TEEN: Pokèmon Spectrum (An Original Journey Fic) - Weekly Short Story "Movie Time", June 8th 2017

[Jaypom]

Why the unreadable white font, just why?

Thanks for pointing this out, I originally had a different thread style and was unaware the Bluebook style had a white background at the time. I went ahead and switched it Not sure why I had it as white font anyways since it was so long ago that I wrote/edited the chapter.

I managed to read that in the anime narrators voice, since this is the feel you are going for, I would say this is a good thing.

Oh yeah, this was what I was going for. I like it so people can atleast be reminded of what's going on or if its a new day, what they were doing that led up to that point.

I think it's interesting to see some more worldbuilding based around the 'Nurse Joy' characters which don't get much attention for most of the Pokemon anime.

Yeah I like the Nurse Joy character idea and want to build a little more around their characters since she's around in every region.

I don't know much about hospitals but I don't think you need to be trained in medicine to work at a front desk and fill in forms on a computer.

It was more along the lines of if something important were to happen regarding a pokemon needing medical assistance as well as knowing medical terminology for paperwork.

I'm sure there is a more subtle way to show a location change like that? Just a little 'x' or '*' should do here.

I had forgotten about those. This was the old way I did location changes and changed to a different method in later chapters so thanks for pointing out these still being around.

I think Aries deciding to drag Jacob all that way makes her seem unlikable, dramatic as she is showing no regard whatsoever for Jacob's personal space. She's also reminding me of Misty a bit.

Ah yes, Aries did originally have a tough-girl act but it was more along her desire of wanting to help the Pokemon in need, regardless of who she could find to help her and if they could even be of help.

Very anime-esque with the commands, along with the attack by the 'Pokemon of the week' as well as having these new trainers introducing their Pokemon in order to help.

I do take from the anime universe, with some stuff from the games

I sure hope these characters don't end up like her 'overprotective brother' also, I think there would have been more room to show and not tell that she had an 'overprotective' brother in later chapters.

Oh gosh I hate that line so much. I'm working hard to find a way to change it because it really irks me.

This fic feels very reminiscent of the anime so far, from it's structure to it's characters, Jacob reminds me a lot of Ash and Aries reminds me a lot of Misty, Russo is a little more like a rival character from the show though. I would suggest being careful about taking too much from the anime otherwise you'll end with what seems like a clone of it, rather than an original story. Also, the part where Jacob and Russo fight seems immature, irrelevant and doesn't serve the characters justice and would probably do better if it was altered a lot.

I was hoping the fight would serve as them getting used to each other, since they decided to travel together.

 

[Jaypom]

Weekly Response Interview​

“What Remains to be Seen”​

04/10/2017​

Hareta: Hello and welcome back to our weekly response interviews! This week’s topic discusses what our heroes hope to see along their journey. Now then, as you all know from the Pokemon series games, what elements from them do you hope to see in Pokemon Spectrum?

Russo: The Battle Royal! I heard the Accelia Pokemon League tournament does one of their preliminary rounds in that format and it would be awesome to wipe the floor with three trainers at once!

Jacob: I think the Pokemon Musicals from Unova would be nice. They seem so fun and cute. OH! I’d also love to take part in Pokemon Dress-up. You know, the one that Jubilife City in Sinnoh offers to let people dress up their Pokemon?

Aries: I wouldn’t mind stopping by a radio station, like the one in Goldenrod City in Johto. I think it’d be amazing to meet a radio talk-show host, and then get famous and have everyone adore you and want to interview and get to know you.

Kyoko: I would like to see a Fossil Laboratory. I am sure there is one in Accelia, so I would find it interesting to study the fossils of ancient Pokemon. Maybe I would be allowed to take part in a fossil restoration?

Hareta: Fascinating responses! We’ll be back next week for more interviews. Stay tuned!

 

[LightningTopaz]

Interesting take on this week's prompt--I was aiming for what you would have liked to see in the real show, but framing it as what your characters want to see is a good idea too!

 

[Jaypom]

Not any problem on LightningTopaz's end, but since I wanted to keep doing the weekly responses, I've added in a Short Story format that can alternate with the interview format. This way, I can still participate with each prompt and may even be able to do so more accurately. Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 26 is about a fourth of the way done, so it should be out in the coming days.

Weekly Response Short Story
"Now Loading..."
4/17/2017​

Jacob sat atop a small tree stump as he fidgeted with his laptop. He pounded each key vigorous finger pokes, hoping to speed up its loading process.

Aries walked up and noticed Jacob’s trouble. “Is something up?”

Jacob sighed and turned his computer toward her, “My computer is frozen. It won’t load anything for some reason?”

Aries scratched her chin, pondering if there was any way she could assist. Suddenly, the lightbulb went off in her head, leading her to send out Flaaffy and Joltik! She leaned down and began her instructions, “Jacob’s computer is slow, so I’m thinking we can speed it up by giving it lots of power with your electricity.”

Flaaffy and Joltik looked at each other worriedly, not sure of her plan. They shrugged and turned towards Jacob.

Jacob looked up and felt a bead of sweat slide down his forehead, “Um… Aries? Should I be worried?”

Aries stood with her hands on her hips confidently as a gust of wind whipped up her hair as though she were a victorious super hero. “Of course not! Now then, use Thunderbolt!”

Flaaffy and Joltik joined hands as they gathered electricity across their body and into a streak of yellow lightning that crashed down on Jacob and his laptop!

A dust cloud had formed from the powerful attack, which slowly cleared to reveal a Jacob with charred marks across his body, and his curly hair frizzed out from the electric shock. He coughed and released a small cloud of smoke.

His laptop dinged once, signaling the attack had successfully turned it on and made it load.

Jacob slid to the ground, feeling his body go numb with every inch moved. “Thanks,” he groaned.

Aries saluted him, with Joltik and Flaaffy mimicking her movement. “No problemo!”

 

[Jaypom]

Chapter 26:
A Joltik a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

Only a few days remain till their destination is reached as Jacob, Russo, Aries, and Kyoko continue their journey to Breezeville City. Now joined by the Accelian Champion, Arya, the group is seeking battle advice from the Queen of Battles, herself.​

Jacob stood across from Kyoko on a large, lush battlefield in the middle of a vast range of plains. The wind blew and swept up their hair as the two awaited Arya’s advice.

Arya was standing between the two, planning to serve as a referee for their practice match. “Alright, this is to help you both enhance your battle skills. Kyoko, you should pay much more attention with your frontier challenge coming up,” Arya ordered.

Kyoko cocked his glasses and nodded. “Understood,” he replied as he took out a Pokeball.

Jacob looked at Aipom, who was ready to pounce at the chance for a battle. He chuckled, “Ha, not today Aipom. I want to give Rowlet a chance to battle.”

Aipom sighed as it climbed down Jacob’s shoulders and onto the grassy field.

Aries and Russo were both sitting behind Arya on a large boulder, waiting to see what Arya would be teaching them.

“Now, call out your Pokemon,” Arya commanded.

“Rowlet, center stage,” Jacob cheered as he tossed Rowlet’s Pokeball into the air excitedly!

The Pokeball spun into the air and popped open to release Rowlet in a bright, white light.

Rowlet looked around and cooed out of curiosity. It saw Jacob and flew over to nuzzle against his cheek.

Jacob chuckled again and pushed Rowlet away towards the battle. “It’s time to give you some battle training, since I want to use you in our next contest.”

Rowlet landed on the field and nodded, then looked up at Kyoko.

Kyoko cleared his throat and tossed a Pokeball into the air. “Slowpoke, assistance please,” he spoke.

The Pokeball spun into the air and popped open slowly. It then released Slowpoke onto the field where it stared at Rowlet with its dopey gaze.

Rowlet felt uncomfortable with Slowpoke and Kyoko’s blank expressions and began waddling backwards slightly.

“Don’t worry, Rowlet. It’s just how they are,” Jacob cheered, hoping for Rowlet to feel more comfortable for its battle.

Russo was resting his head on his open palm. “C’mon guys, hurry it up,” he groaned.

Aries clapped her hands excitedly, “Best of luck to you both!”

Arya held her hand into the air. “Alright, you will use one attack at a time, but instead of countering, your goal is to dodge the attack. This is to improve your reaction as a trainer, as well as your Pokemon’s reactions to your dodge commands. Jacob, you attack first.”

Jacob nodded. “Right. Alright, Rowlet use Peck.”

Rowlet quickly flapped its wings and soared high above the ground. It gathered as much energy as it could into its beak before soaring back down towards Slowpoke.

Kyoko cocked his head to the side, “Slowpoke, take the attack.”

Everyone gasped, aside from Kyoko and Slowpoke, as Rowlet slammed into its foe and slid it back a few feet.

Slowpoke blinked slowly, having barely reacted to its hit.

Russo leaned forward and screamed at Kyoko. “Why didn’t you dodge like Arya told you!”

Kyoko cocked his glasses and informed the group on his reasoning. “Slowpoke has too slow a reaction time, so it would be better off to either take a hit or counter the attack as opposed to moving aside.”

Rowlet gently landed on the ground and looked up at Jacob with hopes of receiving praise.

Jacob smiled brightly. “Great hit! You managed to knock Slowpoke back, which makes you pretty powerful!”

Rowlet blushed, glad it could please its trainer as Aipom scoffed and crossed its arms, wishing it were getting praised instead.

Arya wasn’t sure how she’d proceed with the lesson, since Kyoko decided to ignore her advice. “Uhm, well…”

Kyoko took of his glasses and began rubbing them with a cloth from his pocket. “If I may suggest, can me and Jacob partake in a simple skirmish with you giving us tweaks once it has concluded?”

Arya looked away and felt embarrassment fill her face. “How could I have been so dumb? I should have done that in the first place! I’m a terrible champion,” she muttered to herself. She turned back and cleared her throat, “Alright then. Go on ahead.”

Kyoko returned his glasses to his eyes and looked intensely at Jacob. “This would be our first battle since we’ve began journeying. I look forward to the outcome.”

Jacob nodded and clenched his fist determinedly, “Right. Rowlet, use Leafage!”

Rowlet crossed its wings into an x-shape, then uncrossed them as it fired off a spiral of lush, green leaves that slashed Slowpoke.

Slowpoke once again took the attack without giving any sort of reaction towards the amount of damage it had taken.

“Use Water Gun,” Kyoko ordered.

Slowpoke took a deep breath, then fired off a thin stream of blue water that doused Rowlet and left it dripping in water.

Rowlet looked itself over before it began panicking over Slowpoke’s attack! It wasn’t prepared to be soaked and worried it’d be too heavy to fly!

“Now, Tackle,” Kyoko added.

Slowpoke nodded sluggishly before trotting off at the speed of a Slakoth. It neared Rowlet and prepared to slam into it, despite the slow force behind its movement.

“Try using Ominous Wind,” Jacob suggested, being unsure of how to direct Rowlet under its state of panic.

Rowlet teared up at the thought of never flying again, then noticed Slowpoke getting closer and closer. Rowlet chirped worriedly as it gathered purple energy into its wings.

Aries was surprised, “It knows Ominous Wind? That’s pretty strong, especially for being so young.”

As Slowpoke closed in, Rowlet’s wings flashed a bright purple before it unleashed a dark, gust of wind from its arms that knocked Slowpoke to its knees!

“Perhaps, Yawn,” Kyoko suggested.

Slowpoke stood up, appearing to have taken no damage once again! It opened its mouth wide as it unleashed a large, clear bubble that floated slowly towards Rowlet.

“Wrap up the battle with Peck,” Jacob ordered, hoping the attacks were doing more than they appeared.

Rowlet ran forward, still unable to take off with being damp, and charged energy into its beak once again. Its beak sharped to a point as it burst the Yawn bubble and slammed into Slowpoke, knocking it to the ground.

Slowpoke felt the damage sink in as it slumped to the ground in defeat.

Rowlet stood atop Slowpoke proudly, puffing out its chest as though it had slain the village giant. “Ro-rowl,” it cooed.

Jacob walked over and congratulated Rowlet, handing it a treat before its eyes glazed over with drowsiness!

Rowlet tumbled over and fell to the ground in a deep slumber, amusing everyone.

Jacob and Kyoko returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs and shook hands.

“Your Slowpoke was really strong! I was surprised that it never showed how much damage it was actually taking,” Jacob said.

“Thank you, I was also impressed with its battle skills. Your Rowlet has also shown quite a potential to be a powerhouse,” Kyoko replied.

Arya, Aries, and Russo joined them, prepared to give their feedback.

“Well, the obvious thing that Jacob could have avoided was teaching Rowlet not to fly into a status attack, even if the hit would knock out its opponent,” Arya began. “Also, Rowlet seems to be stuck on pleasing you as opposed to taking your commands and seeking approval once the battle has concluded. That kind of lost focus can cost you a match.”

Jacob picked up Aipom and took Arya’s advice to heart. He didn’t want to lose a match due to Rowlet’s focus, and knew it would hurt Rowlet just as much if it knew that was the reason for its loss.

Arya then turned to Kyoko. “Your battle style was impressive for sure, but your Slowpoke lacked the ability to show you how it was feeling. That can be dangerous if you are unaware of your Pokemon’s health.”

Kyoko cocked his glasses, “Actually, I was aware how much damage it had taken throughout the battle. Slowpoke’s tail normally curves upwards, but as it took damage, the tail began to slump down from its lost energy. “

Arya twitched, not expecting Kyoko to have already been doing what she had suggested, especially without her knowledge. “Well… I’m impressed,” she choked out before turning to Russo and Aries, “Now then, why don’t you both have a skirmish?”

Aries looked at Russo, wondering if there would come a day that she’d be his opponent. “Well, I guess since you’ve practiced with Jacob and Kyoko, I was bound to be your foe at some point. I’m game!”

Russo smirked, hoping he’d get the chance to battle again. “Sounds like a plan.”

The two of them switched spots with Jacob and Kyoko. Russo stood across from Aries with his hands deep in his jacket pockets while Aries rummaged through her bag to decide which Pokemon she’d use.

Arya called out to them, “Are you both ready?!”

Aries managed to grab one of her Pokeballs and smiled widely, “Yeah! I just needed to find the one I had been wanting to use.”

Russo tsked and took out a Pokeball from his belt. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Alright then, remember what I told Kyoko and Jacob. Battle begin,” Arya announced.

Russo tossed his Pokeball forward, “Totodile, let’s go.”

“Joltik, come on out,” Aries responded, tossing out Joltik’s Pokeball.

Totodile appeared onto the grassy terrain and snapped its jaws as Joltik poked its head up from the thick grass. Totodile cocked its head and looked at Joltik, not realizing it was much smaller than it originally thought it was.

“Ladies first,” Russo muttered as he crossed his arms.

Aries pointed towards Russo, “How polite! Joltik, use Thunderbolt!”

