanks. Remoraid woke up while they were taking him away, so then she tried to fight off the human diver. When they got her out finally, the staff was worried that she was too stressed out and wouldn’t evolve.

The aquarium director called Professor Elm again and asked for his advice. Based on that, they put both Remoraid and Seaking in the temperate ocean ecosystem. Goldeens and Seakings could adapt to freshwater and saltwater environments. And if the two wanted to stay together, it was best if the aquarium allowed them to do so.

For the next couple of weeks, Remoraid and Seaking explored their new area. There were different Pokemon here: Clamperls, Wailmers, Relicanth, Chinchou, and Tentacools. Initially, they were hostile to the last set of Pokemon, but eventually started avoiding the jellyfish altogether.

Then, feeling settled down again, Remoraid found a spot to hide and evolve in. Seaking was confused, as he had evolved in open waters. But he decided on the same routine he used when protecting his nest. Keeping awake and alert, he paced around the spot she was hiding in and fought off anyone who tried to get near.

Remoraid emerged a couple of days later as an orange Octillery. It was a drastic change: she now had eight muscular limbs instead of a few slender gray fins. She resembled the Tentacools more than a regular fish like Seaking. She gave a soft happy cry at seeing her mate patrolling by her.

Seaking didn’t recognize her. In fact, he was rather horrified that this strange creature had emerged from the hole Remoraid had hidden in. The only assumption he could make was that this Pokemon had eaten his mate. So he screamed in fury and attacked her.

Octillery was bewildered by this and didn’t fight back; she nearly died that afternoon. Upset by this, the aquarium director ordered that Seaking be put back into the river ecosystem, so that he didn’t try to attack the other Octillery in the tank. But even that effort didn’t save them. The two Pokemon pined for each other and hid away from the crowds. Eventually, both died because of depression.

While this story of a Seaking and Remoraid in love with each other is often told to prove how adaptable wild Pokemon are in ensuring their continued survival, it also tells us that a clash of instincts can led to tragic consequences.

...

Sapphire entry: Seaking is very protective of its eggs. The male and female will take turns patrolling around their nests and eggs. The guarding of eggs by these Pokemon goes on for over a month.

Emerald entry: A Remoraid uses its abdominal muscles to forcefully expel swallowed water, then shoot down flying prey. When evolution approaches, it travels down rivers.

[foxyman1167]

Wow. All I can say is, mind blown.

You have such an amazing knack for detail, and such an amazingly creative way of writing a story. This one is quite a story, and a lot of the things they said and did made sense. Was also kinda funny how you referenced humans being angry at the unconventional pair.

The only real problem I can think of is that when two pokemon make an egg, the female decides what species it is, although this is based on breeding in the game, so the 10 eggs probably should have hatched into all Remoraid, not some Remoraid and some Goldeen, although it doesn't really affect the story.

I'd like you to write about Ledian in combo with another fitting Bug type like Butterfree or Ariados, but if you have done Ledian already, then do Lickitung/Lickilicky.

[MarshtompMan]

Aww, that was so sad...

One of your saddest stories, in my opinion. This now goes down as one of my favorite Pokedex one-shots.
I liked how despite their obvious differences, they still loved each other.
But couldn't have Octillery told Seaking that she was his mate?

Have you done Unown yet? I forgot...

[shiningsloth13]

Man, I missed out whilst I was gone! I love that Seaking/Remoraid story, but the ending is so sad....

Might the Sloth suggest a Mawile fable?

[growlithe_master]

that story was absolutely amazing. honestly, it was just perfect. it was sad, yet humorous at the same time. oh, and i found this funny:

But the extreme believers were the most vocal and were stating that either science was wrong or that the aquarium shouldn’t have made these two Pokemon the only ones of their kinds in the facility.

too bad for them, science cant be wrong.

[kuriboh361]

Poor guys! Why must the ballad of Seaking and Remoraid be a sad one? I liked it anyway despite the ending because I like drastic endings. I really liked that one! ^_^ How about Kricketot and Budew?

[Ysavvryl]

@foxyman: Meh, that's game rules. I can play a bit more loosely with fics. I did double check and made sure that those two could breed first.

@MarshstompMan: That was one of my rare Pokemon-as-animals stories... so she couldn't have.

At first, I had no idea what to do with Cradily. Some of its entries are kind of gross. And then it turned really silly... and the request list got long!

In Process: Walrain (12/21)
On Deck: Wingull/Pelliper, Ledian, Lickitung/Lickiliky, Unown, Mawile, Kricketot/Budew
Reserve: Stantler (12/25)


CRADILY


Once upon a time, when fossil Pokemon were as common as Tentacools, there was a Cradily that believed that he was supposed to be a Flying Pokemon.

“Where did you get such a ridiculous idea, Cray?” another Cradily asked him. “It makes no sense.”

“It does so make sense,” Cray insisted. “Every night, I have dreams of flying in the wide open skies, far above these waters that we live in. If it wasn’t every night, I wouldn’t think it meant anything. But I am having that dream every single night. Therefore, I must be destined to one day fly above the ocean.”

“We’re Rock Pokemon. And Grass Pokemon. Both of the ground, not the sky.”

