Warning 1: This is not a Pokemon fanfiction. It is a FAQ, so don't complain to me reading it when you think it's a story. This contains horrifying scenes of an insane writer's mind among other things. Warning 2: This FAQ should not be read prior to the actual fanfiction as there are *many* spoilers contained within. ************************************************************************* Pokemon Master: The FAQ FAQ by Ace Sanchez. All parts of the story that this FAQ refers to may be found at the following address: http://members.iinet.net.au/~aceywacey/pokemon.htm Note: Pokemon and its associated characters are copyright by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc, and 4Kids Productions. The story, Pokemon Master was however, conceived and written by me! ************************************************************************* Hi there! This is Ace Sanchez, the guy who actually wrote the 'Pokemon Master' story, and in this FAQ I'll list just some random mumblings on the story, and a bunch of other junk! As well as some of the most asked questions that people email me! First thing's first though! _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: What the shadows is a FAQ? A FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. On the net, this lists those and answers to those questions. It can also mean a guide or an overview of something. _________________________________________________________________________ Now then, that was obvious! Now on to the real questions. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Where do you get your ideas? LOL! I swear, every writer gets asked this. In the general case, I think the best answer to this questions is ... *drumroll* ... Everything! Words coming from a writer are his/her thoughts, thoughts are from the person's experiences and imaginings. In short, *life* is what gives a writer his/her ideas. For me, it could be as simple as seeing some guy or girl on a bus and from something striking about then, imagining them as some character in a story. I'm insane that way... BUT on the fic itself, there are some very specific references or homages to various things I myself am a fan of. These things are what inspired me in writing the story itself. Ways I can incorporate them into something I myself would like to see. This leads to the next question: _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: What are the specific sources of inspiration for the story? What did you give homage to in particular? In a brief list, I'll list them and not in any particular order. I will go more into depth the references later where I'll reproduce each of my original notes on each part. Since this FAQ was written, I have deleted all my individual notes at the end of each chapter (so as not to distract any new readers on boring author stuff). Anime/Manga Stuff * Ninja Scroll * Teknoman * Street Fighter * Slayers (for the way Agatha does her 'spells') * Rurouni Kenshin (though, not till the end since I actually hadn't seen any of it till I was writing Part 13.) * Dragonball Z (like Kenshin I hadn't actually seen any of this either till the end. To tell the truth I didn't even like it till later!) Fantasy/Romance Novels * Anything at all by Johanna Lindsey. * The Wars of Light and Shadow, by Janny Wurts. * The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. * Sword of Truth books, by Terry Goodkind. Miscellaneous Crap * Will be covered in the individual chapter notes. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Why did you write the fic in the first place? Um, I just thought about what Ash would be like in the future and then suddenly I got an image in my head of Ash and a black-coloured Pikachu. I was actually in the middle of writing a different fic and then Pokemon Master Part 1 just forced me to drop it and write that instead. When I first started, I had no idea that it would have ended up like this. I just thought it would be a great idea and since back then, I'd write anything at the drop of a hat, I sat down and decided to share it. I still kinda miss those days as I've been out of touch for it in a while. But I did rejoin my old fanfic mailing list, though mostly I've been reading. