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*Results* Creative Writing Contest: Picture Prompts


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On 30/07/2017 at 0:42 AM, Gunthug said:

me right now

 

 

Don't let me down

 

On 29/07/2017 at 11:11 AM, WolfgangDamien said:

So Im rewriting my story (rough draft vs final draft) and I got excited and I wanted to share a teaser for it cuz I was rather proud of the story so far.

 

My story is going to be based off of Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft, with a few elements from The Beast in the Cave, Pickman's Model, and The Call of Cthulhu.

 

I will hopefully finish it and post it in the next couple days.

Hype!!

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I am writing and editing everything on my phone and for some reason theres not 1 tool to format posts which kinda sucks, all I get is bold, italics and underline o-o 

 

I got the beginning done. And my cousins staying at my house til tuesday so it might be a little longer til I finish but Ill make the deadline for sure. 

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1 hour ago, WolfgangDamien said:

I am writing and editing everything on my phone and for some reason theres not 1 tool to format posts which kinda sucks, all I get is bold, italics and underline o-o 

 

I got the beginning done. And my cousins staying at my house til tuesday so it might be a little longer til I finish but Ill make the deadline for sure. 

One thing you'll figure out quickly is that all that formatting basically gets thrown out the window when you paste it on this thread haha. Sometimes it doesn't but I would plan on having to make edits afterwards for formatting stuff 

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4 hours ago, Gunthug said:

One thing you'll figure out quickly is that all that formatting basically gets thrown out the window when you paste it on this thread haha. Sometimes it doesn't but I would plan on having to make edits afterwards for formatting stuff 

Usually i format everything in the forum post using the available tools but my phone removed them. And i dont have internet atm so I cant format it after I post it =/

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1 minute ago, WolfgangDamien said:

Usually i format everything in the forum post using the available tools but my phone removed them. And i dont have internet atm so I cant format it after I post it =/

Ahh I see, I've always just typed it in word and then pasted it over. Think I've located the problem 

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Title: "Facts Concerning the Late Ignatius Rockfeld"

Inspired by "Dagon" by H. P. Lovecraft

 

IGN: WolfgangDamien

 

Word count: 2,473

 

 

 

In the files of my late uncle, Ignatius Rockfeld, an unusual manuscript was found among his belongings in his residence at 816 Spinarak Lane, in Blackthorn City, of the Johto region, when he was reported missing on April 12th, 1879 and his house searched.

 

I, being the closest relative of my uncle Ignatius, as he left behind no spouse or children, have received these documents and am publishing them as a warning to the general public. I believe every word written in these pages and feel it is my duty to warn Pokemon kind. The following is a reprinting of the strange manuscript. I have not changed a single word of the contents. Everything is exactly as I received it.

 

The most damning piece of evidence, however, is not the manuscript itself, but a photograph enclosed with it. The police say they had never seen the image before and most assuredly did not add it to the parcel sent to me of my uncle's belongings. This photograph, in addition to the manuscript, is what makes me believe my uncle's words to be true and motivated me to publish this article.

 

 

C. H. Rockfeld

 

June 30th, 1879

Olivine City, Johto

 

Manuscript enclosed.

 

---------------

 

I'm writing this account under an immense mental and emotional strain. I'm at the end of my supply of the drug that alone sustains my life, but do not think my dependency on potions made me weak or some sort of degenerate. There is ...something... following me, and I am compelled to write down all I know about my present situation before I am ... no more. If these pages are found after my demise, let it be known that the following statement is and should be accepted as the absolute truth no matter what the circumstances surrounding my death: I did not take my own life, and I did not go down on that ship!

 

While I know not what good it will do after I am gone, I say again, I am compelled to write down all that I have experienced. The enclosed manuscript describes my story in as complete detail as I can recall in my present state and condition.

 

Ignatius Rockfeld

 

April 3rd, 1879

Blackthorn City, Johto

 

Manuscript enclosed.

 

-------------------

 

It was in a remote and unfrequented part of the Johto ocean where the naval fleet I was serving in fell victim to a massive storm that split my party up. We lost a lot of good Pokemon in that storm. Our vessel was overturned in the black, merciless, gargantuan waves. I have no knowledge of what happened to my comrades in the water, myself being of the Charizard species, I was forced to take flight when it was certain we were going to sink. Going in the water is certain death for my kind.

 

My immediate priorities were in self-preservation, flying in a storm over a large open body of water with an exposed tail flame is treacherous work. Any mistake could result in sudden death, and the chances for exiting this situation alive were slim to none as they stood already. In my mad dash away from the sinking vessel, dodging waves and flying as fast as my wings could carry me, I became completely, hopelessly, and utterly lost.

 

With no visible landmarks and thick, menacing black storm clouds covering the sky, I could gain no sense of direction. My only option was to fly in a straight line, as best I could manage in the circumstances, for as long as I could muster an ounce strength from my muscles and draw breath from my lungs.

 

I must have flown over one hundred miles without even the faintest sighting of land. My strength was greatly waning, my muscles burned and ached, and my tail flame was dangerously low. These were my last thoughts before I saw a brilliant flash and everything went black. Recollecting my thoughts as I write this, I realize now that I must have been struck by lightning. When I returned to the world of consciousness I experienced the most profound shock upon discovering that I was still alive, only to be followed by another even more shocking revelation, I had awoken on land.

 

While I should have been greatly relieved merely to be alive, seemingly unharmed and all in one piece, in reality I was terrified. I had been half sucked into an expanse of hellish black myre, the air was thick with the stench of rotting sea  creatures and their corpses littered the ground with bones jutting up from the black muck like pikes. The whole scene held a dark, sinister quality that chilled me to the very bone.

 

Examining my immediate surroundings, I could not see any water nor hear the sounds of the ocean no matter how hard I strained my eyes and ears. There were no critters to prey upon the dead things, I say "things" because most of the forms strewn about the landscape were unknown to the modern world. I was completely alone, and all was deadly silent, and I firmly believe that silence contributed in no small part to my growing fears and anxiety.

 

I sat thinking and brooding for hours until my thirst and hunger motivated me to explore my surroundings further while I still had some daylight left to aid my search. Luckily my tail flame had returned to it's normal state of brilliance, so a night time journey would not be out of the question. By this time the ground had dried sufficiently enough to traverse without a quicksand effect, so I decided to conserve my energy and travel by foot.

 

There was no vegetation to speak of, so I decided to take my chances and made a meal out of any half-identifiable fish I could find. The carcuses were plentiful enough that finding a meal was not very difficult, but my search for water left me wanting. A full belly of fish fueled my search for water over a vast swathe of strange land. I walked for miles and flew over the more periliess landscapes. The gibbous moon was high in the sky when the unmistakable glint of water finally caught my eye while I was flying over a monstrously large canyon, that, at first glance, was naught but a pit of black for unknown fathoms down.

 

Thirst and instinct drove me to dive down without caution, and before I could reach the desperately needed, life-preserving water, something bright and stark against the darkness of the canyon walls caught my attention and stopped me dead in flight. Each new revelation on this island  filled me with dread, unlike any I had ever known in my life and 8 years of military service. Unprecedented in this wasteland, standing hundreds of feet tall and glinting whitely in the moonlight was a colossal stone monolith that was positively ancient in appearance, yet exquisite in detail and workmanship. I could plainly see depictions of common water Pokemon, there were tentacool and magikarp, remoraid and chinchou, and the well known ancients kabuto and omanyte and all of their respective evolutions. Also, amongst the known figures where whole hosts of unknown figures not seen before by any living person or Pokemon, but laid about dead all over the island. 

 

The hieroglyphs seemed to be telling a story that continued across all of its three sides. On the side I happened to be on, one carving stood out against the rest, it was massive in proportion to the other drawings and looked very similar to a wailord, but much larger, thinner, with great, long, powerful side fins and the length of its body was covered in weird tribal markings, these markings being mimicked in several of the other pictures. I decided to land near the vicinity of the monolith, have a drink first, as I was very parched still, and then continue on with my examination.

 

I landed on a side of the monolith I could not see from the air. On this side there was another great carven figure in the same place as the strange wailord-like creature, but vastly different in appearance. The figure depicted here was some cross between a snake and a dragon pokemon, it's body was segmented, finned in a few places, had two small arms in what might be called the torso of the creature, and finally it was covered in the same strange tribal markings as the first creature on the other side. Now on the ground, I could tell there was land extending to the third, yet unseen side.

 

For a moment I need to pause my account and interject a few thoughts. By the time of this writing, I have come to the conclusion that this island literally popped into existence out of no where, an abrupt and unprecendented land upheaval most probably brought on by the storm that sank my vessel. These ruins must not of seen the light of day for hundreds of thousands of years or possibly even longer, an archeological find of the century if my story could end here.

 

As I said before, I decided to have a drink before inspecting my discovery any further. Quickly I clambered over to the still water and drank my fill. Then, all of a sudden, the water started to stir. Next I heard a loud thudding against the solid ground. Thud, thud, thud, thud, the sound fell in pairs and became louder and louder. I was no longer alone, and the unseen thing was coming toward me.

 

It came by the land side of the monolith, a cyclopean monstrosity words could never justly describe. Of what I can tell you, it was saurion in appearance, mostly red in color, with black tribal markings not found in nature, but verily similar to those on the monolith. It stood upright and had two thick, powerful arms, at the end of which were long, razor-sharp claws that appeared as if they were made of shining steel.

 

I scrambled into a rocky outcropping and hid myself from view of the beast. Ever so slightly, I poked my head out from the rocks and peered at the intruder. I don't think the thing saw me, as it was walking straight toward the stone monolith, unrelenting. I sat and watched with bated breath as the monster strolled right up to the unseen side of the stone and when it was upon it, the massive reptilian thing flung it's giant clawed arms around it, bowed its head, and gave vent to certain, measured sounds. It... It looked like it was praying! While this creature of nightmare prayed to it's ancient esoteric monolith, the black markings on its scaley body... glowed, and not just on the monster, but the markings on the monolith lit up as well! I think, I went mad, then.