“Careful about saying that so loud,” a shy Lileep piped up. “Some folks might say you’re betraying Kyogre by saying that.”

The other Cradily, named Lily, sighed and shook her short tentacles. “Fine, we’re Rock and Grass Pokemon that are definitely dwellers of the waters, not the skies. And we don’t have any loyalty to that stinking Groudon and the ground dwellers. But the point still stands. You’re not supposed to be in the sky.”

“Well I think I’m meant to live in the sky,” Cray insisted.

“And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?” Lily asked. “You have no wings… and we don’t even swim. We walk along the seabed and come out at low tide. And even then, it’s hard to hold these rocky heads up when we’re out in the air. There is no way that you can fly.”

“I’ll find a way. You just wait and see. I’ll be flying one way or another.”

“Idiot. Come on, child.” Lily nudged the Lileep. “It’s low tide; let’s go find on shore and dig for food.”

Cray would not give up his dream, though. He trudged all the way south to a point called Sapphire Beach. In this quiet cove, there lived the oldest Cradily known along the Hoenn coastline. The Old Guy supposedly knew much of the wisdom of the sea, despite living in the shallow waters like every other Cradily. If anyone could help Cray live out his dreams, it was The Old Guy.

The Old Guy lived on the side of a large yellow-tan rock. His small but tough green body hooked onto the side, letting his large flower head drift back and forth with the tides. Some of his tentacles were cut short or shriveled. According to rumor, he hung onto the side of this rock in a stubborn effort to prove that, although he was The Old Guy, he wasn’t too old.

After twisting his head in a show of respect, Cray said, “I want to ask you about something.”

“Do you? Hmmm.” He remained like that for a minute. “There is no way to create an acid that will instantly dissolve the armor of a shellfish Pokemon.”

“What?” He shook his head. “No, that’s not it, although that really stinks. I have constant dreams of flying in the sky, so I feel that I am destined to grow wings and fly above the ocean. Do you know of any way I can do that?”

“Fly? Above the waters? That’s ridiculous. We’re Rock and Grass Pokemon, tied to the ground and loyal to Her Majesty of the Seas, Kyogre.”

Cray leaned forward. “Uh-huh, yeah. Loyal to Kyogre.”

“And we Cradilies are not meant for the skies,” The Old Guy stated.

“But I’m sure that I’m meant to fly. I dream about it every night.”

“That might not mean anything. No one under the ocean’s waters…” The Old Guy paused. “Well, all but one of us under the ocean’s waters will never fly.”

Cray straightened his stem up. “And I could be that one!”

The Old Guy sneered. “No! That one is Lugia, Master of Storms. He is said to be great of the mind, a Psychic type, and he flies equally well above and below water.”

“Is he a Water Psychic then?”

“No, you doofus. Master Lugia is a Psychic Flying Pokemon.”

“And he lives underwater and abovewater? Uh-huh, makes as much sense as our loyalty to Kyogre.”

“Because we are loyal to her,” The Old Guy agreed, missing or ignoring the sarcasm. “Lugia is the only one underwater who can fly above the water, period. Now go do some sensible things like digging up some food for me in exchange for listening to your dumb idea.”

But even the lack of support from The Old Guy Cradily did not deter Cray. As he trudged away, he muttered to himself, “Well if Lugia is the one I need to ask, then I’ll find a way to ask him. I was meant to fly, I know it.”

As Lugia was the Master of Storms, Cray figured that he should wait until a storm came before trying. He had to wait many days for this to happen. In the meantime, he walked along the Hoenn coast, never backing down on his claims that he would one day fly. The other sea Pokemon teased him, called him names, or outright ignored him. But he would persevere.

And then came the storm. The black clouds began building as the sun was setting. As it was calm, Cray acted on his plan. He came to a tall rock that stood out of the water and stuck his suction cup feet to the side. Slowly, he climbed to the top of the rock. It was a difficult task: once he was out of the water, he had to support his entire weight in the weaker air. And it took a lot of time, as each repositioning of his suction cups only progressed him by the inch. Overhead, the sky grew darker and darker.

As he was nearing the top, the winds came in, rushing past him and stirring up the ocean’s surface into a white froth. Raindrops came, cold and harsh. There was a clap of thunder. Other Pokemon were already hiding, as this looked to be one of the worst storms of the year. But not Cray the Cradily. He kept climbing the rock. No matter what it tried, the wind could not knock him loose.

Triumphantly, Cray made it to the top of the rock. He basked for a moment in the wildness of the growing storm. It was this power that was going to help him achieve his dreams. Stretching his stem up to the heavens, Cray called out in the loudest voice he could manage. “Lugia, Master of Storms, please hear me! It is my dream to fly like you do, both under and over the water! This dream is how I’m meant to be! Help me to soar above the ocean waves with you!”

He released his suction cups and jumped off the top of the tall rock.

Cray felt odd. Nothing was holding onto him, not the water, not the rocks, nothing. It was just him in the air, nearly weightless. The stormy winds blew around him, the raindrops spattered all over his body, and the lightning lit up the sky. He felt like he could fly forever, feeling like this.

A second later, he crashed back into the ocean like the rock he was.

