A comb brushed through the thick, black fur of Houndoom- second ranked member of the Elite Four. He looked himself over in the mirror as it got slicked back into its usual position.
And damn did he look good. Houndoom as a species tended to have some unfortunate implications surrounding them more often than not. They usually looked quite grungy and rough, their horns and teeth generally chipped, with more stains in their fur and scars than an eighties slasher to boot. But this Houndoom?
Well, to repeat himself: damn! His fur didn't have a stain in sight, his eyes were like little crystals hanging in the wind, his claws and horns were freaking fire- pun not intended but gladly accredited. Just…Man he'd make out with himself if he could, and he knew he'd be a swinger of a one-night stand- and he'd say that publicly! Zero shame!
Cackling with self-satisfied laughter, he closed his mirror and tossed his comb away with his tail, which wrapped around and landed with a satisfying thud in a prepared disc bowl.
Kicking open the doors to the Pokémon League, a mob of paparazzi flashing their cameras behind him, Houndoom entered wearing a pair of sunglasses. He allowed his eager fans to follow as they saw fit- no harm to hit, he was fine with it. For it satisfied his ego so furiously.
"Boom, baby!" he called with every step, all this ringing in his ears drifting alone. For he could not be bothered, not in these halls of the founding fathers, the ones he was descended from so long ago.
Yes indeed, they passed the paintings- those lavish decorations. Ones showing all who came before. And all along the right, one after another every few feet or so, were fire types, basking in the glow. And at the end, there he be- Houndoom's father, just as fiery as the one he seeded; he stood tall like a mountain, rocky Rhyperior body so long undefeated.
Till Houndoom that was. "You trained me too well," he remembers boasting, as his father left those halls, legacy forever sullen by the one he had raised himself.
And so came the end, he entered the door and slammed it when- he realized…
He was in the meeting room…Alone.
Tail raised to pull up the glasses, he looked around in confusion, then asked, "Where is everyone?"
"Likely home by now."
He glanced over, one professor Empoleon having entered the room from the right, finishing the last of the tea in his thermos as he answered preemptively, "You were late."
"Late? No way," Houndoom balked at such news, "we agreed for ten, and I'm here at…" He looked over to a clock, hoping for vindication.
But none came. "Yes…And it's one." Empoleon went on to state. Seems you got a tad bit caught up in your routine.
"Yeah, well, when you're the region's golden boy, you gotta stay looking sharp," Houndoom grumbled, little to no care for whether he had missed the meeting or not- it didn't matter, he wouldn't get in trouble. He was untouchable. "What'd I miss anyway?"
"Publics relations discussion; how to handle the growing interest of the public on the supposed 'champion scandal' the local news has been dramatizing," Empoleon explained in his usual matter-of-fact tone, though the gruff harumph was new, "you can thank Gyarados for that one."
Houndoom hadn't been too surprised to realize Gyarados had been the one to let slip about the contest- guy always was an even bigger loudmouth than him with none of the subtlety.
"So more boring politics, got it."
Empoleon sent the dog a pointed glare. "Those boring politics are also your job, in case you had forgotten."
"Yeah, yeah…You know, speaking of this whole contest crap, you figure out who you were going to bring in for that?" Houndoom asked dully.
Empoleon nodded. "Potentially."
"Cool. Anything interesting about her."
Instead of answering himself, he handed the man a file and said, "Take a look."
Huffing indignantly, Houndoom peeled back a page with his teeth, and looked down at the photo; one of a Lucario, and quite the attractive one in his eyes. "Oooh, a hottie."
"Don't you dare-"
"Chill, old man, I got standards," Houndoom snapped back in response, as he started reading the file. "Now…Who is this girl?"
"I'm Lucario, of course."
Houndoom blinked, looking up- only to find himself in a warped mental state, his mind filling the blanks as his eyes wandered the pages, crafting this image in his head that felt so…Real.
"Bastard-daughter of a family who wanted nothing for me." That voice materialized into being, a tall, sturdy woman stepping through the darkness, book in hand as she posed herself against the background of suffering around her. "Forced to find my own way, forge a legacy they disapproved of."
Echoed voices attempted to stifle her, hold her back- but a swing of her leg knocked them away, their visages exploding into light as she recomposed herself.
"And so…I did just that."