 

In my insanity, I must have disturbed the creature in it's sacred ritual. I might have screamed, and I distinctly remember singing and laughing uncontrollably when I was fleeing from that hellish fiend. But exactly what I did to disturb the thing so badly I do not know, I do, however, unfortunately, remember what happened next: I was attacked. It seemed to happen so fast I didn't have time to react. My entire body was frozen and betrayed all my commands to turn tail and fly away as fast as I could. But before I could move a single muscle, it was upon me! A giant steel claw was crashing down on me, permanently injuring my eye. The searing pain brought my body back under my control and I flew as fast as I could away from the giant. The thing chased me with claws and teeth ever slicing the air just behind me.

 

My plan of action was to get back to the ocean, out run it, maybe it couldn't follow me off land or perhaps the transition from a chase on land to one at sea would afford me just enough time to distance myself from the creature. While I was planning my escape I must have let my concentration slip from the matter at hand: flying away from the monster, and that's when it got me.

 

A whirlwind rush of blinding pain shot through my whole body as I fell from the sky. Desperately beating my wings, trying to regain altitude but something was severely wrong. I craned my neck behind me and was devastated by what I saw. The monster hot on my heels, and one of my wings had been completely ripped off, nothing but tatters and empty space left where it once was attached to my body. I thought I was moments from death. In every scenario that played out in my head, I was going to die, but shear primal instinct determined that I would only part with my life at the highest price I could command. With all my might and my one good wing I flew a paltry 10 or so meters above the ground and looked around frantically for a spot to hide and lose the monster. I dove like a rock at the first opportunity and scrambled into a small cave where the titan thing could not follow.

 

Running for my life I went as deep as I could into the cave, soon discovering a massive hub of underground caverns capable of taking one all over the island without the need to surface. I have survived down here for days, perhaps weeks, badly injured and unable to leave this nightmare island. I've passed the time writing this manuscript, using writing supplies I had in my military pack from before the vessel went down, knowing full well it may never be read by anyone. Writing down my story has aided and steadied my mind, so I write for my own good more than any other reason.

 

The monster has been hunting me. I hear it roar and feel the ground shake when its near. At times, I swear on all that I hold sacred, there is more than one terrible voice roaring out there.

 

Wait. I hear it now. The roaring! There is more than one! They are close! Have they found me?!

 

--------------

 

The manuscript ends here. The handwriting of the last paragraph is quickly and shakily scrawled, with droplets of blood near the bottom of the page. The following is the mysterious photograph found with the manuscript, both of which obviously could not have been delivered by my uncle's hand, and the photo only appearing after I received the original parcel from the police.

 

Make what you will of these accounts, but at least I can rest easily at night feeling I have done my duty to the public and my presumably late uncle Ignatious.

 

C. H. Rockfeld

 

 

 

June 30th, 1879

Olivine City, Johto

 

Photograph enclosed.

 

JQFlO4T.png

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This one was certainly the hardest I have come across, but here I go: 

Have fun reading it.

 

 

 


 

And so he reached… Chargestone cave.

One step inside and, immediately, he felt somewhere far away. There was, however, this unusual silence in the air. Everything seemed quiet, too quiet.

With this, the trainer couldn´t avoid feeling uneasy. He looked around, and to the other side. Something was missing… but what?

At the horizon, one could hear the water hitting the rocks back and forth, forth and back, repeatedly.

Closer now, he crouched to stare a tiny Tynamo struggling against the flow of water, running in the opposite direction.

It was weird indeed, Tynamos are usually carried by the flow, but as it seemed, not this one.

And still staring the struggle, the trainer took a pokeball out of his pocket, to throw it through the air, as the sparkles within it released all at once, to form a pokemon. A Buizel!

The weasel pokemon smiled at the trainer before turning to the crystalline water behind him, to quickly dive into it and reappear at the surface afterwards.

Thus, and as they traversed the river, they stared the walls, filled with beautiful magnetic crystals imbued within them. Ones blue, others violet, and some even yellow, but all with the same glowing sunny aura, which lightened the area with a beautiful mix of fainted colors. The whole place seemed magical, but not fulfilled, something was not there.

Suddenly, Buizel stopped, greatly surprising the trainer, who quickly deflected his look to him, and, wondering what he was looking at, followed his look.

There, a sparkling crystal, bigger than the ones around it, and certainly the biggest both have seen, immediately caught his attention. Then, as if drawn by it, the trainer ordered Buizel to proceed towards its direction.

Eventually, they had to stop, since the aquatic path ended. From there, the crystal seemed even bigger and shinier than before, and as it lured their attention, the trainer stepped the land with a jump out of his pokemon, before picking the pokeball used to seal it.

But he didn´t. He had never seen Buizel behaving like that and so, he let him stay out of the pokeball.

At this moment, Buizel started moving towards the crystal, that despite its brightness, was unanimated, unmoving…dead.

The tiny pokemon touched the crystal, slowly… and slower, then the ones around it. Buizel looked sad, for some reason the trainer couldn´t yet perceive why, but nevertheless also couldn´t avoid letting a tear roll through his face.

But there was nothing the trainer could think to solve whatever was going on. And as he looked around, a pair of eyes, big red terrifying eyes, locked themselves into the trainer, that gulped upon the sight.

Not long it was until the pokemon leaped upon the battlefield, starting a battle.

Buizel, surprised by all this, turned to the wild Excadrill, who growled in anger upon the tiny pokemon´s stare. The trainer wasn´t sure if Buizel should battle, but this one told him it was ok, with a nod.

This made Excadrill explode in anger, letting out a roar that could unsettle even the bravest of the souls, before rushing against Buizel, who dodged just in time the onslaught, with a jump, so he could counterattack, while at midair, with a powerful hydro pump.

Excadrill didn´t even bother to dodge and ended up taking the full hit, which angered him even more.

The trainer looked suspicious at this Excadrill. It wasn´t common for wild pokemons to behave like this, unless if disturbed by something of a great scale. And so, he deflected his look to the crystal. Was it connected to the sudden change of behavior of the pokemon?

Ignoring all this, Excadrill launched itself into the second attack, slower this time (the hydro pump had its consequences after all), targeting Buizel with a punch, countered by an iron tail of the weasel.

The two moves clashed fiercely, and none of the two seemed to be giving up. In the end, however, Buizel got tossed away through the air. Excadrill, fulfilled, with the victory, roared even wilder.

It was at this time that the trainer felt something. There was something else with them, somewhere.

But the two battlers couldn´t care less about what was happening in the exterior. And Buizel, gaining control of his body while in the air, positioned itself so he could land safely on the ground.

Excadrill, however, rampaging with anger, didn´t waste time and jumped high into the air, to crash on the ground afterwards, with a rumble.

An earthquake was upon them, and Buizel couldn´t dodge this attack. In the end, he stood up on the ground, badly injured by the previous move.

Meanwhile, the trainer could swear he had sensed the same presence again. Thoughtful, he picked up his pokedex, and opened it. With it, he then scanned the area.

The radar beeped, and beeped, slowly, but constantly. There was undoubtedly something with them, but as of that moment, the signal wasn´t yet strong enough for the pokedex to complete the scan.

A quick look at the battle, and the trainer understood he could leave it in Buizel´s hands.

In fact, the water pokemon was now calm and collected. In contrast to this, Excadrill rushed wildly towards him, but the water pokemon dodged the powerful punch aimed at him, which ended destroying a wall nearby.

Buizel, in the air now, taunted Excadrill, whose rage was now unutterable.

Downfall time! And Buizel whirled around, covering itself in water around him. There wasn´t any move like that, but Buizel learnt how to mix different moves into one from his trainer. In the end, the weasel pokemon unleashed its tail, powered up by the swift spin, clashing one more, with Excadrill´s punch.

This time, however, the water pokemon had a clear advantage, and fast enough, it sent Excadrill flying away.

But that didn´t seem to be thelast of Excadrill, who arose, although costly, to deliver a kind smile to the pokemon who defeated it. His rage had ended, and he fled.

Not far, the pokedex detected something behind some wall. An image appeared out of its screen and a robotic voice echoed around the area:

“Magnemite, the magnet pokemon. The faster the units at its sides rotate, the greater the magnetic force they generate”.

Buizel, once finished the battle, joined its trainer, who told him to make the minimum noise possible.

He then pointed at a wall towards them. In the corner, there was something. A magnet as it seemed, two… it was a magnemite.

Shivering in fear, magnemite didn´t even look at the two characters. Instead, it increased the speed of its gears.

The trainer looked around. There was some dust falling from above. Weird noises like scratches invaded the area. Fainted, but alarming.

He knew a magnetic disturb like this could put Chargestone cave into ruins. In order to avoid this, he tried, as fast as he could, to persuade magnemite into listening to him, but no use.

Thus, slowly, he tried to approach it, but the magnet pokemon, feeling threatened, unleashed a powerful and disturbing screech, so to scare off the potential enemies.

The cave seemed to be crumbling apart at any second. Buizel grabbed the trainer´s hand, and he held it tightly. They didn´t have much time.

And magnemite refused to cooperate.

The trainer sighed. There was one last option left. Buizel had to faint magnemite so the trainer could take it with him to outside. Without the magnetic interferences caused by it, the cave should then restore itself and the pokemon no longer be affected by the magnetic disorder of the crystals spread all over the place.

And so Buizel prepared to unleash a move, careful not to hurt too badly the poor magnet pokemon. But it, in despair now, released a shockwave through the air as a last resort.

The trainer looked above, and so did Buizel afterwards. Dust was now falling, bigger and bigger as the time passed. One rock and then another, they tried to escape but unsuccessfully. In the end, the whole ceiling toppled on them.



……

In seconds, dust was all the eye could reach. Not even a movement… or a sound.

Gradually, however, the dust settled down, revealing the rocks, one above the others, placed chaotically. It didn´t seem they could survive that.

But suddenly, a roar was heard from beneath the rocks, right before they started to vibrate.

And one by one, the rocks crumbled apart, rolling to the ground in the opposite direction.

An arm, then the other, and quickly enough, the whole body was free. It was Excadrill, who gave his body to save the 2 pokemon and the human. Injured and breathless, he kept digging up to rescue them, but after the battle, and the posterior rockslide, even the minimum effort was of a great cost.