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Why does everyone wear cloaks? I think cloaks are cool ^_^. The type of books I read are mostly within medieval settings where the cloak was a standard form of dress whilst travelling and going outdoors for protection from the weather. Whenever a character wears one in a novel I may be reading, I get shivers of coolness. I should probably see a doctor about that ... _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Are the cloaks everyone wears, the same? Each can be slightly different. Most are like Ash's which is sort of a mixture of robes and a cloak. It can be secured to be more tightly fitting so that it resembles more like long robes, or it can be left to flap free like a long thick cape. Every one of them has a thick cowl or hood at the back of the neck which can be pulled over the head hiding their face in its darkness. It was mostly used to hide identity in the beginning. The actual cloaks Pokemon Masters wear are not physically 'real' either. They are manisfistations of the wearers power. That is why they can be so easily regenerated when damaged. Technically, the cloak can even be shaped in whatever form the Master wants. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Who are the new characters in this series? Technically, only Valdera. And even then, the lines are blurred. Laselle, JT, etc, you say? Put it this way. *Every* single character in this fic is either from the Gameboy game or Season 1 (with small exceptions) of the Pokemon show. In cases of the Gameboy game, I just gave them a modified name from what they were called. Like Lass and Junior Trainer. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Why didn't you make more? I'm not too fond of new characters in fanfiction. Sue me ... (on second thought, don't since I'm not rich yet ^_^) _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Did anyone actually not like this story? I remember there was ONE instance of negative feedback. They told me the story was too violent and it was disgusting. Well, it planted my feet back on the floor! You can't please everyone! _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: How many times did people ask you to finish the story? There were so many, I actually stopped counting. I am guessing well over 200 emails before I actually did finish the parts I dragged my feet on (specifically Part 13 hah!) _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Who are the characters? I'll do one even better. Here is a full character list, complete with descriptive statistics and everything ^_^! These are taken straight from my original notes. Pokemon Masters Name: Ash (AKA Ashura) Gender: Male Height: 6'0 Weight: 163 lbs Body Build: Slender/Muscular Age: 21 Eye Colour: Light/Gold Brown Hair Colour: Black Hair Type: Straight, slightly messy, chin-length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: None Hometown: Pallet Town Element: Shadow / Electric Pokemon: Shadow Pikachu Clothes: Black Cloak, Black Tunic Shirt, Black Loose Long Trousers Weapon: Shadow Pikachu (Shadow Blade Katana form) Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward Name: Misty (AKA Mistaria) Gender: Female Height: 5'10 Weight: ??? Sizes: 35-25-35 Body Build: Slender/Curvaceous Age: 23 Eye Colour: Light Torquoise Hair Colour: Crimson Red Hair Type: Straight, mid-back length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Cerulean City Element: Water Pokemon: Starmos, Seadra, Vaporeon, Togepi, Blastoise Clothes: Blue Cloak, Blue Evening Dress Weapon: Twin Ice Blades / Ice Lance Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward Name: Valdera Gender: Female Height: 5'10 Weight: ??? Sizes: 35-25-35 Body Build: Slender/Curvaceous Age: 23 Eye Colour: Light Torquoise Hair Colour: Golden Blonde Hair Type: Straight, mid-back length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: Pokemon League Hometown: Cerulean City Element: Light / Electric Pokemon: Light Pikachu Clothes: White Cloak, White Robes Weapon: Light Pikachu (Holy Blade Katana form) Canon Appearance: None Name: Erika Gender: Female Height: 5'9 Weight: ??? Sizes: 36-26-35 Body Build: Curvaceous Age: 26 Eye Colour: Grass Green Hair Colour: Blue Black Hair Type: Straight, almost shoulder length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Celadon City Element: Grass Pokemon: Gloom, Venusaur, Scyther Clothes: Green Cloak, Green Dress Weapon: Ebony Wood Staff Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Name: Duplica Gender: Female Height: 5'8 Weight: ??? Sizes: 34-24-34 Body Build: Slender/Curvaceous Age: 20 Eye Colour: Light/Gold Brown Hair Colour: Teal Blue Hair Type: Straight, mid-back