“Hey, watch it!” A Magikarp blubbered at him in annoyance. “You nearly fell on my hiding spot.”

“I didn’t expect to fall,” Cray said, bewildered and disappointed. “I was trying to call on Lugia.”

The Magikarp blinked. “Lugia? Doesn’t he live in Johto?”

Moral of the story: Before you go calling on a legendary Pokemon, make sure it lives in your area.

...

Emerald entry: It drags its heavy body along the seafloor. It makes its nests in the shallows of warm seas. Cradily can be seen on beaches when the tide goes out.

[kuriboh361]

Lol. Here I am thinking Cradily would actually somehow do it while not thinking sense of the whole situation. *Hits self* Dumb me.... I love the story. Poor Cradily though....

[shac]

Just read through the crawdaunt/seaking/cradily entries. Awesoem stories. Loved the Seaking story most of the three. So sweet......Poor octillery. How it must have felt when seaking turned over it.

Keep up the good writings.

[SugarPesticide]

Seaking/Remoraid:

The child’s parents were obvious upset over this and demanded a refund.

Should be "obviously".

Who knew an aquarium could house such drama and tragedy? Genetics brought them together, and genetics tore them apart. The irony. =D


Cradily:

The second I read the first line, I knew it was going to be a LOL-fest. And it was. Flying Cradily is about as random as it gets, and I love random. XD And the anticlimactic ending about killed me. Great job ^_^

[Ysavvryl]

I wrote a story yesterday to get this in on time, but I really disliked what I came up with. So I put it off for some more thought and came up with something much better. Even if it's a bit late, here is a story in honor of the longest night of the year (for the northern hemisphere, obviously).

In Process: Stantler (12/25)
On Deck: Wingull/Pelliper, Ledian, Lickitung/Lickiliky, Unown, Mawile, Kricketot/Budew


WALREIN


12/21?

It is the longest night; indeed, here in the Arctic, the winter night never seems to end. It is dark and I can only tell the time by the positions of the rotating stars. And the cold is just as unrelenting, especially bad when the winds blow, biting at my skin and threatening to freeze me alive. I’ve been unable to write for several days, being too busy with working to survive. I can only confirm my feeling that this trip was a foolish dream.

But hope is not lost. This is the highest power that night has, and if I can hang on until the sun returns, I should be able to make my way back home. I have built a shelter out of ice, based on what I have seen in the native tribes, who perhaps wisely live south of here. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it was, but the structure I have now is holding and does not seem to be in danger of collapse. And most of all, I have made an ally.

It is a Walrein, a majestic Pokemon that I have seen before in my travels. When I saw them before, they were defying warmth as Ice Pokemon living in a hot environment. This desolate icy tundra is likely their native home, I believe. I had seen them with their younger Spheals and Sealeos, diving in waters so frigid that I would probably be killed in. But I hadn’t interfered, for fear of being harmed.

One particular specimen had approached me as I was trying to build my shelter. He has thick curling whiskers and brown eyes that seem oddly serious on a Pokemon. Although probably not the leader of the group, he has impressive tusks, nearly the length of my arm and solidly formed. This Walrein slid over to me and barked.

At the time, I supposed that as humans were rarely (if ever) seen here, the Pokemon weren’t sure what I was, whether enemy, rival, or friend. Given how large he was, I didn’t want to make enemies with him and his group. I might be able to outrun them over land, but I didn’t want to find another area to settle in. So I spoke to him calmly, telling him that I didn’t mean them any trouble.

He seemed to show the same kind of diplomacy as me, lumbering around watching me, but never threatening or getting in the way. Perhaps in being alone for so long, I was glad for even that company. I told him about what I was doing in building my ice shelter. I don’t know if he understood. In response to my words, he would bark or wuffle, or make some other sound I didn’t know. I thought it was strange that he was being so communicative with a creature he had never seen before. Or maybe Pokemon really are just that friendly.

After I got done with that shelter, I started searching for holes drafts could slip through. The Walrein left at that point. I was a little disappointed, but I had more important matters at hand. But not that long after, he came back and dropped a fish by my shelter. It was clearly a gift, and a very welcome one; I had such trouble fishing. I told him so and patted his snout. He bumped his nose against my hand, then went back. I guess he had to catch his own dinner.

That night, I rested in my shelter. But I woke up to cracking sounds. I got out, but the shelter collapsed. It was a great setback, as I had to make a shelter all over again. Knowing how long that took, I looked for another flat spot, then started carving ice.

I heard a bark and saw that one of the Walrein had come over. I wondered if it had been the same one as before. Although it embarrassed me, I told him about how I wasn’t experienced with building with ice. He answered with a sound I can’t quite decide how to write. Perhaps a ‘hmmm’ or a ‘so that’s how it is’, because he didn’t seem to be mocking me for my failure.

Then he went over to a large block of ice that had built up on the side of a hill. I hadn’t tried to carve ice from that block, as it was taller than me and could have come crashing down on my head. But the Walrein wasn’t afraid. He looked over the ice, then made a loud bark and jammed his tusks into the ice block. To my surprise, the entire block collapsed into a pile of ice. And the Pokemon wasn’t bothered. He seemed to laugh at his work, soon joined in by echoing laughter from his group. Then he looked back at me, as if offering his assistance.