The trainer, once freed, and after understanding what happened, proceeded to hug Excadrill, who didn´t have the strength to return the gesture. Buizel, however, with the pride of a winner, limited to nod to the exhausted pokemon, who nodded too, before the exhaustion brought him to his knees.

For the magnemite, it was unconscious, but safe. Without its interference, the electromagnetic flux in the cave seemed to be back to the normal. This was when other pokemon started to appear. Some hidden behind some fallen rocks, like drillburs, others in the partially collapsed ceiling, like zubats, but all of them shared the same concern towards Excadrill and offered to help if needed.

The trainer looked around as more and more pokemon surrounded them. It was obvious Excadrill served a very important role for them in the cave, and its anger was nothing but provoked by the magnetic anomalies, which seem to influence much more the pokemon than the humans.

With this, the trainer took a hyper potion out of his bag and sprayed it on the Excadrill, fulfilled to protect the cave he was assigned to guard.

Also happy, and somewhat relieved, the trainer took the magnemite in his hands, and with Buizel, they left the cave.

But, as they were leaving, Buizel turned back. And as he watched all the pokemon around the fallen, but recovering Excadrill, he felt something.



……

And here I am, in Chargestone cave. It has been 50 years since that day, I´m a Floatzel now. The magnetism has returned to the normal, and the pokemon live happily with each other.

The Excadrill is long gone now, but I´m sure he had a pretty nice life. I still don´t know what caused magnemite to act like that, but he now pays us a visit from time to time, as a magneton. It also sometimes takes care of eventual disturbs in the magnetic field, which seem to happen all the time.

I, for my part, am taking care of the waters.  I also teach Tynamos how to swim when they are born. I must say though, it is somewhat fun seeing them fail.

And speaking of learning, I owe it all to my trainer, who let me stay in here after understanding what my heart desired. He also pays me a visit regularly, but he´s older now, and, despite the need of a cane to walk normally, for what happened back in that day, he can´t avoid coming in here with the sweetest of the smiles.

I´ve heard he runs a gym somewhere. I´m glad for him.

His name is…

Pryce! 
 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed it.

PS: 1909 words. Pryce is a gym leader of pokemon silver/gold series

Also, Story based on Prompt 2

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by pachima
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So I was literally Kermit today. There have been a lot of good entries so far, hopefully I can even make it to the honorable mention.

 

I hope you enjoy my story of John and Buizel.

 

Prompt: 2

Word Count: 1714

IGN: Gilan

 

Spoiler

     A long, long time ago it is said that a mythical Pokemon was born. It knew not its father, but had an extraordinary connection with its mother. They would laugh and play together every day; not a moment passed when they were not with one another. The years went by, and it is said that the bond that formed between this mother and child was the strongest that the world had ever seen. Unfortunately, one day, the mother got ill. The child, not knowing what to do, went in search of help; it was the first time that the child left the company of its mother. After searching for days, the child returned to the cave where the mother lay. The child reached out and touched the mother’s face, only to become overwhelmed with confusion. The mother was cold to the touch, unmoving. It slowly began to dawn on the child what had happened. Tears began to well up in the child’s eyes, eventually breaking out into a long, drawn-out weep. It is said that the child cried over its mother for an entire year straight. The tears formed streams inside the cave and congregated deep within. Over time, the pool of tears crystalized to form a mystical stone. Legend has it that the crystal will show you the individual with whom you have the greatest bond. In other words, it has the power to let you commune with the deceased.

 

     The old story was etched in Buizel’s and John’s minds. Always fascinated by mystery and adventure, this particular story held a special place in their hearts. The two had grown up together in a small orphanage located in Celadon City. They had been pals for as far back as their memory goes. Perhaps it was fate that brought these two together, but they shared a similar, unfortunate beginning. John’s parents had passed away when he was only 6 months old; he had never been told the details of how they died. All he knew is that he grew up in an orphanage without any relatives. Similarly, the Buizel never knew his parents, either. Before he had even hatched from his green-spotted egg, the two Floatzel parents had disappeared from the Earth, never to be seen again. Upon hearing the legend of the mystical stone, the two immediately had the same goal in life: to find the stone, and talk to their parents to resolve their troubled pasts.

 

     It was the middle of summer, and John’s and Buizel’s 94th day up on Mount Silver. Even at this time of the year, the thin atmosphere was cool and pleasant. The mountain was truly a beautiful sight to behold, and only the most skillful of trainers and pokemon were allowed to venture near it; as the old saying goes: the prettiest of Roselias has the sharpest of thorns. John, now 25, and Buizel, who was an impressive level 63, had conquered the Elite 4 with ease, thanks to their overwhelming drive to find the stone, which many speculated was located in Mount Silver.

 

     As they traversed the narrow cliff sides, clambered up the rock faces, and shimmied down the deep chasms, they were keen on the lookout for any and all caves that they could explore. So far they had investigated several small caves and one large cave that had taken them to the peak of the mountain where they met a strange young fellow who seemed like he wanted to be left alone. Only talking briefly, John and Buizel left the silent man alone on top of the mountain and continued their search after they realized that the guy knew nothing of the stone.

 

     They eventually came around to the north side of the mountain, the last side that had yet to be explored. It was about halfway up the mountainside that Buizel noticed a slight disturbance. Having a similar physiology to a Furret, Buizel had a very keen sense of smell and eyesight and was superb at finding things that would otherwise remain hidden. The slight disturbance that the Buizel detected was a faint waft of stale air that seemed to pollute the pristine mountain air that surrounded the pair. John, who had noticed that Buizel had stuck his nose up in the air and had begun to diverge off their path, followed closely behind his partner.

 

     A small opening in the cliff side that was mostly covered in vegetation lay before them.

 

     “Good catch Buizel!” John held out his fist, and Buizel followed suit, completing the fist-bump. “Mind using dig so I can fit in there?”

 

Before John had even completed asking his request, Buizel had already begun expanding the hole so that the two of them could make it inside. Within no time, the space was just wide enough that John could squeeze through.

 

     On the other side of the opening, a large, spacious room greeted them. John and Buizel looked at each other, each with the same thought on their mind; this is it! John turned on his flashlight and illuminated the back of the room, revealing a corridor that went farther in. There were veins of crystal, which faintly left off a blue glow, that seemed to flow from the center of the room back towards the corridor.

 

     Without hesitation, John and Buizel began to follow the crystal veins deeper into the cave. Though, their haste proved to be reckless. The floor was slick and the two slipped and started sliding down the tunnel, which was at a steeper incline than they realized. The two began to pick up speed as they were unable to control their slide. John, fearing for the worst, grabbed hold of buizel, and wrapped his body around him, acting as a shield for whenever they made impact. Buizel, who was attempting to grab any sort of holding was unsuccessful and was afraid of using aqua jet for fear of making the flooring even more slippery. In a last ditch effort, Buizel cast a protect around the two, shielding them from the impact. Unfortunately, they continued to slide and the protect wore off. Just as Buizel was going to use protect again, they made impact.

 

     THUD

 

     John let out a pained grunt; luckily his backpack absorbed a good amount of the impact, but he still had hit the rock wall hard.

 

     “You-“ John, finding that he had to strain to talk, looked at Buizel who was still cradled in his arms, “You OK?”

 

     Buizel looked up at his partner and nodded. Thanks to John he hadn’t suffered any damage. And then Buizel’s face turned to one of worry and started prodding at John.

 

     “Yes, I’m fine.” John managed to utter the words, despite his body protesting. “I’ll be alright, really. I just need to relax for a mo-“

 

     As he said those words, pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling. Apparently the impact that the two caused earlier was enough to trigger a cave-in. Rapidly, larger rocks began to fall. Buizel, realizing that there was not a moment to lose, used protect one more time. The shield warded off the boulders that would have otherwise buried them alive.

 

     John and Buizel needed to move fast. The two got up, John was still in pain, but he decided it was better than getting crushed to death. Making a run for it, they headed deeper into the cave. As the protect began to wear off, the two made one last synchronized leap in an attempt to get out of the way.

John sat up and looked back the way they came, only to be greeted with massive boulders that filled the hallway. John looked at Buizel, and Buizel looked at him, and the two let out a huge sigh of relief as they were panting heavily. John sat there, trying to come to terms with the fact that they had just narrowly escaped death and that he was glad Buizel was there beside him, when he felt a tug on his shoulder. Buizel pointed behind them and John followed his gaze.

 

     There, in the back of the room they had leapt into, was a large, blue, glowing crystal that floated above the ground. The two, not believing their eyes walked towards it, forgetting all about the fact that they had nearly just met an unkind fate.

 

     Standing before the stone, the two gazed deep into it expectantly. However, what the two saw was not at all what they expected.

 

     As John gazed into the mesmerizing crystal, the outline of Buizel appeared and smiled at him.

     As Buizel gazed into the mesmerizing crystal, the outline of John appeared and smiled at him.

 

     Confused, the two began to feel a wave of disappointment wash over them. Buizel felt a tear welling up in his eyes. This wasn’t what they wanted, they wanted to see their parents. They wanted to know where they came from, where they belonged.

 

     And then, as if their minds were one, the two remembered the key words of the old story: Legend has it that the crystal will show you the individual with whom you have the greatest bond. As this understanding hit them, the crystal fractured violently. Not having time to react, John and Buizel stared as the stone shattered into hundreds of small shards that floated down. Buizel reached out to capture one of the pieces, but as it made contact with Buizel’s paw the piece shattered into even smaller shards.

 

     The two, saddened by what they had just witnessed, fell to their knees. Their life’s work and goal had just ended. A whole host of emotions were scrambled inside the pair’s hearts.

 

     Not knowing what to think, John reached out and embraced Buizel.

     “I’m just glad I have you by my side.”

     Buizel hugged John tighter in response to the heartfelt words, as if to say: Me too.

 

     Once the two had settled down, they decided that it was time to return home; back to Celadon City. Buizel made quick work of digging a hole back to the surface of Mount Silver. From there, it was a straight path back to Victory Road and then the rest of Kanto. Boy did they have a story to tell everyone when they returned!

 

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Prompt 2

Word Count: 2497

IGN: Kyklous

 

Spoiler

 

Left in the Dark

The boy took one last look at the mouth of the cave. It was the most he could do to conceal his excitement at having the chance to explore it. He finally stepped forward putting one foot in front of the other, but nothing about it felt natural. Rather than feeling like he was moving forward, it was as if the world around him was sliding back; as if the cave itself was pulling him further into the Dark. Not the darkness of the cave though.

