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COMPLETE: Pokemon Academy Year II: Second Year Rhapsody

As promised.

Chapter 12: Good battles, if a little rushed (although I'm just a slow-moving person). I know as well as anyone else how difficult it is to write battles that have that many participants. The combination of Genesect and Victini is certainly formidable. Victini is a particularly unique Pokemon, and I like how you're making use of it. Schwarz's remark is starting to set off my sketchiness-radar regarding Freed's past.

Chapter 13: WHY?!?! WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?! Here I am quietly assured of my hatred of Kevin and all that he represents, and you had to go and give him my favorite Pokemon. The fact that I am angry is proof of the fact that you have successfully emotionally involved me in the story. Well done, sir. Things are looking dark this chapter, but undoubtedly Reggie and co. will save the day. I like the fact that you have a chaotic character that's willing to mess things up for everyone, those are always fun.

Chapter 14: Annnnd my sketch-dar has a confirmed reading. Memento Mori? Remember your mortality? The Sinister Icy Black Hand of Death Club*? Sounds... ominous. It's good to see Reggie exhibiting some sort of backbone for a bit, even if it almost killed him. The fusion was pretty cool, I look forward to seeing that idea expanded on more in the future. Thomas is sure hamming it up, be interesting to see who he is. I don't think Reggie's going to be standing up for himself anytime soon. Angst ahoy!

Chapter 15: It's always nice to see a good character get some well deserved poon. The fact that Fin's worried about Reggie even as Skyla is attempting to take his pants off just shows that he's a good friend. How heartwarming. Yay JackxMarie, bonus points for suspicions against Kevin. I'm not a big fan of Thomas' dashing yet derisive personality, but it makes for a good character. Well done on Reggie's angst, I think you may be starting to dispel those comments that Reggie is a shallow character.

Chapter 16: Not much more to see here, just more of that episodic stuff. I like it: good character development for Claudia. My only question is this, where in the Nine Hells did she get a grappling hook?**

Chapter 17: Enter the anti-heroes. Or maybe they will develop into full-fledged villains, who knows? Darren and Reggie's angst-off was eye opening. Hopefully it was for Reggie too, but I don't see this new found depression disappearing anytime soon. Again, good job on the emotion. Anyway, I'm already beginning to see the (quite obvious) seeds of corruption in these "Enforcers."

Chapter 18: You know what Reggie needs? He needs A.D. to show up again just long enough to punch him hard in the face, a la Kamina and Simon.*** Seriously, that kid's beginning to frustrate me. The Enforcers appear to be stereotypes and pricks. That was expected, but hopefully the stereotypical mother hen (Alexa) will keep them somewhat in line.

Overall:
PLOT-Finally we see some development here, although I honestly have no idea where you're going at this point. So many loose ends, but which ones actually will end up tied together? My interest is piqued, though, and it can no longer be argued that this fic has no overarching storyline.

CHARACTERS-This has always been your strong point, and it's finally starting to show through with Reggie. If anyone has doubts as to how much he deserves those awards, you have given them something to think about. The emotion and angst hidden within the dialogue is quite strong, and I'm impressed. I look forward to when he finally makes his turn around and proves that he really is a hero. Your minor characters are also fairly well developed, although you again encounter the difficulty of having TONS of them. I see you have gotten around this by writing entire chapters without a Reggie in sight, to great effect.

WRITING-Your grammar and punctuation has improved greatly, and the myriad mistakes I used to find no longer exist. When the few mistakes that you have do show up, however they are quite jarring. I am sure your beta-reader works hard, but when they let through things that make certain lines difficult to understand, something is wrong. I may start pointing these out in future chapters (hopefully I won't have to). Your description and dialogue are quite good, although the latter is hit and miss. You manage to include enough quirky humor to keep things lighthearted, but still portray an aura of darkness as things get worse for your characters. The back and forth between characters like Fin and Skyla or Valeria and Claudia amused me greatly.

* I don't think this is the first time I've referenced Calvin & Hobbes in a review of your fic
** The fact that I typed "Nine Hells" without even thinking probably shows me that I've been playing too much DnD and reading too many Forgotten Realms books
*** Or Simon and Rossiu, I guess. If you want to get that in depth...

DON'T JUDGE ME BECAUSE I LIKE FOOTNOTES! I JUST SPENT ALMOST AN HOUR AND A HALF WATCHING ANIMAL CROSSING: THE MOVIE. IT'S TWO-THIRTY IN THE MORNING AND I AM WIRED!
 
Haha, I hate Tyson. So yes, I think Reggie should kick some ass - I don't care if Chigon has to get ten new evolutions, I want Tyson to suffer miserably.

Anyway, I found it interesting that The Enforcers were supposed to be the ones to protect the school last year but instead Reggie and his friends were chosen, I can understand why they'd feel some spite towards them. As for the members of the group, well I find all of them unique and easy to remember actually - especially the French guy, seeing how he's an artist - I'd like to see him with a Smeargle, I think it would fit him a lot and I'd really like to see his battle style.

Other than that, nothing much happened in this chapter.

Overall, this was a nice, solid chapter which served its introduction to The Enforcers very well. While it was lackluster in terms of action, I expect the next chapter to be much more exciting regarding the title 'Declaration of War'. I hope it is exciting! ^^

Keep it up, man! :D
 
AetherX; Well that was a long review xD I liked it. I like the foot notes. As for AD returning, well I don't know about that but there'll definetily be someone that'll snap Reggie out. Though it's probably someone that'll surprise you, the hint is that every single character that has appeared could end up being the one snapping him out, you'll just have to see.

Yes Fin is awesome xD until his blood pressure goes downwards too much at least.