Many of the blocks were irregular and jagged, but they were of good size and it was much faster to carve them into shape than to dig blocks out of the ground. I was able to complete the shelter faster, allowing me more time to find faults than the day before. It put me in a good mood, so I told him my story of setting off on a late journey, getting abandoned by a greedy crew, then becoming lost and wandering around the desolate land as the winter grew. It felt good to tell my story to a sympathetic friend, even if he was a Walrein and not human.

At the end of the day, I even had some time to try fishing. My friend joined me by slipping into the water and hunting them in his own way. It is another wonder of nature that a creature can bond so well with Arctic waters that he can become like them. I managed to catch two fish, although he may have helped by herding them my way. As a gesture of appreciation, I offered him one of the fish, which he graciously accepted.

I don’t really know why Pokemon befriend humans as they do. Surely, the Walrein and his herd get little advantage by making me an ally. I might even be a burden if a dangerous situation arises and I know nothing about it. On the other hand, I benefit greatly in having a Pokemon ally rather than being alone. He has checked on my well-being and helped me to survive. He even eased the burden I had in creating my ice shelter, when he declines to enter or use it.

But then, perhaps the bond of friendship is as sacred to them as it is to humans.

-the author of this journal is recorded as one of the few novice explorers to survive an entire winter far north of the Arctic Circle. And the Walrein is known as one of the first to appear in the country of his human friend.

...

Ruby entry: Walrein’s two massively developed tusks can totally shatter blocks of ice weighing ten tons with one blow. This Pokemon’s thick coat of blubber insulates it from subzero temperatures.

[kuriboh361]

Wow! That was rather touching! You always do such a good job! ^_^ Hmm, despite the story being told in Winter, the story was warm and made ever so cosy. Fantastic work!

[Ysavvryl]

Merry Christmas! Maybe a bit late in the day (and the 26th for a good portion of you), but whatever. Stantler had lots of good 'dex entries and I used parts of nearly all of them (only listed two, though). I also added Bayleef cause I felt like it. Also, this means that I have entries for all 9 forms of Johto's starters!

20 entries from 50%...

In Process: Wingull/Pelliper
On Deck: Ledian, Lickitung/Lickiliky, Unown, Mawile, Kricketot/Budew


STANTLER AND BAYLEEF


The Routes leading to Ecruteak were quiet today. Nearly two feet of snow was on the ground, making the green of the pines and cedars almost disappear. Glistening icicles hung off those branches, the signs, the country houses, and anything else immobile along the way. Although the snow had passed, the sky was still gray and the cold was still intense. But at least the wind was not blowing.

The crunches in the snow seemed especially loud then, compared to the distant calls of Pokemon. There were two distinct patterns to the footsteps. One was a steady ‘crunch, crunch, crunch’ from the boot of a teenaged girl. The other was an almost steady plowing sound of a Bayleef doing her best to walk alongside her friend and Trainer. Sometimes, the girl had to help pull her Pokemon out of a particularly deep drift.

Every time she did so, the girl got a whiff of the invigorating scent of the Bayleef’s buds and leaves. It changed slightly from time to time for reasons she wasn’t sure about. Today, it smelled like a mug of hot apple cider. It encouraged her to go on, where there might be a real mug of hot apple cider waiting to greet her.

“Are you doing okay, Verda?” she asked. “I can put you back in your Pokeball if you like.”

She shook her head and flicked her head leaf back. She was doing just fine, even if it was tough going. Besides, she didn’t want to leave her Trainer alone on this trip.

“Okay, just let me know if there’s a problem.”

The girl had no trouble on this trek, given her snow boots, snow pants, winter coat, gloves, and winter cloak. The last item was a bright red cape that came down to her knees and tied together at her neck, with a hood to go over her head. Although some of her peers poked fun at her for having nursery tale fashion at sixteen, she didn’t care that they thought. She thought it was cute, lacking the hassle of having both a hat and a scarf.

In her arms, she carried an insulated basket. In it was some soup, some cookies, some Poffins, and a loaf of banana bread. All of it was homemade, the bread and part of the cookies all by herself even. “We’re gonna make sure that our grandmas aren’t alone for Christmas,” she told Verda, even though they had talked about it before. “Everyone else is all busy or away, too concerned with themselves. But we’ll be there, even if the snow storm comes back.”

Although she didn’t make much noise, ever, Verda made a clicking sound. She agreed and was going to go, even though the weather was cold for a Grass Pokemon like herself to be out. They were still young, so they could make the trip easily.

They then came upon something unexpected. While they often ran into other Pokemon on the trips between Violet City and Ecruteak, this one was unusual. It was a wild Stantler, lying in the snowbanks behind a large pine tree. An arrow was sticking out of his shoulder, the end of it with a few Fearow feathers tied onto it. Blood was caked in its fur, so it must have been at least several hours since he’d been shot. As if that wasn’t strange enough, he wasn’t the normal light brown of its kind. This Stantler was light green, matching Verda’s skin tones.

