COMPLETE: Trainers of Fanfiction 2020

[namohysip]

What would you consider your finest work?

"Oh, there are so many. Too many to pick from. But I suppose, if I had to pick one, off the top of my head... I suppose it would be my most successful comic--Druddigon Cube, and the sequels I've made, like X and Ultra. It's about a young Druddigon who travels the world to gather the Wish Cubes. Seven of them. And what happens after, well... you'll have to read it! Though, it is still ongoing. And fairly long... but I'm proud of what I was able to do, codifying the modern action genre."

What was the strangest request you've gotten? And the strangest you fulfilled?

"Er... I don't think I want to get into those. Just--there are a lot of Pokemon out there, of all different shapes and sizes and tastes and mentalities. And... I'm just a Smeargle. There's only so much I can comprehend. Actually, now that you mention it, there was an Unown that once came in asking for a piece of himself staring at another Unown, and he was very peculiar about the psychic waves between them. I don't know the first thing about their kind, but by the time I was finished... mm... I don't know if I want to do a request like that again."

was he or wasn't he with the Hearts? It's a bit unclear: he said he was invited and he doesn't have to "go back" implying he was in them at one point. But he also says he "almost" became one implying he wasn't.

Right, that was a little unclear. Simply put, he never joined the Hearts, but he was a trainee to be one--Provisionary Badge and everything--before his father died, and then he retired from the training to pursue other passions. Therefore, he doesn't have to "go back" to that training.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Cecilia Matthews
From Orre: The Desert
By @Ryoma Maser

Interviewer: How did you get into your profession? And, was it something you'd planned for?

Cecilia: This definitely wasn't planned for. I had to leave my job at my dad's mechanic shop for, um, "personal reasons," so I needed a new job. But kinda due to those "personal reasons" no one really wants to hire me. For about six months I was job hunting, until my current workplace was willing to give me a chance.

Interviewer: What's next after this for you? How do you hope to progress your career?

Cecilia: I haven't really thought about it to be honest. I guess if anything, I would like to go back to school once I save up enough. I never got a chance to go to college and I would think the higher education would help me go further in life. If not, I would really like to further my art career, I've always like to draw and I've always wanted to do something more with it than have it has a hobby.

Interviewer: What is a typical working day like for you? Are there many shake-ups?

Cecilia: Well, usually I'm out making deliveries, so I'm often jumping through the different cities and towns of Orre. If not making deliveries, I'm often helping in the main room for sorting packages getting ready for delivery the next day.

Interviewer: What do you like most about your profession, and why?

Cecilia: This might sound a bit cliché, but I really like nice my coworkers are. My boss Mr.Dodds, is very kind and understanding, it's because of him giving me a chance that I have this job in the first place, he even allowed me to use my hoverbike instead of one of the company vehicles. Though it always seems for some reason that he's has some interior motive. There's is also his daughter Ari, who's the receptionist, who gave me a lending hand on my first day and we ended up becoming fast friends, while giving me some of her Dad's hidden reasonings behind his back.

Interviewer: Are there any pokémon employed in your workplace? Is their help essential to keep things running?

Cecilia: If there are, I haven't found them yet. Granted, Orre is in a Pokémon drought so in what Pokémon we do have that aren't battlers often are on hold for more important jobs than package delivery.

Interviewer: What qualifications are required to do what you do? Did you have to do some kind of study or training?

Cecilia: There really wasn't needed qualifications. I guess besides a driver's license, we do need some knowledge of all the locations in Orre besides that we get all the training we need from the workplace itself.

 

[System Error]

Bringing additional questions to keep in with the idea of further discussion. For what additional discussioning it's worth. And hey having read this one before the piece I can ask some very context specific stuff!

> Have you had any deliveries you would consider memorable?
> On the subject of your art, what would you consider your best piece?
> If you could have gotten into art instead of the delivery job, would you have?
> Is there anyone special in your life? Anyone you couldn't do without?