Tsutarja; Ten? that's too much xD honestly, I'm trying to balance the five I just have now considering Chigon's only evolved twice so far and one of them was a new one.

They weren't the ones to protect it, more like they were more quallified. You see after I reread the fic I noticed that...the third and second years didn't do anything, everyone in the group was a first year; so I felt like I had left the upperclassmen behind, that's when I thought of the Enforcers and decided to make them the best of the best of the best.

Each of the Enforcers is an ass in their own way xD Angelo's a pretentious artist, Tyson's an overconfident violent prick, Keith is a serious and condescending douche, Alexa is a strict and no fun type of girl and the fifth member...that's a story for another day xD all I can say is that it's a guy. Also, Angelo's not french, he just pretends to be because he thinks it goes with what an artist does.

Well, I have to say that there's a lot of meaning to the phrase declaration of war, you might be surprised.


Also on an unrelated note, the green dorm is officially called Roselia Leaf now...I've changed it names multiple times but this time I'll stick with it.
 
Nice job, like I told you before, the Enforcers are a great plot device, and this arc that'll be coming up is going to be good. I liked that the character of Kieth, he may seem all polite and formal, but he's just as bad as any villain. When you come around to doing that arc, trying to be as creative as you can (within reason, of course.) would be my suggestion.

Anyway, I loved the chapter, so keep at it.
 
And shit goes down XD I liked this chapter, you did a nice job establishing some of the Enforcers' more unique personalities and actions. Tyson for example being so arrogant, and their spite toward RegGang is quite understand. That line about Reggie being a Ditto, ouch. But, I think it would be hilarious if Reggie did catch a Ditto. But, at the same time I wonder how this Enforcer thing will be handled from Reggie's side of the spectrum. He made a promise that he would focus less on battling and such, and that would mean breaking that promise he made after his loss to Genesect. So, I wonder how that will be handled.

Also, regarding evolution. Chigon reminds me of a Digimon :p While it is his main Pokemon, I wouldn't mind seeing Reggie focusing on some of his other Pokemn, since one of the flaws pointed out is he would be nothing without his precious Chigon, don't get me wrong want to see it battle. But, other Pokemon like maybe Monferno or Azumarill get the spotlight wouldn't be too bad.

The Enforcers might just be power hungry, or attention hungry or both. It depends, I'm still wondering just how powerful these guys all individually are and each of their battling styles. Keith's Escavalier was obviously no push-over, so I look forward to other Pokemon from the group.

I could totally picture Alexa with a Lopunny or Pawniard. XD
 
Well it's not so much that he promised as much as him just deciding that he was too scared to do it xD though he did promise that he wouldn't battle till he found a reason to do it.

Funny since Chigon has only fought in battle twice in this fic xD though that's one more than the other Pokemon, Monferno's had two but one of them was offscreen and Fraxure's had two as well.

Each Enforcer has a specific Pokemon that defines them but they also have more xD they each have their own varied styles of battling as well.
 
Tyson is an ass-wipe. That's all I'm gonna say. I actually hope that if Reggie does kick his ass, that he won't use Chigon. Reason being? It would show that Reggie didn't always have to depend on Chigon for his battles, and could win without him. I'm not trying to make Chigon useless, but Reggie shouldn't need to rely on him all of the time. xD

But it's a great chapter, dear. I'll finally go back and read the other ones now. xD
 
@AetherX ; @Instrutilus ; @Chaosj2 ; @Cosmos ; @BlueNostalgia ; @Lugion ; @Thundagere ; @Jinoga ; @Rob Anybody ; @IVI;@Tsutarja ; @Octy; @Gotpika; @I'll try this out ; @Tophat Dragoneye; @Lady Lucifer;

Here's chapter 19, I admit I tricked you guys with the name for the chapter xD

Chapter 19: Declaration of War

Kevin and Freed shifted glances at each other before they turned their heads towards Brendan. They were curious about his reasons to invite the two of them to his office. Kevin ruffled the back of his head; his face resembling an expression of boredom and impatience. “So what’s the reason for inviting us here?” he asked, inciting for Freed to shoot him a glance as if he had just done something inappropriate. “Hey I had to ask.”

“No it’s quite all right.” Brendan nodded his head and stared at the two teachers. “So I just wanted to talk to you about something important. Freed I wanted to speak to you about what happened in Castelia, I need a full report on the Black Knights.” Freed nodded his head in understanding and sighed in thought.

“Well there’s not a lot to know. According to what I understand Cliff Hughes started the Black Knights with the sole purpose of following behind Team Plasma’s goals,” Freed explained dryly. He raised his left hand and put his thumb close to his mouth; biting it gently. “However after giving it a closer examination it seems that he was just trying to compete against Memento Mori.”

“So in the end it all goes back to that group huh?” Kevin smirked, his hands were now in his pocket; and he seemed a bit more relaxed now. “Then again that is the reason why you hired us.” His sight fell down on Brendan yet again; though the man didn’t seem bothered by it.

“Precisely,” Brendan nodded his head. “Don’t get me wrong you two are great and powerful trainers and are something we need, but I also picked you cause of your relations to the group.” He looked up at Kevin then a Freed. “Siegfried an ex member of Memento Mori who quit the position he had two years ago. And then there’s Kevin Blaze or should I say Incendio.”

“I was surprised that you actually wanted to hire one of the people that almost destroyed this place last year,” Kevin laughed innocently and shrugged. “But I’m glad you gave me that chance, though it doesn’t seem like anyone has been able to deduce my identity, I only changed my hair color and hair style after all.”