“Oh, you poor thing,” the girl said. She took a step closer, but paused. Should she really approach an injured wild Pokemon? Maybe… she spoke softly and kindly to it. “You must have a hard time hiding at winter with that coat. I’d like to help you. I’m Rosa. Verda, could you tell him that?”

Jumping through the snow, the Bayleef made her way over to the injured Stantler. He huffed, noticeably nervous. But Verda came over and sniffed at his nose in a friendly gesture. After a moment of getting to know each other’s scent, the Stantler looked back at her, still wary but not as much. Verda looked back to her Trainer and gestured with her foot to come over.

Rosa did so, working on not making any sudden changes in posture or gait. She then removed a glove and let the Pokemon sniff her hand. Somehow, they were able to tell a lot by scent, or so it seemed to her. Once he seemed satisfied, she worked on removing the arrow. It took some work, but she got it out. Then, she took a High Potion she had and sprayed it onto the wound. While a rather expensive medicine to use on a wild Pokemon, she wanted to make sure it healed quickly.

A scab formed. On wiping the Stantler’s fur down with snow, Rosa could see that the skin around the wound was only a little pink. “Okay, you can go now. I hope the hunter who caused it isn’t around anymore.”

Making a wuffling sound, the Stantler looked up to her. She looked back over his long face and his curved antlers. They were amazing things, those antlers, so beautiful. While looking into them, Rosa noticed something strange. The air between the horns seemed to shimmer and shift. Wondering what kind of power it was, she reached over. And a strange thing happened: something came into her mind as vividly as a powerful memory. Except, these weren’t her memories.

-Rosa and Verda felt their hearts pounding, their senses heightened and alert. Facing them was a boy who had challenged them again and again, their rival. He stood by his Skarmory, smirking and believing the battle to be his. But they would not let him defeat them again, especially not at this final stage of the Johto Pokemon League.

-Rosa had spent her career searching for the most beautiful and talented Pokemon. She had rooms full of ribbons to prove it. As she came before the judges with Verda, who was showing off a new flowery scarf, she smiled with complete confidence. She would win the Grand Festival.

-Only the rarest of Pokemon would do. Those that spent months tracking down, months observing, and dozens upon dozens of battles to finally capture, these were the rarities that Rosa wanted. And even those had to be different, the coveted shiny Pokemon of unique and sparkling colorations. Her reputation as a Collector was at stake with every choice she made about her team. However, this new one… the breeder wanted Verda in exchange.

-Rosa was beautiful; no one could compare. The studios all begged for her to star in their shows, the camera men constantly followed her around for a rare candid photo, and she had fans by the thousands. She didn’t have to work for anything; she had the money to get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. And her servants didn’t let her do anything that might harm or dirty her. And yet, to think of what price she had paid for this glamour and luxury… poor Verda.

Rosa smelled hot apple cider. Verda bumped her cheek, helping to snap her out of the trance. Somehow, she had collapsed into the snow. “Sorry girl,” she said, patting her Bayleef before sitting up. “I’m not sure what happened.”

After she got up, she made sure snow hadn’t gotten into her protective clothing. Her red cloak had some snow stuck to it, but a good shake got that off before they soaked the thick fabric. She also saw that the Stantler was still with them. He was standing now, apparently well enough to have moved a couple of feet. From his poise, she could tell that he wasn’t sure if he should run or fight them.

“It’s okay, Stantler,” she told him. “I don’t even have an extra Pokeball on me. It’s just me and Verda, as always. Whatever I saw, I don’t want any of that. You go on back to your family. That’s where we’re going.”

“So that Stantler isn’t yours?” a man asked.

Rosa turned and saw a stranger come out of the trees. He was tall and fairly well-built, an obvious outdoorsman. In hand, he carried a sturdy compound bow, with a single arrow. The tanned hide of a Mightyena had been turned into his cloak; eerily enough, it still had pointed ears, a tail, claws, and all its fur. On top of that, he wore a quiver for his arrows. A Houndoom stood by his side, smoke curling out of the canine’s nostrils.

“He’s not mine,” Rosa said. Then she noticed that his arrows were all like the ones that had been stuck in the Stantler’s side, with Fearow feathers attached. “Why do you ask?” she added

“I’ve been hunting this one down,” the man stated flatly. “It’s a rare shiny, which will make a valuable trophy.”

“You should leave him alone,” Rosa said, angry at the hunter. “You’ve already caused him enough suffering, so just leave him be.”

“I won’t let something like this slip my grasp,” he said, then brought his bow and arrow up.

The green Stantler made a nervous whinny, then tried to run into the trees. However, it was greatly weakened and couldn’t run as fast as it usually could. Rosa wasn’t sure what came over her, but she felt frantic that her efforts to heal the Pokemon would go wasted. “I said don’t!” she shouted, jumping in front of the hunter’s arrow.

Thankfully, he stopped, hesitant to shoot a human. But his Houndoom saw her action as a threat to his master, so the black canine leapt at her and bit her arm. Rosa screamed, while Verda tried to help by tackling the Houndoom. But he wouldn’t let go.

That is, until his master ordered him. “Houndoom, no!” He gave a reluctant look to the woods, then ran off with his Pokemon.