 

[Ryoma Maser]

That art of Cecilia, is just so good. It's so surreal looking at her made by a super good artist instead of my terrible art. Cress, you really blew it out the park.

> Have you had any deliveries you would consider memorable?

Cecilia: "I'm still relatively new at the job so I haven't made too many deliveries as of yet, but there's one where I ran into the Police Commissioner and one of the two Heroes of Orre, Wes Thompson. That was a day, we don't have many people that can be consider an celebrity here in Orre besides about twenty or so people I honestly don't know the exact number. But I was freaking out that day cause Commissioner Thompson is one of my role models, inspiring me in the basis of regardless of your background you can go places even further than you think you can."

> On the subject of your art, what would you consider your best piece?

Cecilia: "Well I honestly don't think I have a something I would consider my absolute best. But there was one piece which I drew my roommate, now basically my best friend Tomoko Homura who migrated from Johto. When did I drew it? I think it was the second month of living with her after I came home from another interview gone wrong and I was sitting on our kitchen table looking at my laptop searching for a job while she was reading a book on the floor with her Ninetales, Hinata, wrap around her back like a blanket. I happen to have my sketchbook on hand and just kinda ended up drawing the scene, I always thought of Tomoko as the most beautiful woman I've ever met and I really wanted to draw something for/of her and it kinda end up becoming my best work according to her after she saw and absolutely loved it."

> If you could have gotten into art instead of the delivery job, would you have?

Cecilia: "This is a very hard question to answer. If I could I would have, but I knew I would probably be worse off than I was unemployed. I've been considering doing commissions over online but I doubt I would get any traction or following and I lack the equipment to do my drawings digitally so it would be hard for me, especially here in Orre where we lack a lot of connections with the other regions. Even doing it here in Orre there's really no need or want for it that I know about for it, so I doubt I can go anywhere with it. I still wish I could, but for now I'm simply a delivery woman."

> Is there anyone special in your life? Anyone you couldn't do without?

Just the fact you asked this question in general after your comments on Tomoko's and Cecilia's relationship.

Cecilia: "Are you asking if I'm dating at the moment? Or if there is someone just important in my life in general? I'll answer best I can. I'm currently not dating, I've "dated" before if you can even call it that. The guy thought we were dating, while I thought we were hanging out as friends, I ended it when he tried to forcibly kiss me among something else I won't get into and then after I left my father's place I never spoke with him again. For someone important in my life, I have to once again bring up Tomoko. She's my first real friend in a long long time and I was really lucky to have her find her way into my life, she was so understanding when I met her for the first time and she was the reason I was able to search for a job without worrying about finances outside of my life savings at the time. She is an amazing individual, a prodigy in her field of Pokémon studies, and a lovable human being. I know someday she might probably go back home to her native Johto region permanently and I selfishly want her to stay, after what she's done for me as a shining beacon in my life, I don't know what I'll do without her. "

~

If anyone has anymore questions they want to ask go ahead and if you want you can asked questions about the creation of Cecilia or Orre: The Desert in general that's perfectly fine on here or on the Discord's writing channel. I had fun doing these and it was a joy being apart of my first Trainers of FanFiction and hope to be part of more in the future, and still by god I love the art done by Cress.

 

[namohysip]

Gil
From Dispatch Deferred
By @unrepentantAuthor

Interviewer: What's your particular expertise? Is there something only you can bring to your field?

Gil: I was actually built to be a courier many, many years ago by something or someone I don't even remember. That was so long ago, I've lost all memory of it! But I still know in my heart that I am meant to make deliveries, so that's what I'll do.

Interviewer: What's next after this for you? How do you hope to progress your career?

Gil: I don't even know if the Heart Town Mail Depot will even have me listed as an employee anymore. I couldn't blame them for considering me missing, presumed dead, after a generation or two. And that's if they're still in business! I ought to see if Frontier Town has a postal service that would care to employ me. I sure hope so!