“I hired you because I thought you’ll be a nice addition to the team,” Brendan stated and leaned against his office chair. “You see according to some reports I’ve been receiving it seems like he’s still alive.” This message was enough to make Kevin’s face distort slightly. He eyes fell on the floor, yet his mind was somewhere else, racing and thinking back to so many memories. “With Zivok still alive and his location unknown we thought you might know.”

“Well I don’t,” Kevin shook his head in denial. “I don’t think boss even cared about Memento Mori, so it comes as a surprise that he’s actually helping them out.”

“Regardless the situation has changed. So if there’s anything that you do know you should say it.” Freed and Kevin turned their heads to the right. There was a large screen attached to the wall and it seemed to have been turned on already. Kevin stepped back as he saw Thomas Gray’s face appear on the screen and in turn delivered his signature glare immediately. “We cannot take risks after all.”


“It’s so nice you could get in contact with me, at least you still have some respect over your senior’s orders,” Brendan grinned at the screen.

“Just because you are a third generation holder and I’m a fourth one doesn’t mean that I should give you any kind of respect,” Thomas pointed out bitterly, his face actually seeming annoyed at Brendan’s comment.

“Anyways.” Brendan raised his head to Kevin. “I understand that you don’t know about Zivok’s whereabouts or why he might join Memento Mori, but if you can find something out then please tell me.”


“Well I have classes to give so it’s not like I can do anything but…there is a place,” Kevin scratched his chin. “Tohjo Falls, there’s a hidden temple there. I heard boss say that that’s where he got his InstaLink and that there was something on the walls that seemed to contain that phrase.”

“Please elaborate further?” Thomas Gray asked with incited curiosity.

“The temple seems to be from ancient times I’m talking before the Dragonic Civilization even existed,” Kevin explained. “According to what boss told me, he thinks that the markings in the temple may have something to do with Memento Mori but I don’t really understand.”


“No that’s a great clue,” Thomas Gray nodded his head in approval. “I’ll have a team search around the area immediately. Alex Damon is already taking care of searching around Unova anyways.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Brendan shook his head and held his hand towards the screen so as to get Thomas’s attention. “Me and May are going to go on vacation to Johto we’re having a small reunion with a friend so…we can check it out when we pass by.” He nodded his head and grinned confidently once more. “Plus with two trained Pokedex Holders it’ll be easier than with a group of policemen. They’ll just get killed in a second if they encounter trouble.”

“You’re an important person Brendan, you can’t afford to risk the lives of your wife and yourself just because you want to go on an adventure, especially since you have a kid on the way.” Thomas lectured with frustration. The tension between the two rose as they looked at each other; Brendan shook his head and stood up from his chair in a quick motion.

“Don’t worry about me Thomas.” He stated bluntly and coldly. “I’ve been battling and traveling up to 10 years more than you, I kicked legendary Pokemon ass multiple times and lived to tell the tail, don’t act as if you can tell what will or won’t happen to me in a fight.”

“Hardheaded fool.” And with that the screen shut off. Freed stared at Brendan’s face for a second, the principal seemed to have a problem with pride after all, though he had to agree with Thomas that taking such a huge risk was way too dangerous for someone so influential.

“Don’t worry about me Freed.” Freed gasped at Brendan’s sudden turn and reaction. “I’ll be fine, I was able to survive and stop crisis’s way bigger than this before I even hit puberty. Now puberty, that was a thing to watch out for.” Kevin stifled a laugh at the line.

“Nice choice of words boss,” he smirked.

***


“So the Enforcers huh? Well the way you’re saying it sure makes them sound like assholes,” Jack stated and kicked around in the air as he sat next to Reggie. The two were sitting at the edge of a small cliff overlooking the water, they were only about a meter or so away from it and they were both only wearing a pair of swimming trunks. “They sound like they could be hard to overlook.”

“Yeah. I mean that guy Keith is just menacing to be around and Tyson…well he almost made me crap my pants,” Reggie shivered in fear and stared down at the water. Suddenly a large eruption came from the water, causing Jack and Reggie to jump back as the water from below showered over them.

“Well that was fun!” Valerie laughed alongside Chigon; who was sitting on top of her head, his wet fur covering his body completely.

“Yep, I really love break days especially when it’s on the beach,” Fin smirked; his hair had fallen over his face and was glistening with the light of the sun. “But being around the other students just makes it too crowded to swim around.”

“Aren’t you two being just a little too peppy right now?” Jack raised and unimpressed eyebrow. Valerie and Fin just grinned before they sticking their tongues out at Jack. “Really mature!”

“Oh come on. Thes Enforcers or whatever are just a bunch of pushovers,” Fin shrugged innocently and began climbing the rock wall slowly to try and reach the point where Jack and Reggie were sitting. “There’s no reason to worry.”

“They kicked Darren’s ass!” Jack exclaimed in disbelief as he looked down at Fin. He was actually astounded at how his friend was taking things so lightly, Fin was confident that was for sure, but this was just stupid. “Do you know how hard it is to kick Darren’s ass.”

“Yeah but it was their leader who did it,” Fin jumped onto the top of the hill, causing Reggie to jump away so as to give him more space to land. He leaned back and ran his hand over his hair calmly before grinning down at Jack. “If he was assigned as their leader then there was a point to it, but it doesn’t mean that all of them can do that that’s the rule of action stories.”

Jack frowned with annoyance as he stood up. He was never able to understand how Fin could be so confident about things. Even at that moment his mind still raced with thoughts of how strong the Enforcers were, they were picked to stand above all other students after all so obviously they weren’t just pushovers like Fin made them out to be. “You can go die in a ditch for all I care but you shouldn’t underestimate anyone.”

Reggie scratched the back of his neck. Even though it had already been a few days he still wasn’t sure about what to think. Keith had told them that they shouldn’t fight back anymore and just let them take care of things, but would that really help, would going back to how things were before really solve everything. No…that’s what he wanted after all, he wanted to forget about the events of the year before and just have a normal life and yet.