Joltik stood on its front legs as it gathered electricity across its tiny body. It then shot out a streak of yellow lightning from its back legs that rained down upon Totodile.

Totodile took the full blow of the attack, wincing a bit before shaking away a few remaining sparks. “Toto” it snapped.

Russo smirked, “Time for us to show off a new move. I had wished to use it yesterday in my battle with Arya, but when she called it off I had to wait. Now seems like a perfect time! Totodile, use Ice Fang!”

Everyone turned their attention to Totodile as it opened its mouth slightly and gathered a light blue aura across its body. Its jaws suddenly began to glow blue and released out a cold mist as its teeth froze over. Totodile then darted forward and clamped down on Joltik faster than a Dragonite, managing to freeze it over in one shot.

Aries gasped and ran over to Joltik. She pried Totodile off her Pokemon ice cube and looked down at Joltik stuck inside the ice.

Russo’s eyes widened and he scratched the back of his head from embarrassment. “Whoa ok… did not expect the attack to do that much on its first use! Sorry Aries!”

Aries glared up at Russo, “You’re lucky I don’t rip out each and every one of Totodile’s teeth after that!”

“Relax Aries, it was just an attack. Joltik’ll be fine,” Jacob called to her.

Suddenly, the ice began to crack. It broke apart and released Joltik into Aries lap. It looked around in a daze as Aries picked it up in her cupped hands. Its face had a small, purple hue over its nose, and it released a small sneeze.

Aries’s eyes filled with rage as she looked up at Russo and then at Jacob, “Now it has a cold! Do we have any Aspear Berries?”

Kyoko cocked his glasses, “I believe Russo was eating them last night for dessert… so no.”

Aries stood up and hissed at Russo as he backed away slowly. “What? I like the way they sting as you eat them...” he replied as she slowly stomped towards him.

Aries held Joltik in one hand as she grabbed ahold of Russo’s shirt with another. “If my Joltik doesn’t end up okay by the end of the day, I’m murdering you in your sleep!”

“Just help her,” Jacob cried out as he and Aipom watched her fearfully.

Russo looked away, “Sheesh, there’s probably a Pokemon Center near here. We’ll take it there.”

Arya held her hand up, “That’s a negative. The closest Pokemon Center is in Breezeville City, which is still a few days away.”

Aries released Russo and looked back down at Joltik, who sneezed once again and looked up at Aries glumly. “So, there isn’t anything I can do to help it,” she asked? Suddenly, she realized where they were! “Kyoko, can you pull out your town map for the surrounding area?”

Kyoko reached into his bag and pulled out the item. He turned it towards Aries and allowed her to look it over.

Her eyes darted from side to side as she inspected the screen for the location that had popped into her head. “Aha! No need for a Pokemon Center, because I’ve found out where I can get help.”

“Well let’s head there then, so you can get over this accident already,” Russo suggested as he returned Totodile to its Pokeball.

Aries returned the town map to Kyoko and picked up a small rock beside him. She turned to Russo and crushed it in her hands, slightly cutting her palm. “No, you can stay here since I should be back by nightfall. I don’t need you causing Joltik anymore problems today.”

“Well you aren’t going alone,” Arya insisted. She looked at Jacob, “Why not take Jacob with you?”

Jacob and Aipom looked at each other worriedly, then back at Arya. “Are you sure? I mean she’s already mad as she is…”

Aries sighed, “Fine. Let’s go,” she replied and quickly took off with Joltik resting worriedly in her hand.

Jacob gulped and grabbed his and her bags, then ran off after her as Russo, Kyoko, and Arya stayed behind.


On the road, Aries and Jacob had been walking for about half an hour before anyone had spoken.

“So… are you going to be mad at Russo forever,” Jacob asked?

Aries huffed, “Probably not. I’m just really protective of my Pokemon and don’t appreciate him going overboard on Joltik when it’s so small.”

“But Joltik is, like, the smallest Pokemon out there? It’s going to battle things a lot bigger than Totodile one day,” Jacob replied as he looked up at Aipom sitting atop his head.

Aries stopped walking and sighed. “I guess you’re right… but he’s still the reason Joltik has a cold.”

Jacob grit his teeth worriedly, “I know, I know. Where are we going anyways?”

Aries turned away from him and pointed above the trees on their path, towards a large, steel coated building in the middle of the forest. “There, that’s PRIM, the Pokemon Research Institute of Medicine. It’s like a large Pokemon Center and is where they train Pokemon Doctors.”

“How did you know about it,” Jacob asked as they made their way towards the building.

“Well, before I met you and Russo, I considered coming here. I’ve been thinking of becoming a Pokemon Doctor… but I’m not so sure of myself,” she replied as they reached the entrance.

As they entered, a young man in a lab coat noticed them. He walked over and greeted them politely. “Hello, welcome to PRIM. How can I help you both,” he asked in a voice as sweet as honey.

Aries looked up at the man with her mouth open, unable to respond. She was in awe of his chiseled appearance, and somewhat muscular build. His brown hair was slicked back for a more professional look.

Jacob waited for her to respond, then nudged her after a few seconds of her creepy staring.

Aries regathered herself as she looked down at her Joltik, “Uh, my Joltik! We were having a practice battle and it got frozen. When it thawed, it seemed to have developed a cold and we’re out of Aspear Berries!”

The man lowered his glasses and looked Joltik over in her hands. “Hm, would you like me to give it a full exam? Smaller Pokemon are more at risk for injuries when battling opponents, since their bodies and bones are weaker.”

Aries nodded silently as she handed Joltik to him carefully.

The man pulled over a gurney and slid Joltik onto it gently. “My name is Kelvin by the way. I should be back out in no more than ten minutes. You both are welcome to stay in the waiting lounge down the hallway,” he informed as he wheeled Joltik away.

Aries watched him exit through a set of double doors before realizing what had happened. She shook her head and looked around.

Jacob snickered to Aipom, “Someone’s got a crush.”

Aries heard him and smacked him across the back of the head, “SHUT IT! Don’t you ever tell anyone I acted like that or I’ll ripall of your contest outfits to shreds!”

Jacob crossed his arms, “Geez, I was only teasing. So yeah, the guys nice looking. No need to get all bent about me noticing.”

Aries nodded awkwardly and made her way to the waiting area with Jacob. As she took a seat, he went and bought them sodas to sip on while Joltik was examined. As he returned, she opened it and resumed telling him about her plans. “On my way here, I ended up meeting you and Russo. I noticed how you both constantly were sure about what you wanted to become and do… and then I looked at myself and wondered if being a Pokemon Doctor was something I wanted to be. I never knew what to say to people, because if I told them and then I failed… what kind of person would I be?”

Jacob sipped his soda. “Well, I don’t think anyone would care if you changed your mind. That’s what this time is all about. Your goal is to figure out what you want to do, then pursue it. No shame in not knowing.”

“But what if I don’t know until it’s too late,” she replied as she rested her chin on her palm.

“It’s only too late if you decide it is,” he answered calmly. In his head, he noted how cool it made him sound and made a mental note to use that phrase again at some point.

Aries nodded and lifted her head, “You’re right. Thanks Jacob,” she replied and smiled.

Kelvin returned with Joltik sitting happily atop the gurney. “Alright, your Joltik is all better. An Aspear Berry tea was enough to help it get over being frozen. Can I help you with anything else?”

Aries stood up and returned Joltik to its Pokeball, happy that it was all cured and wouldn’t have to suffer for a few days. “I can’t think of anything,” she replied.

Jacob picked Aipom off his shoulder and held it in his hands. He stood up and walked up to Kelvin. “Actually, I was wondering about becoming a Doctor of Pokemon. Do you suggest any way of going about that?”

Aries’ face turned red, shocked by Jacob asking Kelvin that. She wasn’t aware he wanted to be a doctor too! She grew excited for a second before realizing what he was actually doing, then felt touched by his action.

Kelvin scratched his chin, “Well, you’ll have to do two years of internship like me at various PRIM locations before becoming a nurse. Then two more years as a nurse at a Pokemon Center before becoming a full-fledged Pokemon Doctor. How soon could you start?”

Jacob was surprised at how much work would be involved, “Actually, I’d have to get back to you on that. Thanks for the info! We should get going. Thanks for your help too!”

Kelvin nodded, “Of course. You’re welcome…” he began but realized he didn’t have Jacob’s name.

“Jacob, and she’s Aries,” he informed before pointing at Aries.

Kelvin turned and looked Aries in the eyes, “Good to know. Glad I could help you, Jacob and Aries.”

Aries felt a small connection as Kelvin looked into her eyes. She could feel her cheeks turning red again, so she quickly shuffled away from Kelvin and directed Jacob out of PRIM. “Thanks again!”

Kelvin watched as the two left before he chuckled to himself and returned to his work.

As Jacob and Aries made their walk back to Russo, Kyoko, and Arya, Jacob smirked at Aries. “Well, now he knows your name.”

Aries scoffed, “Well it’s not like I’ll see him again,” she replied before she realized Jacob’s sneaky trick. She clenched a fist to hit him again but stopped when she realized Jacob had helped her as a friend, not as a teasing.

Jacob looked back at her, “Why’d you stop?”

Aries looked down at her fist and unclenched it. “Um, just thought I saw something,” she replied before she ran and caught up to him.

The two then made their way back to the others, with the sun getting ready to lower across the horizon.

Spoiler: CHAPTER 27 PREVIEW

Jacob: Hey Russo, doesn't this look beautiful?
Russo: Huh? I don't know what we are looking at?
Kyoko: Its a migration of Hoppip. They do this once a year during the later part of Summer.
Aries: It's so pretty!
Arya: Oh my, seems we have some company.
Russo: Next time, Hoppip Along the Migration Trail !
Jacob: It's so cute and friendly!
???: Hop-Hopiip
Russo: Ugh.

 

[Jaypom]

Chapter 27:
Hoppip Along the Migration Trail!
One day remains until Jacob, Russo, Aries, Kyoko, and Arya reach Breezeville City. The air is thick with excitement as Russo and Kyoko look forward to the challenges awaiting them in the coming days!​

Russo leaned back as he slumped down against a tree stump. He looked up at the sky and smiled to himself.

Jacob looked over at him as he and Aipom began setting up their breakfast for the day. “What’s with you?”

“Just thinking about my upcoming Gym Battle. I’m thinking I can pull out a win with Totodile’s new move,” he replied confidently, unlike his usual glum-self.

Aries puffed her cheeks and glared at him, still not over what happened to her Joltik. “Yeah, well considering you went overboard in our last battle, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she scoffed.

Arya took a sip of her water bottle as she looked around for Kyoko. “I think Kyoko wandered off. Do any of you know where he went?”

“I’m up here,” called Kyoko as the branch above the group rustled. Everyone looked up and saw him sitting above them on a large branch. He cocked his glasses, “Are you not aware of what time it is?”

Arya thought to herself for a moment before she realized what he had meant. “Oh, how could I have forgotten! This time of the year is when the Hoppip make their pollination trip across Accelia. Have you seen any?”

Jacob tried to imagine what a Hoppip was, but ultimately resorted to looking it up in his Pokedex. As he pulled his Pokedex out, it made a small grunting noise. He peered at it, “Huh?”

“You were just a tad bit forceful. I’m not indestructible, so please be more gentle with me,” beeped the Pokedex.

Arya overhead him and looked over. Her eyes widened with awe as she ran over and analyzed Jacob’s Pokedex. “Oh wow, you have a Pokedex?! It even has its own A.I. system, so it must be the fanciest new model!”

Jacob laughed, “I guess? I didn’t know there were models, and I just assumed all Pokedexes had a personality like this.”

“No, I’m one of a kind,” beeped his Pokedex sarcastically, causing Arya’s eyes to fill with stars.

“I’m completely jealous! Since I’m already done with my journey, I don’t qualify for a Pokedex anymore, so I have the dumb, old model from, like, a decade ago. It has ZERO personality,” Arya informed as she sighed. She clapped her hands and returned her attention to Jacob, “Can I see it in action? It’s been so long!”

Jacob nodded as Aipom climbed up his shoulder groggily. He searched for Hoppip and awaited his Pokedex to do the rest.

The Pokedex beeped twice before showing a picture of a small, pink Pokemon with large, green weeds drooping out of its head. “Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokemon. Hoppip are too light to stay grounded, so they’ll grab ahold of grassroots to keep from drifting away on even the slightest of breezes.”

Arya felt her body tremble at the sound of information flooding her brain. She held her hands to her cheeks and swooned, “The nostalgia fills me!”

Aries rolled her eyes at the two’s nonsense and returned to Kyoko. “Why are you up there though?”

Kyoko cocked his glasses as a wind gust gushed through his hair. “I want to be able to observe them fly over us properly. They should be arriving soon.”

Arya looked at Kyoko’s tree and thought to herself if she should attempt climbing it. “I… I would love to-“

Aries grabbed ahold of Arya’s arm and kept her from walking towards the tree. “NO! Don’t get involved with Kyoko and his stupid attempts at seeing Pokemon. He one time caught an entire community of Pokemon because he couldn’t decide which one he liked the mo- KYOKO GET DOWN HERE!”

Kyoko cocked his glasses. “No.”

Aries shoved Arya to the side and pointed up at Kyoko. “Don’t say no to me! And don’t you dare catch those Hoppip!”

Kyoko sighed, “I do not plan to capture any of them. I merely want to witness them fly above us with the best view possible.”

Jacob crossed his arms, “You should really calm down, Aries. I think you’re getting a little worked up.”

Kyoko’s eyes widened as he noticed a flurry of Hoppip quickly nearing him on the gusty winds above him.

Aries scoffed, “I may be, but we can’t seem to trust Kyoko around flocks of Pokemon after that little incident.”

The Hoppip quickly flew over Kyoko, towards central Accelia and their new homes. He gazed up at them in awe! “Wow,” he murmured as he took in the sight.

Jacob and Aries ceased their arguing when they noticed the Hoppip shadows bobbing above them. They both smiled, feeling a sense of happiness seeing the Pokemon traverse the winds towards their future.

Kyoko held his finger up, thinking he could touch one. He reached ever so slightly forward, but was met with an out of control Hoppip slamming into his finger and knocking it off its track!

The Hoppip bounced off his finger and fell downwards through the thicket of trees and branches.

Russo peeked one eye opened and screamed in shock as the Hoppip fell butt-first into Russo’s face! He shoved the Hoppip off and into the dirt, then sneered at it.

Hoppip shook the dirt from its body and looked around. “Hop…piip…” it moaned groggily.

Russo managed to calm down before going off on the Pokemon when he realized it was actually quite drowsy. He poked it and gained its attention. “Hey, I think you fell asleep while flying. You shouldn’t do that,” he teased.