A burning sensation ran up Rosa’s arm, causing her to drop her basket. Verda came over and whimpered in sympathy, sniffing her wound. Picking her basket back up, the girl grimaced, trying to ignore it. “W-we’d better get to Ecruteak. There’s a doctor there.”

After going a short ways, they heard a snort. The green Stantler had come back, for some reason. He came up beside Rosa and tapped her with his antlers. Then he knelt down a bit.

“Are you sure?” When he didn’t move, Rosa carefully got on his back. She left the basket down so she could keep a grip with her uninjured arm. Verda shook her head leaf, then shot a Magical Leaf through the snow to clear a path. Then she picked up the basket and led the way to Ecruteak.

An hour later, Rosa’s arm was all bandaged up and numb as she lay in the hospital bed. The wild Stantler had collapsed upon reaching the hospital with her, so one of the nurses had his Pokemon help bring him to the Pokecenter. And Verda returned, bringing with their grandmothers. “Well I’m glad that you’re okay now,” Rosa’s grandmother told her after hearing the story. “You were lucky to have found a kind Pokemon to help out.”

“I just wanted to see you for Christmas, like always,” Rosa said, clasping her wrinkled hand.

When Rosa left for Violet City a week later, she went with Verda the Bayleef and Francis the green Stantler.

((As a side note, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals.))

...

Stantler Fire Red entry: Those who stare at its antlers will gradually lose control of their senses and be unable to stand.

Leaf Green entry: Its curved antlers subtly change the flow of air to create a strange space where reality is distorted.

Bayleef DPPt entry: The buds that ring its neck give off a spicy aroma that perks people up.

[shac]

Awwwww.......so sweet. Perfect Christmas entry. Love Verda the Bayleef. And I had a shiny stantler in gold. This is bringing back memories....

[Ysavvryl]

Shiny Stantler is soooo green. You could put a big red ribbon on it and it's perfectly Christmas colored!

Year end review and stats coming up tomorrow, including the great big list of all the Pokemon I've covered so far. Now if I knew how to link to posts, I could make an index in the first post (and I should, given the 200+ entries...).

In Process: Ledian/???
On Deck: Lickitung/Lickiliky, Unown, Mawile, Kricketot/Budew


WINGULL AND PELIPPER


The town of Slateport was busy again today. The marketplace especially, with flags fluttering in the wind, colorful tents open and welcoming, many interesting goods being bought and sold, and many humans milling about, doing business. Above them, a Pelipper flew north, away from the sea. She was a large bird, with a bill nearly as big as her body. Still, she flew gracefully with the setting sun sparkling off her white and blue feathers.

She went past the town and to a grassy route that wandered about over a crystal blue lake. Landing there with a few running steps, she checked around. There seemed to be no humans about. With that assured, she crouched down and opened her bill. A small yellow and blue Pokemon hopped out.

“Gee, thanks Gracie,” the Minun said with a smile. “That was a fun adventure.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” she replied cheerfully. “And thanks for not sparking while I was carrying you.”

“Of course I wouldn’t do that! I couldn’t be that insensitive. Here’s a berry for you.” He gave her an Aspear berry, then hopped off into the lush grass. “Bye!”

“Goodbye!” She ate the berry; it would do until she could catch a fish later. Then she took off and flew over Slateport again. The wind was so good today, steady, warm, and salty. Gracie could just fly around enjoying the lovely weather, but she felt that she should check back home first.

This time, she went east, to a rockier part of the coastline. There was a cliff there. Relatively small one, but it suited her kind. She went by her nest. Immediately, she noticed the smell of old dead fish. Grimacing, she wheeled away and landed in the water by some rocks. It wouldn’t be relaxing to rest at her home with that stench.

Gracie looked at the Wingulls circling overhead in the orange sunset sky. Their kind’s younger forms flew differently, relying on the winds to stay aloft. As she could now fly wherever she wanted, she was quite glad. “Jimmy, Winnie, Bobby! I’m back!”

Her three children broke away from the group and landed on the rocks by her. They had smaller bodies than her, along with smaller bills and longer legs. So they liked resting on top of rocks rather than on the waves. “Hi Mom,” the eldest Jimmy said. “What’d you do today?”

“I took a Minun out to an island because he wanted to see what it was like out there. We had a fun time.”

“Islands aren’t much different than the mainland,” Winnie said.

“To land Pokemon, they are,” she pointed out. “What did you three do today?”

“I caught lots and lots of fish this morning!” Bobby said, excitedly spreading his wings (to the annoyance of his brother and sister).

So that was it. She narrowed her eyes at him. “And you left one at home to stink up our nest, didn’t you?”

“I, um,” he ducked his head down in embarrassment. “I was full, but I had this really nice fat one, so I wanted to save it for later…”

“Well now it’s rotted, stinky, and horrid tasting. Go dig it out and take it somewhere else.” The mere taste of having to carry the rotted fish away would hopefully teach him not to do that again.

“But Mom…”

“Go do it now.”

“Awww,” he said reluctantly. He flew back to the nest to retrieve his hidden fish.