length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: None Hometown: House of Imite near Fuchsia City Element: Change Pokemon: None Clothes: Violet Cloak, Underclothing may vary Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Copycat Girl) Anime Season 1 Name: Bruno Gender: Male Height: 6'6 Weight: 284 lbs Body Build: Heavy/Muscular Age: 33 Eye Colour: Red Brown Hair Colour: Brown Hair Type: Medium length spikes Skin Tone: Tan Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Indigo Plateau Element: Fighting Pokemon: Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee Clothes: Maroon Cloak (Ripped at edges), Muscle shirt and trousers Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Name: Blaine Gender: Male Height: 5'9 Weight: 143 lbs Body Build: Average Age: 61 Eye Colour: Red Hair Colour: White Hair Type: Balding/Short Skin Tone: Pale Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Cinnabar Island Element: Fire Pokemon: Rapidasher (Master Pokemon) Weapon: Double Fire Sword Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 2 Start Name: Brock Gender: Male Height: 6'7 Weight: 289 lbs Body Build: Muscular Age: 27 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Brown Hair Type: Long spikes Skin Tone: Light Tan Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Pewter City Element: Rock Pokemon: Onix, Graveller Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1, Season 3 Onward Name: Agatha/Chanelle Gender: Female Height: 5'1 Weight: ??? Sizes: 29-20-32 Body Build: Slender Age: 77 Eye Colour: Silver Hair Colour: Black Hair Type: Straight, mid-back length Skin Tone: Pale Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Indigo Plateau Element: Spirit Pokemon: Multiple Gengars Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (as Hag) Name: Lorelei Gender: Female Height: 5'10 Weight: ??? Sizes: 36-25-35 Body Build: Slender Age: 33 Eye Colour: Ice Blue Hair Colour: Blue Purple Hair Type: Wavy, mid-back length Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: ??? Hometown: Indigo Plateau Element: Ice Pokemon: Nessie (Master Pokemon) Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 2 (as Prima -> Stupid Translators) Name: Koga Gender: Male Height: 6'1 Weight: 173 lbs Body Build: Athletic/Muscular Age: 31 Eye Colour: Black Hair Colour: Black Hair Type: Hard Spikes Skin Tone: Pale Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect. Hometown: Fuchsia City Element: Poison Pokemon: Venomoth Weapon: Poison Katana Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Name: Aya Gender: Female Height: 5'11 Weight: ??? Sizes: 36-26-36 Body Build: Athletic Age: 30 Eye Colour: Dark Green Hair Colour: Dark Green Hair Type: High Ponytail tied with black ribbon Skin Tone: Pale Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect. Hometown: Fuchsia City Element: Poison Pokemon: Venomoth Weapon: Poison Katana Canon Appearance: Anime Season 1 Name: Giselle Gender: Female Height: 5'7 Weight: ??? Sizes: 34-23-33 Body Build: Curvaceous Age: 21 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Brown Black Hair Type: Straight, longer than mid-back Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect. Hometown: Pokemon Tech Element: Ground Pokemon: Marowak Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Anime Season 1 Name: Lieutenant Surge Gender: Male Height: 8'0 Weight: 333 lbs Body Build: Heavy/Muscular Age: 40 Eye Colour: Yellow Hair Colour: Blonde Hair Type: Short Spikes Skin Tone: Tan Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Indigo Plateau Element: Electric Pokemon: Raichu Weapon: Electric Whip/Electric Battle Axe Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Name: Lara Larame Gender: Female Height: 5'10 Weight: ??? Sizes: 36-25-36 Body Build: Curvaceous Age: 24 Eye Colour: Red Hair Colour: Blue Hair Type: Long, Tied in bun Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Fuchsia City Element: Fire Pokemon: Winged Rapidash Weapon: Fire Bow Canon Appearance: Anime Season 1 Name: Sabrina Gender: Female Height: 6'0 Weight: ??? Sizes: 35-25-36 Body Build: Slender Age: 33 Eye Colour: Blue Purple Hair Colour: Green Black Hair Type: Longer than mid-back Skin Tone: Pale Allegience: ??? Hometown: Saffron City Element: Psyche Pokemon: ??? Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Name: Lance Gender: Female Height: 6'2 Weight: 169 lbs Body Build: Thin/Muscular Age: 34 Eye Colour: Blue Black Hair Colour: Black Hair Type: Long Flaring Spikes Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: Indigo Plateau Element: Dragon Pokemon: None Weapon: Lance Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Name: Gary (AKA Lord Garick) Gender: Male Height: 6'0 Weight: 163 lbs Body Build: Slender/Muscular Age: 22 Eye Colour: Light/Gold Brown/Red Hair Colour: Brown Hair Type: Straight, slightly messy, chin-length Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: Pokemon League Hometown: Pallet Town Element: Shadow / Electric Pokemon: Shadow Jolteon Weapon: Shadow Jolteon (Shadow Blade Katana form) Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward OTHER CHARACTERS Name: Jessie Gender: Female Height: 5'11 Weight: ??? Sizes: 34-25-35 Body Build: Slender Age: 27 Eye Colour: Midnight Blue Hair Colour: Vivid Red Hair Type: Worn tied in ponytail Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: None Hometown: ??? Occupation: Mercenary Pokemon: Persian Weapon: Twin Sai Knives Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward Name: James Gender: Male Height: 5'11 Weight: 169 lbs Body Build: Slender Age: 27 Eye Colour: Emerald Green Hair Colour: Blue Hair Type: Straight, chin-length and parted in centre Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: None Hometown: ??? Occupation: Mercenary Pokemon: Persian Weapon: Twin Sai Knives Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward Name: Butch Gender: Male Height: 5'11 Weight: 177 lbs Body Build: Muscular Age: 28 Eye Colour: Maroon Hair Colour: Aqua Hair Type: Straigt, short Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League Hometown: ??? Occupation: Pokemon League Field General Pokemon: Raticate/Persia Weapon: Broad Sword Canon Appearance: Anime Season 1 Onward Name: Cassidy Gender: Female Height: 5'11 Weight: ??? Sizes: 35-25-36 Body Build: Curvaceous Age: 28 Eye Colour: Purple Hair Colour: Blonde Hair Type: Worn tied in ponytail Skin Tone: Fair Allegiance: Pokemon League Hometown: ??? Occupation: Pokemon League Field General Pokemon: Raticate/Persia Weapon: Broad Sword Canon Appearance: Anime Season 1 Onward Name: Laselle Gender: Female Height: 5'2 Weight: ??? Sizes: 30-22-32 Body Build: Slender Age: 15 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Brown Black Hair Type: Straight, upper-shoulder length Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Pokemon Tech Occupation: Grass Trainer, Scout Pokemon: Bulbasaur / Flint (Master Pokemon) Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Lass) Name: Junior (AKA JT) Gender: Male Height: 5'2 Weight: 99 lbs Body Build: Slender Age: 15 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Black Hair Type: Short Spikes Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Indigo Plateau Occupation: Fight Trainer, Guard Pokemon: Machop, Sandshrew Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Junior Trainer Male) Name: Ania Gender: Female Height: 5'2 Weight: ??? Sizes: 31-21-32 Body Build: Slender Age: 17 Eye Colour: Hair Colour: Hair Type: Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Occupation: Grass Trainer, Scout Pokemon: Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Pokemaniac) Name: Triana Gender: Female Height: 5'2 Weight: ??? Sizes: 27-19-28 Body Build: Slender Age: 17 Eye Colour: Hair Colour: Hair Type: Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Occupation: Grass Trainer, Scout Pokemon: Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Junior Trainer Female) Name: Coletra Gender: Female Height: 5'2 Weight: ??? Sizes: 29-20-29 Body Build: Slender Age: 17 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Brown Black Hair Type: Straight, upper-shoulder length Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Occupation: Grass Trainer, Scout Pokemon: Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Cool Trainer Female) Name: Captain Jenny Gender: Female Height: 5'9 Weight: ??? Sizes: 34-25-34 Body Build: Athletic Age: 30 Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Blue Hair Type: Straight, shoulder length Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Castle City Hometown: Viridian City Occupation: Castle City Field General Pokemon: Multiple Growlithes Weapon: Sword, Bow Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward (Officer Jenny) Name: Nurse Joy Gender: Female Height: 5'9 Weight: ??? Sizes: 33-24-34 Body Build: Slender Age: 30 Eye Colour: Blue Hair Colour: Bright Red Hair Type: Upper-back length, worn in loops Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Castle City