Hoppip blinked and looked around. It noticed Russo’s friends, then realized it had ended up on the ground! “HOP! HOPPIP-HOP,” it panicked! It jumped to try and take off, but couldn’t seem to take flight.

Kyoko climbed down from the tree and joined Russo as the others closed in on Hoppip. “It seems it can’t take flight for whatever reason.”

Aries winced, “This is why he shouldn’t interact with wild Pokemon when we aren’t close by to stop him.”

Jacob scratched his head and laughed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he replied as Aipom hopped from his shoulder and crawled over to greet Hoppip.

“Aipa,” it squeaked.

Hoppip quit its jumping and looked up at Aipom. “Hop-hoppip. Hoppip-pip-pip-hop,” it replied.

Aipom looked around before cocking its head. “Pa?”

Hoppip jumped in place, trying to take off once again. It grew tired after a few hops, then fell to the ground and shut its eyes. Its stomach growled with the force of a thousand hurricanes!

“Whoa… now that’s what I call hunger,” Arya whispered, trying not to hurt Hoppip’s feelings.

Hoppip peaked an eye open and noticed Russo’s bag had fallen on its side. Its eyes focused on the small Rage Bar that peaked back towards it. Its mouth watered as it imagined munching on one the size of a skyscraper!

“Let’s see if there is any Pokemon food,” Arya suggested. “I’m sure it could use the nutrients that it has to offer.”

The group looked away for a moment to nod, but when they returned their gaze back towards Hoppip, they gasped!

Hoppip sat chubbily on the ground with the chocolate of the Rage Bar smeared over its mouth. It burped and fell to its side. “Hop-piip,” it moaned heavenly.

Russo quickly ran over to his bag and looked inside. “It… IT ATE MY RAGE BAR! THAT WAS MY LAST ONE”! Hoppip burped again, causing him to stare daggers. He gripped Hoppip by the leaves on its head and held it up to his face. “Do you have anything to say for stealing my favorite candy!”

Hoppip puffed its cheeks, then released one final, chocolatey-berry burp that sizzled against Russo’s eyeballs.

Russo covered his eyes and wiped them as Hoppip fell to the ground with a splat. “Why me,” he groaned.

“It happens to the best of us,” Kyoko murmured.

“It’s your fault! If you weren’t up in that stupid tree, I’d still have my candy bar for dessert,” Russo shouted angrily.

“Calm down. We can get you a new one,” Aries defended, hoping Russo wouldn’t go overboard on Kyoko.

“You’re one to talk! You were just complaining to Jacob about Kyoko too,” Russo replied.

Aries scoffed, “Well… I mean… It was a little different…”

Russo grabbed Hoppip and began to vigorously shake it awake, only to find it fast asleep! “Wake! Up! You! Annoying! Fat! Grass! Float! Thingy!”

“Annoying fast grass float thingy. That’s your insult,” Jacob asked, really hoping he could have done better?

“Excuse me for being heartless, but this Hoppip literally ate it in front of me,” Russo replied.

Arya rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Jeez, I didn’t know you love Rage Bars so much. Look, I have one in my bag so you’re welcome to have it.”

Russo looked up at Arya tearfully. “Y-you mean it? That’s so awesome, thank you,” Russo replied and looked at Arya’s bag, then felt his body freeze as Hoppip rolled out of it with more chocolate smeared across its face.

“Well… that is unfortunate,” Kyoko informed.

Russo’s body fittingly filled with rage. “That… Hoppip… will… PAY,” he shouted and gripped a Pokeball.

Hoppip blinked and looked at Russo sleepily. “Pip?”

“Don’t you ‘pip’ me, you know what you did! Metang, use Metal Claw,” Russo ordered as he threw Metang’s Pokeball into the air with vengeance!

Metang popped out of its Pokeball and coated its body in a grey, metallic aura. It zoomed towards Hoppip and attempted to smash into it, but missed when Hoppip speedily jumped out of the way.

Now hyped up on candy, Hoppip easily jolted threw the air with its sugar rush. It stopped above Metang, then swirled in its place like a top and released a pink, glistening gust of wind that knocked Metang to the ground.

“It’s so fast, and strong! That Fairy Wind knocked Metang to the ground with ease,” Arya noted to Russo.

Metang got back to hovering in the air and looked up at Hoppip, awaiting its next command from Russo.

Russo was thoroughly impressed with Hoppip’s power from just the one attack. “Use Metal Claw!”

Metang’s claws grew three times their normal size and filled with steel energy. It zoomed towards Hoppip, then swiped at its body, only to miss as Hoppip bounced threw the air. Metang ceased its swiping and returned to Russo’s side.

“It’s so fast, which I didn’t expect from it after it pigging out on candy and being too weak to fly when we met it,” Russo spoke to Metang. He smirked to himself, “Even though it stole my favorite candy-“ he began as Hoppip pranced through the air energetically, “I want that kind of power on my team.”

“You want to catch it,” Jacob asked?

“Go for it! I’m sure you could do a great job raising it,” Arya cheered!

Russo nodded, “Yeah, thanks,” he replied as he took out an empty Pokeball. He then beckoned to it, “Hoppip!”

Hoppip slowed down and hovered in its place as it looked down at Russo curiously. It wondered why he had stopped playing with it. “Pip?”

Russo held up a Pokeball towards it, “I plan to catch you! Are you up to finishing the battle?”

Hoppip smiled at the idea of continuing their game of tag, as well as upping the stakes if it lost. “Pip-hoppip,” it replied, confirming it was okay with the terms.

Russo nodded, “Alright then, Metang, use Zen Headbutt!”

Metang gathered psychic energy into a blue orb on its forehead, then shot off from his side towards Hoppip, who responded by slamming into Metang’s attack with an equal forced Tackle.

Hoppip pushed away and fired off another Fairy Wind, knocking Metang off balance.

“Use Iron Head to cut through,” Russo ordered.

Metang gathered steel energy across its body once again, then took off into the vortex of the Fairy Wind, making use of the Steel-Type advantage to cut through the Fairy-Type effects, and slammed into Hoppip.

Hoppip cried out in shock as it shot backwards into the trees. It began to feel tired now that the sugar rush was beginning to wear off. It bounced through the thicket of tree branches to confuse Metang.

Metang looked around curiously at each sound of a branch rustling, waiting for the appropriate moment to strike.

Hoppip then appeared on top of Metang and fired off a stream of small, yellow seeds that rained down upon Metang, slightly damaging it and giving Hoppip’s location away.

“It’s definitely got some great moves, but we can still win if we outlast its energy. Use Metal Claw,” Russo encouraged.

Metang nodded and shot into the air, then swiped at Hoppip with its steel-energy filled claws, causing Hoppip to grow sleepier and sleepier with every dodge, before finally giving in and getting swiped, knocking it to the ground.

Hoppip slept peacefully on the ground, tuckered out from its match and ready to sleep off its injuries.

Russo smiled determinedly, “Awesome! Now, let’s go Pokeball,” he announced and threw the Pokeball directly at Hoppip.

Hoppip peaked one eye open sleepily and watched as the Pokeball collided with its forehead, popped open, surrounded it with a red beam of light, then sucked it inside. It’s Pokeball then shut and fell to the ground, shook three times, then beeped loudly to signal its capture was complete.

Russo grinned from ear to ear at the sound of the complete capture. He jogged over and picked up the Pokeball happily. He smiled down at it, happy to have gained a new member in time to challenge the Breezeville Gym. He held the Pokeball into the air, “Awesome, I caught a Hoppip!”

Metang jumped to his side and held a claw in the air. “Metang,” it cheered.

Russo and Metang then returned their friends. Russo held the Pokeball out in his hands, “Well, let’s welcome our new team member. What do you say?” Everyone responded with a nod as Russo tossed the Pokeball into the air and released Hoppip.

Hoppip gently floated downwards and onto Metang’s head. It snored loudly, deep in its rest from using up all the energy it got from its two Rage Bars.

Everyone laughed at its cute, lazy nature. They were all excited that to have a new face in the group.

Russo rubbed his hand along one of Hoppip’s leave, waking it up slightly. He smiled down at it warmly, “Welcome to our team.”

Hoppip smiled brightly, happy to have itself a new home… considering that was what it was hoping to find on the day Hoppip travel across the region in search of a new one.

Spoiler: CHAPTER 28 PREVIEW

Jacob: Amazing! We're finally in Breezeville City!
Russo: First thing's first, let's head to the gym!
Aries: Sorry to break it to ya, but it looks like the gym is closed.
Russo: Well what do we do in the mean time?
Kyoko: There's the Battle Ring?
???(1): Ninjask, go for the ring!
???(2): Staravia, you get it first!
Hareta: Next time, Breezeville City, the Wind Capital of Accelia !
Jacob: Hareta?! What are you doing here?
Hareta: Oh, leave that question to be answered in the chapter.

 

[Jaypom]

Weekly Response Short Story​

“School Days”​

4/24/17​

Jacob slammed his face down to his desk, disappointed at the chosen groups for their school project on Mega Evolution. He was paired with their school’s Battle Team Captain, Russo Niccolo, who wasn’t the brightest when it came towards his academics. Then there was Aries Vermillion, captain of the school’s band and the only person in the marching band capable of performing and marching with an electric guitar. There was also Kyoko Silica, a science nerd who has said a total of two words the whole year.

“Mr. Kingsly, please take your head off your desk,” ordered a short, quaint woman. Her name was Gahla Ortiz and she was Jacob’s Battle Studies teacher. “Please interact with your groupmates.”

Jacob groaned and raised his head. He looked glumly at his Aipom, resting peacefully in his lap. “So, are we going to split this up evenly,” he asked his group, hoping they were all planning to participate evenly.

Russo leaned back in his chair and placed his feet atop his desk. “Let the nerd do it. He practically knows everything on the crap we need for the assignment.”

Aries twirled her finger through her long, maroon colored hair. “You don’t need to talk about Kyoko like that when he’s sitting right here,” she replied and looked towards Kyoko and sat up in hear seat when she realized he was gone.

The group suddenly heard vigorous typing coming from behind them on a computer. They looked back and gazed upon Kyoko typing at the speed of light and creating a long, detailed essay on the science behind Mega Evolution and which Pokemon are capable of pulling off such a feat.

Russo smirked and returned to leaning back in his chair. “See, he loves it.”

Jacob felt bad about not contributing. He had already complained to himself about the group structure, but he at least felt a little better knowing Kyoko was not one to mess up his assignments.

Professor Gahla lowered her glasses and shout across the classroom, “Kyoko! Stop doing all the work and divvy it up evenly. Don’t make me ask again!”

Kyoko immediately ceased his typing and starred at the computer screen silently. He stood up slowly and returned to his group’s table.

Jacob shrugged and picked up his Aipom, then went to the computer so he could add all the knowledge he was aware of on the subject. He sat down and read through what Kyoko had created. His eyes widened when he noticed Kyoko had already typed up twenty pages on the subject! “He… he practically did the whole thing,” he muttered to himself.

Russo chuckled. “Good. I was bored anyways. Let’s call it a day so I can go practice for our school’s tournament.”

Aries smacked Kyoko on the back out of congratulations, “Thanks! You really helped us out!”


NOTE: Jacob, Russo, Aries, and Kyoko's last names in the short story are their actual last names in the books. I just haven't revealed them for reasons that will be revealed later on. Also, this is not cannon and also takes place in an alternate universe, as their school professor is Gahla of the Elite Four if you caught the name reference

 

[Jaypom]

As of today, I'm officially off for summer break! Woo! Now I can focus on continuing the story and getting through the major arc of Volume 1. I also thought I'd mention I changed it from Books, since some of the arcs in the future take place over the course of multiple books. Anyhow, here are some of the plot teasers for the upcoming Breezeville Arc!

29- Throwing Caution to the Breezeville!
Russo gets the privilege of his gym battle against the Gym Leader of Breezeville City, but he soon learns that beating her certainly won't be a breeze.

30- An Airport Under Siege!
Breezeville is left in the dark when a familiar group of villains set a scheme into motion.

(For the sake of spoilers, I'll be leaving these summaries out of this post).
31- The Electric Battle of Aries and Voltaire!
32- Grinding It Out With the Ground Force!
33- Demon's Lore!
34- The Airplane Escape Plan!

 

[Jaypom]

I'm sorry about the delay of this chapter! I got really sidetracked from starting summer vacation and also a lets play on my YouTube channel that I really neglected this story. I do plan to finish this arc up by the middle of August though!

Chapter 28:
Breezeville City, the Wind Capital of Accelia!​

“Hurry up! We’re so close,” Russo shouted as he ran full speed ahead along a dirt path towards the top of a steep hill.

Jacob, Aries, Kyoko, and Arya followed behind him, all panting from running for such a long distance.

“You’ve been saying ‘we’re so close’ for the past hour! You better mean it,” Aries threatened through gasps for breath.

​

After days of traveling, our heroes have seemingly made it to Breezeville City! Will Russo and Kyoko emerge victorious in their challenges? Time to find out…​

Jacob began lagging behind before he eventually stopped to rest against a tree. “You guys go ahead. Leave me to die,” he moaned as he slumped to the ground.

Aipom sat atop his head and looked down at its trainer. “Aipa,” it squeaked playfully, hoping to encourage him to continue on.

Russo skidded to stop as he reached the top of their slope. He gazed down at the large city as Kyoko, Aries, and Arya joined him and looked upon their destination in awe.

Breezeville City was a wide-spread area of short, skyscrapers. To the west of the city lay an expansive airport with dozens of terminal, and planes set to take off across the region and world. The eastern lands of the city possessed a large, sandstone colosseum with two cranes installing a large, neon sign that could be seen from the onlooking hill.

Kyoko cocked his glasses, unfazed from their last-minute sprint for Russo’s sake. “I would believe that is the Battle Ring.”

“It’s huge! They must be expecting constant watchers with the size of that thing,” shouted Aries as a sudden gust of wind blew through her hair.

Jacob crawled up to them and gazed upon the city as well. “Wow, it IS huge! I don’t even think Kimpier City was as large as this one… but the buildings certainly are smaller.”

“Well, Breezeville City possesses the largest airport in all of Accelia. The buildings are small for the sake of the constant flow of planes,” Arya informed.

“On top of that, larger building creates stronger winds. By keeping low level buildings, it lowers the strength of the already strong winds blowing through here,” Kyoko added.

Another wind gust blew through the trainers’ hair, knocking Aipom from Jacob’s head and onto the ground.

“The wind is so strong here because of the mountains surrounding the city. They blow up and over, causing this place to become the Wind Capital of Accelia,” Kyoko finished.

Aipom stood up dizzily as Jacob got to his feet. It crawled up and waited for the group to make its way down so Russo could finally get his gym battle.

Russo stood determinedly looking upon the city. He felt his hands begin to clam up with worry as he felt the fear of losing another battle sink in.