“Chi!’ Reggie raised his head and looked down at Chigon; who was nuzzling his nose against Reggie’s feet to try and get his attention. Did he really rely on Chigon too much? A lot of people had pointed that same fact out multiple times.

“Maybe I do,” he muttered while petting the small dragon. Chigon had helped him out a lot the year before, it was because of him that Reggie had been able to meet everyone else and accomplish so much. And yet that was the same reason he was unable to grow.

“Anyways let’s get back.” Because of him focusing on his thoughts, Reggie had been unable to notice Valerie as she climbed back and she was now walking away along with Jack and Fin. “They’ll probably start serving the food soon.”

***


Music and dancing adorned the beach of Elemental Academy’s main island as students made their way around laughing and enjoying the free day that had been given by the principal. “Lots of people!” Reggie and Valerie whined in unison while covering their ears.

“Oh come on this is part of the fun,” Fin smirked only for him to turn away from the group and towards a group of girls talking nearby. “Another part of the fun…” he smiled and turned to the others. “I’ll see you guys later…bye,” he waved and walked off.

“He always leaves us,” Valerie deadpanned. She raised her camera and began to take pictures of the beach and the surroundings.

“Well girls are half of the thing that goes around in his mind,” Jack shrugged before sighing. He looked towards Reggie, who still seemed rather uncomfortable. “You usually don’t hang around large groups during the free days now that I think about it.”

“I’m just not good with large crowds,” Reggie shook his head nervously. “I mean, I’m one of those guys that really messes up things for himself so the more people the more nervous I get,” he sighed in frustration and rubbed the back of his head.

Jack adjusted his glasses and patted Reggie’s shoulder, surprising the Charizard Flame student due to the sudden feeling. “Don’t worry about it, if anything happens I’ll help you.”

“Funny since you didn’t give a damn about me last year,” Reggie pointed out with narrowed eyes.

“Well how do I say this…that was last year this is now,” Jack nodded his head and kept walking. For some reason Reggie felt as if there was something else he wanted to say, but knowing Jack he probably didn’t want to show too much sympathy. “Don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly a loud groan escaped his lips, making Reggie look ahead to see what was bothering him. He noticed Kevin Samuels who was talking with a large group of students along with a plastic glass on his hand. “But anyways if you really want to spice this free day more I suggest you change the music a little bit,” he stated. “It’s good but you need to put something that’ll really get people to move as for the food, always make sure that there’s enough left it could ruin things very fast. ” He explained.

“Damn that son of a bitch…why the hell does he have to be in my dorm,” Jack frowned with disdain.

Kevin smiled at the sight of Reggie and Jack and proceeded to walk over; waving at the group he was with so as to tell them that he was leaving. “Well it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you two. I heard Marie’s recovered from her wounds of the field trip.”

“Yeah, she has gotten better,” Jack stated bitterly.

“Well that’s good.” Kevin patted Jack’s shoulder and took a sip from his glass. “I’m glad I could help out,” he smiled sheepishly at Jack and Reggie could swear that it was becoming harder for his friend to hold back his annoyance. “I heard you were unconscious at the time but as they say a knight in shining armor will always be there to save the damsel in distress.”

“Oh really,” Jack gritted his teeth and shrugged Kevin’s hand off. “Fuck you,” He muttered in a lower voice before he turned around and walked away in his pent up rage.

“Man, that guy just can’t take a joke can he,” Kevin laughed; he then turned around and flashed a smile at Reggie. “Marie isn’t really my type, she’s a little too simple…now she’s different.”

Reggie moved his head around and blushed at the sight of Miko. She was dancing with some of her friends and was wearing a red bikini top and bottom, a sight that was enough to make Reggie move his head away in nervousness and to try and get rid of the blush. “Yeah…she looks good.”

“Doesn’t she?” Kevin pointed out. Suddenly an arm was put around Reggie’s shoulder, making the sixteen year old exchange looks with Kevin. “I actually wanted to talk to you about her. Remember how I asked you if there was anything between you two back when we first met?”

“Yeah. Why?” Reggie raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the sudden mention of the memory.

“Well I wanted to know if the situation between you two was still the same,” Kevin pointed out confidently before patting Reggie’s back.

“Um…yes, yes it is.” Reggie nodded his head, though he didn’t really feel like it was okay for him to clarify. He swore that he was able to see a grin creep across Kevin’s face and that was all he needed to confirm his worries. “But I don’t really think she’ll say yes I mean Miko’s kinda picky.”

“Oh are you worrying about me? Thanks but I don’t need it,” Kevin smirked before he began to slowly let go of Reggie. “I’m pretty confident of myself you know.”

Reggie and Kevin stared at each other, letting the sound of the music and the people around them to vanish into the deepest parts of their thoughts. He couldn’t let him have Miko and yet he still wasn’t sure, was telling her the right thing, what if she didn’t like him…what if she liked Kevin more. “You just can’t. I mean she can be stubborn at times and she’s really…I don’t know how to explain it.”



“You know I was lying right?” Reggie raised an eyebrow at Kevin’s comment; though the blond teenager kept talking anyways. “The only reason I haven’t gone for Miko yet is cause I like you,” Kevin patted Reggie’s chest; slightly pushing him aside. “You know how to keep your feelings back and when to speak, plus you’re different from most of the people I’ve met.”

“So I decided to give you a chance and see if something happened between you and her, but nothing did so now I’m moving forward.” His expression turned into a more serious one now, Reggie had never seen Kevin so serious before and clenched his fist at the realization that he couldn’t do anything. “But I’m not holding back anymore kid. If you really like her then you should’ve told her rather than just beat around the bush,” he smirked and turned away from Reggie.