 

Luminous Cave. That was what the locals of the neighboring town called it. Well, perhaps it was more fitting to call it a village; too small to even earn its spot on the map. Its population consisted mostly of those unfit to live in the polluted city settings that dominated the rest of the region. Since a person strong enough to trek the structure hadn’t been around for generations, they had long forgotten how the cave had gotten its name. Curiously, they swore it was not because of the bioluminescent lights bouncing off the walls.

 

The boy grinned to himself as he walked, eyes trained on his feet so the constant movements of the paras and the bright mushrooms they carried along with them didn’t dizzy him. This was the Dark. A secret unknown. A question to be answered. What was out there? What was it like?

 

His ears became deaf to the pitter-patter of water droplets falling from the ceiling as he reflected on why he was here. He discovered the village by accident. A sense of direction was one of the things he lacked as a trainer. The villagers insisted that he go into the cave to investigate the cause of recent suspicious activity. The boy consented under the condition that they point him in the right direction and give him a day’s worth of food. So off he went, if only to put the people’s hearts at ease. That was his excuse anyways.

 

A droplet of water landed on his forehead rousing him out of his thoughts. He swiped at the droplet with his finger and brought it to his mouth. Mm. Sweet.

 

He already had an idea of what was hidden in this cave even though he’d never seen it before. There was a story told to the kids in his hometown of a cave made entirely of candy. Every inch of it was edible! The boy spent much of his free time memorizing maps to see where such a cave could be, but was left with no indication that the story was anything more than a story. However, the boy remained determined. If the story did not match any structure others had discovered, he would just have to discover more. He loved his pokémon dearly, but it was not a stretch to say this was the main motivation for his adventure.

 

That being said, he was in no hurry to taste the mud under his shoes to see if it was perhaps fudge. No, he would look for something more obvious. Maybe a stream of lemonade? He kicked the walls hard producing a satisfying bump as the mud was shaken off. That’s better.

 

The surroundings didn’t return silent. The cave became dominated by the sound of flapping and darkened by the wings of many bats. Crobat that is.

 

The boy groaned seeing the results of his blunder. He plucked a poké ball off his belt and felt it grow in his hand. “Help me, Buizel!” he shouted to the glowing figure that appeared from his poké ball. The crobat had retreated a bit in response to Buizel’s sudden appearance. The boy stood still with arms crossed and mouth curved into a confident smirk.

 

Moments passed after the light from the poké ball dissipated with all parties still. The boy’s smile drooped more and more as he waited for his Buizel to repel the aggressors. Finally deciding Buizel to be of no threat, the crobat resumed their advance on the pair.

 

The boy’s face finally lost all composure. “Buizel, do something!” This only earned him a glare in response. Right. What was he supposed to do?

 

The boy looked around to assess the situation. It was a colony of crobat; too powerful and plentiful for his Buizel to have any hope of winning. Should he turn back? Probably. But…

 

“Buizel, use water gun!”

 

Buizel shot a burst of water where the boy indicated with his finger. Of course, the crobat’s superior speed allowed them to fly away before it connected. But it didn’t have to.

 

The boy sprinted into the recent hole in their formation with Buizel running adjacent to him to protect him from any attacks.

The empty space was quickly being filled as crobat circled around them on all sides. The pair stopped running, eyes shifting to examine all the nearest crobat for sudden movements. Escape was no longer an option.

 

“Buizel, use water gun!”

 

Buizel expelled a gush of water, turning around slowly to ward off the encircling colony, but the agile foes managed to evade it without issue and continued their approach unhindered.

 

Not long after, Buizel had abandoned using water gun in favor of fending them off with its fists, but every swing would miss and leave it open for a bite in retaliation. The boy closed his eyes, partly to contemplate a solution. How could they defeat an opponent they couldn’t even keep up with? Suddenly, realization dawned on him.

 

“Buizel, use that new move!” Buizel had just learned the move recently so he hadn’t had much of an opportunity to call its name in battle. He had faith Buizel knew what he was talking about though.

 

A veil of water covered Buizel before it charged head-first into a crobat. If the crobat was injured, it surely didn’t show it, throwing a glare at the pair. It was obvious that Buizel would pass out from exhaustion long before they could even defeat one crobat, but luckily, they didn’t have to win. They just had to not lose.

 

Surprise filled the boy’s face as the other crobat scattered to avoid the attack. It was outside of his calculations, but an escape route had finally appeared and he was going to use it. The boy grabbed onto Buizel by the shoulders. Buizel didn’t need told what to do next. By using aqua jet, the pair popped out of the colony like a rocket and ran deeper into the cave with the crobat in hot pursuit.

 

Soon, a light assaulted their vision as bright as day. The boy inspected his surroundings to ascertain that he had not accidentally wandered back outside. The area’s most noticeable feature was the wide stream of water that glowed a mystical yellow.

 

Tearing his eyes away from the sight, he quickly turned to his pursuers only to see that they had long rushed to retreat from the room. Of course! Crobat were sensitive to light. They taught this in trainer school for crying out loud!

 

He was broken out of his thoughts by a dull thump. Adrenaline running thin, Buizel had collapsed on the ground next to him, body convulsing in pain. The boy took the time to look at Buizel for the first time since the battle. It wasn’t pretty. Its body was covered in cuts and bite marks.

 

The boy sprayed an antidote and super potion into as many exposed areas as he could find before returning it in its poké ball to rest. The boy then turned his attention to the water. He knew that its color wasn’t a simple reflection of the ceiling’s crystals as those were blue. The water itself was yellow. Could this be the stream of lemonade? He edged closer and closer to the stream and extended his hand to scoop it.

 

“Ouch!” The moment his hand touched the water, he flinched back and massaged it with his other hand. The water had electrocuted him! But how?

 

He inched back towards the stream to find the cause. Squinting his eyes, he discovered a school of lanturn. He flinched back once again when he noticed the water glowing more intensely to shoo him away.

 

Strange. According to his trainer school, lanturn were harmless. A person could normally stay submerged with an entire school of lanturn without fear of electrocution. What was causing them to…

 

“I suggest not touching the stream.”

 

“Ah!” the boy screamed from surprise, turning to see where the voice was coming from. His scream was mirrored back with the new arrival slipping onto his bottom.

 

The boy giggled at the sight and walked over to the man. “Here. Need a hand?”

 

“Get away from me!” The man said indignantly, making a show of picking himself up.

 

“I was only trying to help…” The boy pouted.

 

“Help? Oh sure. Help from the guy who thinks it’s safe to touch the differently colored water.”

 

“Well, I thought…Hey! If you knew it could have electrocuted me, why didn’t you tell me to stop before I touched it?”

 

“B-because I didn’t kn…No, that doesn’t matter. Go home, kid. This isn’t a playground.”

 

The boy hmphed in response and continued on his way. He didn’t know where he was going, but he decided following the stream would be good enough for now.

 

“Hey, where are you going?” The man asked annoyed at the boy’s disobedience.

 

“I don’t know,” the boy admitted, “Away from you, I guess.”

 

“Why are kids these days always so petty?” The man jogged after the boy and slowed down to match his footsteps.

 

“Why are you following me?”

 

“You’ll get lost if you just meander blindly. You’re welcome.”

 

Hmph. Silence hung for a moment as they walked through the caverns. Since it seemed he was stuck with the man, the boy decided they should at least chat.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“…” the man was silent as if contemplating whether or not to say anything. “Take a left.”

 

The boy took a left at a fork in the path as instructed.

 

“You know, there was a story about a cave that they told us when we were kids.”

 

“Oh, you too?”

 

“Yeah. Deep in a cave, there’s a mysterious light. When a pokémon bathes in the light, they instantly evolve and exceed all natural limitations, growing to level 255 and having 252 EVs in every stat.”

 

The boy’s excitement gave way to disbelief. “Something like that can’t exist.”

 

“I didn’t believe it either! Imagine my surprise when I discovered this cave contained a whole colony of just crobat. Crobat are rarely if ever found in captivity, you know. Suspicious, don’t you think? Take a left.”

 

“Maybe…” It kind of made sense, but it didn’t match his story at all! Couldn’t there be some other explanation?

 

“The problem is this cave system is unexpectedly complex. I’ve been navigating the cave for days and yet I’ve failed to find it.”

 

The boy didn’t dare suggest that the light might simply not exist. “So, doesn’t that mean you don’t know the way any better than I do?”

 

“I can assure you that, after days of mapping the area, I have a far better idea of where we’re going than you. Take a left.”

 

“Are you sure? Because we’ve already been here.” The boy pointed at some escape rope he had tied around a stalagmite before the pair had ventured too deep.

 

“I mean go right.”

 

The boy raised an eyebrow at the older male before continuing along the way.

 

Eventually the duo came upon a room as bright as the room with the lanturn, or perhaps even brighter. Rays of light showered down from the ceiling enveloping beautiful crystals within their radiance.

 

“It can’t be,” the boy said contrary to the grin spreading along his face. There could not be a surer sign. Rock candy was floating in front of him, ripe for the picking!

 

“The light is real!” The man exclaimed. Oh yeah. His story.

 

The man lifted his foot, but before he could step any close, bone swung in front of his face before swinging back drawing attention to the sender. It was a band of marowak, each one holding a bone ready to strike at the intruders.

 

“Of course it couldn’t be that easy,” the man mused to himself as he took out a poké ball. “Go, Golbat!”

 

The marowak didn’t hesitate to throw their bonemerangs upon seeing the crobat emerge from the light of the poké ball. Golbat just stood stiff as a statue awaiting its trainer’s orders.

 

“Fly in the air to dodge the bones. Then use air cutter to step them from moving.”

 

Golbat dodged the oncoming bones while stopping their motion. The marowak frantically ran to their respective bones. Without them they were defenseless.

 

“Now, fly towards the light while they’re distracted!” At last, something that he’d only dreamt of was about to–

 

His moment of happiness was denied by the sight of Buizel crashing into Golbat. “What?” The man turned to the boy. “What are you doing?”