Jacob patted Russo on the back. “Don’t worry! You’ll get your badge. I’m sure of it,” he encouraged.

Russo nodded, “Thanks! Let’s get going then. It’s still early in the afternoon, so we should make it in time to challenge them before closing.”

Arya crossed her arms. “Actually, the gym leader closed the gym for the day. She’s at the Battle Ring right now.”

“How do you know that,” Aries asked?

Arya began leading the group towards the city. “She’s an old friend,” she replied as she looked back and winked.



The group made their way towards the large colosseum and stared up in awe at the expansive structure.

A long line of challengers waited outside of the Battle Ring, patiently waiting to see if today was the day it would open and allow them a chance at earning their first symbol of the Battle Frontier.

Kyoko stared at the the large line, not aware he had so many other opponents going after his challenge.

From out in the line, an orange, frizzy ponytail poked up after catching eye of Kyoko. “Kyoko! You made it!”

Everyone looked over as Izzy peaked her head out from her spot in line. She waved to them and began to step out, but caught herself before she gave up her spot as ninth in line.

The group walked over and greeted her excitedly, glad to see a friendly face.

Izzy noticed Arya and whispered to Kyoko. “Who’s the new chick?”

Arya blushed, hearing Izzy’s question. “My name’s Arya. I was accompanying your friends to Breezeville City. Judging from your hair color and personality, you must be Izzy. I heard about you from Kyoko over a dinner a few times.”

Izzy blushed slightly and smirked at Kyoko, who stood next to her blankly. “You talked about me? How sweet of you,” she joked.

Kyoko ignored her statement. “You are aware the Battle Ring won’t be opening today, right?”

Izzy’s smile quickly faded to an awkward grin. “Wh-what? I’ve been waitin’ here for nearly six hours, so of course it’s going to open today… that’s why I’m here!”

Kyoko pointed at a small, picket sign that was placed outside of the doors. “It looks like the ones in the front ignored that sign stating that opening day and line numbers will begin tomorrow. It appears everyone here isn’t as intellectual as I had thought.”

Izzy’s face quickly grew pale from embarrassment. She sighed and watched as her fellow line mates overheard Kyoko and disbanded the line with disappointment.

Aries comforted her as Arya watched the trainers leave while muttering about the Frontier Brain being lazy for taking so long to open her facility. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “None of them will be champion if they can’t be patient. It’s not about getting to instantly challenge your opponent and receiving a reward. It’s about having a battle that will make you a better and stronger trainer.”

Russo overheard Arya and wondered what she had thought of him as a trainer. He and the others then looked over as the front doors opened and two women walked out.

One woman was quite tall and somewhat bulky. Her dark-brown hair was done up into a pompadour and decorated with a red, circular pin on the right side of her hairdo. She wore navy blue, denim jumpsuit and brown, lace-up work boots. “Thank god that line is gone. I was wonderin’ when they’d notice the damn sign.”

“Hi Wanda, glad to see your facility turned out nicely,” Arya replied. She turned and introduced the two women to the trainers. “These two women are your opponent’s here in Breezeville City. The woman who just spoke is Wanda and she’s the Ringmaster of the Battle Ring,” Arya informed.

Wanda nodded to the trainers. “Greetings kiddos.”

“And the other one’s Skye, the Gym Leader of this fine city,” informed another familiar, female voice.

The group looked over again, witnessing the arrival of Hareta, Ace Reporter of Accelia!

Arya grinned excitedly and ran over to wrap her arms around Hareta for an enormous hug. “Hara! I’m so glad you’re here! I didn’t think you’d make it,” she exclaimed, embracing her old friend.

Skye walked over and gave a small hug to Hareta, happy to see her as well. She then backed away and stood silently.

Hareta smiled embarrassingly and scratched the back of her head. “Aw, I missed you too Arya. I wouldn’t have missed the grand opening of our region’s new Battle Frontier Facility when it’s such a hot story,” she replied. She turned her attention to Jacob and the others. “Glad to see you all ended up here as well. I’m assuming Russo is here to challenge Skye?”

Russo nodded. “I’m here to get my second badge,” he replied confidently.

Skye smiled sweetly, “Well I humbly accept your challenge, only you’ll have to wait a little bit. I came here to help out Wanda. She’s going to test her facility before it officially opens, so I came here to be her opponent.”

Izzy crossed her arms and lowered her head. “Wish she’d open it up quicker already,” she muttered.

Wanda turned her attention to the others. “And you all must be friends of Arya?”

Jacob nodded, “My name’s Jacob and I’m a Coordinator. I’m traveling with my partner, Aipom,” he replied and help Aipom up to Wanda, who waved politely.

“My names Aries, I’m tagging along to become a Pokemon Doctor… one day,” Aries added.

Wanda looked closer at Aries, “That’s strange, you look an awful lot like-“

Izzy butted in front of Wanda’s line of site. “I’m Izzy! I’m here to challenge your facility!”

Wanda backed away and caught herself from stumbling over. “Oh my, well aren’t you an excited trainer. You’ve been here in line for quite some time, just like the ones who ignored my nicely decorated sign”.

Izzy’s face twitched. “Well… I mean…”

Kyoko cocked his glasses, “My name is Kyoko. I’m here for the same reason. However, I am not in any rush. I do not mind letting Izzy challenge you and lose.”

Wanda laughed at Kyoko’s introduction, getting a funny feeling from his intellectual and indifferent side about challenging her. “Why don’t you all come inside? I’m about to have a match with Skye, and since you are all friends of Arya, you can watch as well” she informed and led everyone inside.

As they entered, Hareta slowed Arya back for a small chat. Once the others had disappeared, she revealed her information. “You know why I’m really here right?”

Arya’s cheerful feelings about her reunion turned worrisome. “They’re here… aren’t they.”

Hareta took out her notepad and handed it to Arya for reading.

Arya’s eyes darted from side to side as she quickly analyzed Hareta’s notes. “Why would they want to come here? It just doesn’t add up.”

Hareta returned her notepad to her trench coat pocket. “All I could gather is that there is something here that they want. Do you think Skye knows anything?”

Arya looked off as her companions entered the main arena. “I’m sure either she or Wanda knows. I’ll ask them after their match.”

Hareta nodded and followed Arya. They both reached the main arena and made their way into the stands to watch Skye and Wanda’s practice match.

The Battle Ring’s interior matched its exterior, being a large colosseum with a dirt battlefield in the center. Small, black lines contoured the battlefield’s outline, seeming like a strange design choice.

Wanda and Skye had taken their places in their appropriate trainer boxes while Jacob, Russo, Aries, Kyoko, Izzy, Arya, and Hareta sat eagerly in the stands to watch the show.

A female referee took to the field in a spot at the center. A small pedestal rose from the ground, allowing her to type in a passcode that caused the trainer and referee boxes to become lifted high above the ground on large columns!

“Why are they being lifted so high into the air,” Jacob asked?

“I’m sure you are aware each battle facility for the Accelian Battle Frontier has different types of matches that consist of a little more than a simple battle. Here at the Battle Ring, Wanda’s special challenge is a PokeRinger match,” Hareta informed.

“PokeRinger involves the use of two Pokemon aiming for a ring released on a balloon. The Pokemon who catches it and scores it on the goal post is declared the winner. Mostly it is played in the air with flying types, but Wanda claims she’s had the battlefield fitted with all sorts of environments for the trainers who don’t have the pleasure of owning a flying type,” Arya added.

“That’s nice of her. From the looks of it, they’ll be playing it in the traditional manor,” Aries replied as she watched Skye and Wanda take out a Pokeball from their belts.

The referee held up her hands. “This PokeRinger practice match between Wanda, the Battle Ring Ringmaster, and Skye, the Breezeville City Gym Leader, will now commence. Each side will use one Pokemon and the battle will be over when the ring is scored upon the goal post. Let the match,” she began, but briefly paused as a small balloon was released from the center of the battlefield. Once the balloon reached her eye level, “begin,” she concluded.

Wanda and Skye quickly tossed out their Pokeballs, releasing two flying-types in the air. From Wanda, a small, cicada-like Pokemon with rapidly flapping wings holding it afloat. From Skye, a typical, black and white, medium-sized bird-like Pokemon.

Jacob took out his Pokedex and scanned the two as they raced towards the balloon at top speeds.

“Ninjask, the Ninja Pokemon and an evolved form of Nincada. Ninjask’s wings flap at such high speeds, they can become impossible to see with the naked eye. Staravia, the Starling Pokemon and the evolved form of Starly. Staravia prefer to live in groups when in the wild due to feeling too weak when on their own,” the Pokedex informed.

Wanda’s Ninjask quickly grabbed ahold of the small, plastic ring and quickly buzzed down towards the battlefield where a large, coat rack-like pole stood for the goal.

“Staravia, use Quick Attack and ride along the wind current to grab the ring,” Skye spoke softly.

Staravia collapsed its wings against its body, then shot down along the wind like a rocket, allowing it to grab the wing from Ninjask with its beak. It spread its wings out to stop its descent, then flew back into the air and out of Ninjask’s grasp. It turned and looked down as Ninjask watched it glide along the now calming winds.

“So why didn’t she take advantage of being so close and score,” Jacob asked, feeling awkward about all of his questions.

“Most likely Wanda asked Skye to test out if opponents could rival the speed of her Ninjask,” Russo replied, knowing that Ninjask tend to get speedy when left in battle for a while.

“Russo is correct. He’s referring to its ability, Speed Boost, which constantly speeds up a Pokemon the longer it’s in battle,” Arya added.

“So, if we want to beat Ninjask, we should beat it quickly,” Izzy concluded as Kyoko watched the battle intently. She noticed his intense concentration and smirked, thinking back to their school days where he’d be the only one paying attention to their teacher while everyone else goofed off.

“Impressive, Skye, but can you keep up with Ninjask like I want,” Wanda teased?

Skye blushed, “Of course. My flying Pokemon are no slouches in the speed department. For instance, Staravia, use Quick Attack once again.”

Staravia coated itself in a white aura and raced downward towards Ninjask, then slammed into it with its beak and the ring, knocking Ninjask out of the way. It cooed as it sped towards the goal.

Wanda nodded to her Ninjask, who, in the blink of an eye, appeared next to Staravia and smacked it off course.

Skye gasped at Wanda’s Ninjask’s speed! She wasn’t aware at how fast it could move compared to her fastest Pokemon!

Ninjask quickly yanked the ring from Staravia and placed it atop the goal-pole, setting off two cannons of confetti to signal its victory.

Skye sighed disappointedly, but smiled to her Staravia happily. “At least we tried, take a long rest my friend,” she ordered as she returned Staravia to its Pokeball. Both columns lowered and released the trainers, with Skye heading over to Wanda. She shook hands with Wanda as she also returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball. “I’d say you’re ready to go! Not many people can go up against my flying Pokemon and their speed.”

Wanda chuckled, “Thanks a lot. I’m glad I have the approval of our town’s Gym Leader, and the region’s Champion!”

Russo stood up from his seat and leaned forwards over the railing. “Both of you have such fast Pokemon! I can’t wait to challenge you, Skye!”

Wanda thought to herself for a moment before nudging Skye on the shoulder. “Well, how about you have your gym battle right here? This field could use some breaking in, and I can mold it to your every desire. What do ya say?”

Skye looked up at Wanda. “Oh, well I suppose that would be fine. Russo?”

Russo nodded determinedly. “Hell yes,” he replied and jumped over the railing excitedly, landing on the ground and darting over to the field.

“He sure has a lot more enthusiasm than I remember,” Hareta spoked to Jacob.

Jacob held Aipom worriedly. “That goes for me as well,” he replied. He hadn’t recalled a time when Russo seemed almost as excited as himself. “Is he faking it,” he thought to himself?

Wanda nodded to her referee before taking a spot in the stands where Russo had been sitting. She looked down at Kyoko and grinned.

Kyoko’s glasses had glared over from the afternoon sun. “Is there something on my face,” he asked Wanda curiously?

Wanda shook her head, “No, no, just nice to see my field getting a good gym battle in before my challengers take me on. I’ve been looking to get a good thrill from my first battle.”

Izzy leaned across Kyoko’s lap and got into Wanda’s face. “I can give ya just that! Please, let me challenge you!”

Wanda tsked, “Now, now, you’ll need to wait in line like everyone else.”

Izzy gasped, “Oh crap! I forgot about the line,” she replied and quickly took off to take her place at the now front of the line. “I’ll see you all later,” she shouted and quickly made her exit.

Wanda sighed exhaustedly, “Man that girl can talk.”

Kyoko cocked his glasses again, “She has always been excited about trying new things.”

Wanda turned her attention back to Kyoko, “And you aren’t?”

Kyoko turned his gaze back to the battlefield and Russo stretching as he prepped for battle with Skye. “I do not prefer getting involved, as watching can be a lot more beneficial than experiencing.”

Wanda smirked, “But you’ll learn a lot from the feelings of getting involved.”

Kyoko ignored Wanda, fueling her desire to continue a conversation with him.

The referee held her hands into the air as Skye and Russo stared determinedly at each other from their spots on the dirt battlefield of the Battle Ring.

“You can do it, Russo,” Aries cheered hopefully, attempting to suppress her residual anger from him hurting her Joltik.

Arya made sure to focus her attention on Russo and how he planned to battle a flying specialist.

Jacob continued holding Aipom in his lap worriedly. “Something seems off about Russo,” he spoke to Aipom.

Aipom looked up at its trainer and then to Russo, also feeling as though something was off about its trainer’s friend.

“This gym battle between Skye, the Gym Leader of the Breezeville Gym, and Russo, of Zilonia City, is about to begin. Each side will use three Pokemon, with only the challenger being allowed to substitute Pokemon. The battle will be over when either side has run out of Pokemon,” the referee announced as it was always scripted.

Skye held a Pokeball in her hands, “Are you ready to take to the skies?”

Russo grinned. “Of course,” he replied and gripped a Pokeball tightly.

The referee lowered her arms, “Then, let the battle begin!”

Spoiler: CHAPTER 29 PREVIEW

Russo: Dammit, why is she so strong?!
Jacob: Calm down Russo!
Russo: No, I can't calm down! Metang, c'mon!
Metang: Me-Metang...
Aries: Nothing about this match is looking good...
Arya: Russo...
Russo: Next time, Winning Is No Breezeville !
Hareta: You should talk to him.
Jacob: *sighs worriedly*

 

[Jaypom]

Chapter 29:
Winning Is No Breezeville!
Previously on Pokemon Spectrum… Jacob and friends arrived in Breezeville City for Russo to challenge the gym and Kyoko to challenge the Battle Ring. Upon arrival, they met the Gym Leader, Skye, and the Battle Ring Ringmaster, Wanda. They also reunited with Kyoko’s childhood friend, Izzy, as well as Hareta, the Pokemon Reporter Jacob and the others met in Kimpier City. Now, Russo has begun his match against Skye and has his eyes set on his second badge!​

Skye tossed her Pokeball into the air, releasing a small, purple, balloon-like Pokemon into the air as Russo sent forth his Metang.