The world thundered, a storm of books pummeling against her- yet she remained firm, striding through it with a determined glare on her face. "I read what I could- and what I couldn't I took by force. I wrote and trained my mind day in and out. Breaks were merely an accessory to failure."
Books split apart, fracturing and flying around her like a tornado, spinning and tearing across her fur- yet she remained firm, unmoving. Letters began to draft themselves into the pages, "And through it I excelled. Always top of my class." These letters revealed themselves to be a flurry of "A+" sketched into each and every one.
She smirked brilliantly, adjusting her glasses before spinning them off her head, sending them flying like a boomerang that swept the pages away.
"By the time I was a freshman, anyone who didn't know me would before the end of the year. And by the time I was a senior, they all wanted to be me more than anything. I remember their words well."
The physical form of a fool forged itself in place behind her. "She's insane; girl is gonna need a wake-up call, she's way too confident for her own good."
Lucario could only grin at those words, kicking backward and planting her foot straight through the false golem, which exploded into papers and fluttered away back into the void.
"Ha! Too confident…What's wrong with that?"
Houndoom though…Was less than impressed. He was even outright glaring at the little essay in his hands- the girl had written this whole thing and sent it off to Empoleon requesting her admission into the champion's ring. And boy…Was she a little…Um…Expressive.
"She needs to take a chill pill," Houndoom rolled his eyes back, flicking the paper away and asking, "you're seriously picking her?"
"Oh heavens, no," Empoleon laughed at such an idea, "but I have selected her for Medicham."
"Wait…What? Doesn't she get to choose one herself."
"Yes, she was supposed to- but the girl, young and naive, didn't care too much for our guidelines," Empoleon explained, his disappointment evident, "she passed it off to me- said to just, "choose the coolest fighter" and "not make a big deal out of it", which…As you can quite easily tell I'm guessing, didn't exactly work as advice."
"Yeah, no kidding." Houndoom flicked through a few more parts of the file- God this thing is huge. "So she's gonna be the fighting pick? Why don't you take her?"
"To be blunt with you, she's too undisciplined for my tastes. But I still want to test her potential. Thus, this all worked out well enough to provide me with a potential experiment in the end."
Houndoom scoffed. "Using her as a guinea pig? Ruthless."
"I'm a scientist- it's what I do."
Houndoom couldn't help but shiver a bit at his words. He wouldn't admit it out loud but the professor certainly had a kind of warped way to him. Always so blunt and tactless- and when he's not acting that way he could be downright a massive prick. He's only seen him angry a couple times since the prude tries to stay calm so much, but the few times he has, he could give…Give…
For a moment he thought back to a coworker. To his old friend. One he could tolerate being in the same room with, sure, but not much beyond that. That blue fur and those electric highlights- Manectric. The name alone made him wanna go to town on the nearest chair and smash that damn thing against the wall.
He couldn't stand that arrogant blowhard. Always so argumentative, always so sure he was better than everyone else. He was the only fucker in the initiative to not wanna do this champion shit- and of course he was. Guy always was trying to make everything into a fight. It's what he hated most about him. So arrogant, such a piece of shit…God-
Great, he was in a bad mood now. Thanks, Manectric; go fuck yourself.
As he flipped through the pictures, he found a photo. One of Lucario that was Hell of a lot younger- still a Riolu. Also…A lot more masculine looking; weird. But there was someone else in the photo.
Right next to her was a Chimchar. And they were laughing and smiling about whatever dumb thing kids like that were into. He almost felt envious, which was real embarrassing. Kids and how they talked were way too different from adults, it was stupid to compare. When you're younger you can overlook all kinds of crap, or just forget about it.
And as he flipped through more of these sent pictures, he couldn't help but notice that Chimchar kept seeming to show up. Over and over again, the two at each other's side.
Though…He noticed something in the monkey's eyes. The way he stared at her. That…That concentration of…Want. That twitch in his eye. It…
It reminded Houndoom of himself.
The body of a large, muscular monkey tensed up with a harsh breath. He glared at the wooden log in front of him in silence- then striked! He threw a punch forward, the wood cracking upon impact. And he did it again- and again- strike after strike, his knuckles bleeding with each punch-
Until he managed to punch straight through the log, and with a flex of his muscles, snapped the trunk in two, both halves falling to the ground and clambering against the dirt.