“But still…”

“I’ll give you some advice.” Reggie raised his head in curiosity and was able to see Kevin’s left eye after he turned his head half around. “How about you actually decide on what you want. Because just acting like you want something will never get you far kid.” Kevin shrugged. “Tell you what…fight for it,” he smirked. “Even if I do date her I’ll even give you the chance to take her away, I don’t think that’ll really happen but…I’d like to see if you can pull it through or if you’ll just let me keep her.”

He didn’t want to admit it but Kevin had a point. Not once had he actually tried to change things, he was so focused on having a peaceful life that he just took everything else for granted. His legs began to weaken as he saw Kevin make his way towards Miko. He couldn’t fight, it would just cause more trouble, or would it? Kevin just told him to decide but…he couldn’t.

“Mi…” Reggie tried to get the words out of his mouth but they weren’t able to budge. He wasn’t able to say a single thing and the thought of it was jarring.

He stepped back and with one swift turn of his heel he stood opposite from the event. “I’m sorry,” he muttered weakly and began to walk; no longer paying attention to the sound of the music and partying. “I’ve lost.”

***

“I’m sorry about that,” Valerie was sitting on her bed, Reggie sitting next to her as the two contemplated on the events of that afternoon.

After he finally calmed down Reggie had gone to Valerie’s dorm to pick up Chigon. The little guy actually seemed to be annoyed at the fact that it was forgotten and was looking away from Reggie at the time.

However, that wasn’t what was going through Reggie’s mind. Kevin had asked Miko out and she had agreed. “No…it doesn’t matter I mean who Miko dates is her choice,” Reggie laughed. It was a fake laugh, a laugh to try and hide his true feelings. He had never lied to Valerie; after all she had always supported him and yet here he was. “Anyways we should go buddy.” He quickly grabbed a hold of Chigon and stood up from the bed.

“Reggie you don’t have to pretend,” Valerie shook her head and stood next to her cousin. “I’m sorry for what I said back in Castelia, things have…gotten harder, but I just want you to remember that I’ll always support you.”

“Just leave it at that…okay Val,” Reggie muttered weakly and proceeded to walk out of the dorm room; leaving Valerie behind to her own thoughts.

He leaned against the wall of the hallway, ignoring Chigon’s subsequent licks of his hand to try and get his attention. “It’s better this way. Had it been me and she would have had to protect me all this time,” he nodded his head, though he was still staring down at the floor. “Kevin’s someone that knows what he wants and takes it, he’s got money, he’s got looks and he’s good with people…he’s much better than me.”

“Chi?” Chigon cocked its head to the side in confusion.

“I just rely and stand behind everyone else, trying to make myself look bigger through them, that includes you too buddy,” Reggie sobbed slightly. He gritted his teeth in frustration; it being the only thing that was keeping him from sobbing in the hallway. “I’m not worth it, the reason Charles used me was cause I was easy to manipulate, cause I wanted to have something to fall back on and rely on and that is the same reason I’m here right now. I just never learn!”

“So why did you pick me Chigon!?” he questioned, his eyes falling down on dragon Pokémon. “What was the point of you coming to me. I’ve done nothing but cause you trouble and pain. If it had been someone like Darren or Fin or Jack…had it been Alex you would be a lot stronger than you are right now…and yet.”

He couldn’t hold it anymore. His body slowly slid along the wall till he was sitting on the floor, his voice broke slightly as his teeth stopped grinding against each other before allowing his soft sobs to come out. “Damn it I’m such a weak little crybaby why the hell am I doing this….I really can’t catch up to him. Alex you really are the best at everything.”

“Reggie?” Reggie raised his head, tears rolling down his face as an expression of shock and embarrassment went across his face. Claudia was staring down at him in confusion, and who could blame her considering the state she had found him in. “Are you okay?”


“Me…yes I’m okay, of course why wouldn’t I be?” Reggie laughed nervously and faced away from her. He jumped upwards while wiping his tears with his sleeve. “I was just…having a little breakdown is all it happens to everyone.”

“Who’s Alex?” Claudia asked simply, her face showing worry for Reggie as she grabbed a hold of his sleeve. The hold, he remembered it from when they first met, and yet the feelings behind it were completely different from that time he had found her in the newspaper room. Now he was the one that was heartbroken and she was there to comfort him.

“My older brother,” Reggie nodded his head shyly.

“Want to talk about it?” Claudia responded with a similar tone to his. That actually caused Reggie to feel slightly better, knowing that even she was worried as to how to react in that situation.

“I’ve got time.” Reggie nodded his head.

End of Chapter 19
Next Time: Hitting Rock Bottom


Now that I've got your attention I'd like to tell you guys about two projects that I'm planning, three actually and they're spinoff or oneshots of this story.
The first project is called Dark Files and it'll be a series of oneshots focusing on the future characters we'll see in Memento Mori as well as some chapters focusing on Freed's past.

The second one is Memories and it'll be a series of oneshots that'll focus on the main character's past and memories, amongst this are Fin's full adventure from my now dead NaNoWriMo project Dragon of Water, Reggie's past and the full story behind Darren's past.

and the third project is called UniCross and it'll deal with Reggie meeting AD once more, though their meeting is a little different this time.

so I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
 
Kevin Blaze is Incendio?! Talk about unexpected!!

Anyway, it's just as you said earlier, Reggie is spiraling even further down into depression. First when he lost to the leader of the Black Knights, to the Enforcers appearing and now possibly losing the chance to be together with Miko, the girl he's fallen in love with. And now he's even questioning the reason why he received Chigon. And the title of the next chapter sounds like he hasn't reached the bottom yet.