Jacob took out his Pokedex and quickly scanned Skye’s Pokemon.

“Drifloon, the Balloon Pokemon. Drifloon expand or shrink their bodies depending on their emotions,” the Pokedex began.

“Aw, it’s so cute,” Jacob replied, smiling to Aipom on his lap.

“Some Drifloon pretend to be actual balloons to lure children into grabbing ahold of them, so it can then carry them off into the afterlife,” the Pokedex finished, hoping to shatter Jacob’s spirits and ambition to reuse the Pokedex again.

Jacob gulped and slowly shut his Pokedex, then remained silent in his seat as Russo got to work on his match.

“Metang, use Iron Head,” Russo began.

Metang coated itself in a metallic, grey aura and zoomed forward, aiming for Drifloon.

Skye spoke as calm as the breeze, “Use Constrict and throw it off course.”

Drifloon quickly dodged Metang’s attack by ducking underneath it. It then grabbed ahold of Metang’s arms with its string-like hands and tossed Metang into the air.

Metang floated shakily in the sky as it looked around, unaware at the strength of the small, Balloon Pokemon.

“Damn, that thing is a lot stronger than it looks. Ok Metang, use Confusion and send it to the ground,” Russo re-ordered.

Metang nodded and looked down towards Drifloon, who had disappeared from sight. It looked around for its target, but was unaware it was hiding atop its head.

“Use Ominous Wind,” Skye ordered.

Drifloon puffed its body full of a ghostly wind before unleashing it through its yellow x-like mouth, knocking Metang onto the ground.

Metang looked up shakily, feeling the effects of the super-effective attack. It hadn’t expected its opponent to have already moved above it.

“Dammit, how the hell can it move so fast,” Russo yelled aloud, bringing attention to himself.

Metang looked over worriedly as Drifloon appeared out of nowhere again!

“Use Shadow Ball,” Skye finished.

Drifloon formed a shadowy glob of black and purple energy that immediately exploded on Metang, due to the close proximity of the Pokemon.

Metang fell to the ground, knocked out from the overwhelming force of Skye’s Drifloon.

“Flooooon,” Drifloon puffed innocently as it floated back towards Skye for a congratulatory head-pat.

Russo lowered his head and sighed, disappointed at the loss of his most powerful Pokemon right off the bat. He returned Metang to its Pokeball silently and thought to himself on how he’d proceed. “I could use Totodile’s Ice Fang… or Larvesta’s String Shot to slow it down. Hoppip is no use since it’s too hyperactive and also a grass type. What do I do,” he wondered?

“I wonder why Russo used Metang right of the bat, especially against Drifloon, who has a clear advantage over it due to type,” Aries spoke to the other spectators.

“I think he underestimated the power of her Drifloon, which is something a challenger must never do to a Gym Leader,” Arya replied.

“He’s not as well thought as I remember from Kimpier City. Is he feeling alright,” Hareta asked?

“He’s been on a losing streak against other opponents, and has been moody since we left Seavaille Town,” Jacob replied.

“He keeps saying he’s fine, but I doubt he’s telling the truth,” Aries added.

“Well, he needs to get his head out of the clouds if he wants to beat Skye. She might look bland n’ unable to strike with pure force, but her Pokemon are capable of packin’ a punch if a trainer can’t keep ‘em out of the air,” Wanda informed.

Russo quickly tossed his second Pokeball into the air, releasing Totodile onto the field.

Totodile snapped its jaws at Drifloon, hoping to strike some fear into its opponent.

Drifloon looked at Totodile, then hovered over slowly.

Totodile tensed up, waiting for Drifloon to react.

“Use Ice Fang,” Russo ordered.

Totodile took advantage of Drifloon moving closer and opened its mouth to take an icy bite out of its opponent.

“Dodge, then use Disable,” Skye commanded.

Drifloon condensed its body into a smaller balloon and dodged Totodile’s attack. It then looked Totodile in the eye before puffing forth a red X from its mouth that merged itself with Totodile.

Totodile looked around, unsure of what Drifloon had done for a counter attack.

Russo grit his teeth and stomped his foot on the ground out of frustration, “Dammit!”

Skye paused and looked at Russo. Her once cheerful expression about their battle had instantly faded. Her goal of playing with her challenger was now to teach him a lesson.

“So, with Disable, that means Totodile can’t use Ice Fang,” Jacob asked?

“Correct, which means Russo’s ace move is now out of commission until he finds a way to defeat Drifloon,” Arya confirmed. She crossed her arms and glared at Russo angrily. “However, I really don’t appreciate his attitude.”

“I thought he was all happy before,” Aries exclaimed!

“It was all clearly a rouse,” Kyoko informed.

“Use Bite back to back,” Russo shouted angrily.

Totodile felt as though its trainer wasn’t battling in the right frame of mind. It sighed and turned to Drifloon, then opened its mouth wide for a simple chomp.

Drifloon easily constricted its body and floated out of Totodile’s way. It then proceeded to dodge each attack from Totodile, managing to tire it out.

Totodile breathed heavily, feeling the toll of its rapid fire of attacks draining its stamina.

Russo clutched his head angrily, trying to find a way to defeat Drifloon, but the only thoughts that filled his mind were anger with his constant defeats from Arya, Declan, and now Skye.

“You are not going to win if you’re constantly worrying about victory or loss. If you continue to act out, I will end the battle and not accept a rematch until you’ve proved you understand the issue at hand,” Skye shouted to Russo as a breeze rushed through the arena.

Russo looked up at Skye, with tears in his eyes. “No! You can’t do that,” he shouted back!

“He’s crying,” Jacob whispered to Aipom? He was shocked to see Russo, of all people, to be having a tantrum.

“Drifloon, use Ominous Wind,” Skye spoke without a care.

Drifloon crossed, then uncrossed its arms and unleashed a current of purple and black wind that gushed past Totodile, knocking it backwards and onto the ground where it had promptly been knocked out. Drifloon expanded its body angrily. “Floon,” it puffed, mimicking its trainer’s emotions.

Russo stared at Totodile. Thoughts of a tall boy filled Russo’s mind, but he quickly shook the thought from his mind. “No…. NO,” he muttered to himself. He quickly returned Totodile to its Pokeball, then tossed out Larvesta as his last Pokemon.

Larvesta emerged from its Pokeball, ready to battle. As it turned to look at its trainer, it noticed that he was clearly not alright.

Skye remained silent. She was disappointed that Russo was letting the state of the battle affect him so seriously. She had never had a challenger throw such a harsh temper from the battle not going their way. She nodded to her Drifloon, signaling for the Balloon Pokemon to end the battle swiftly.

Drifloon quickly rushed over and grabbed ahold of Larvesta before Russo could give a command.

Larvesta winced from the Drifloon’s surprisingly powerful grip, but accepted that it was going to be defeated if Russo didn’t act quickly.

Russo’s audience remained silent as they too knew he’d been defeated.

Drifloon then unleashed a wave of black and purple wind from its x-like mouth that gushed across Larvesta’s body, inflicting massive damage from attack’s proximity.

Russo fell to his knees silently as Larvesta hung in Drifloon’s grasp.

The referee held her hand into the air. “All three of the challenger’s Pokemon are unable to continue, therefore the match goes to Skye, the gym leader,” she announced promptly, hoping Russo would be a sane enough trainer to take his Pokemon for treatment at the Pokemon Center.

Russo looked up and noticed Drifloon had floated over to him. It gently placed Larvesta into Russo’s open hands before it floated back to his trainer.

Skye looked at Russo disgustedly. “A trainer to lets the frustration of a hard battle overtake him is not worthy of challenging me. Take your Pokemon to get healed up before you even consider speaking to me again,” she commanded harshly.

Jacob stood up to defend Russo, but was stopped when Arya grabbed ahold of his arm. She looked him in the eye and shook her head, knowing he’d understand that Russo needs to learn a lesson.

Russo stood up and gazed down at Larvesta. Tears were still streaming down his face and had begun to drip onto his defeated Pokemon.

Larvesta blinked weakly and looked up at its trainer. “Lar…” it chirped.

Russo looked away and quickly fled the Battle Ring with Larvesta in his arms. As he rushed through the street, onlookers wondered why he was in such a rush and in tears.

Jacob, Aries, and Kyoko stood up to head after him and make sure he was alright. “We’re gonna go check on him,” Jacob informed.

“You coming,” Aries asked Arya?

Arya shook her head, “I have a couple of errands to see to before I turn in for the night. You all make sure Russo returns to his normal self. I would never accept a rematch from him after what I just saw, until he changes his priorities.”

Jacob, Aries, and Kyoko nodded before heading out of the Battle Ring to find Russo before the afternoon sun was well below the horizon.

After the teens were out of sight, Arya turned to her fellow battle leaders and Hareta. “Now that they’re gone, I’m going to need your help.”

“What’s the issue,” Wanda asked?

“We believe Team Element is going to do something here in the city very soon,” Hareta replied.

“What sort of something,” Skye asked?

“We aren’t sure. Those kids stole a flash drive from them a while ago and let me borrow it. If I can find out what’s on it, perhaps it’ll tell us what we need to know,” Arya answered.

“You should take it to the police headquarters then. Officer Jenny has enough high-tech technology to scan it for you,” Skye suggested.

Wanda got to her feet and hopped the railing to Skye’s side. “We’ll go search the skies for any signs of danger. You both head for the Police Headquarters in the center of town,” Wanda ordered.

Arya and Hareta nodded in agreement before they parted ways with their allies. As they left Wanda and Skye, a small cargo plane hovered above the city, with its passengers waiting to set their plan in motion.




Jacob, Aries, and Kyoko entered the Pokemon Center as the sun began to coat the sky in an orangey-red hue.

Nurse Joy greeted them as they approached her desk. “Hello and welcome to my center. How can I help you trainers,” she asked cheerfully?

“We’re looking for a trainer named Russo. Has he passed through here,” Jacob asked worriedly as he clutched Aipom in his arms?

Nurse Joy’s cheerfulness turned worrisome. “Yes, he was here a few minutes ago to drop his Pokemon off for treatment. I’m not sure where he’s run off to though. Are you friends of his?”

“Yeah, he just got beat pretty badly in a gym match. You really have no idea where he could be,” Aries replied?

Nurse Joy nodded sadly, “I’m afraid so. His Pokemon were beat up pretty roughly, and should make a full recovery, but I’ve never seen a trainer as distraught as him.”

“What do you mean by distraught,” Jacob asked? He would have never guessed Russo’s tantrum was as serious as he had made it out to be.

“I’ve met tons of trainers that were beaten pretty badly by Skye, but nothing that a trainer wasn’t capable of comprehending. Russo’s eyes… they were filled with… so much hatred,” Nurse Joy replied.

“He hates Skye,” Aries wondered?

“No, hatred for himself. Like he couldn’t live with letting himself get defeated,” Nurse Joy clarified. “Would any of you be willing to look after his Pokemon and be around in the event something happens,” Nurse Joy asked?

“You two stay here. I’ll go look for him,” Jacob spoke to Aries and Kyoko.

“Where do you plan to find him,” Aries replied as Jacob darted for the door.

Jacob clutched a Pokeball in his hand as Aipom climbed atop his shoulder. “Rowlet can look from the skies! I’ll come back with him as soon as I can,” Jacob replied before taking off out the doors. He dashed through the streets, quickly looking and analyzing his surroundings for any sign of Russo. He skidded to a stop and tossed Rowlet’s Pokeball into the air.

Rowlet popped out of its Pokeball and landed on Jacob’s other shoulder. It cooed and nuzzled Jacob’s cheek, “Roowwlll”.

“I need you to go look for Russo for me. I know it’s kind of late, so be careful,” Jacob ordered.

Rowlet nodded and took to the skies as the sun’s hue grew a darker orange with the oncoming night.

Jacob continued running and search for Russo. After around ten minutes had passed, he came upon the outskirts of town and noticed the large hill they had descended to enter the city. He noticed a figure sitting atop it as the wind blew through their shaggy hair. “Russo?!” Jacob shouted, hoping it was him.

He was met with a loud groan and the sound of someone falling onto their back into the grass.

Jacob chuckled. “Yeah, that’s him,” he joked to Aipom. He began climbing up the hill, with Rowlet joining him upon reaching the top. He looked over at Russo and saw what Nurse Joy had meant.

Russo stared sadly at the city as it began lighting up for the night. His eyes were blank, and his clothes were ragged from the constant wind. Looked down at his badge case, where his Blaze Badge sat and mocked him. “I… I keep losing,” he groaned.

Jacob cocked his head, “So what?”

Russo turned and looked at him. “What do you mean ‘so what’?”

“So what if you keep losing. You’re a trainer, it comes with the job. You don’t see me complaining whenever you beat me in a practice match, or when I lost my battle with Minnie in Seavaille,” Jacob replied.

“You don’t understand. I made a promise, and I was doing so great at keeping it until…”

“Until?”

“Until Declan,” Russo answered angrily, startling a flock of resting Pidgey in a nearby tree.

“You’re still mad about that?”

Russo gulped and turned his gaze back to the city. “He… he beat me when I clearly should have won. I don’t get it…”

Jacob continued looking at him silently. He crawled over and sat next to him. “You said you made a promise?”

Russo cringed as Jacob repeated those words to him. “I don’t want to talk-“

“Well talk about it anyways. You need to speak your mind instead of bottling things up,” Jacob replied, cutting him off.

Russo sighed. “As you know, Professor Oswald served as my parental guardian. When I was around four years old, my family disappeared. I haven’t seen, or heard from them since. I had a brother that was a couple years older than me, and my parents would constantly let us practice with their Pokemon. He’d always beat me, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to figure out how to beat him. He told me I was only ever going to beat him by defeating every other trainer I came across. Once I’d have won enough battles, I’d finally be the stronger sibling.”

Jacob remained silent. He wanted to respond appropriately, but didn’t know exactly what to say.

Russo continued. “I haven’t seen or heard from them for fifteen years. Oswald said they dropped me off and went on a journey together, but felt I was far too young to be on the road.”

“So, they took your brother and not you? But, he was only a few years older than you.”

“I have no idea why, and I don’t care. I only care about proving to him that I’m stronger, and the only way to be stronger is to never lose. Oswald enrolled me in a trainer’s school once I was old enough hold my own in a match… and then I never lost a battle.”

“Not one battle?”