Gracie shook her head. It was a habit of all young Wingulls to try and store extra fish they had caught, to show that they were so good at hunting that they caught too much. But unless the fish was put alive in a cold or wet place, it would die and rot. Even if it was retrieved before it stank, it wouldn’t be as good as fresh caught. Thus, it was a habit that had to be broke early.

She looked at her other two kids. “So what did you two do today?”

“I challenged Tentacools to battle so I can grow stronger,” Jimmy said. “And I hung out with Pelly too. She really likes me.” He beamed at the thought.

“That’s wonderful,” Gracie said. “You two get along so well. What about you, Winnie?”

“I found lots of treasures today,” she said, puffing her chest feathers up. “I found three pretty pearls and buried them all in the sand.” She then flicked her tail, showing some annoyance. “I also saw that jerk Kelly bury a bigger pearl nearby. She probably stole it from somebody and wanted to show off how much better she is than everybody else in the flock. But then I fixed that.”

“What did you do?” Gracie asked, in a tense voice of warning.

“I unburied her pearl and reburied it three feet away,” Winnie stated. “But I didn’t tell nobody until just now.”

“I suppose that’s all right,” the Peliper mother decided. Pokemon often forgot where they hid such things anyways. She occasionally wondered how many little treasures were hidden in the sandy beaches, the grassy lands, or the rocky hills.

“I also found some pretty round things,” the Wingull girl added. “I buried those… actually, I’m not sure where. I think in some grass.”

Forgotten just like that, every day. “They might have been coins,” Jimmy suggested. “Or buttons. Or bolts.”

“I woulda known if they were bolts, silly.”

“Hey Mom!” Bobby called, flying over with a discolored fish hanging out his bill. “Where should I put this?”

“Oh gross!” Winnie said, covering her nostrils with her wings. “Don’t bring your rotten stinky fish over by us!”

“Just go dump it somewhere away from here,” Gracie said with a grimace. “And you’re still in trouble for this.”

Bobby sighed, then flew off to find somewhere to drop his dead fish.

“There was something else neat that happened today,” Jimmy said, changing the subject. “There were these humans along the coast wearing blue clothes. They called themselves Team Aqua, and they were saying that they were gonna make the oceans bigger! They’ve been catching Pokemon to help them too, and I thought about going with them. It sounds pretty neat.”

“Humans are going to make the ocean bigger?” Gracie asked. “I didn’t know they could do that.”

“I didn’t either, but I might be gone with them tomorrow. Maybe if I can talk Pelly into coming with me.”

“But if they make the ocean bigger,” Winnie interrupted, “what’s gonna happen to our nest? And what’ll happen to the land Pokemon?”

“They can swim,” Jimmy said.

“Not forever,” Gracie said. “But maybe if there were patches of land left for them, it might be okay. There would be more fish, after all. Go if you like. I hope you get a nice Trainer.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I know what I want to do!” Winnie said, fluttering in excitement. “I wanna fly off to Sinnoh and find a Coordinator.”

“You can find Coordinators here in Hoenn, silly,” Jimmy said.

She wasn’t going to have anything to do with that, judging from the look in her eyes. “But the ones in Sinnoh don’t just groom their Pokemon and teach them to act. They actually let you dress up in pretty things! Like scarves and rings and collars and feathers and flowers and…”

“That’s interesting,” Gracie said. “But Sinnoh is a long ways off.”

“Yes, but it would be so magnificent,” she said dreamily. “I could be a star if I could get there.”

Bobby came flying back. “Okay, I got rid of it,” he said.

“EWWW, but now you stink like rotted fish!” Winnie declared. “Ew, ew, ew! You make my stomach feel queasy.”

“So you’re sleeping elsewhere for the night,” Gracie stated. “And I hope you’ve learned your lesson. Be careful where you hide your fish, get back to it quickly, and never ever hide it near our nest.”

“Awwww,” Bobby said, trying to get some sympathetic lenience. But it wouldn’t work when he was stinky.

...

Ruby entry: Wingull has the habit of carrying prey and valuables in its beak and hiding them in all sorts of locations. This Pokemon rides the winds and flies as if it were skating across the sky.

Pelipper Pearl entry: It acts as a delivery service by carrying small Pokemon in its bill. It bobs on the waves to rest.

[Ysavvryl]

YEAR END REVIEW (or, when I post big lists and lots of numbers)

TOTAL

228/493 46%

BY GENERATION:

R/B/G/Y: 72/151 48%
G/S/C: 54/100 54%
R/S/E: 57/135 42%
D/P/P: 45/107 44%

BY TYPE:

Flying: 35/64 55%
Water: 35/91 38%
Normal: 34/79 43%
Grass: 28/55 51%
Bug: 23/45 51%
Poison: 22/51 43%
Ground: 19/48 40%
Psychic: 18/53 34%
Electric: 16/28 57%
Fire: 16/33 48%
Ghost: 13/18 72%
Rock: 13/37 35%
Fight: 12/25 48%
Dark: 12/23 52%
Ice: 12/22 55%
Dragon: 10/19 53%
Steel: 10/26 38%