A good chapter, though I spotted a few errors. I'm also interested in your future projects. Think you can tell me whenever new chapters or one-shots are up?
 
Sorry, maybe I'd be surprised by the revelation of Kevin being the so-called Incendio if I actually read the previous academy series until the very end, but since I didn't ... :p

It was still a nice chapter, though. Reggie doesn't seem to be getting any better, huh? I'm looking forward what the next chapter has in store him as well as the interactions with Miko now that he found out she agreed to go out with him. Man, Kevin is right, I totally agree with him! I mean, he'll even give Reggie his chance to take Miko away from him? What is he waiting for?

I wonder if all this Chigon neglect is leading somewhere especially with Reggie wondering whether he's relying on it too much ...

Also, shame on you for fooling me with such a chapter title! Shame on you! >:|
 
I wanna clarify once more that there are two Kevins though xD yeah I'm still kicking myself for that one >>

I was actually afraid of this chapter being too cheesy xD I mean with the sudden transition from action to romance and all that. Though you agreeing with Kevin just means I'm doing my job right, but keep in mind that Reggie's just shy, he's afraid of being rejected and losing her; of course he's pretty much lost her already.


Honestly no, but what you just said gave me an idea actually.

Well we're even xD you tricked me into thinking the chapter of Essence was going to be super awesome or something xD I did tell you that there was more than one kind of declaration that could be done.
 
How badass is Brendan? Soooo cool. Just totally shut down Gray. I still love the parts where he actually fought in Dragon's Roar. Yeah, you kind of messed up in introducing two Kevins :p

Kevin S isn't as much of an asshole as I first took him to be, but I still desperately want to jump into the story and throttle Reggie. He continues to spiral down and down, but that will only make his eventual emergence all that more awesome. You had some grammar and spelling mistakes that made some parts hard to understand here and there, but good overall. The plot thickens...
 
Yes, I do agree. Brendan is pretty cool, but then again, he's from Hoenn. Everyone knows ma homies from hoenn are #1. :p

Anywayz, on to the chapter. First off, I'd like to mention how happy I am that you're improving, oh I dunno, like all the time. The plot, the characters, the setting and world, even the plot twists are getting better and better. Though, I do have to mention that your mistake regarding the two Kevins was bad. You need to pay more attention to these details. Attention to detail shows that the writer really thought things through and was sure to avoid any plot-holes or mix-ups. Be careful.

Also, I'm beggining to notice that Valerie and Reggie are getting alot closer to each other, almost like brother and sister. Just an observation, though. Anywho, awesome job and keep that good work!
 
Yeah the thing with the two Kevins is something that still haunts me. However, I realize that Kevin is a pretty common name, I made a mistake as an author but realistically it wouldn't be too hard to have two people with the same name xD though I knew I should've gone with Kelvin when I introduced Samuels as Kevin.

Well they are "siblings" in spirit as the two are really close this relationship is also present between Reggie and Valerie's brother who will be introduced soon.
 
Lack of Chigon use is going somewhere I suppose.

Interesting that Kevin and Miko are going out now, I'm glad Reggie and her aren't going out. Mainly because of Reggie's constant playing and lack of making a move on her.
 
@AetherX ; @Instrutilus ; @Chaosj2 ; @Cosmos ; @BlueNostalgia ; @Lugion ; @Thabet ; @Tsutarja ; @Octy; @Gotpika; @Tophat Dragoneye; @Lady Lucifer ; @System Error;

Here's chapter 20, this is the last chapter of the Fall from Grace arc and will be the last chapter focusing on the first semester at school, the next arc will take place outside of the academy.

Chapter 20: Hitting Rock Bottom

“So Kevin is going to go out with Miko?” Claudia asked as she walked along the halls of the Blastoise Aqua dorm with Reggie. The boy had now dried up the few tears that had come out and was being led outside by Claudia.

“They’re probably already out actually.” Reggie sighed in frustration, passing his right hand over his head as Claudia stared at him. “Sorry that I had to bother you with this Claudia.”

“No it’s okay. We’re friends after all.” Claudia reassured; she flashing a warm smile towards Reggie before patting his shoulder. “You helped me out when I was down so it’s my turn to do it for you.” Reggie couldn’t help but smile, he had always seen Claudia as someone that was just as shy as he was and yet she was trying to help him so much. “But it’s not like it makes me special I mean Valerie could help you too.”

“I know that but it’s different…” Reggie trailed off. “I’m used to Valerie being there to help me so I guess I don’t really take what she says into consideration, with you I get a new perspective.”

“That’s kind of selfish don’t you think?” Claudia raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve learned I can be a little selfish as of late,” Reggie chuckled, this time for real. His mind went back to the events of his meeting with Darren the other day and then to what Fin had told him that same afternoon. “I don’t know how to change that. I mean it just seems like things have gotten so hard.”

“Usually we make things harder than they actually are.” Claudia pointed out before nodding wisely. “The thing that might seem like an obstacle to us is just a pebble in the road to someone else, the level of difficulty changes from person to person.”

“I understand what you mean.” Reggie turned away from Claudia. It’s true that he understood his problems and the range in which they were measured, but even so he was still unable to shake the feeling of guilt and defeat away. His mind wandered, to thoughts of what Kevin could do to Miko. He was a good guy that much Reggie was sure of, and sadly he was also sure that Kevin wouldn’t waste a chance to woo Miko over if he found it.

***

“So what are you gonna do for winter break?” Reggie asked. He and Claudia walked along the dirt road that led from the blue dorm to the castle; deciding that it would be better and gave them more time to talk than going by the lift.