Interviewer: What is a typical working day like for you? Are there many shake-ups?

Gil: I spend more time walking than any other activity. I am - was, the courier for the outermost settlements, like the village that became Frontier Town. That means very long travel routes on dirt paths, and an awful lot of walking. My first big shakeup was my last, when a bandit knocked me out so hard I didn't wake up for over a hundred years. I don't think they come bigger than that!

Interviewer: What do you like most about your profession, and why?

Gil: I find pleasure in all parts of my work! Most of all, I am happy to see people's pleasure at receiving a package they've been expecting. Or equally, a letter that comes as a surprise! It is better even than their thanks.

Interviewer: Could another species do what you do, or does your job rely on your specific natural abilities?

Gil: Many pokémon could make exceptional mail couriers! It only takes diligence, conscientiousness, patience, courtesy, hardiness, and integrity. Many pokémon have those qualities! Of course pokémon with the power of flight might make swift deliveries over difficult terrain, but they're vulnerable to the changing weather and may run out of stamina on very long trips. That's where I come in! I don't get worn out, or sleepy, or need to stop for lunch breaks. So I just keep walking, all the way to distant places. I could walk to the edge of the world to deliver a letter!

Interviewer: Has your job brought you into contact with many different kinds of pokémon? Have you ever worried about being outshone by any of them?

Gil: I meet every kind of pokémon on my deliveries, mostly at their houses but sometimes on the mail route. There used to be half a dozen different species working in my depot back home! But I don't mind if someone outshines me. If they did, then probably they're very special and did a great job! That's something to celebrate!

Interviewer: Have you ever had to be in any battles during a working day? How do you feel about that?

Gil: Oh, well. I did get in one battle, I think. I don't know if it really counts. Tamuk the chesnaught highwayman assaulted me on my last delivery, but I didn't land even a single hit on him in return. Is it a battle if you get knocked out that fast? I don't know that I ever want to get into another fight again, after that, but... if someone tries to take people's mail off me again, I'll have to. It's my duty!

Interviewer: Do you ever feel unhappy that you didn't choose your profession, but did what your creators made you for?

Gil: No, not at all! I can't imagine how anxious and indecisive I would be if I couldn't be a courier any more. I guess the next best thing would be something similar, like working in the local item storage to retrieve and secure items in the lockers. I'd be like a sandshrew at sea doing any other kind of work!

Interviewer: Have you had any trouble with adjusting to living in a different era to before?

Gil: Not as much as I feared, actually! I worried that everything would be different, and I might not be needed, but pokémon still speak the same language, they still live similar lives, they're still kind and brave and interesting, and most of all, they still need things delivered. For everything else, Miss Brisa and Mister Al are helping me learn new things!

Interviewer: What's it like being friends with Brisa and Alejandro?

Gil: Miss Brisa is a very special person! I will always be grateful to her for digging me out of the ground, and for helping me make that awfully late delivery, and for letting me stay with her! But she's very strange sometimes, and I feel I'm never quite saying the right thing around her. I wish I could help her as much as she's helped me. Mister Al is a really interesting gentleman, and he's a great teacher, so it's always a pleasure to visit his workshop. He does keep offering me cigarettes, though. He doesn't mean to be impolite, I think he just keeps forgetting I don't breathe.

Interviewer: What do you think of Frontier Town?

Gil: Well, it's very different from Heart Town or Little Scriven, but I think it has a lot of charm. Seeing as I know more folks here than are probably still alive back in the heartlands, I might stick around for good. I really ought to at least visit my old home and see if it's even still there, though. I had a book I wanted to finish! I hope it's not in disrepair. It would be nice if someone was able to make it their home while I was gone.

 

[System Error]

Well since it's looking like my Duty to do this...

@unrepentantAuthor
> Is there anyone you miss from your previous era?
> And if you've lived through multiple eras, is it ever painful to constantly have part ways with so many people you've come to know due to lifespan differences?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

> Is there anyone you miss from your previous era?