Hometown: Viridian City Occupation: Castle City Nurse Pokemon: Chansey Weapon: None Canon Appearance: Gameboy Pokemon Yellow Anime Season 1 Onward Name: (Young) Joy Gender: Female Height: 4'10" Weight: ??? Sizes: 24-16-26 Body Build: Slender Age: 12 Eye Colour: Blue Hair Colour: Bright Red Hair Type: Shoulder length, worn in loops Skin Tone: Fair Allegience: Pokemon League, rebel sect Hometown: Viridian City Occupation: Junior Nurse Pokemon: Chansey Weapon: None Canon Appearance: No young Joy's are ever seen _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Why does Ash blow hair out of his eyes all the time? Because Ash is too lazy to brush his hair properly ^_^. Just kidding, it's because I just find that particular gesture cool. I always seem to make characters do it as a habit. _________________________________________________________________________ QUESTION: Do you ever plan on writing more? Well, there comes a time where we can't bludge forever, and you have to go out there and actually live in the real world. That's what happened to me, I got out of uni, got a "day job" and as such, my time has all but disappeared. However I still have the desire to write and I guess I'll just leave it at that for now... _________________________________________________________________________ And now, here are my Original Author's Notes that I had at the end of every part! Notes 1: Well ... this is my first Pokemon fanfic and all ... and already, everyone is OOC ^-^. Well seeing as this is in the future and I have my reasons for Ash acting this way, I hope that excuses it. And before everyone shouts at me that (most) pokemon can't talk, there's a reason why the Golem could do it... The storyline is going to contain some influences from Ninja Scroll in case you haven't already noticed. And anyone else think that a little black Pikachu would have absolutely rocked? Actually, there's also a reason why Pikachu is a weird color in this fic too. And also why Pikachu has some new weird attacks. I've thought of (mostly) everything ^-^. Notes 2: Those who think Misty was gypped, she doesn't only get Seadra, she has a full complement of 6 water/ice pokemon. What are they? You'll find out later. Finally, in case there's people a bit confused, no, Light and Shadow aren't elements in the canon Pokemon. But wouldn't it be so cooool? And I also took a little liberty with creating new attacks ... Notes 3: Yeah I admit I blatantly took the double fire-sword thingy from Star Wars ^-^. Damn, isn't Darth Maul just the coolest, coolest? Oh, you'll notice the tone getting slightly lighter and more humourous. The problem isn't internal inconsistency but actually the effect that Ash and Misty have on each other as time goes along. Yeah, I did it on purpose okay? Besides as my long time readers may know, I kinda like comedy ^-^. Notes 4: Hmmm. Geez that was a long chapter. Maybe I should split in half? A lot of talking in this one. I hope you weren't too bored. Those of you who play Street Fighter Alpha 3 may recognise Ash's combo in the circle of Master's as a slight variation on a coolness combo belonging to one Miss Karin Kanzuki ^-^. And no. Laselle, Junior and Gambit aren't made-up characters. They're actually plays on those annoying trainers (Lass, Junior Trainer, and Gambler respectively) you have to fight in the game ^-^. One of my pet-peeves in a fic is a lot of ANC's (Annoying New Characters) so I'm trying to only limit myself to only one - Valdera. Then again she's a baddie so she may not count ^-^. The other baddies like the Farfetch'd guy, the samurai and Eevie guy came from the anime. The grunt doesnt exist, but then he was disposed off quickly anyway so I hope you'll forgive me ^-^. Oh yes, Starmos, the evolved form of Starmie also doesn't exist. I don't like making up ANC's but I don't have any worries when it comes to making up pokemon ... As always, C&C is appreciated! Notes 5: Ah well. It wasn't horror for long before it turned into another action-fest with a few laughs thrown in. I couldn't help it ^-^. I don't think the Farfetch'd guy was ever given a name so I just called him Farley. I hope no one minds ^-^. Oh, and sorry Mikey fans. But I'm afraid he annoyed me in the anime (same with Farfetch'd guy). I bet it was obvious ^-^. See? If you're a fanfic author you get to have revenge on all those characters that annoy you! Oh, and Missingno does exist. It's the famous "glitch" pokemon which can destroy your save data