Bonds and Understanding

by 28nstillkicking

Sometimes what you want is not what you will get. For Michael Kramer, having a friend to talk to was all he wanted in life. What he ended up getting would change him, both physically and mentally. Will these changes prepare Michael for the rest of his life, or tear him apart from the inside? OC/OC "M" rating is for dark themes, language and the occasional pinch of lemon.

1. INTRODUCTION

A/N: I'm back and, hopefully, better than ever!

For those not familiar with me or, for that matter, those that have no idea who I am, I had a number of fanfics over at mediaminer under the username Orangespeed. Having taken a look at what I had come up with (and actually considered to have been worthwhile reading material) ten years ago made me do a proverbial facepalm...numerous times. Back then my passion for writing was at its peak but my skills at writing left much to be desired.

Fast-forward ten years and I find myself back on the stage of Fanfiction, this time with a completely different outlook on the genre and why it was created in the first place. Instead of going full-on Professor Documentary I will explain the general path "Bonds and Understanding" takes.

Before I actually start with the general theme, however, I want to point out that, right off the bat, the story begins with a lengthy series of flashbacks. Before I started on this story I tried to think of a solid starting point that would allow me to complete the entire project in no more than thirty chapters. As I started working on more and more chapters I got the feeling I would not be able to finish the whole story in such a small number of chapters. As a result, "Bonds and Understanding" will be divided into two stories.

The first is, of course, "Bonds and Understanding" and it begins with a memorandum of past events in the life of the protagonist. While the story may have the "Drama" and "Romance" tags, it is important to realize that there were several other genres I could have chosen that would still have fit the overall theme. "Bonds and Understanding" is primarily a psychological drama, due in most part to how the scene shifts frequently to the mind of the protagonist. Seeing what life has been like for the protagonist, experiencing his state of mind during his lonely youth, witnessing the hardships he overcomes during his transition from a boy to a man and, among other things, finding a way to rebound after setbacks create perilous stumbling blocks in his path.

Amidst the turmoil of the protagonists youth, a looming spectre casts its shadow upon the Kanto Region. While almost every story has it's cliche "bad guy" or "super villain" this is most prevalent in the Pokemon franchise. You have Team Rocket, Team Magma/Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, etc. The antagonist in "Bonds and Understanding" has a little of all of those teams in him but, unlike mout of them, his plans benefit nobody.

All-in-all, "Bonds and Understanding" is packed with juicy drama, plenty of mature themes and a storyline that puts the Pokemon world into a much darker, much less enthusiastic setting. This brings me to my next point...

I spent three-quarters of a year making this story but, as is always the case in any story, mistakes are bound to happen. Back then I had a computer that made proofreading far less painful, even if my stories were painful to read anyway. With my computer out of commission I have done all of this story on my IPad. If you see something wrong, tell me! Leave feedback, leave a review, leave a PM in my inbox. The only way I can get better is through feedback from you, the readers. I am not going to openly bash any reviews like some authors. If I do not agree with your points I will not tell you that you are wrong or delete anything you put in a review...with a few exceptions that SHOULD be common sense to anyone.

If you are looking for lemons...well, keep on looking. "Bonds and Understanding" does delve into Pokephilia towards the latter half of the story, but it does not involve trainer and Pokemon getting into each other's pants every single chapter. As I see it, lemons provide no meaningful plot development unless prior character development leads to a lemon (I like to refer to this as PWP, or "Plot With Passion"

For those of you who simply want your fix, however, skip to chapter 6 and 17. Be advised, however, that you won't really get a true feeling for those chapters unless you know the story behind why they are there.

Like I said, Plot With Passion.

With that I wish you best of luck in your journey through this story! I sincerely hope that what I have put here will entertain you. If it doesn't than I apologize for not living up to your standards, whatever they may be. If you feel like leaving feedback in a review or Private Message than please do! We're all adults here...at least you should be if you're reading this story.

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