"Absolutely! I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to anyone, so I miss everyone I knew at least a little. Even the ones who weren't very nice to me. I think most of all I miss my colleagues from Heart Town's mail service. They were all hardworking, lovely pokémon and I was proud to be part of the team. I often wonder what the rest of their lives were like, and whether they ever missed me."

> is it ever painful to constantly have part ways with so many people you've come to know due to lifespan differences?

"Well, I wasn't that old when I got knocked out. Well, my body was very old, but I was only activated for the first time several years beforehand. So, all this kind of thing has never happened to me before! Now I'm a little worried that if I live a very long time, I'll have to experience exactly what you're talking about... It sounds terribly tragic. But I suppose by then I will be much wiser, as well as older. And plenty of pokémon do live a very long time, like Miss Esther. Maybe it won't be so hard for me after all."

 

[Beth Pavell]

Ashleigh Martin
From Setting Sun
By @Felly

Interviewer: How did you get into your profession? And, was it something you'd planned for?

Ashleigh: I always dreamed of being a detective. I wanted to do something that would let me make a difference in the world, and being a detective just seemed like the right thing to do. Bringing justice to families gives me that sense of making a difference that I crave.

Interviewer: What's your particular expertise? Is there something only you can bring to your field?

Ashleigh: It’s not really something only I can bring to the field, but my superiors have always praised my relentless determination and unwillingness to stop until justice is served. My partner also chose me because of my ability to go undercover; he praised my willingness to do research so I could play the part I’m meant to play well.

Interviewer: What do you wish you'd known on your first day that you know now?

Ashleigh: Just how hard this job can be. I always knew being a cop would throw things at me that would be heartbreaking, things that would be hard to handle, but I never realized I’d see some of the things I’d see until I became a cop. There’s a dark side to the world that most people don’t see, and to the unprepared, it can destroy a person. Also the amount of traveling I’d have to do for this job. Jet lag is no joke.

Interviewer: What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into your line of work?

Ashleigh: Be prepared. This job throws a lot at you. Some days are great, others can be hard. Even the most closed off people have to learn to lean on their partners, on their coworkers, to keep themselves from falling down a Buneary hole they can’t get out of. Everything’s fast paced too, and one mistake can lead to putting the wrong person behind bars and letting a criminal continue to roam free.

Interviewer: What's next after this for you? How do you hope to progress your career?

Ashleigh: I’m not sure yet. I just got to my position in the International Police, so I’m not really looking to move on. I’d like to stay here for a while and absorb everything I can before I consider moving on. I don’t think this is the end of the road for me yet, but I want to do everything I can here first.

Interviewer: What is a typical working day like for you? Are there many shake-ups?

Ashleigh: To put it simply, no two days are alike. Days in the office can be pretty dull, since those are typically the days where I’m focused on paperwork and I’m in between cases. My coworkers can make them a little more exciting, but being out in the field is a lot more exciting. Those days are the most unique. One day, I could be traveling to a whole new region, and the next, I’d be undercover trying to get any information I can to help me with my case.

Interviewer: What do you like most about your profession, and why?

Ashleigh: I love being able to see the world and bring justice to families. It’s a sense of fulfillment that I don’t think I’d be able to get anywhere else. I’m always getting to find new places to explore and meet new people that I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to do if I’d never taken this job.

Interviewer: What do you not like about your job? Are you in a position to change it?

Ashleigh: The paperwork and the jet lag. I’m not sure I could tell you what’s worse. They’re both necessary evils of the job though, so they’re just things I have to live with.

Interviewer: Are there any pokémon employed in your workplace? Is their help essential to keep things running?

Ashleigh: The International Police doesn’t actually employ any Pokemon, at least not to my knowledge, but everyone has their own that they bring with them to work. My team of six consists of Piplup, Delcatty, Altaria, Ampharos, Lopunny, and Flareon. They’re each special in their own way, and they certainly help liven things up around the office when there’s nothing to do. They’re also helpful out in the field.