 

“Stopping you.”

 

“I know that. Why? What have I done wrong?”

 

The boy pondered for a bit before shrugging. “Nothing as far as I can tell.”

 

“So then?”

 

“The pokémon don’t want you to.”

 

“Cute, but that’s not going to stop me from getting what I want.”

 

“Buizel, use that one move!”

 

“Golbat, use air cutter to slow down its momentum!”

 

Buizel had barely even caused Golbat to pause, falling back down before its aqua jet could even connect. What now? There was nothing else he could use to defeat it.

 

“Buizel, don’t let it get any closer!” the boy said helplessly.

 

The boy’s look of defeat contrasted with the man’s look of absolute glee. Golbat neared closer and closer into the light until its figure could no longer be seen, and then it flew out. Nothing happened.

 

“What.”

 

Golbat was still a golbat. It didn’t even look any tougher. The marowak had just managed to pick up their bones ready to resume throwing them at the intruders.

 

“But how?” The man threw out another poké ball containing a kadabra. “Kadabra, teleport to the light!”

 

 Kadabra teleported to the light and then stepped cautiously to avoid the sea of bones. Nothing happened.

 

“Dragonair, go towards the light!”

 

Dragonair slithered towards the light, not even pausing when it got hit by passing bones and slid out. Nothing happened.

 

“Beldum!”

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Nincada?”

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Magik…” This time he didn’t even send out the pokémon, instead kneeling on the floor in self-pity.

 

The bones stopped. The boy stared at the crystals that bathed in the light. Stepping forward himself was suicide, but if he instructed Buizel to use that really fast move to fetch some rock candy for him, but…

 

He then turned to the man who had already been driven to tears by his ruined expectations and turned to walk the other way. Maybe this way was more satisfying.

 

Word limit too OP >_<

Well at least I had fun thinking of this.

 

 

 

Edited by Kyklous
Whoopsie doopsie. Forgot to add in my ign ^^;
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IGN: Gunthug
Title: Old Flame
Word Count: Way too many (3,846)
 
 
 
 
The trainer stood still, surveying the wreckage around him. Not just any wreckage, but that of a thoroughly undone village. Having just cut his way east through miles of thick forest, this city was the first he had stumbled upon in days. But it was a city no more, for all around him was ample evidence that something violent had happened to this place, as if a hurricane of fire had swept through and left nothing behind.
 
As he made his way towards the center of the village, he passed by more of the same – piles of charred remnants of buildings, some still smoldering or ablaze.  After a few minutes, a small building began to come into focus, seemingly still intact.
 
It was a tavern. He could always spot a tavern.
 
Inside, through the iconoclastic double wooden doors, the harsh sunlight gave way to dim candlelight. The bar had only one patron, and he was seated at a table along the left wall. The man was old, and clearly tired. He leaned low over his drink, cradling it with his arms like a newborn. Thin, gray hair occupied the top of his head, though its days seemed to be numbered.
 
He hadn’t had a visitor in over two months, but there was no reaction when the trainer walked inside. Not on the outside. Inside, however, his mind raced. Clearly the man who had just entered was some sort of Pokemon trainer – he certainly looked like he’d seen combat. He’s just what I need, the old man thought.
 
“Looking for a drink?” the old man wheezed out. If he had pulled out a cigarette and lit it, it certainly wouldn't be his first. 
 
"Sure," responded the trainer. "Whiskey, if you've got it."
 
"Help yourself." The old man waved his hand over towards the bar.
 
The trainer did not protest. He walked over, grabbed a glass and a fiery, red bottle, and poured himself some whiskey before returning to the table. With his foot, he dragged the chair out from under the table, then sat down. The old man looked at him expectantly.
 
"Well?"
 
The trainer took a sip from his glass. The old man relaxed his shoulders and leaned back in his seat, as if some unknown test had just been passed. Silence hung thick in the room, so thick the trainer thought he might be able to reach out and touch it. He stared at the man, and the man stared back. Finally, one of them spoke.
 
"That's true fire-born whiskey. Not any of that crap from the Water states." The old man smirked.
 
"What the hell happened to your city?" asked the trainer quietly, tiring of the small talk already. 
 
The old man sighed, then responded. "Why do you think I know? I came into town after all this happened."
 
"Thought it might be a great place for business?" the trainer fired back. The old man chuckled.
 
"I don't much care for people. In that regard, this place is perfect." He cleared his throat, which turned into a violent cough.
 
The trainer sat patiently, waiting for the coughing fit to end. "Perhaps you've heard something, though?" inquired the trainer.
 
"..." said the old man. He closed his eyes, and swallowed hard. "Funny you should mention it. Certain things have been told to me, yes. Do you have time? This one will take time."
 
The trainer leaned back in his chair and took another swig from his glass. The old man nodded, and began to speak in a much more clear voice than he had at first.
 
"Rumor has it, there was a scientist. He worked for the military in Firaga. You know of Firaga, right?"
 
The trainer nodded.
 
"Right. So this scientist wasn't just any old military personnel. He was secret ops. One of them ones that the Fire leaders swear don't exist. They kept him, and others like him, hidden away in secret laboratories beneath the great city."
 
"Why?" interjected the trainer. 
 
"Why the secrecy? Because we...I mean, they were at war, son! You never knew who could be snooping around from the Water states back then. Not all of em wear blue, you know."
 
"No," said the trainer, "I mean, why underground laboratories? Seems like a fire hazard."
 
The old man stared at him for several seconds, and then laughed heartily. It was the kind of laugh that made you think someone had lost their mind. When he found it again, he continued on, as if the question hadn't been asked.
 
"This scientist worked on all kinds of things. Trinkets and gadgets, special types of explosives, even potions and injections. And of course, in order to test these things, he needed test subjects." The old man took a deep breath before continuing. "He needed pokemon."
 
"Fire types were all the city could get its hand on, having been pushed back out of the fertile lands dividing the two warring sides. This went on for several months, though it disturbed the scientist deeply. Every single week, there were casualties. It was for that reason, he never let himself get too attached to any of the specimen. But, like anything in this god forsaken world, that didn't last."
 
The trainer sat there calmly. This seemed like a story the old man had been dying to tell, so he tried not to interrupt. The old man continued. 
 
"The scientist showed up one day and peered inside the special glass cage to see a new test subject. It was a Charizard. It was young, not yet fully grown, and surprisingly docile. It didn't stomp and thrash, like many other Pokemon did when reduced to captivity. In fact, it was terrified. Curled up into a ball of orange, tail ablaze but flickering near the corner of its cage. After months of ruthlessly testing the latest scientific advancements on Pokemon, for some reason, this sight was the last straw for the scientist. And yet, at first, he did nothing."
 
"Weeks went by, with the scientist avoiding using any of his experiments on the Charizard. In fact, they forged quite the bond - the Charizard was quite playful, and the scientist would teach it all sorts of games and ways to use its incredible athleticism, even within the confines of the small and cramped laboratory. Once, under the guise of a fake experiment, the scientist managed to arrange for a testing field nearby to be cleared. The Charizard accompanied him there, and for the first time in what felt like years, he allowed his new friend to fly."
 
"Have you ever flown, boy?" said the old man, suddenly. The trainer shook his head.
 
"Well, there's a saying. You can't put a bird back in its cage. Or, something like that. You see, while it was a wonderful day for both the scientist and the creature, days pass. The fun ended. As he unloaded the Charizard back into his glass pen after a day out on the winds, the scientist saw clearly the look of anguish on the Charizard's face. How much longer could he keep this up?"
 
"That night, the scientist decided he'd had enough. He couldn't go on mistreating Pokemon like this. His arrangement with the government was mutually beneficial, sure. His brain was at their disposal, and his experiments had led to countless advances in militaristic research. Many who knew of his work claimed that he was the only thing keeping the Fire city's war efforts afloat. And in return, they paid him. But this wasn't the kind of job you could just quit. Defeat was not an option for the military tycoons who called the shots."
 
"Wait," interjected the Trainer. "So you're saying the scientist was working there against his will?"
 
"It was complicated. Er, or so I heard." For the first time since the trainer walked in, the old man took a swig from his cup, swished the liquid around in his mouth, then swallowed hard before getting back into the story.
 
"The scientist didn't have handcuffs on or nothing. But, he knew he might as well have. There had been other scientists, some of which even shared his same lab. Once, when a fellow scientist got in a loud argument with one of the armed guards stationed outside their secret quarters, he stormed off and proclaimed he wasn't coming back. The next day, his name was in the newspapers in Firaga. He had been in a terrible car accident on the way to a family dinner. He had perished, along with his wife and 2 year old son. That sound like coincidence to you?"
 
The trainer bowed his head low. "I'm sorry."
 
"Well, don't say sorry to me. I just only heard about all this, you see?" The old man cleared his throat again.
 
"Now, the scientist knew he had to get out of there, and he had to save that Charizard too. He went through his normal day at work, then told the armed guards he'd be staying late. He knew that late night, they turned to working shifts - and only one would be awake at any given time. When it got late enough, the scientist made his move. He gathered supplies from the equipment closet - some stun balls, a few ray shackles, and even a new product that he hadn't yet tested. Then, he freed the Charizard. Together, they made their way to the door."
 
"The first guard hadn't been a problem. They'd fallen asleep at their post. The second was off sleeping elsewhere. This couldn't have worked out any better, the scientist thought. Once him and the Charizard had made their way a few yards from the entrance, he hopped onto the creature's back and prompted it to take flight. With a kick of its powerful legs, the beast soared into the air."
 
"Once in the air, the scientist pulled out his map. He spotted several villages, small villages, dotting the surrounding firelands that would make for great places to lay low. Perhaps he'd put his knowledge to use as a physician for pokemon, or some other quiet profession. The life he had planned for himself and his companion seemed so real, so close. But then came the spotlight."

"It shone on him and the Charizard with white hot fury, blinding them both and burning their skin. He knew this technology - he had helped develop it. Searchlights so bright they could stop would be air assailants in their tracks. The Charizard roared with anger, then swooped low to get them out of the spotlight. As they got lower and his sight returned, the scientist started to see the ground troops amassing to bring them to justice. One by one, they hurled red balls in front of them, summoning an armada of Pokemon to help reel the escapees back in. The scientist bellowed out an order to his Charizard, who unleashed a hellfire upon the group."
 