“Not. One. Match. The first battle I’ve lost since my brother left, was the match against Declan. Of course, I’ve lost and failed at capturing Pokemon, but not against trainers. Declan defeating me… ruined everything…”

“No it didn’t. I think you just aren’t able to accept it because you got so used to being the stronger one. That’s not how it’s always going to be when you’re on a journey. You’re constantly going to meet people on your skill level or stronger. The important thing is to just forget the difference skill and focus on your Pokemon,” Jacob replied cheerfully.

“That’s not happening,” Russo replied with a scoff.

Aipom and Rowlet sat beside the trainers and gazed off into the city, enthralled by the beauty of city lights.



In the center of town, Arya and Hareta entered the Breezeville Police Station and greeted Officer Jenny, who had already been briefed on the situation. Officer Jenny silently greeted and led the two girls to a control room in the back of the station.

Arya gripped the flash drive in her hands and stared intently at the massive computer monitors hanging on the wall. “You have cameras set up all around town,” she asked?

“It helps us to keep an eye on the citizens. We can distribute emergency signals and direct people more easily by keeping an eye on them from here,” Officer Jenny answered. She held her hand out for the flash drive, to which Arya cautiously handed over, then looked over the small device. “I can’t identify anything out of the ordinary. We’ll have our computer specialist have a look and scan it,” she replied, then handed over the device to her assistant.

The computer specialist, wearing a handy nameplate with “Rick” messily scribbled on it, took the device and looked it over as well. He sighed and wondered why a small drive would be so important to Team Element.

Hareta rested her hands in her trench coat pockets as she looked at each of the monitors on the wall. “There’s so many,” she said in awe.

“Well, this is a large city. We need to make sure we have an eye in every corner,” Office Jenny replied.

Hareta squinted at one of the monitors that depicted a picture of the outskirts of a corner of the airport. “How often do the helicopters fly,” she asked as she noted a dark black aircraft waiting far off in the sky.

Arya and Officer Jenny quickly shuffled over to look as Rick inserted the flash drive into their scanning device on the computer. “That Helicopter doesn’t belong to any companies that I’m aware of…” Officer Jenny informed worriedly. As she reached for one of her walkie talkies, the monitors quickly went out one by one, entering a static state!

Rick looked at his main monitor, horrified, as he watched a small, pixelated Bronzor appear and wipe the screen clear of any data. “They… This was a trap,” he exclaimed! He quickly typed on his keyboard to shut down the virus, but was met with a shock anytime he pressed a key. He stood up and ran to a nearby switch on the wall.

“What are you doing?! You can’t do a Power Purge right now,” Officer Jenny warned!

“What’s a Power Purge? Can it stop whatever is happening to your security program of the city,” Arya asked as she gripped her Absol’s Pokeball.

“A Power Purge is what’s used to shut off all electricity in the city immediately. It’s only used when the city needs a mass reset after a power outage, or in times when the city has been evacuated. If he shuts the power off and something happens, there’ll be no way to warn any of the citizens,” Officer Jenny replied.

Rick looked at his boss worriedly. “If we don’t shut the power off, our security program will be wiped for good. This can keep the virus from working until we can boot up our systems into a backed-up version, but we can’t do that if their program wipes everything on our computer clean!”

Officer Jenny bit her lip, having never been faced with a tough challenge before. She sighed and nodded to Rick.

“What if this is what they want though,” Arya suggested?

“It’s our only option,” Rick replied, looking back at his computer monitor fearfully.

“Just do it! We’ll handle what we can once it happens,” Hareta added in.

Officer Jenny quickly motioned for Arya and Hareta to exit the building. “You two need to go and head into the streets. Order the citizens to head for our airport terminals for lockdown protocols and have Wanda and Skye check on that helicopter.”

Hareta and Arya nodded, then quickly darted from the building as multiple station workers watched curiously, unaware off the situation at hand. Once they exited the building, Rick then quickly flipped the switch and sent the whole city instantly into darkness.



Up on the hill, Jacob and Russo’s attention was immediately drawn towards the now pitch black city. Aipom and Rowlet climbed onto Jacob’s shoulder as both he and Russo rose to their feet. “What’s going on,” Jacob asked, hoping Russo possibly knew the answer?

Russo peered into the sky and noticed the lights of a black aircraft descending from the clouds. “I’m not sure, but there is something coming out of the sky over by the airport,” he replied and pointed at the aircraft.

Jacob noticed what he was talking about. He then turned back to Russo and spoke to him more seriously than he had before. “Look, I know you losing all your battles is tough on you, but you need to stop acting like a child. Your Pokemon were extremely hurt, and you really offended trainers who have gone through much greater defeats than you. It’s okay to be mad, but shove it down until you can let it out and not be judged for it. Right now, there obviously is something wrong with the city and I want to go find out. You can stay here and mope if you want, or you can come with me and find out what the problem is. What’s your choice?”

Russo looked back at Jacob. He was used to his lighthearted and cheerful side, not this sudden change to a serious trainer who seemed to know more about journeying than he was willing to let on. He began to answer, but was interrupted as the ground beneath them began to crack and shake.

“How about I pick for you,” answered a familiar, earthy voice.

Jacob and Russo managed to regain their footing and looked to find a man dressed in a brown, leisure suit and dirt brown hair slicked upwards. They recognized him, but couldn’t place his name. Behind him, sat a Hippowdon releasing off an Earthquake attack, helping to further identify him except for his name.

The man waited for them to respond, but quickly grew impatient with their silence. “Did you hear me? I thought that was quite an entrance,” he scoffed.

“We recognize you, but I don’t think either of us really remember that well,” Jacob replied embarrassingly as Aipom and Rowlet nodded in agreement.

The man tsked. “I’m the Team Element Admin you humiliated back in Criss-Cross Cavern! Dierk?”

“OH,” Jacob and Russo exclaimed in unison. “Sounds really similar to dirt, because you look like you use ground types,” Jacob added. He paused for a moment before he realized what Dierk had said. “Wait! Team Element?! Arya was right when she told us, in the forest, that Team Element was lurking around these parts,” he exclaimed to Russo.

“What do you want,” Russo asked angrily. He stepped in front of Jacob and attempted to act like a shield.

Dierk rolled his eyes at the trainers. “We’re just here to pick up a package. However, I really got chewed out for letting you steal that drive… OH WAIT, no I didn’t. It honestly saved us the trouble of breaking in and shutting down the city’s security on our own.”

“So, you’re the one’s responsible for the city turning pitch black,” Jacob concluded angrily.

Dierk nodded snobbishly. “I’ll give our scientist, Tesla, credit for creating such a nice program. But now, my fellow admins and I have orders. Mine are truly the most special though, considering I wasn’t able to fulfil them back in the cavern.”

“And that is,” Russo asked?

Dierk laughed and snapped his fingers at his Hippowdon.

His Hippowdon quickly charged at the trainer and knocked them backwards, sending them rolling down the hill and into the hard, rocky terrain at the bottom.

“To kill anyone who interferes,” Dierk replied, gazing darkly down at his targets as they looked up at him painfully.

Spoiler: CHAPTER 30 PREVIEW

Jacob: I didn't think we'd actually be risking our lives in this story!
Russo: Team Element really has some psychos running the show.
Dierk: That's pretty rude of you to say to someone in charge of your life right now.
Aries: Sounds like you boys are having way more fun than me and Kyoko right now.
Jacob: Next time, A City In Darkness ! We better get ready, because it looks like more admins are on the way!
Aipom: Aipa!

 

[Jaypom]

Chapter 30:
A City In Darkness!​

Previously on Pokemon Spectrum, Russo challenged Skye to a gym challenge and lost pretty badly. When he fled the scene out of hatred for himself, Jacob went to console him. Arya and Hareta met with the Officer Jenny stationed in Breezeville City to investigate the mysterious flash drive Jacob and Russo found prior to Seavaille Town, but after scanning it, a virus infected Breezeville City’s security program and forced the city into a blackout, trapping all citizens inside of their buildings as Team Element makes their way to the Breezeville Airport to set their plans in motion.​

A pitch-black helicopter with a rainbow-colored, cursive-E painted on its side landed on the runway of the expansive Breezeville Airport. Its passengers, a tall man, a modestly-tall woman, and short child emerged from the aircraft and looked around the empty airport.

The woman looked at her long, shining, forest green nails. “Have any of you heard from Dierk yet? My nails are still drying so I can’t check our communications,” she spoke with a droning voice. Her hair was dyed green to match her nails, and was tied up into a fluffy, wide ponytail that draped down her back. She donned a tight, dark green sundress with fishnet tights and brown leather riding boots as well. She turned to watch as another aircraft descended onto the runway.

The second aircraft was much larger than the first, but looked stylistically the same. It possessed a large, drop-down door for unloading its passengers in a timely manner on its rear. As its doors opened, hundreds of grunts dressed in green and yellow suits emerged.

The green suited grunts stood at the woman’s attention, saluting her as she waved them away with a flick of her wrist.

The yellow suited grunts saluted the tall man and awaited his orders.

The man looked at them for a moment. He nodded to them and pointed towards the terminal where the airport guests were evacuating to, due to the blackout. He was dressed in a bright yellow suit, with a white lightning bolt running up his sleeves. His bright blonde hair was styled in a spikey-manner, mimicking the look of wild electric attacks.

The young girl beside them held a small Pokemon in her hands. She whispered something to it gently, directing the Pokemon to follow the grunts sent away by her colleagues. The small girl was dressed similar to the woman, but her dress was colored light grey. She donned black flats and had her brown hair braided into two pigtails draping down her shoulders.

The woman looked down at the small girl. “Wendy, you better go with your Minior. Haven’t you learned a damn thing,” she scolded.

The girl, Wendy, looked away fearfully. She nodded silently and ran off with her Pokemon.

“You better not fail! Take command if you don’t want to be punished,” the man in yellow ordered. He sighed and took out a small communication device from his pocket. “Voltaire and Leefah here, Dierk come in,” he spoke. He paused for a few moments, waiting for a response before he eventually sighed and turned off the device.

“Looks like we can’t trust Dierk to go off on his own, eh Voltaire,” the woman asked?

“Shut it, Leefah. This mission is to retrieve what our boss desires. If Dierk screws up, it’ll be him who gets the punishment. Not us,” he replied.





In the Pokemon Center, Aries banged her fist against the glass doors, hoping to break them open. “Dammit, dammit! We’re stuck in here,” she cried as she backed away to survey her bruised hand.

Kyoko cocked his glasses and looked around at the worried citizens trapped inside the center with them. “I wonder what caused the blackout,” he muttered to her.

Aries wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, having tired herself out from trying to break free. “I wonder why I’m the only one trying to get out,” she replied, annoyed by the calmness of her fellow trapped trainers.

Nurse Joy emerged from her backroom with a small, suction cup device. She stuck it to the wall beside the door and flipped a switch, sending a small spark of electricity across the door and opening it for the trainers to leave.

Aries’ eye twitched at the sight, realizing all the other trainers were aware that Nurse Joy would know what to do. She and Kyoko walked up to Nurse Joy as she directed the trainers to head for the airport for safety. “What’s going on Nurse Joy?”

Nurse Joy watched as the last of the trainers fled the building. “Our Pokemon Center and the whole city has entered a Power Purge. Breezeville City uses this only in the state of an emergency, with evacuation routes all leading to the airport for safety. You two should head there as well,” she informed.

“But what about all the Pokemon here,” Aries replied?

Suddenly, Nurse Joy’s Cinccino emerged from the backroom as well with a sack of Pokeballs slung over its shoulder. “Cin-Cin,” it squeaked as it ran through the doors.

“We have another Pokemon Center stationed there with the power still on. We’ve already put your friend’s and all other trainers’ Pokemon in their Pokeballs for easier transport. Now let’s go,” Nurse Joy directed as the three exited the center and ran into Arya and Hareta on the pitch-black street.

“What are you all doing out here,” Hareta asked, noticing Nurse Joy and her Cinccino with Aries and Kyoko.

“It appears there is an emergency and all citizens are required to evacuate to the airport,” Kyoko informed as he cocked his glasses.

Arya and Hareta looked at each other nervously, realizing they were the only ones who knew the whole story.

“Run away everyone,” Izzy shouted as she ran through the streets and skidded to a stop when she recognized her friends looking at her like she was a lunatic.

“What are you screaming about,” Nurse Joy asked as her Cinccino tried to calm Izzy’s breathing.

Izzy breathed deeply and pointed down the dark street. “These people dressed in snazzy suits attacked me outta nowhere,” she replied.

As the group gazed down where Izzy had pointed, an army of grunts dressed in brown suits entered with multiple Pokemon at their feet.

“Who are those people,” Aries questioned as she backed away cautiously.

Arya quickly gripped her Absol’s Pokeball. “Those are grunts from Team Element,” she replied. She knew the grunts were under the command of Team Element’s Admin, Dierk. “What are you all here for,” her voice boomed across the now crowded street towards the grunts.

The grunts came to a halt and whispered to each other over what their response should be.

One grunt stepped forward and commanded their Pokemon to attack. “Sandile, use Mud Slap!”

Three small, black and brown crocodile Pokemon jumped into the air and opened their mouths wide. They then fired off dark brown globs of mud that rained down upon the trainers.

Nurse Joy’s Cinccino jumped into action as the Mud Slap attacks ceased. It quickly rubbed itself over each of the trainers at the speed of light, managing to wipe away any trace of the mud.

“Thank you Cinccino, now you and your trainer head off for the airport. We’ll deal with these lackeys,” Arya replied thankfully.

Cinccino saluted the champion and ran off with Nurse Joy and the others, except for Aries.

Aries looked at Arya, debating if she should stay and help her, or run off with Nurse Joy to safety.

Arya looked back at her and smiled. “You should go too. There’s going to be many more grunts than these where you’re all going. Put together a defense force,” she ordered and turned back to the Sandiles, sending out her Absol for assistance.

Aries nodded and ran off, speeding ahead of a slow Kyoko, grabbing ahold of his shirt and dragging him in her grip and Izzy in a panic beside her.

“Use Razor Wind,” Arya ordered.

Absol jumped high into the air and gathered all the power it could into the blade atop its head. It then sliced through the air, sending forth a crescent of white energy into the Sandiles and grunts, knocking some of them onto the ground.




At the base of the hill outside of town where Jacob and Russo were pitted against Dierk, Jacob and Russo got to their feet and held their aching bodies.

Aipom and Rowlet blinked and looked around, already accustomed to taking damage from falls. The two ran to Jacob’s side defensively and looked up the tanky Hippowdon.

Russo held his hand out and shielded Jacob. “You need to get out of here. I’ll distract him for you.”

“You’re crazy! I’m not leaving you here when someone clearly said they intend to kill you,” Jacob replied angrily.

Russo felt a sudden irk from deep within his mind. He felt as though he had already experienced this before, but he couldn’t quite place when he had experienced it. Could it have been a dream?