Interviewer: What qualifications are required to do what you do? Did you have to do some kind of study or training?

Ashleigh: My journey to this position started out with me being a beat cop in the Johto region. It was a few years before I made detective there, but once I did, I worked hard to make a name for myself and bring justice to families. My captain actually recommended me for an opening with the International Police, and after a successful interview, I was accepted into the ranks. There’s been a lot of sleepless nights of studying and days of training that wore me out and made me question if all of this really was for me, but at the end of the day, after seeing everything that I’ve seen and doing everything that I’ve done, I know that I’ve chosen the right path and all of the training and studying to get here was worth it.

Interviewer: Has your job brought you into contact with many different pokémon? What was a memorable one?

Ashleigh: It has! I think the most memorable experiences are reuniting Pokemon with their trainers. There’s a joy in finding a new friend in a Pokemon, but when that’s ripped away from you by someone else, there’s an even greater joy in being reunited with your best friend.

Interviewer: Is the degree of contact with pokémon in your working life something you're happy with?

Ashleigh: Yes and no. Reuniting Pokemon with their trainers and watching my own Pokemon play with my coworkers are always sights that bring joy to my heart even on the worst days. They’re sights that make this hard job easier and a little more fun. Cases involving death are always hard though, whether it be a Pokemon or human. At first, it tore me up inside, and I’d go home and cry myself to sleep. Now I’m desensitized to it because it’s just something I’ve learned to deal with from seeing it so much. I’m still not sure what’s worse, being so desensitized to it that it doesn’t even bother me anymore or the idea that if it ever happened to me, I’m not sure how I’d handle it, if I’d just accept it or if it’d destroy me.

 

[System Error]

That background and especially head on art looked like it walked right out of Ace Attorney. @Felly

> What was the most gruesome case you've worked on?
> Have you ever had to do something you'd rather not on a job? Ever had to use lethal force on the job?
> Piplup stands out among your other Pokemon. Is it inexperienced, or do you keep it unevolved for another reason?
> Today's Trial

 

[Felly]

That background and especially head on art looked like it walked right out of Ace Attorney. @Felly

> What was the most gruesome case you've worked on?
> Have you ever had to do something you'd rather not on a job? Ever had to use lethal force on the job?
> Piplup stands out among your other Pokemon. Is it inexperienced, or do you keep it unevolved for another reason?
> Today's Trial

> Hmmm. I think the one that stands out most in my mind is one where both humans and Pokemon were murdered. It was awful. I don't even really like talking about it, but it sticks out in my mind because there was just so much loss involved. We still have the case file, but I could never bear to open it again. I have nightmares about it sometimes, and just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

> I always hate using my Pokemon to help with catching criminals. My biggest fear is one of them getting hurt by someone we're trying to catch because of something I asked them to do. I've only had to do it a couple times, when a criminal is just so fast that it's either risk letting them get away or catching them, but I've always been right there to stop anything before it escalates further. I've never had to use lethal force on the job, thankfully, and I hope I never have to.

> Piplup is actually a relatively new addition to my team! He was a gift from my brother upon my promotion into the International Police, and he's actually been a great addition to the team so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what else he can do!

> I don't want to say too much about my current case, lest it get out, but I'll just say we're investigating a Pokemon smuggling ring in the Alola region.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Bethany Pavell
By @Beth Pavell
From Kanto: There and Back Again

Interviewer: What qualifications are required to do what you do? Did you have to do some kind of study or training?

Bethany: Well, having a good languages degree is always helpful, but these days even that's scarcely necessary. Travel writing's really all about character, anyway. Personally, I think discipline is really the key character qualification. Curiosity is good. Passion is great. Discipline will keep you going, because in this game there's always a deadline looming.

Interviewer: What do you wish you'd known on your first day that you know now?