"When the dust settled, the entire group were knocked out, some dead, some just wounded. The scientist didn't care. Escape was everything at this point. As his flying companion circled back low, he saw two figures jump out of a humvee. Another flash of red light, and yet another Pokemon was revealed - an enormously powerful one. Heatran." 
 
The trainer's eyes got wide. "The legendary?"
 
"Folks at the top of the military had found it a few months before. I hadn....the scientist hadn't even seen it yet. He didn't know what it could do."
 
"He knew it was time to get out of there. 'Head for the trees,' he bellowed to his Charizard, who flapped his enormous wings furiously in an attempt to put distance between them and the legend. But the Heatran had already chosen its move. As they sped towards the city outskirts, several pieces of the high city walls, made of stone, began to crumble. Abruptly, three jagged slabs of the stone shot upwards as soon as the two escapees were directly above. One of the slabs upended the scientist, who fell from his perch and grabbed onto the Charizard's foot. The second slab shot upwards but missed its target entirely. The third slab..."
 
It was at this point the trainer noticed the tears in the old man's eyes. "The third slab hit the Charizard with full force. The scientist hung there, powerless to watch, as the stone controlled by the Heatran tore the majestic beast's wing off."
 
The silence returned from earlier. Several minutes went by, without a single word. Then, the old man summoned the strength to continue.
 
"The pair landed just outside the city walls in a brush of forest, both badly injured. As troops approached, the Scientist reached into his backpack with the last of his strength, and pulled out his latest invention. He pressed a button, then let it trickle out of his hand. Sharp, blinding light pierced outwards just as he lost consciousness. He could hear the screams of agony from the soldiers who couldn't manage to look away."
 
"Strangely, when he woke up, him and the Charizard were alone, still steeped in the brush near the walls. He grabbed his backpack, recalled the Charizard to its pokeball, and set off for a nearby village. After days of wandering, he stumbled upon this place, though it sure looked a hell of a lot nicer back then."
 
"You know," remarked the trainer, "this is a great story and all, but I'm not seeing how it results in a burnt down village."
 
"Kids these days, you all lack patience. Don't you think I'm getting to that?" retorted the old man.
 
"Sorry."
 
"Anyways...life wasn't like what he pictured it, the scientist. He had his quiet town, he had his freedom. But his Charizard's wing never healed. No matter how many times through the healing machine at the pokecenter, he remained scarred from the Heatran's attack. And the worst part? He couldn't fly."
 
"The scientist became obsessed with finding a fix, a cure. He spent days in his lab, which he had built from scratch behind one of the cheap houses in the village. He tried countless concoctions, potions which may permanently restore the Charizard and allow it the pleasure of flight once again."
 
"Eventually, just on the brink of going mad, he finally found a potion that he believed might work. It was highly unstable, and dangerous. One drop of it had once melted an entire metal chair. Nevertheless, he administered it to the crippled Charizard with a syringe - but to no avail. Nothing happened. Exasperated, the scientist stormed out of his lab and slammed the door behind him, sulking to his chambers and collapsing on his bed."
 
"Just then, he felt a massive rumbling, followed by several loud, sharp noises, like twisting metal. He jumped up, rushed down the stairs to his lab, hoping to find that his potion was successful."
 
"And?" queried the trainer.
 
"It was a little too successful. The scientist found an enormous hole torn through the side of the reinforced titanium walls of his lab. Outside of the hole stood a creature he had never seen before. Nowhere was his old, orange Charizard that he had come to love. Standing before him was a monster, three times the size of a regular Charizard. Its skin had morphed from the smooth orange leather that the scientist had once ridden on, to a jagged, angry dark grey color that seemed restless, as if power simply bubbled just below its surface. It had not one, but two wings, both charcoal colored and pulsating with energy. Blue flames tore from the sides of its mouth like drool, and also replaced the red ember on the end of its tail."
 
"The scientist couldn't believe it. What had he done? He called out to the Charizard, but when the beast turned its gaze upon him, he did not see a single sign of familiarity. He saw only anger. At that point, he knew what he had to do. He turned, and he ran."
 
"For the following weeks, the angry, insatiable beast tormented the village, burning down every building, tearing down every monument to civilization. Mothers, fathers, children were struck down where they stood begging for their lives. There were no survivors, none spared the carnage or fury of the strange monster."
 
"Is it still here?" asked the trainer inquisitively.
 
"It comes out only at night. There's nothing left for it to destroy, though."
 
"What about this place? Why is your little tavern spared?"
 
The old man glared at him, then shrugged his shoulders.
 
"What if I could defeat it?" asked the trainer again. This triggered another fit of laughter from the old man.
 
"How the hell are you going to do that?"
 
"The scientist's lab, is it still intact?"
 
"Well, I'm not sure...but-"
 
"Perhaps he had something in there that could help quell the beast's rage." The trainer finished his drink, and then stood up. "Can you lead me to it?"
 
The old man thought the trainer would take more convincing than this. "Well, I mean, I think I heard where it is. Are you sure about this?" But the trainer had already turned and walked out the door, into the rapidly fading daylight.
 
*  *  *
 
They arrived at a house near the eastern edge of the city. At least, it had once been a house. Now, it was a pile. However, still standing in the backyard was a makeshift metallic looking lab sporting an enormous hole in the side of its walls.
 
The trainer and the old man crept around to the side of the lab as the sun set around them. "We really shouldn't be out at a time like this," muttered the old man, but the trainer seemed not to care.
 
As they stepped inside the lab, lights flickered on automatically. A computer whirred into life, and a robotic voice echoed out from the screen a greeting. The trainer shot a furtive glance at the old man, who smiled and shrugged.
 
The trainer set off combing the shelves of the lab, looking for anything that may prove useful. Meanwhile, the old man snuck off, back out the hole in the wall into the open night air. It was only a matter of time, now. Slowly, but surely, he felt the rumbling. In the distance, over the crest of the piles of rubble, came that familiar sight. The Charizard had come.
 
It walked thunderously, taking a few steps into the crumpled ruins of the city and breathing a stream of bright blue fire into the air. Its tail slashed back and forth, toppling walls and trees and anything else that it struck. The old man caught its attention, waving his hands in the air. The Charizard recognized the figure, and bounded over to its location. 
 
There they stood, face to face. Blue flames still engulfed most of the Charizard's face, but the old man could see its eyes. They looked confused, even scared. "Please," begged the old man. "Stop all this. I never meant for any of this to happen." He crept closer to the Charizard, hands extended. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. I just wanted you to be free." Strangely enough, the blue flames eased in intensity. Where once the monster's skin had pulsated with power, it began to calm now. Could the man's plea have worked? Now only an arm's length away, the old man extended out his palm and touched the creature's wing. He began to sob. He didn't even need the trainer's help. If only he hadn't been such a coward before, running scared from his mistake while countless lost their lives.
 
Then, he felt pain. Sharp pain. The Charizard roared - had it done this? No. The beast looked past him at the trainer, who had just thrown one of the stun-balls, hitting the old man directly on the back of the head. Typical overzealous youngster, he thought, his consciousness slipping away. As his eyes flickered shut, he saw the trainer unleash one of his Pokemon. It would be no use. The beast would destroy it, and the trainer. Then, he could awake, and things would be different - like he always imagined.
 
* * *
 
The old man awoke to a rhythmic beeping. Slowly, his eyes opened, and the pain rushed to his head again. He expected to awake on the floor of the small village, but instead, he was in a very familiar room. 
 
"It...can't be."
 
"Look who finally decided to wake up?" The trainer was leaning against a nearby wall. He walked over to the side of the old man's bed, and adjusted a few of the buttons on the monitor next to him.
 
"My Charizard..."
 
"Don't worry, old man. He's being taken care of. You know, I didn't agree with my boss's decision to cut you loose that night. I said we should have hunted you down, killed you and your damn beast on the spot. Made examples out of you. But I gotta say, I think we made the right call." The trainer walked away briefly, then spun on his heels.
 
"Do you even know what you created? A fire type like Charizard, already quite powerful, mixed with the sheer force of a dragon type? With this weapon, no longer will we fear those damn bastards in the Water states. This will level the playing field!"
 
The old man was speechless. He meant to quit helping the war effort, and now what had he done. His poor Charizard, mutated beyond recognizance, now forced to usher in a whole new era of sadness and anguish for his brethren. How could he have been so foolish?
 
"Any last words, old man?" The trainer walked over to the bed with an ominous looking syringe in his hand. The old man began to speak, but the trainer plunged the needle into his neck, reducing it to a whimper. Every war has its sacrifices, the trainer thought.
 
***
In a blue room, a man in a blue suit picked up a telephone. He listened for a few seconds, then slammed it back on the table, shattering it into several pieces.
 
"Sir?"
 
"They've got the specimen. Get me Internal Tech on the phone, right now!"
 
"But sir..."
 
"A different phone!"
 
The assistant rushed out of the room, returning several seconds later with a new phone. He held it to the general, who snatched it out of his hands.
 
"Jackson, this is Briggs. Tell me we've got something going over there?"
 
Jackson responded from the other end of the line. "Yes, sir. Operation Blue Crystal is underway, sir, with very positive results so far."
 
"Good. Speed things up over there. We may need it sooner than we anticipated." He hung up the phone more gingerly this time, but he was still fuming. A fire monster that could brush off water attacks...hopefully, the stories weren't true. But he had to plan as if they were. It was his job. And this wasn't a war they could afford to lose.
 
So, time completely got away from me today. I barely managed to finish my story before the deadline (went to bed last night thinking it was 12:00 midnight eastern time, so that was a rude awakening when I realized it was BST). I've seen some truly great entries so far, and this word vomit barely stacks up with them even if it was under the word limit. I understand this likely won't qualify for the prize, but all I really care is that people get to read what I came up with. Good luck, all!
Edited by Gunthug
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9 minutes ago, Gunthug said:
IGN: Gunthug
Title: Old Flame
Word Count: Way too many (3,846)
 
 
  Reveal hidden contents
 
The trainer stood still, surveying the wreckage around him. Not just any wreckage, but that of a thoroughly undone village. Having just cut his way east through miles of thick forest, this city was the first he had stumbled upon in days. But it was a city no more, for all around him was ample evidence that something violent had happened to this place, as if a hurricane of fire had swept through and left nothing behind.
 