“Hm…I still haven’t thought about that,” Claudia shook her head and smiled. She was actually pretty scared deep inside, not knowing if she would be able to keep up the conversation. It wasn’t the same as Miko or Valerie; she knew that Reggie wasn’t a conversation leader. “I’ll probably just go back home, I don’t really have anything that I could do other than that.”

“That’s what I’ll do too.” Reggie nodded his head and turned away; causing silence to fall over the two of them. He looked over at Chigon, who was walking eagerly alongside Azumarill. “I wonder if Pokemon ever feel depressed.” He pointed out with curiosity in his voice.

“I don’t know,” Claudia shook her head; not really knowing how to respond to his question. “I think they can though, I mean they’re living beings and then there’s Pokemon with those kinds of personalities,” she pointed out; still not looking at Reggie.

Reggie turned to look at the road in front of them, only to feel a small rustle coming from the trees. “What is it?” Claudia asked, her voice quivering in fear as she retreated behind Reggie.

“I don’t know,” Reggie shook his head, his teeth rubbing against each other in anxiety. He could see that Chigon and Azumarill were already heading into the forest; as if they didn’t care about what could come out. “Hey you guys, come back!” Reggie commanded, but his voice fell on deaf ears. He did notice something though. Azumarill seemed to be frowning at him when it had turned to give him a quick peek. “What’s going on?”

“Maybe we should follow them?” Claudia stated shyly. Reggie just stared at her. He didn’t want to disillusion her by not checking out what was wrong; it would’ve made him look like a coward. And yet he still didn’t want to go, after his recent losing streak Reggie was so worried about losing a fight that he just couldn’t get himself to do so.

The thought of encountering something that could hurt Claudia and himself if he didn’t do things right, it was scary, unbearable even.

“Let’s go.” Reggie nodded his head, though he was still biting his lower lip in nervousness. He grabbed a hold of Claudia’s hand, mostly to assure himself that he was holding on to something, and proceeded to walk into the forest.

He took careful steps, trying not to step on any twigs that might alert wild Pokemon, or any wild Pokemon in general. “It’s really dark,”Claudia pointed out, her body almost slipping out of Reggie’s hold with a one of the twigs.

“Yeah you’re right,” Reggie nodded his head before grabbing a hold of his pokeball. “I’ll ask Monferno to light our way.”

Monferno was released from the ball instantly, the flame from its tail creating a guiding light in the darkness of the forest. “Monferno. Can you trace the others?” Reggie asked politely. Monferno just looked at him, a slight frown on its face. “What’s wrong?” he asked, though the Pokemon didn’t answer and instead began to walk.

“I think he’s saying that we should follow him,” Claudia nodded her head and started to walk after Monferno, no longer needing to grab Reggie’s hand now that they had light.

Reggie was confused though, why had both Monferno and Azumarill acted so disgruntled with him? Were they mad about something? Had he done something wrong. His mind kept going around the thoughts over and over as he walked behind Claudia and Monferno.

Finally the two were able to make their way through the forest. Only to see both Chigon and Azumarill lying down on the floor their bodies seemingly beat up. “What’s going on?”

“They were attacked,” Reggie gasped and raised his head in unison, only to come in contact with a Gengar and a pair of Haunters, their faces showing the usual grin as their eyes fell down on Claudia and Reggie. “Not good,” Reggie gritted his teeth.

“I think they can still fight though,” Claudia pointed at Chigon and Azumarill; who were pushing their bodies upwards from the floor and glaring at the ghost Pokemon.

The two Haunters laughed at Claudia and Reggie. They floated at the two of them with one swift motion, their bodies turning into shadows as they waved around them. “Not good, Monferno use Flame Thrower to try and stop them.”

Monferno glared at the approaching opponent and jumped forward, his body moving around the two ghosts till it was around them. This in turn caused the Haunters to turn around; only to be hit by a powerful flaming blaze of flames that slammed down onto them. “He did it,” Claudia smiled.

“That wasn’t Flame Thrower, it was Incinerate,” Reggie muttered with hesitation. While Monferno had managed to do what he wanted he had still used a different attack; and the way he approached it could’ve failed miserably if not done right. “Monferno why didn’t you use Flamethrower?”

Once more, his order fell on depth ears, with Monferno instead opting for charging at the Gengar. Gengar smirked with confidence and disappeared; only to appear once more behind Monferno and slam its left arm on the Pokemon’s gut.

Monferno slid around on the floor quickly and fired a barrage of Embers at the ghost type. Gengar was ready for this though and dove into the ground to avoid the attack. The ghost type reappeared quickly though and slammed its body against Monferno from the ground. “Shadow Sneak,” Claudia muttered.

“Chigon, Azumarill, you have to get up,” Reggie encouraged. He could see Chigon nodding his head in agreement, Azumarill was still frowning at him though.

Azumarill lunged at the Gengar in an instant and fired a barrage of blue colored bubbles. Unfortunately, the bubbles were blocked by a large ball of shadows courtesy of the two Haunters. The Haunters both laughed and fired the sphere together, sending it flying at Azumarill.

“Chi!” Chigon yelled and jumped in front of the sphere. It moved around; its tail glowing before it swung towards the dark sphere. However, the sphere flew over the Iron Tail instead of being blocked, causing for Chigon to be slammed by the sphere and sent flying back.

“That was pretty dumb actually,” Claudia pointed out, though her tone of voice reflected the fear that she was really feeling as she saw the battle.

“Chigon’s too inexperienced when it comes to fighting on its own,” Reggie nodded his head. “Usually the others help him out but neither Monferno nor Azumarill did anything to help him this time.”

“Reggie I think there might be a problem with your Pokemon. “ Reggie nodded his head at Claudia. He didn’t want to admit it, but the fact that Monferno and Azumarill were both acting indifferent towards him and ignoring Chigon proved that there was indeed something wrong with his team.