BY SPECIAL TYPE

Starter: 19/36- 53%
Blastoise, Charmeleon, Quilava, Torterra, Chikorita, Feraligator, Torchic, Turtwig, Mudkip, Totodile, Croconaw, Squirtle, Grotle, Treecko, Meganium, Typhlosion, Cyndaquil, Charizard, Bayleef

Legend: 10/34 – 29%
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Shaymin, Manaphy, Giratina, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Celebi

???/Shadow: 1
Mankey

Shiny: 4
Magikarp, Fearow, Gyarados, Stantler

Fossil: 2/13 15%
Aerodactyl, Cradily

Guests: 15
JammyU, Kutie Pie, darkdragontamer (2), #Chimecho# (2), elrade, shiningsloth13
Regigigas, Staryu, Starmie, Bannette, Sandshrew, Ponyta, Barboach, Swellow, Absol, Kadabra, Lucario, Arceus, Darkrai, Bastiodon, Anorith (not counted in other totals)

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

In-game Characters
Bruno, Steven, Giovanni, Silver, Professor Elm (2), Brawly, Lt. Surge, Gary Oak, Koga, Janine, Professor Rowan, Lucas, Aaron

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


THE STARS

Magikarp, Skitty, Torkoal, Shuppet, Hoppip, Skiploom, Umbreon, Spiritomb, Gible, Shuckle, Clamperl, Spoink, Phanpy, Donphan, Snorlax, Ditto, Snorunt, Shedinja, Zangoose, Gardevoir, Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Seviper, Miltank, Tauros, Rhyperior, Pidgeot, Aron, Sableye, Metagross, Blastoise, Ariados, Heracross, Dugtrio, Sunkern, Sunflora, Exeggcute, Exeggutor, Raichu, Charmeleon, Whismur, Cubone, Marowak, Kingler, Riolu, Lucario, Quilava, Paras, Torterra, Starly, Nidoran M, Nidoran F, Persian, Rotom, Stunky, Smeargle, Mankey, Primeape, Murkrow, Honchkrow, Drapion, Abomasnow, Lapras, Chikorita, Feraligator, Flaaffy, Togepi, Sudowoodo, Farfetch’d, Bagon, Natu, Cherubi, Croagunk, Shelgon, Salamence, Froslass, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Meditite, Medicham, Blissey, Leafeon, Drifloon, Shiftry, Ludicolo, Torchic, Igglybuff, Wailord, Turtwig, Staraptor, Kangaskan, Garchomp, Dragonite, Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Gallade, Gengar, Aipom, Piloswine, Luvdisc, Mudkip, Diglett, Dunsparce, Qwilfish, Beedrill, Porygon, Porygon2, Porygon-Z, Scyther, Scizor, Hitmonchan, Baltoy, Tropius, Totodile, Croconaw, Shaymin, Glalie, Bellossom, Squirtle, Buizel, Electrike, Manectric, Gastrodon, Milotic, Dusknoir, Meowth, Voltorb, Pupitar, Grotle, Taillow, Swellow, Phione, Manaphy, Magby, Smoochum, Elekid, Lairon, Aggron, Treecko, Politoed, Muk, Cherrim, Hitmonlee, Nidoqueen, Bonsley, Munchlax, Combee, Electivire, Electrode, Pikachu, Tentacool, Feebas, Fearow, Mareep, Kadabra, Dragonair, Nincada, Metapod, Kakuna, Silcoon, Cascoon, Gastly, Haunter, Steelix, Arbok, Weezing, Tangela, Tangrowth, Togekiss, Growlithe, Arcanine, Gyarados, Burmy, Wormadam, Mothim, Clefairy, Wurmple, Beautifly, Dustox, Delibird, Magneton, Magnezone, Probopass, Giratina, Sneasel, Vulpix, Houndour, Flygon, Machoke, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Kricketot, Kricketune, Lunatone, Solrock, Horsea, Kingdra, Meganium, Typhlosion, Alakazam, Kirlia, Yanma, Cyndaquil, Ralts, Gorebyss, Celebi, Wigglytuff, Duskull, Houndoom, Charizard, Swablu, Aerodactyl, Cloyster, Crawdaunt, Seaking, Remoraid, Cradily, Walrein, Stantler, Bayleef, Wingull, Pelipper.


NOTES

I went and handcounted the Type totals, so there's a fair chance that a few of the larger ones might be off. I didn't count Arceus in any type, though, and ones like Shaymin only counted once (as in, once for Grass and once for Flying). But it's neat to see that I'm closest to have the Ghost type completed. Ya know, even though that's one of the smaller Pokemon pools.

But then, see how Flying and Water over took Normal and tied for first place in representation? Yeah, Flying is half complete while Water is only around a third complete! Fire finally made a large jump and passed five other types, while Psychic pulled ahead of Fighting (they were neck and neck for the longest time). Steel is still lingering in last place, but at least it ties with Dragon now.

I'm actually kind of behind on the legendaries and the fossils. And of the fossils, those two only showed up this month!

But, as I said, I'm reserving two legendaries for the 246-7 slot, which is the fifty percent mark. Don't tell anybody, but they're from Kanto.

So that's the year end review. I thank you all for being readers, requesters, and fun reviewers. I also highly thank those who've written guest entries.

What's up for next year... hmm... we'll see.