Bethany: The industry wants what it wants. In many ways the life of a travel writer is not a creative one. You find yourself either chasing trends or trying to preempt the next one. In some ways, too, you find yourself writing to a house style. I've been lucky enough to write a book that has allowed me to be somewhat more honest than is usually the case, which has allowed me to somewhat cut loose.

The internet is changing things. The folly of trend chasing is still there - if anything, it's faster-paced and more intense. As a result your income is even more tenuous than it is in the print media. But the other edge of the sword is that you have a kind of creative freedom otherwise denied to you.

Interviewer: Has your job brought you into contact with many different pokémon? What was a memorable one?

Bethany: Oh, invariably. Stories involving pokémon are almost a cliché in the travel writing genre; they're certainly among the most common filler stories for the magazines. As to the most memorable ... I was once covering the summer festival season on the Whirl Islands. A combination of bad weather and a worse breeding season had contrived to all but ruin the appearance of the chinchou, but by complete happenstance they were replaced by one of the biggest lapras migrations in 100 years. Usually lapras are shy of humans, of course, and rarely linger around waterways so full of activity, but for reasons no-one seems to have explained they remained in the islands for more than five days. In the end I wrote a completely different story - but that is the way of things sometimes. You have to remain adaptable.

Interviewer: What's next after this for you? How do you hope to progress your career?

Bethany: The apex for this line of work would be to work in television, I suppose. A handful of travel writers do make it to such rarefied heights. There's a growing trend for comedians to take the niche of TV traveller - who knows where that will lead, but what is certain is that while it exists the field is narrowed for travel writers. Much as I'm not sure I approve of that development, I'm not sure I would want to be in that very hypothetical situation.

Interviewer: What is a typical working day like for you? Are there many shake-ups?

Bethany: Travel writing is all shake-ups. You're entirely at the mercy of transit schedules and the timetable of whatever events you're trying to cover. Delays, cancellations, and changes are par for the course. If there is anything typical to my days, it's a period every day where notes and photos are organised and backed-up.

 

[System Error]

@Beth Pavell
>What would you say are the top three most interesting places you've visited?
>What was your most well-received article?
>What do you have to say regarding criticisms that your writings don't cite sources?
(Why yes I am using a point of someone's actual review as an in-character question)

 

[Misfit Angel]

Prema Kannagi
By @System Error
From Prema Kannagi: A Move to Adjudicate

Reporter Akari Schrader: "Before we get into the real meaty questions, would you mind introducing yourself and your shrine?"

Lady Prema Kannagi: "Yes, of course. My name is Prema Kannagi, the future head priestess of the Kannagi Shrine. My family dates back to the feudal period of Japan. For how it came to be, in those times, people were often unsure what to make of powerful Pokemon now commonly dubbed Legendary. Two types of religions were founded around them: those who worshiped out of reverence or fear, and those who promoted understanding. Our shrine was the latter, with my ancestors Yuku, Agnis, and Emu founding it after encounters with the essences of soul. Oh, more commonly known as the lake gods." "Throughout our history, we - along with our contemporaries, the Mitsutri Clan - have aided many leaders of our country and region in spiritual and Legendary Pokemon related matters. Though that role has waned in the last 60-70 years, we continue to use our faith as a means of encouraging unity with Pokemon and each other."

Schrader: "How did you get into your profession? And, was it something you'd planned for?"

Prema: "This is a role I was born into. Members of our family have headed the shrine since the very beginning, most often through blood, but at rare times through marriage as well. As my father and I are the sole remaining members of our family, it falls upon me to head it and our shrine someday."

Schrader: "The Kannagi Shrine was traditionally based out of Celestic Town. Why did you move to Veilstone City?"

Prema: "Well. It is no secret that we have been losing prominence over the past 60-70 years. It was not only the move to free religion across the nation, but more people are becoming non-exclusive practitioners or turning to monotheistic religions. My father thought that we could stave off our shrine's decline by expanding out, even if it means leaving the town we essentially founded. So far, this move has been going modestly well for us."