“Monferno use Incinerate on the Haunter of the right, Azumarill you use Water Pulse on the one on the left. Forget Gengar until they are knocked out!” Reggie commanded.

Azumarill and Monferno stared at each other, almost as if they were communicating through their eyes. Azumarill was the first one to jump; it swiftly spun around and swung its tail forward; firing a wave of water down at the ground. “Water Tail,” Reggie gritted his teeth, only to see the Haunters split apart and allow the attack to pass over them.

This caught the Gengar by surprise, because the Haunters had avoided the attack it was now going straight towards him. Gengar slid itself into the ground once more so as to avoid the attack and began to zoom through the floor.

Monferno saw through this and raised its fist, the fist began to glow with a bright light before he lunged forward and slammed it down on the ground, causing the floor to shatter and for Gengar to jump out.

Monferno didn’t waste any time and proceeded to slam a fire fist against the Gengar’s face, the fist sunk into the Gengar and sent it flying and crashing against a tree. Monferno landed softly on the ground and roared before pounding its hand against its chest.

“They knew that if they attacked the Gengar it’ll be like taking out the leader,” Claudia gasped in realization. “So they ignored the Haunters and went for the Gengar instead, they’re really smart.”

Reggie didn’t reply though. He hadn’t been able to see it, he had commanded for them to attack the Haunters thinking that it would be best to take them out one by one; he should’ve thought about taking out the leading man first but instead he took that risk.

Then it hit him. They didn’t trust his judgment, the reason they weren’t doing anything he said was because they didn’t think Reggie’s strategies were good enough. Reggie’s lip quivered in nervousness before it was bitten into submission. “I get it,” he muttered.

The Haunters stared at each other in fear and started to retreat once more, reassuring Monferno and Azumarill that they had won. “Yeah…” Reggie muttered inaudibly. “Of course they would win, because I wasn’t helping them out they won.”

“Reggie don’t say that,” Claudia shook her head, her hand grabbing a hold of Reggie’s arm. “I mean you were just a bit off today, all trainers go through this.”

“Claudia I’m always off,” Reggie countered, his face not even turning to look at her. “All the battles I’ve had lately have ended up in losses if a strategy I make actually works then it’s by fluke. Think about it most of the battles I’ve won since I started coming to the academy have been because of Chigon and not even Chigon but his evolutions!” Reggie wacked his arm around; causing Claudia to let go and move away from her.

“That article you wrote…it was all a lie,” Reggie’s voice lowered more now, his head shaking monotonously and matching his tone of voice. “I’m sorry that the hero you believed in is nothing but a fake.”

“Reggie you’re not a fake, not at all,” Claudia shook her head in denial. She didn’t want to hear Reggie talk like that to himself, someone that she admired and that had given her hope, seeing him act like that was heartbreaking.

“I am,” Reggie nodded his head. “I’m not confident, I’m not strong and I’m not nice.” Finally he turned towards her, his right eye now covered by his brown hair. “I’m selfish and a coward, that’s what I am and it’s what I’ll always be.”

Reggie raised his pokeballs and pointed at Monferno and Azumarill, who reluctantly accepted the bean of light and were sent back into their pokeballs. “Even my Pokemon realized this.”

***

After leaving Claudia Reggie made his way towards his dorm, no longer feeling in the mood for talking. One thought still ran through his mind though, Miko’s and Kevin’s date. If things go right and they start dating then what would he do, he had waited long, too long and now his chances could be gone in the blink of an eye.

“This really isn’t my day,” he sighed. He looked down at the still beat up Chigon. The Pokemon hadn’t stopped trailing after him and still seemed to be pretty close to Reggie, were Monferno and Azumarill mad at Chigon because he wasn’t mad at Reggie? Or was it just a different subject all together?

He could tell what Chigon was feeling, being excluded by the other Pokemon especially by Azumarill who acted like a sister towards the small dragon type. “It’s okay Chigon, I’m sure the others will talk to you soon,” Reggie reassured; though he didn’t really felt like he had done anything to make Chigon feel better.

“Chi,”Chigon nodded its head slowly.

The two of them walked inside the Charizard Flame dorm and entered the dorm’s Pokemon Center. Something else met Reggie there though.

Miko and Kevin were standing in the middle of the room, they were talking and laughing with enjoyment. Reggie turned away, begging so that neither of them noticed his presence.

He began to make his way through the center slowly; trying his best to not attract attention to himself. “All right, this was really fun Kevin. Thanks.” He stopped once he heard Miko speak. He was right, she really had enjoyed herself. “Maybe we can do it again?”

“Oh, you can bet we can do it again,” Kevin smiled. “See ya Miko.” He leaned forward suddenly, his hand going around her waist as he planted a gentle kiss on her lips, causing Miko to gasp in surprise. Reggie gasped as well, but mostly in shock and fear.

He wished for her to stop it, to react and push him away, for something to go wrong or a meteor to crash or something that could stop this. But instead, she gave in, after a few second Miko was starting to return the kiss her eyes closing slowly as she hugged Kevin.

Reggie closed his mouth slowly. It was sealed, the girl he liked, his hope as a Trainer, his bond with his Pokemon; everything was over.

And then everything went dark as if he had been pulled into a deep slumber by his own body.

End of Chapter 20
Next Time: The Gallant Reggie

Well I hope you liked that one. THe next chapter will be th estart of the Confession Arc and here are some things you should expect.

The introduction of a new character that will be important later

And involvement of both Thomas and Keith

The first encounter with Memento Mori

And last but not least a conclusion to the Reggie and Miko storyline.
 
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