As he made his way towards the center of the village, he passed by more of the same – piles of charred remnants of buildings, some still smoldering or ablaze.  After a few minutes, a small building began to come into focus, seemingly still intact.
 
It was a tavern. He could always spot a tavern.
 
Inside, through the iconoclastic double wooden doors, the harsh sunlight gave way to dim candlelight. The bar had only one patron, and he was seated at a table along the left wall. The man was old, and clearly tired. He leaned low over his drink, cradling it with his arms like a newborn. Thin, gray hair occupied the top of his head, though its days seemed to be numbered.
 
He hadn’t had a visitor in over two months, but there was no reaction when the trainer walked inside. Not on the outside. Inside, however, his mind raced. Clearly the man who had just entered was some sort of Pokemon trainer – he certainly looked like he’d seen combat. He’s just what I need, the old man thought.
 
“Looking for a drink?” the old man wheezed out. If he had pulled out a cigarette and lit it, it certainly wouldn't be his first. 
 
"Sure," responded the trainer. "Whiskey, if you've got it."
 
"Help yourself." The old man waved his hand over towards the bar.
 
The trainer did not protest. He walked over, grabbed a glass and a fiery, red bottle, and poured himself some whiskey before returning to the table. With his foot, he dragged the chair out from under the table, then sat down. The old man looked at him expectantly.
 
"Well?"
 
The trainer took a sip from his glass. The old man relaxed his shoulders and leaned back in his seat, as if some unknown test had just been passed. Silence hung thick in the room, so thick the trainer thought he might be able to reach out and touch it. He stared at the man, and the man stared back. Finally, one of them spoke.
 
"That's true fire-born whiskey. Not any of that crap from the Water states." The old man smirked.
 
"What the hell happened to your city?" asked the trainer quietly, tiring of the small talk already. 
 
The old man sighed, then responded. "Why do you think I know? I came into town after all this happened."
 
"Thought it might be a great place for business?" the trainer fired back. The old man chuckled.
 
"I don't much care for people. In that regard, this place is perfect." He cleared his throat, which turned into a violent cough.
 
The trainer sat patiently, waiting for the coughing fit to end. "Perhaps you've heard something, though?" inquired the trainer.
 
"..." said the old man. He closed his eyes, and swallowed hard. "Funny you should mention it. Certain things have been told to me, yes. Do you have time? This one will take time."
 
The trainer leaned back in his chair and took another swig from his glass. The old man nodded, and began to speak in a much more clear voice than he had at first.
 
"Rumor has it, there was a scientist. He worked for the military in Firaga. You know of Firaga, right?"
 
The trainer nodded.
 
"Right. So this scientist wasn't just any old military personnel. He was secret ops. One of them ones that the Fire leaders swear don't exist. They kept him, and others like him, hidden away in secret laboratories beneath the great city."
 
"Why?" interjected the trainer. 
 
"Why the secrecy? Because we...I mean, they were at war, son! You never knew who could be snooping around from the Water states back then. Not all of em wear blue, you know."
 
"No," said the trainer, "I mean, why underground laboratories? Seems like a fire hazard."
 
The old man stared at him for several seconds, and then laughed heartily. It was the kind of laugh that made you think someone had lost their mind. When he found it again, he continued on, as if the question hadn't been asked.
 
"This scientist worked on all kinds of things. Trinkets and gadgets, special types of explosives, even potions and injections. And of course, in order to test these things, he needed test subjects." The old man took a deep breath before continuing. "He needed pokemon."
 
"Fire types were all the city could get its hand on, having been pushed back out of the fertile lands dividing the two warring sides. This went on for several months, though it disturbed the scientist deeply. Every single week, there were casualties. It was for that reason, he never let himself get too attached to any of the specimen. But, like anything in this god forsaken world, that didn't last."
 
The trainer sat there calmly. This seemed like a story the old man had been dying to tell, so he tried not to interrupt. The old man continued. 
 
"The scientist showed up one day and peered inside the special glass cage to see a new test subject. It was a Charizard. It was young, not yet fully grown, and surprisingly docile. It didn't stomp and thrash, like many other Pokemon did when reduced to captivity. In fact, it was terrified. Curled up into a ball of orange, tail ablaze but flickering near the corner of its cage. After months of ruthlessly testing the latest scientific advancements on Pokemon, for some reason, this sight was the last straw for the scientist. And yet, at first, he did nothing."
 
"Weeks went by, with the scientist avoiding using any of his experiments on the Charizard. In fact, they forged quite the bond - the Charizard was quite playful, and the scientist would teach it all sorts of games and ways to use its incredible athleticism, even within the confines of the small and cramped laboratory. Once, under the guise of a fake experiment, the scientist managed to arrange for a testing field nearby to be cleared. The Charizard accompanied him there, and for the first time in what felt like years, he allowed his new friend to fly."
 
"Have you ever flown, boy?" said the old man, suddenly. The trainer shook his head.
 
"Well, there's a saying. You can't put a bird back in its cage. Or, something like that. You see, while it was a wonderful day for both the scientist and the creature, days pass. The fun ended. As he unloaded the Charizard back into his glass pen after a day out on the winds, the scientist saw clearly the look of anguish on the Charizard's face. How much longer could he keep this up?"
 
"That night, the scientist decided he'd had enough. He couldn't go on mistreating Pokemon like this. His arrangement with the government was mutually beneficial, sure. His brain was at their disposal, and his experiments had led to countless advances in militaristic research. Many who knew of his work claimed that he was the only thing keeping the Fire city's war efforts afloat. And in return, they paid him. But this wasn't the kind of job you could just quit. Defeat was not an option for the military tycoons who called the shots."
 
"Wait," interjected the Trainer. "So you're saying the scientist was working there against his will?"
 
"It was complicated. Er, or so I heard." For the first time since the trainer walked in, the old man took a swig from his cup, swished the liquid around in his mouth, then swallowed hard before getting back into the story.
 
"The scientist didn't have handcuffs on or nothing. But, he knew he might as well have. There had been other scientists, some of which even shared his same lab. Once, when a fellow scientist got in a loud argument with one of the armed guards stationed outside their secret quarters, he stormed off and proclaimed he wasn't coming back. The next day, his name was in the newspapers in Firaga. He had been in a terrible car accident on the way to a family dinner. He had perished, along with his wife and 2 year old son. That sound like coincidence to you?"
 
The trainer bowed his head low. "I'm sorry."
 
"Well, don't say sorry to me. I just only heard about all this, you see?" The old man cleared his throat again.
 
"Now, the scientist knew he had to get out of there, and he had to save that Charizard too. He went through his normal day at work, then told the armed guards he'd be staying late. He knew that late night, they turned to working shifts - and only one would be awake at any given time. When it got late enough, the scientist made his move. He gathered supplies from the equipment closet - some stun balls, a few ray shackles, and even a new product that he hadn't yet tested. Then, he freed the Charizard. Together, they made their way to the door."
 
"The first guard hadn't been a problem. They'd fallen asleep at their post. The second was off sleeping elsewhere. This couldn't have worked out any better, the scientist thought. Once him and the Charizard had made their way a few yards from the entrance, he hopped onto the creature's back and prompted it to take flight. With a kick of its powerful legs, the beast soared into the air."
 
"Once in the air, the scientist pulled out his map. He spotted several villages, small villages, dotting the surrounding firelands that would make for great places to lay low. Perhaps he'd put his knowledge to use as a physician for pokemon, or some other quiet profession. The life he had planned for himself and his companion seemed so real, so close. But then came the spotlight."

"It shone on him and the Charizard with white hot fury, blinding them both and burning their skin. He knew this technology - he had helped develop it. Searchlights so bright they could stop would be air assailants in their tracks. The Charizard roared with anger, then swooped low to get them out of the spotlight. As they got lower and his sight returned, the scientist started to see the ground troops amassing to bring them to justice. One by one, they hurled red balls in front of them, summoning an armada of Pokemon to help reel the escapees back in. The scientist bellowed out an order to his Charizard, who unleashed a hellfire upon the group."
 
"When the dust settled, the entire group were knocked out, some dead, some just wounded. The scientist didn't care. Escape was everything at this point. As his flying companion circled back low, he saw two figures jump out of a humvee. Another flash of red light, and yet another Pokemon was revealed - an enormously powerful one. Heatran." 
 
The trainer's eyes got wide. "The legendary?"
 
"Folks at the top of the military had found it a few months before. I hadn....the scientist hadn't even seen it yet. He didn't know what it could do."
 
"He knew it was time to get out of there. 'Head for the trees,' he bellowed to his Charizard, who flapped his enormous wings furiously in an attempt to put distance between them and the legend. But the Heatran had already chosen its move. As they sped towards the city outskirts, several pieces of the high city walls, made of stone, began to crumble. Abruptly, three jagged slabs of the stone shot upwards as soon as the two escapees were directly above. One of the slabs upended the scientist, who fell from his perch and grabbed onto the Charizard's foot. The second slab shot upwards but missed its target entirely. The third slab..."
 
It was at this point the trainer noticed the tears in the old man's eyes. "The third slab hit the Charizard with full force. The scientist hung there, powerless to watch, as the stone controlled by the Heatran tore the majestic beast's wing off."
 
The silence returned from earlier. Several minutes went by, without a single word. Then, the old man summoned the strength to continue.
 
"The pair landed just outside the city walls in a brush of forest, both badly injured. As troops approached, the Scientist reached into his backpack with the last of his strength, and pulled out his latest invention. He pressed a button, then let it trickle out of his hand. Sharp, blinding light pierced outwards just as he lost consciousness. He could hear the screams of agony from the soldiers who couldn't manage to look away."
 
"Strangely, when he woke up, him and the Charizard were alone, still steeped in the brush near the walls. He grabbed his backpack, recalled the Charizard to its pokeball, and set off for a nearby village. After days of wandering, he stumbled upon this place, though it sure looked a hell of a lot nicer back then."
 
"You know," remarked the trainer, "this is a great story and all, but I'm not seeing how it results in a burnt down village."
 