if you catch it. It's called Missingno because it's pokemon number 000. Pretty dangerous, no? I'd like to thank Tim Miller for his work of fanfiction, 'The Terror of MissingNo', which first informed me of this "glitch" pokemon. It's really great, you should find it and read it. Original flavour with a twist. Finally, here's a scene I wanted to include, but then changed my mind at the last second. This is supposed to be a darker type of fanfic, not a WAFFy (warm and fuzzy feeling) one ^-^ "Ash!" Misty's voice shouted from up above. "Misty!" Ash answered. Valdera's blue eyes began to flare up again. "Sister, you're always ruining my fun!" She pointed her sword at the Water Master riding the star pokemon. "Pikachu! Lightning Beam!" Ash watched horrified, unable to stop her in time, as a thin, jagged white beam of electrical energy shot forth from the tip of her sword. However, strangely, the white beam of powerful energy seemed to miss her, as Misty banked sideways to fly down towards them. The shot, instead, struck into the cavern wall melting the stone with a thich hiss, the newly burnt hole dripping red molten rock. But the sharp turn caused a poke-ball to fall out of her cloak. "Togepi! No!" Misty shouted. In mid-air, the egg pokemon came out of its ball with a flash of blue light. "Priiii!" it shouted helplessly as it tumbled downwards where it finally fell into the lava with a hot sizzling splash. Ash cheered. "Thanks Valdera!" Please forgive me for using Togepi. I couldn't think of any other pokemon Misty would have that would probably be able to use Flash. =P Notes 6: Woah, the first sad ending? Well I had to split up the chapter as it was approaching 90 Kbs! And this seemed like the perfect place to do it. (Yes, I'm evil ^_^) Notes 7: Yeah, I know this is basically just a sappy love story. Call me a hopeless romantic ^_^;; So now you all know who the man in the brown cloak was. Not that it wasn't obvious of course ... Oh, anyone else think that Evil Ash was just the coolest? I did and I was the one who wrote him! ^_^;; And Dragonight doesn't exist. Real dragonites (in the game) are only about 7 feet tall, not the 100 foot tall monster I wrote it as. Notes 8: Sorry for the wait. I think this part took the longest to write yet. I basically wrote a scene per day. But then, I think this is the longest part so far ... Anyhow, I've finally decided that I will stop at 12 parts. If I leave it going for too long I'm afraid I might get sick of writing too much on this plot and never get to finish the story =P. But all is not lost, after that I'll probably get to work on a prequel after and then after that a sequel to this current storyline. (Bah, the life of a fic author). Btw, I meant to ask this earlier, but does anyone out there have a favourite "guy to beat up in the game"? I mean like those characters like "Lass" and "Junior Trainer." If you think there are some cool ones I haven't used, feel free to give suggestions. Also accepting votes for "cannon-fodder" characters. Like Melvin and Seymour the Scientist *evil grin*. However, don't bother with Giselle and Joe since I already have plans for them. Call me shallow but I actually kinda like Giselle (not Joe though). To Be Continued! Next Episode: Battle scenes ahoy. Is Ash truly recovered? Just who is stronger, Misty or her sister? Will Ash fight Brock? Pikachu VS Raichu, the rematch! What are Sabrina's true motives? Is there a way to stop the destruction of the world? Tune in next time to ... Pokemon Master! (I always wanted to say that ^_^;;) Notes 9: Now why did this part take so long? Well just look at the length of it! I had certain ideas that all had to fit in this chapter. Yes, they all absolutely positively had to fit in! Oh and I did not create any new characters for this part. See if you can recognise where all the named characters come from =). *Sigh* Now maybe all the nagging will stop =P. Please understand people, that I'm a busy guy and that I only do this in my spare time. Capice? Three more parts to go! I hope they're all not as long as this one =P Comments and stuff welcome of course. part 10 teaser Next Episode: A landing at the Viridian Gulf. Ash and AJ's final battle. A thorn within their midst. The terrors of Victory Road. Valdera and Misty head onward to their final conclusion. And Agatha shows the might of her ghostly power... and just what happens to Brock? Two more parts to go until the final conclusion! Notes 10: Ack. My