Schrader: "Do you have any plans for further expansion?"

Prema: "You will have to ask my father about that."

Schrader: "What would be your advice to anyone looking to get into your line of work?"

Prema: "We are always welcome to new people who wish to join our shrine. Though there is something I must stress to those who may be hesitant. The Kannagi Shrine is not focused on worship, as some of our contemporaries are. What comes first to us is promoting living life with virtue and respect to the natural world, as well as fellow people." "If those qualities befit you, or you simply wish to help others with charity work, then that is all it takes to stand as a member of our shrine. We use ancient stories, like those in Sonzaitoku - also known as The Virtue of Existence - as a means to teach lessons about life. And for those who do wish to delve into the spiritual side, our senior members and myself will assist in the necessary tutoring and training to become an acolyte."

Schrader: "What is a typical working day like for you? Are there many shake-ups?"

Prema: "My days at present often consist of training to fulfill my future role as head priestess. As for...‘shake-ups’, there are times when my father calls upon me to put some of what I have learned into practice. For instance, giving speeches and lessons. Just recently, I had to lead a prayer as well. There are also times when I must tend to the shrine itself, performing tasks such as tending to flowers or counting donations."

Schrader: "What do you like most about your profession, and why?"

Prema: "I suppose that would be opportunity to meet so many different people and Pokemon, and aid them with their problems. If you can do something to improve matters, even if it is a minute contribution, then you have done something worthwhile. As we say: though you cannot make the world perfect, you can make it better."

Schrader: "What do you not like about your job? Are you in a position to change it?"

Prema: "I lament that many of those people I do meet have negative traits such as selfishness and greed. It is far more common than you might realize. I suppose at times as well I can frustrated by...no, never mind. It is nothing that can be helped."

Schrader: "What frustrates you?"

Prema: "Well. I can say this. The thing that frustrates me the most are those who do not respect Pokemon at all. I do not mean those who use them for power, as even they appreciate them in ways such as their strength. I am speaking of those who simply view them as a means to an end, and nothing more than that."

Schrader: "Have you ever run into many of those people?"

Prema: "Unfortunately, a few. May we get off this subject?"

Schrader: "What qualifications are required to do what you do? Did you have to do some kind of study or training?"

Prema: "As part of the requirements to head the shrine, I must do regular spiritual training. In times past, I had to study our family's history, books like Sonzaitoku and Densetsuki, and myths not just from our culture, but others as well."

Schrader: "What other myths have you studied?"

Prema: "All kinds. As an example, I studied the legends of the heroes from Unovan myth. There are a lot of parallels between cultures. To understand this is to be able to understand each other."

Schrader: "What does your spiritual training entail?"

Prema: "That is secret. Can I continue with the question from before? I had not finished answering before you interrupted." "It is not just limited to the training of the mind. Public speaking is of course something I have had to learn. Moreover, in ages past, members of our family were expected to become adept with the blade and Pokemon. Though learning how to use a weapon is unnecessary in these times, we continue to practice the raising of Pokemon, and still practice kendo for ceremonial purposes."

Schrader: "Have you ever had to be in any Pokemon battles before?"

Prema: "Yes, sometimes."

Schrader: "Are you any good?"

Prema: "I just stated that we raise them extensively. While engaging in battle is not something we need do in modern times, we nevertheless do learn. So yes, I have done so with some success in the past. Of course, it cannot be overlooked that training is another way to bond with Pokemon. I speculate that is why the tradition has held, even though the original intent was a means to defend our lords and ourselves."

Schrader: "Fair enough. Is there anything else to your training?"

Prema: "Yes. There is one final thing I will have to do at some point to complete my training, known only as The Rite. This is a tradition that all heads to the shrine have underwent for over 600 years. As it is written: 'With one's own feet, travel far to the lakes of Sinnoh. To each, in solitude, make a prayer in the cavern. Then venture to the center between and leave there an offering.' This is often performed after the person has turned at least 16, and has completed all other training."