Suddenly, Dierk’s Hippowdon jumped and slammed onto the ground, releasing a shockwave that knocked Jacob and Russo back onto the ground as Aipom and Rowlet stood their ground.

“There’s no use fighting. Ever since that whole debacle at Criss-Cross Cavern, I’ve been preparing to prove a point. Team Element is not someone you should cross,” he cackled as his Hippowdon puffed a small cloud of sand from its nose.

Russo reached for his Pokeballs and grit his teeth when he realized all his Pokemon were still with Nurse Joy! All he had was Hoppip, and there was no way it could take on Hippowdon… but he didn’t want to risk losing another battle and his friend as well.

“Rowlet use Leafage and Aipom use Swift,” Jacob ordered, blocking Russo from Dierk’s menacing gaze.

Rowlet flew high into the air and fired off a flurry of bright green leaves from its wings as Aipom swung its tail in a crescent shape and released a storm of yellow stars.

Hippowdon took the attacks head on, causing a small explosion and cloud of dust to envelop it and its trainer. As the dust cleared, both appeared unharmed.

Rowlet landed on the ground next to Russo as Aipom landed next to Jacob.

Russo picked up Rowlet and looked it in the eyes. “Listen to me, Rowlet. Jacob doesn’t want to abandon me here, but he needs to get out of here if he wants to live. You need to take him safety.”

Rowlet cooed worriedly and looked at its trainer as he commanded Aipom to unleash another ineffective Swift attack. It nodded to Russo and escaped his grip.

Aipom climbed atop Jacob’s shoulder for a better view of Hippowdon when Rowlet grabbed ahold of its trainer.

Jacob looked up at Rowlet as he was lifted off the ground with all Rowlet’s strength. “What are you doing?! Let me go! I need to help Russo,” he shouted angrily.

Rowlet knew it was making its trainer angry, but it didn’t want to lose three friends to the stranger who suddenly attacked them during a heartwarming chat.

Jacob tried to shake free, but Rowlet kept a tight grip. He looked down at Russo, “You did this? Why won’t you let me help you?!”

Russo remained silent as he watched Rowlet carry Jacob and Aipom off towards the city. He turned and looked at Dierk determinedly, “You’ll have to try harder if you want to kill me or my friends. Hoppip, let’s go,” he shouted and threw Hoppip’s Pokeball into the air, releasing the groggy Pokemon onto the gently night breeze.

Hoppip yawned sleepily and looked around. “Hoooop,” it moaned as it landed atop Russo’s head.

Dierk held his stomach and burst into laughter. “That puny thing is going to defend you?”

Hoppip frowned and felt anger fill its tiny body. It didn’t appreciate being insulted by some human dressed like a pile of shit. It flew off of Russo’s head and slammed into Hippowdon, surprisingly knocking it into the air and onto Dierk.

Dierk gasped for air as the Heavyweight Pokemon stumbled to its feet as to un-crush its trainer. “That- that was a dirty shot,” he managed to speak.

Hoppip landed on Russo’s shoulder angrily, joining its trainer in a determined gaze at Dierk.

Dierk smirked, “Well then, this is getting a lot more interesting when the prey fights back.”



Rowlet continued flying as tears streamed from its eyes as its trainer ordered it to return to Russo. It managed to clear its eyes and noticed Aries, Kyoko, and two other females heading in the direction of the airport. It cooed sadly and flew down to join them, gently releasing Jacob onto the ground in front of them.

Aries, Kyoko, Izzy, and Nurse Joy skidded to a stop as Jacob shouted at his Rowlet. “Why didn’t you listen to me! Russo’s back there all alone,” he screamed angrily.

“Where did you come from? Where’s Russo,” Aries asked as she helped Jacob to his feet.

“We got attacked by that Team Element guy from Criss-Cross Cavern! He said he wanted to kill me and Russo and attacked us brutally when Russo told Rowlet to fucking carry me away and leave him there,” Jacob said, slightly tearing up at the thought of Russo’s demise.

“Calm down! Russo may be alone, but we all know he’s stronger than all of us. He’ll figure out something,” Aries replied as she gripped Jacob’s shoulders once he began to sob.

Izzy looked around and noticed Wanda and Skye heading towards them at the sound of Jacob’s crying. She went googly eyed and darted for Wanda, hoping to continue impressing her. “Wanda, glad you’re here. Ya see-” she began but was ignored as Wanda and Skye passed her to see what was wrong with Jacob.

“Are you all alright?” Skye asked worriedly as she and Wanda joined them.

“We just finished evacuatin’ the rest of Breezeville’s citizens when we heard cryin’. Is Jacob alright,” Wanda informed and ask as she rested her hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“Did you all run into Team Element,” Skye asked, already aware they knew the situation at hand.

“It appears that Jacob found Russo, but the two were attacked by one of Team Element’s Admins with the intent to kill them. Jacob’s Rowlet carried him to safety after Russo ordered it to, but Russo stayed behind… most likely to keep the admin at bay or busy,” Kyoko informed.

Jacob stood up shakily and began trudging off in the direction of Russo when Wanda grabbed ahold of him in a bear hug-like fashion. “Let me go! I need to help him!”

“Not when you’re like this. You’ll only be in his way,” Wanda replied, managing to subdue him with her impressive strength.

Skye looked in the direction where Jacob had planned to go. “I’ll go instead. You all head to the airport for safety,” she ordered. She turned and ran off, having a feeling she knew where the trainers were clashing.

Jacob tried to head after her, but couldn’t escape Wanda’s grasp.

Aipom sighed and looked at Rowlet, feeling bad that Jacob didn’t understand Rowlet’s motivation.

Aries knelt down and pat Rowlet on the head, causing it to look up at her glumly. “It’s alright, you did what you thought was right for your trainer. Jacob doesn’t hate you,” she consoled.

Wanda began carrying Jacob and leading the group towards the terminal where the rest of the evacuees resided. “C’mon, y’all need to get to safety too. We’ll discuss the game plan there, and gather the help of other trainers. Nurse Joy’s goin’ to have her hands full too, thanks to some trainers and Pokemon hurt by the panckin’ citizens.”

Nurse Joy, Kyoko, and Izzy followed Wanda silently, hoping they’d manage to escape the situation unharmed.

Aries picked up Rowlet and Aipom as Jacob continued to struggle to break free, then followed Wanda and the others towards Breezeville’s makeshift sanctuary.



Arya’s Absol landed on the ground. It looked at the dozens of defeated grunts and Pokemon it had managed to wipe out singlehandedly.

Hareta crossed her arms and smiled. “You certainly haven’t lost any spunk.”

Arya laughed, “Well they weren’t exactly the toughest opponents.”

A grunt crawled on the ground weakly, hoping to get a sneak attack off on Arya.

Arya’s gaze quickly turned to the pitiful grunt as she slammed her foot down on their hand, stopping them in their tracks. “Now what were you planning to do if you did manage to hit me?”

The grunt gulped and shook in place, fearing the worst after seeing the wrath of the Accelia Champion. “I…I…”

“Enough. What is Team Element planning to do here,” Arya asked, expecting an answer.

“Th-The boss wa-wants s-something f-from the a-airport,” they replied.

Arya glared angrily and continued pressing her foot onto their hand, surely cracking a bone or two.

The grunt winced in pain. “Ah! I do-don’t know! P-please!”

Arya sighed and picked her foot off the grunt, with them sighing relief as she turned her back.

The grunt then snickered and attempted to resume the attack, but was met with Absol sinking its sharp fangs into their leg.

Absol rolled its eyes, thinking the grunt had no intelligence after they thought they could get the jump on a woman such as Arya. It spun and tossed the grunt far into the air and onto the pile of defeated grunt. “Ab,” it puffed and trotted to Arya’s side.

“So, what could they possibly want here,” Arya wondered aloud.

“We’ll have to check the airport,” Hareta replied, “That grunt said their boss wants something from there.”

Arya nodded to Hareta. “Then let’s head over,” she replied.




Wanda finally released an exhausted Jacob onto the floor of the airport terminal.

Jacob breathed deeply, hoping to catch his breath after tiring himself out to try and escape to help Russo.

Nurse Joy quickly ran about to various trainers resting painfully against the walls, seeing if they or their Pokemon needed any medical assistance.

Aries looked around the airport at the hundreds of citizens huddled together, with a few whimpering from missing family and friends. She noticed an elderly woman curled up and leaning against a wall. She walked over slowly to check on her, feeling bad that she appeared to be all alone. “Are you alright ma’am?”

The woman looked up shakily. She had a dark, wrinkled face, with eyes glazed over from fear. “Do you know what’s going to happen, child,” she asked in a creaking voice?

Aries shook her head, not expecting the woman to have a creepier atmosphere.

The woman sighed and returned her head to her knees, resting and mumbling to herself.

Aries wondered if she should bother talking to anyone, fearing they’d be the same way as this apparently terrified woman.

Small footsteps were heard as a short girl slowly approached the huddled citizens.

Wanda looked over and saw the girl approaching. “Are you one of the evacuees? Are you injured,” she asked worriedly as she walked over and knelt down to look at the girl.

The girl’s mouth trembled as a small ring shocked her finger, sending electricity through her body, going unnoticed by Wanda. “I… I don’t want to be here,” she begged.

Wanda looked back at Jacob to make sure he hadn’t run off, then to Aries for some assistance.

Aries nodded and ran over to check on the girl. She guessed she was around twelve years old, and must have gotten separated from her parents. “Are you lost,” she asked?

The girl felt another twinge of electricity fill her body, knocking her to the ground in pain.

Aries and Wanda got on their knees and tried to help her up. They didn’t understand why she had fallen, or where she had come from. As Wanda helped the girl stand again, Aries called out to the citizens. “Does anyone know who’s kid this is?”

The citizens turned and looked at Aries. They didn’t recognize the girl either!

Aries huffed and crossed her arms. “Her parents may still be out in town,” she said to Wanda.

“She belongs to us,” announced a female voice from above.

Everyone looked up and saw two people standing in the bannisters of the high ceiling in the terminal. One was a man dressed in yellow, with the other being a woman dressed in green. The two gazed down at the whimpering, pained girl. “Wendy! Do as you were told,” ordered the woman viciously.

The girl, Wendy, looked up in a daze. “P-please, it’ll hurt everyone here!”

Aries and Wanda looked at the girl and then the two people, then realized they must be associated with Team Element! They gripped Pokeballs in their hands, ready to defend the citizens as best they could.

Wendy noticed they were about to attack her and backed away slowly. “Mi-Minior! Explosion!”

Suddenly, a small, floating, rock Pokemon descended from the bannisters into the crowd of people. “Mi-or,” it shouted and felt its body swell with explosive energy.

“Everyone get away,” Wanda shouted… but it was too late!

Minior expelled the energy from its body, feeling the blast knock itself out as smoke and fire filled the packed terminal.

Spoiler: CHAPTER 31 PREVIEW

Aries: *Coughing* Where the hell is everyone?
*Silence*
Aries: Wanda? *Cough*
*Silence*
Aries: Kyoko? Jacob? *Cough*
*Silence*
Aries: Next time *Cough*, Aries vs. Voltaire ! I have to find everyone!

 

[Jaypom]

Sorry this is so late, and for missing the past few prompts. I've been busy with my summer job and classes. Thankfully, I had enough time off today to work on the next chapter as well as this. Hope you guys enjoy!

Weekly Short Story
"Movie Time"
6/08/2017​

Jacob and Aipom eagerly scurried to their seats in the large Cineplex Jacob’s mother had taken them to for the newly released movie about a young wizard and his Rowlet. They jumped into their chairs and stared up at the screen in awe.

Babs felt flustered as she tried her best to carry her child’s popcorn tray while also juggling to keep her food within her grasp.

“I heard that one of his teachers is the bad guy, what do you think Aipom,” Jacob asked, leaning over and whispering.

Aipom crossed its arms and thought to itself if that was even a possibility.

Babs managed to place her drink in a cup holder, relieving her stress and allowing her to give Jacob his food without the greater chance of its spilling onto the floor. “Hold onto this tightly, I don’t want you spilling this.”

Jacob nodded to his mother as the lights began to dim and the movie began playing.

Minutes passed and Jacob and Aipom had already gobbled down their food. They looked at each other and then over at Babs to see if she were paying attention to them.

Babs rested against her chair, beginning to succumb to her drowsiness, and just like that, she had fallen asleep.

Jacob and Aipom snickered to each other and slid out of their seats, heading out of the theater and off towards the concession counter. Once they arrived, they looked around for an attendee, but found themselves alone. Jacob thought to himself about how they’d get more popcorn in time to get back to their movie.

Aipom crawled up the counter and pointed at the large popper silently looking down upon them. “Ai-pa,” it squeaked, suggesting they make their own.

Jacob grinned excitedly. “Great idea,” he replied! He crawled atop the counter and fell onto the other side. As Aipom joined him, they found a switch to turn on the machine, as well as add in the kernels, salt, and oil. “So, we just flip this and dump the popcorn in… right?”

Aipom shrugged. It quickly flipped the switch to release the oil, causing a spicket above the popper to dump out a thick, dark orange liquid into a large tub. It squeaked and quickly turn off the switch, stopping the flow of oil.

Jacob pushed Aipom out of the way and flipped the switch to release the kernels.

Aipom grew angry and shoved Jacob back, knocking the switch off again.

The two ensued to enter a childish scramble, flicking the switch on and off multiple times. Eventually, Jacob went to hit Aipom again, but missed and hit the switch to turn on the machine and pop out the popcorn. The two stopped fighting and smiled happily, having succeeded in their task.

Babs suddenly emerged from the other side of the counter and glared angrily down at them. “What are you two doing back there,” she hissed! Jacob and Aipom looked back at her and cowered in fear as she reached over and picked the two of them up. She hung Jacob in front of her face by the back of his shirt and looked him in the eye. She began to yell but noticed the popper had suddenly began flowing a sea of yellow popcorn that eventually filled the warmer below. “Tell me you two didn’t…”

Jacob and Aipom looked at each other and then back at Babs, then winced out a small smile.

Babs looked around for an attendant, but couldn’t find one either! She backed away slowly and glanced at the door.

Jacob reached out sadly towards their movie. “But we’re going to miss the movie!”

“There’s going to be seven other ones, honey, and a marathon of them practically every holiday. You can miss this one,” she shouted in reply as she bolted out the door with her gremlins in her grip, and tidal wave of popcorn on her tail.

 

[LightningTopaz]

I'm practically in tears laughing as I picture a tidal wave of popcorn...