"Kids these days, you all lack patience. Don't you think I'm getting to that?" retorted the old man.
 
"Sorry."
 
"Anyways...life wasn't like what he pictured it, the scientist. He had his quiet town, he had his freedom. But his Charizard's wing never healed. No matter how many times through the healing machine at the pokecenter, he remained scarred from the Heatran's attack. And the worst part? He couldn't fly."
 
"The scientist became obsessed with finding a fix, a cure. He spent days in his lab, which he had built from scratch behind one of the cheap houses in the village. He tried countless concoctions, potions which may permanently restore the Charizard and allow it the pleasure of flight once again."
 
"Eventually, just on the brink of going mad, he finally found a potion that he believed might work. It was highly unstable, and dangerous. One drop of it had once melted an entire metal chair. Nevertheless, he administered it to the crippled Charizard with a syringe - but to no avail. Nothing happened. Exasperated, the scientist stormed out of his lab and slammed the door behind him, sulking to his chambers and collapsing on his bed."
 
"Just then, he felt a massive rumbling, followed by several loud, sharp noises, like twisting metal. He jumped up, rushed down the stairs to his lab, hoping to find that his potion was successful."
 
"And?" queried the trainer.
 
"It was a little too successful. The scientist found an enormous hole torn through the side of the reinforced titanium walls of his lab. Outside of the hole stood a creature he had never seen before. Nowhere was his old, orange Charizard that he had come to love. Standing before him was a monster, three times the size of a regular Charizard. Its skin had morphed from the smooth orange leather that the scientist had once ridden on, to a jagged, angry dark grey color that seemed restless, as if power simply bubbled just below its surface. It had not one, but two wings, both charcoal colored and pulsating with energy. Blue flames tore from the sides of its mouth like drool, and also replaced the red ember on the end of its tail."
 
"The scientist couldn't believe it. What had he done? He called out to the Charizard, but when the beast turned its gaze upon him, he did not see a single sign of familiarity. He saw only anger. At that point, he knew what he had to do. He turned, and he ran."
 
"For the following weeks, the angry, insatiable beast tormented the village, burning down every building, tearing down every monument to civilization. Mothers, fathers, children were struck down where they stood begging for their lives. There were no survivors, none spared the carnage or fury of the strange monster."
 
"Is it still here?" asked the trainer inquisitively.
 
"It comes out only at night. There's nothing left for it to destroy, though."
 
"What about this place? Why is your little tavern spared?"
 
The old man glared at him, then shrugged his shoulders.
 
"What if I could defeat it?" asked the trainer again. This triggered another fit of laughter from the old man.
 
"How the hell are you going to do that?"
 
"The scientist's lab, is it still intact?"
 
"Well, I'm not sure...but-"
 
"Perhaps he had something in there that could help quell the beast's rage." The trainer finished his drink, and then stood up. "Can you lead me to it?"
 
The old man thought the trainer would take more convincing than this. "Well, I mean, I think I heard where it is. Are you sure about this?" But the trainer had already turned and walked out the door, into the rapidly fading daylight.
 
*  *  *
 
They arrived at a house near the eastern edge of the city. At least, it had once been a house. Now, it was a pile. However, still standing in the backyard was a makeshift metallic looking lab sporting an enormous hole in the side of its walls.
 
The trainer and the old man crept around to the side of the lab as the sun set around them. "We really shouldn't be out at a time like this," muttered the old man, but the trainer seemed not to care.
 
As they stepped inside the lab, lights flickered on automatically. A computer whirred into life, and a robotic voice echoed out from the screen a greeting. The trainer shot a furtive glance at the old man, who smiled and shrugged.
 
The trainer set off combing the shelves of the lab, looking for anything that may prove useful. Meanwhile, the old man snuck off, back out the hole in the wall into the open night air. It was only a matter of time, now. Slowly, but surely, he felt the rumbling. In the distance, over the crest of the piles of rubble, came that familiar sight. The Charizard had come.
 
It walked thunderously, taking a few steps into the crumpled ruins of the city and breathing a stream of bright blue fire into the air. Its tail slashed back and forth, toppling walls and trees and anything else that it struck. The old man caught its attention, waving his hands in the air. The Charizard recognized the figure, and bounded over to its location. 
 
There they stood, face to face. Blue flames still engulfed most of the Charizard's face, but the old man could see its eyes. They looked confused, even scared. "Please," begged the old man. "Stop all this. I never meant for any of this to happen." He crept closer to the Charizard, hands extended. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. I just wanted you to be free." Strangely enough, the blue flames eased in intensity. Where once the monster's skin had pulsated with power, it began to calm now. Could the man's plea have worked? Now only an arm's length away, the old man extended out his palm and touched the creature's wing. He began to sob. He didn't even need the trainer's help. If only he hadn't been such a coward before, running scared from his mistake while countless lost their lives.
 
Then, he felt pain. Sharp pain. The Charizard roared - had it done this? No. The beast looked past him at the trainer, who had just thrown one of the stun-balls, hitting the old man directly on the back of the head. Typical overzealous youngster, he thought, his consciousness slipping away. As his eyes flickered shut, he saw the trainer unleash one of his Pokemon. It would be no use. The beast would destroy it, and the trainer. Then, he could awake, and things would be different - like he always imagined.
 
* * *
 
The old man awoke to a rhythmic beeping. Slowly, his eyes opened, and the pain rushed to his head again. He expected to awake on the floor of the small village, but instead, he was in a very familiar room. 
 
"It...can't be."
 
"Look who finally decided to wake up?" The trainer was leaning against a nearby wall. He walked over to the side of the old man's bed, and adjusted a few of the buttons on the monitor next to him.
 
"My Charizard..."
 
"Don't worry, old man. He's being taken care of. You know, I didn't agree with my boss's decision to cut you loose that night. I said we should have hunted you down, killed you and your damn beast on the spot. Made examples out of you. But I gotta say, I think we made the right call." The trainer walked away briefly, then spun on his heels.
 
"Do you even know what you created? A fire type like Charizard, already quite powerful, mixed with the sheer force of a dragon type? With this weapon, no longer will we fear those damn bastards in the Water states. This will level the playing field!"
 
The old man was speechless. He meant to quit helping the war effort, and now what had he done. His poor Charizard, mutated beyond recognizance, now forced to usher in a whole new era of sadness and anguish for his brethren. How could he have been so foolish?
 
"Any last words, old man?" The trainer walked over to the bed with an ominous looking syringe in his hand. The old man began to speak, but the trainer plunged the needle into his neck, reducing it to a whimper. Every war has its sacrifices, the trainer thought.
 
***
In a blue room, a man in a blue suit picked up a telephone. He listened for a few seconds, then slammed it back on the table, shattering it into several pieces.
 
"Sir?"
 
"They've got the specimen. Get me Internal Tech on the phone, right now!"
 
"But sir..."
 
"A different phone!"
 
The assistant rushed out of the room, returning several seconds later with a new phone. He held it to the general, who snatched it out of his hands.
 
"Jackson, this is Briggs. Tell me we've got something going over there?"
 
Jackson responded from the other end of the line. "Yes, sir. Operation Blue Crystal is underway, sir, with very positive results so far."
 
"Good. Speed things up over there. We may need it sooner than we anticipated." He hung up the phone more gingerly this time, but he was still fuming. A fire monster that could brush off water attacks...hopefully, the stories weren't true. But he had to plan as if they were. It was his job. And this wasn't a war they could afford to lose.
 
So, time completely got away from me today. I barely managed to finish my story before the deadline (went to bed last night thinking it was 12:00 midnight eastern time, so that was a rude awakening when I realized it was BST). I've seen some truly great entries so far, and this word vomit barely stacks up with them even if it was under the word limit. I understand this likely won't qualify for the prize, but all I really care is that people get to read what I came up with. Good luck, all!

omg, that time limit.

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  • 1 month later...

Creative Writing Contest: Picture Prompts

The Results

 

66f19f226c7df80acbb4027e3a839094.png1st Place - WolfgangDamien

WolfgangDamien has provided us with another great entry in this Lovecraft-esque writing style. The effective use of sensory details in the story helps to build and maintain suspense throughout. There is a lot of powerful descriptive language in this piece, one of my personal favourites is;

“ I had been half sucked into an expanse of hellish black myre, the air was thick with the stench of rotting sea  creatures and their corpses littered the ground with bones jutting up from the black muck like pikes.”

The “villain” in the story remains anonymous but any Pokemon fan would know who the monster is, showing that Damien has made sure to keep this story relevant for the audience. I have to say that Ignatius Rockfeld may just be my favourite name of all time.

 

0a324a3db8f5fc84d6e3bf88306a9800.png2nd Place - Gilan

It is really great to see how much Gilan has grown as a writer since the last contest. This piece really stands out due to the fact that it could be taken straight from a fairy tale book. The story is charming and magical and also stays quite true to the Pokemon Universe throughout. It was a brave decision to select the second prompt and compete against the fast paced stories submitted for Prompt 1. However, it paid off and Gilan’s adventurous piece was popular with the judges.

 

1cb4cbc2ddb084854c3ecba965c5417d.png3rd Place - icelly

The judges really loved how Icelly used their personal experience in the game as inspiration for their piece. Icelly’s submission is a poem based on a bond between trainer and Pokemon and it is really heartwarming and uplifting. I personally appreciate that they have managed to create emotive poetry from an image that outwardly projects violence.

 

skitty_md2_spriteNoad's Honourable Mention(s)

Both honourable mentions will receive a small token of my appreciation for their entries.

DoubleJ

DoubleJ's entry provided us an insight into the life of a Pokemon that has passed it's prime. What happens to an elderly Pokemon is never really related anywhere in much detail, so DoubleJ had a lot of free creative reign. This piece combines humour with emotive writing and the balance really works well. I especially liked the medical language dotted throughout the entry that added to the realism of the piece.

 

Pachima

This was an entry that I really enjoyed, I felt like the story flowed really well. The fast paced battle scenes really brought the story to life and really this could read like an episode straight out of the Anime series. It was one of the entries that I personally enjoyed reading the most and wanted to give it a shout out.

 

@WolfgangDamien @Gilan @icelly @DoubleJ @pachima

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