Schrader: "A bit of a different question for you now. Is there any truth to the rumors about you and that new official who worked with the Demon, Nori Carino?"

Prema: "There are rumors about us?"

Schrader: "Are you seeing each other?"

Prema: "Well, we meet often, which involves sight of one another. So I suppose yes."

Schrader: "I meant, are you dating?"

Prema: "W-what? ...no, no. That's not...Nori is simply a close friend. It is nothing like that, no. Furthermore, my father would not approve of someone who has no interest in joining our shrine."

Schrader: "But if he did approve, would you?"

Prema: "...Ms. Schrader, this is going far beyond the intended scope of our interview. I answered your previous inquiry out of politeness. However, if you are going to persist in asking personal questions, and I mean that in general, we will end this here."

Schrader: "All right, no further questions in that case. This has been reporter Akari Schrader, having brought you an exclusive interview with Lady Prema Kannagi. Will this shrine with deep roots in our country's history finally sink, or will it once again soar?"

Prema: "I intend to see that it soars, thank you very much."

 

[System Error]

So some fun asides here and a small thing.
- Prema is just as much a character in Nori Carino: Training a Demon, although she's the deuteragonist there.
- Writing a metaseries is weird; but speaking of, this is in fact canon to it.
- I actually started serious work on the linked fic/Prema's first personal one shortly after Marcus Sampson was released here. While a fair chunk was done in some form already, I pushed too hard and finished it before this was out...
- Finally, @Nori came up with the reporter's first name. So now I can in-fact say Nori inspired a name when it was just awkward coincidence before.

So! Who dares ask the one who asks questions the questions this time?!

 

[Daren]

A question for Lady Prema:
Recently, some have begun to decry the state of modern Pokémon training, stating that increasingly large numbers of trainers care only for their own goals and not for helping their partners grow and achieve their own wishes, sometimes even resorting to brutal training methods. Considering the Kennagi's Shrine's views on Pokémon and human unity, this would no doubt be a cause of concern. Do you agree or disagree this is a growing trend? Or do you agree with the suggestion that this has always been a major problem that is only now receiving more attention?

 

[System Error]

@Daren
Prema: "It is both. People making use of Pokemon strictly for their own ends has been an issue ever since humans and Pokemon united. It is only now that it is becoming a mainstream issue, but this is in-part due to the increasing number of cases. This is just my personal opinion, and I in no way intend to deride our culture. It teaches respect for Pokemon, yet it at times places even greater emphasis upon the competitive aspects. Some are pressured to get into Pokemon training because of how ingrained it has become in our society, and some are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve greatness. Even if this means not respecting Pokemon. What many overlook is this is not only limited to the mistreatment of Pokemon: it extends to abuse between trainers as well."

"But for this subject. There are stringent laws in place for Pokemon abuse. A number of those individuals have been placed on the blacklist for their actions. However, there are loopholes and exceptions written into the law. Training that does not directly injure a Pokemon is among those." *pause to visibly consider something, deciding against it* "It is unfortunate. Though some of those do at the very least appreciate Pokemon for their power, there are those who do not appreciate them at all. Or as one of my elders used to say, ‘They don't see the difference between a Squirtle and a squirt gun.’ All we can do is deal with these people as they appear, and try to change ourselves as we move forward, even if it is only a little at a time."

---

- Another fun bit: this included, the interview has several allusions to the metaseries, including parts not yet written.

 

[Beth Pavell]

And so ends another year of Trainers of Fanfiction! Thank you to everyone who entered, and an especial thanks to the contributing artists @Cresselia92, @Misfit Angel, and @NyxNebby.

This thread will stay here for another week before it moves to the Archives - but it won't be locked, so feel free to add your own questions and answers, or just comment as you like!

 

[Daren]

I'd like to thank everyone who helped run the event--the staff, the artists, and the participants. I think we got some great looks into the characters and worlds of the stories we have here.