 

[chaos_Leader]

Similar format as most journey style, except our main protagonist is after contest ribbons instead of badges, but another of the gang is going after badges, and yet another is gunning for frontier symbols. Team Element spoils the fun, but not really. First two encounters had our heroes beat the Elements pretty handily, but this latest encounter looks to pose a real threat. There have been several stories done with Coordinator focus before, so that novelty can't stand on its own. I would however be more intrigued to see what goes in to a contest: looking into the logistics of it, how it is presented, how the show is put on. Is it like an “Accelia's got Talent” style show, with judges who are as much apart of the process as the performers themselves? As it stands now though, it feels like there's a lot of plot threads going out at once from the characters in the gang, and they can be tricky to follow. The threat of the evil team is only now starting to be realized in full after their first flops. It still feels somewhat early on in the plot, which I actually find a bit concerning now that we're 30 chapters in. Then again, Spectrum is following a more episodic approach like a series anime.

I feel like setting has a lot of missed opportunity. This is a whole new region of your own design, if ever there was a time to dedicate some narrative space toward exposition, this is it. The severely truncated narration, plus characters who won't fill the readers in via dialog, do not do justice to a brand new region. As of chapter 30, I still know exceptionally little about the Accelia region, other than it still plays host to identical Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys like in a series anime. What makes this region special? What gives this area its unique flavor? Problems also persist at the smaller scale, at town size, or building size. I almost invariably have trouble picturing what's going on, or where its taking place, and again I feel I have to suggest the truncated narration is a major part of the issue, which will be touched on later.

I'm just going to put my main challenges for character out in front right now: stereotypes and anime gimmicks. The main character Jacob has a bit more consideration given to him, as do the core group, but it's severely hamstrung with how its presented. The oftentimes hammy dialog and ridiculous situations the characters engage in do not do them a great service in the story, and I am often left wondering “why?” I suspect a large part of the characterization issues, similarly with setting (and plot), are largely influenced by the stylistic choices.

In my eyes, by far, the style of writing is the greatest challenge facing this story. It feels like this story is attempting to emulate the style and feel of the Pokémon anime series, but it isn't working. The narration is sparse, dry, spread thin, and in doing so denies so much of the potential at the heart of the story. Similarly the dialog is jarring, choppy and quite hammy, hurting characterization in the process. Even if all this is how the story is meant to be seen and interpreted, as a written form of Pokémon series anime, I feel like it misses its mark there as well. For all the silliness and hammy portrayal in the Pokémon series anime, it still had a charm to its name, and it knew when to take itself a bit more seriously. Though I am required to give separate judgment across an array of categories, I am comfortable saying that most of the issues in other parts stem from, or are at least exacerbated by, the stylistic presentation of the story itself.

There are a fair number of spelling, grammar, and misplaced word errors throughout. There are also several instances where punctuation format seems to be mishandled. There is enough simply on technical grounds alone to be distracted by, and could use a fair run through to correct mistakes and iron out formatting anomalies.

This story is trying to be an anime, but it has many challenges between its ambitions and where it stands now. The concept itself is not unappealing: coordinator focused journeys are less common, and it's always a treat to be introduced to a new region with new challenges to face. Where Spectrum suffers I feel is the attempt to emulate the style of a series anime, and coming up with something that's quite frankly, difficult to read.

My sincerest advice is this: take what you love about the anime series, and develop a written, literary voice that conveys those stylistic kernels in a way that's true to your vision, and enjoyable to your audience. Yes it's vague, and I am intentionally vague because it's not my place to tell someone how to write, I can merely hold up what I see are problems, and give them ideas to think about if they're intent on improving their craft. There are resources available, and I am happy to point people to some I've like if asked.

 

[Jaypom]

Similar format as most journey style, except our main protagonist is after contest ribbons instead of badges, but another of the gang is going after badges, and yet another is gunning for frontier symbols. Team Element spoils the fun, but not really. First two encounters had our heroes beat the Elements pretty handily, but this latest encounter looks to pose a real threat. There have been several stories done with Coordinator focus before, so that novelty can't stand on its own. I would however be more intrigued to see what goes in to a contest: looking into the logistics of it, how it is presented, how the show is put on. Is it like an “Accelia's got Talent” style show, with judges who are as much apart of the process as the performers themselves? As it stands now though, it feels like there's a lot of plot threads going out at once from the characters in the gang, and they can be tricky to follow. The threat of the evil team is only now starting to be realized in full after their first flops. It still feels somewhat early on in the plot, which I actually find a bit concerning now that we're 30 chapters in. Then again, Spectrum is following a more episodic approach like a series anime.

I feel like setting has a lot of missed opportunity. This is a whole new region of your own design, if ever there was a time to dedicate some narrative space toward exposition, this is it. The severely truncated narration, plus characters who won't fill the readers in via dialog, do not do justice to a brand new region. As of chapter 30, I still know exceptionally little about the Accelia region, other than it still plays host to identical Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys like in a series anime. What makes this region special? What gives this area its unique flavor? Problems also persist at the smaller scale, at town size, or building size. I almost invariably have trouble picturing what's going on, or where its taking place, and again I feel I have to suggest the truncated narration is a major part of the issue, which will be touched on later.

I'm just going to put my main challenges for character out in front right now: stereotypes and anime gimmicks. The main character Jacob has a bit more consideration given to him, as do the core group, but it's severely hamstrung with how its presented. The oftentimes hammy dialog and ridiculous situations the characters engage in do not do them a great service in the story, and I am often left wondering “why?” I suspect a large part of the characterization issues, similarly with setting (and plot), are largely influenced by the stylistic choices.

In my eyes, by far, the style of writing is the greatest challenge facing this story. It feels like this story is attempting to emulate the style and feel of the Pokémon anime series, but it isn't working. The narration is sparse, dry, spread thin, and in doing so denies so much of the potential at the heart of the story. Similarly the dialog is jarring, choppy and quite hammy, hurting characterization in the process. Even if all this is how the story is meant to be seen and interpreted, as a written form of Pokémon series anime, I feel like it misses its mark there as well. For all the silliness and hammy portrayal in the Pokémon series anime, it still had a charm to its name, and it knew when to take itself a bit more seriously. Though I am required to give separate judgment across an array of categories, I am comfortable saying that most of the issues in other parts stem from, or are at least exacerbated by, the stylistic presentation of the story itself.

There are a fair number of spelling, grammar, and misplaced word errors throughout. There are also several instances where punctuation format seems to be mishandled. There is enough simply on technical grounds alone to be distracted by, and could use a fair run through to correct mistakes and iron out formatting anomalies.

This story is trying to be an anime, but it has many challenges between its ambitions and where it stands now. The concept itself is not unappealing: coordinator focused journeys are less common, and it's always a treat to be introduced to a new region with new challenges to face. Where Spectrum suffers I feel is the attempt to emulate the style of a series anime, and coming up with something that's quite frankly, difficult to read.

My sincerest advice is this: take what you love about the anime series, and develop a written, literary voice that conveys those stylistic kernels in a way that's true to your vision, and enjoyable to your audience. Yes it's vague, and I am intentionally vague because it's not my place to tell someone how to write, I can merely hold up what I see are problems, and give them ideas to think about if they're intent on improving their craft. There are resources available, and I am happy to point people to some I've like if asked.

I haven't actually gotten around to editing the story recently due to my constantly changing schedule, but I have been looking to find ways to re-do the story since i can see the issues and understand what you've pointed out. Could the story at all be improved by having one main character as opposed to four? With one, the story could slow down and spend more time in areas that allow for development of the region. Do you think that might possibly have a positive effect to the story?

 

[kintsugi]

Hello! V sorry that this is so late; squeezing this in before round 3 of the hurricane hits lol.

Post-Judging Review

Plot

Your plot felt like a major focus of your story, which meant that it felt naturally strong and developed. There are some geniunely exciting conflicts at some points, there's always something happening on screen, and there are hints of a larger arc where shit really gets real, which are all good things.

On the flip side, most of the chapters feel strung together, and due to all of the action-y bits shoved in, the plot feels very incoherent: things that were the problem-of-the-week last chapter get swept under the rug and utterly forgotten by the time the next chapter is published, with very few exceptions. Due to this, nothing really sticks: it doesn't feel like anything in the previous chapters is important enough to affect the current chapters, which lends to a feeling of reading a bunch of chapters rather than a coherent story. If early events don't affect current ones, then there's little investment to care about current events since they probably won't affect future events.

And this is a sort of tricky problem to have. As it is, a lot of your chapters feel like really, really entertaining filler episodes -- which isn't necessarily bad, either, because it could create a really interesting slice-of-life-style plot with a bunch of kids running around. However, when you try to combine it with the epic-ribbon-badge-quest, the early events of your story really need a lot more weight if they're going to hold up the later elements.

Setting

I think there was a lot of missed potential here. Accelia feels like a big, white square with some contest halls and gyms and that haunted cottage in the woods, but in between it's pretty sparse. The Pokemon videogames get a bit of a pass on their implicit worldbuilding because they can convey so much explicitly/through colors and visuals and all that, but think about how they all still have a little bit of lore in each region, in every single corner. Each NPC has something to say, and even the bookshelves tend to have interesting things about them -- this gives the feeling that the player is in a world that goes well beyond them, and that there are other things that have happened/will happen in this world other than the plot through which the player progresses.

The same can come into play in writing: although you can't pull the same NPC/bookshelf trick, it helps to think of what was going on in a given location/person before the protagonists show up. Settings are, in many ways, also characters -- you'll hear people talking about some of the bigger cities as if they've got a personality, or there are reasons why a street in San Francisco is totally distinguishable from one in Chicago.

Characters

It felt at some point that you could fit each character into a box: Jacob is shonen protagonist. Russo is tsundere. Ryoko is clueless. Aries is girl. That female rival chick is the rival chick.

I think what made this feel the most awkward was when the characters started openly saying their developments when the plot demanded it: "all the new Pokemon liked Totodile and welcomed it to the team" and stuff like that. The characters shift wildly from behaving like kids and laughing at dumb things to spouting weird philosophy, and it's really hard to pin down who is who or why any of them act the way they do. There's a bit where Jacob is nervous about coordinating, but that goes away pretty quickly and never comes back, or there's a string of chapters where Aries doesn't really do anything, and so forth.

I think part of this is most visible in how characters are introduced: typically, they get a lot of their backstory and problems out of the way in their first two chapters, and they stay condensed. A good example of this would be Russo's Beldum. In its introductory chapter (For Whom the Beldum Tolls), we get Beldum's traumatic backstory, Beldum's relation to Russo, a strengthening of Beldum's relation to Russo, and then a resolution of everything that was just mentioned + an evolution. And, after this, Metang doesn't really get much by means of character development again.

Think about how you meet people in real life. Usually, you'll get information about them piecewise: maybe you meet them once in the halls and you get their name, and later you talk to them and realize they like frisbee, and then you guys sit at the same table at lunch and discuss your favorite superhero movie, and then six months down the line you start talking about some deeper stuff, like how you're secretly afraid that your parents are going to divorce or how they're always afraid that their younger brother is going to get into some dangerous shit.

Point being, revealing past trauma right off the bat is usually something people only do in extenuating circumstances: so having it as a frequent, repeated character development device feels a little forced. Moreover, people don't stop growing: just because Metang gets over its fears in chapter 16 doesn't mean that it's done being a sentient and developing character, so the plot should reflect that a little. You have it pretty rough since there's so many characters to juggle across your three protags + all their pokemon, but I would advise still trying to find a way to make their development more smooth.

Style/Technical

You have a bare bones style which conveys the core details pretty well, but sometimes the contest appeals feel a little lackluster/devoid of color.

There are a bunch of typos in the first fifteen chapters, and a bunch less later on -- which is good! Improving is good. But you should probably edit the first few chapters a bit for those juicy, juicy grammar fixes.

Overall

Overall, I think this story is a solid premise with a lot of potential, but there are a few hitches that could be polished out.

 

[AetherX]

Hey there! Been a little while. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get all caught up since I have some other reviews to do, but I started to notice that a lot of the things I was going to say for the earlier chapters continued to apply as I read on, so hopefully this is still helpful.

First off, I noticed you’ve been updating your older chapters. That’s great! It can be kinda hard to find the motivation to touch up something you’ve already posted and accepted as “finished” but I think it’s worth it. So good on you for that.

Something I saw pretty regularly that bothered me was an apparent aversion to the word said. Descriptive verbs are great, but they can also get distracting when used in abundance.

Jacob glared and shut his laptop, “I knew it!” he screamed. "I'm gonna go find her," he announced and darted from the room.

First off, for me the word “screamed” conjures a very distinct image that I imagine isn’t quite what you’re going for here. You scream in terror or excitement. Screaming indicates an uncontrollable level of emotion. The exclamation mark on its own gets the job done as far as emotion levels go. “Exclaimed” or “announced” would be okay there, though. The second bit of trouble comes with following that up with another dialogue tag. Technically it’s fine, but it seems a bit unnecessary. You could honestly get by with leaving the second dialogue tag out entirely. We know who’s talking, you’d make a new paragraph otherwise. Think of it as trimming the fat. You could instead do something like:

Jacob glared and shut his laptop. “I knew it!” he exclaimed. "I'm gonna go find her." He darted from the room.

Or maybe:

Jacob glared and shut his laptop. “I knew it! I'm gonna go find her." He darted from the room.

No dialogue tags necessary. We know who’s talking just from the first sentence, and the use of the words “glared” and “darted” evoke enough of an image that we also know what kind of emotions Jacob is having.

My main other piece of advice is something pretty simple that I’d be surprised if you hadn’t heard before: show, don’t tell. I know it’s a bit of a cliché to say, but there were several times where there was distinct “telling” even when whatever you were trying to convey had already been shown. For example:

Aries crossed her arms, “You can’t just say he’s not going to win if he hasn’t even tried. Just because he lost one or two or ten million battles doesn’t mean he can’t win this one,” she said, putting Izzy in her place.

Why even say “putting Izzy in her place”? We know that’s what she’s done. You showed us Aries putting Izzy in her place with that line of dialogue. Again, you can trim the fat here.

Aries crossed her arms, “You can’t just say he’s not going to win if he hasn’t even tried. Just because he lost one or two or ten million battles doesn’t mean he can’t win this one,” she said.

^This alone gives us the exact same information and impression without the addendum.

There are a couple other examples that I could give if you’re interested, but I figure this is something you’ve heard before and just need to keep an eye out for in the future.

Let’s see, what else?

Writing in an episodic structure can be tough. Sometimes episode arcs can get a little same-y and boring, or sometimes they don’t really add up well into an overarching plot. You do a decent job of this though. It makes me wish the anime were a bit more like this story. You still have some characters of the day/Pokémon of the day/etc but they contribute to a continuous story, with thematic overlap between episodes. Character development, for example, very clearly carries over rather than resetting. Lessons learned by the characters tend to remain learned rather than conveniently forgotten for the sake of the plot, which happens in a lot of stories.

Hope to see you around again soon!