fingers are about to fall off from the length of this fic. I think I beat my record... anyway, time for my world-famous notes! What do you mean you don't know about them? Start from Part 1 then! *grin* New Characters: Try to guess what each of the new characters (Ania, Triana, Colletra and Hikaru. Oh and Chanelle.) match up to from the gameboy game - answers at bottom ^_^;;. By the way, I didn't want to create even more new ones but I found describing them as "Erika's Trainers" or "Bruno's Trainers" got pretty old and required actual names. Although on second thought, I just killed most of them off anyway so maybe it didn't matter. On Ash's bow shooting skill: I chose two hundred yards because I just finished watching Guiness Prime time and it said the furthest someone could shoot an arrow with accuracy was one hundred yards. So naturally, I chose double for Ash *grin*. On Triverion: I've always been a big fan of Transformers where they would all join to make a big robot ^_^;;. Except this idea was based more on how it was done in the PSX game, Xenogears. On Lorelei: Sorry for being so corny, but I thought a kiss would fit for some reason. Kind of like Sleeping Beauty ... or Sleeping Insane-Woman. On Ice skating: Ain't it totally cool? That would be awesome if there really was a city of ice to skate around in ^_^. Anyway, as always tell me if I stuffed up this chapter or whether you loved it to pieces. And if I stuffed up, tell me where you think I did it so I can see if I can improve it. Thanks! Answers for pop-quiz: Ania = Pokemoniac. That one in the lab coat in the gameboy game. It is a feamle right? That's what it looked like to me. Triana = Junior Trainer - female. Ponytailed girl. You fight like hundreds of these, especially in Erika's Gym. Colletra = Cool Trainer - female. That one with the whip and ponytail. Hikaru = Hiker. Those big guys with Onix's and Geodudes hanging around Mount Moon and the Rock Tunnel. Chanelle = Channeller. Those women in Pokemon Tower? Anyway, in their pic, they looked kinda young to me so that's how I designed this character. Scoring - Give youself 1 point for every character guessed correctly. 4-5 : Congrats! You may think a lot like me! On second thought, my condolences ^_^;; 2-3 : You are an average Gameboy fan and uh average for deducing what I think. 0-1 : Master of the obvious, you aren't ^_^ Notes 11: Cheers to Rhionae for pre-reading this monster and helping me out with the grammar and spelling! Gah. I never expected I would ever be writing 'Ash gets Misty', (or is it Misty gets Ash?) but it just suddenly came up and it just felt right to put it there. I'm sick of the two of them always getting interrupted after all ^_^;;. But now they can both suffer the consequences of their actions... By the way, some of you may have noticed a 'Todd' soldier getting brutally eaten by a Forbidden Sandshrew back in Part 9. He was meant to be the Todd Photographer guy that never existed on our network. Here he was called, Snap, so that's the continuity I used. Todd never existed here so he was just given a horrible, cheap death ^_^. Anyone notice Agatha's spell style? I sort of got it a bit from Lina from Slayers. Although I've only seen the first episode of that. I loved the way she casted, "Dragon Slave" though. Too much talking? Probably. Especially on the sappy conversations ^_^;; I know I can get carried away sometimes. But there *is* a lot of action in this one to make up for it. I hope. As always tell me your thoughts! Notes 12: This part was originally going to be the last, and I released first a quarter then this when it was taking too long. Then the fic just exploded in size and Part 13 had to be born by splitting it or it would have exceeded 500 Kbs. I don't think I've seen a single part of a fanfiction that size anywhere on the net! I probably win some sort of record :D Notes 13: Well ... it's been four years! And what a time its been. I've lost count of how many people have been asking me to finish. Well no more! Anyway I'd like to thank you all for being so loyal to the story you actually waited that long for the end. I was originally planning to finish last year, but damn, 2001 was like a soap opera for me. xxx As always, I'd like to know some of your thoughts on the story. I hope I gave a lot of shocks and surprises in the ending. Like another reader commented to me, 'I sure love my surprises.' I laughed out loud at that! ^_^;; Well, signing off! ________ Matta Ne!