Heaving another breath, he stared down at the fallen oak, and closed his eyes. He nodded to himself and brought up a hand to his forehead and held it there. He slowly buckled his legs under himself, laying down in the grass and crossing his legs, before straightening out his arms in front of him. He turned his head toward the sky, and took in the evening breeze…
This man's name was Infernape…And in spite of his attempts to find peace in the moment…He couldn't help but feel angry…
He always felt angry after thinking of her.
Player #4: Lucario
Created by: TPReboot
Represented Type: Fighting
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Hometown: Celestic Town, Sinnoh
Received Recommendation from: Empoleon (Regional Professor - Sinnoh)
"Calculating and poised for success, Lucario was always ambitious. Sadly, most viewed this as a flaw, her family especially; while they were satisfied with living out the rest of their lives as forgotten losers though, she wasn't! So, leaving them behind, she trained her mind. Reading every book she could get her hands on, she mastered the art of strategy, becoming a brilliant tactician known for her quick thinking. But what held her back more than anything was simple; that horrid temper of hers. She could become such great things but she so easily snaps under true pressure, and when she starts, it's hard to make her stop."
"But she can't help it, not when she can see him behind every corner; for the better part of the last half-decade, Lucario has believed her anger to be a result of her old friend, Infernape. Seeing him makes her see nothing but red; in an instant her well-thought out plan will be thrown out in exchange for ensuring his failure. She knows she's better than this but nothing she does can shoulder the burden of acknowledgement that comes with having known him. Why can't he just go away, leave her behind like he had in the past?!"
"No matter…She'll prove herself superior; she'll become champion and then, and only then, will she find peace in his defeat! And while she may have the mind for it, will it truly hold up to scrutiny under such hefty expectations?
Player #5: Infernape
Created by: InfernoMaster64
Represented Type: Fire
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Hometown: Celestic Town, Sinnoh
Received Recommendation from: Houndoom (Elite Four - Rank #2)
"Burning with passion, Infernape is the latest of a long family line of Battle Frontier challengers. Any day Infernape wasn't training was a waste in his eyes, an attitude his family often tried (and failed) to dissuade him from. With time they managed to slow him down enough to not only keep up with chores, but to also introduce him to a key part of his personal growth; meditation. Through daily rituals, he managed to find his inner self- a fact that has only accelerated his capabilities tenfold. Nowadays he maintains this balancing act as best he can, pushing his limits while knowing when to take breaks…"
"At least…When she isn't involved; for the better part of the last half decade, Infernape has found his personal weakness manifested in the form of a girl. His former friend, Lucario. She's the only one who can seriously push him over the edge, his own ferocity burning bright enough to blind him from his teachings. He tries not to let her get in his head, but just…Staring at her makes him so mad! He knows he's better than her, he has to be, so why can't she take the hint and leave him the Hell alone?!"
"Whatever…He'll prove he's better; he'll become champion of Sinnoh and show her she doesn't get to him anymore! But while he certainly plans to burn bright by the end, will it be with pride, or envy?"
Yep, we got freaking two of them today! Turns out two of you lot were working together on this; well-played and also fuck you, you played my system! Eh whatever at least I got something cool out of it. I actually decided I didn't wanna show too much of these two yet- both as a bit of petty revenge and also just cause I feel they're gonna play a lot better writing-wise in the story itself instead of a brief prologue. So if this felt short or underwhelming…Well there's the reason. Also this chapter gave me enough headaches as is, they can have a short chapter.
This also took a bit longer to write than the previous chapters- mainly cause I wanted to take a day to look over all the submissions I had gotten so far and actually start narrowing those fuckers down into a comprehensive cast going forward. Things can still change, but right now, I have the next 5 or so characters planned out reveal-wise.
Also, we got our first KNOCKOUT; the submitted character, Hitmontop, is out of the running due to there no longer being types he could represent. However, that doesn't mean he's completely out. If you submit a character and they get knocked out, get them back up by doing one thing; PM me with a new, changed species for a type that ain't taken yet! Meaning as long as the app itself is good you can still get them in here, just not in the original intended way. Hell, feel free to send me multiple so that if they get knocked out again they're immediately replaced.
Anyway, that's it; later.
Chosen Characters
Eiscue (Zealous Thaumaturge) - Ice Type
Infernape (InfernoMaster64) - Fire Type
Lucario (TPReboot) - Fighting Type
Maractus (ShinyRedExp) - Grass Type
Tandemaus (Dark Arcanine 33) - Normal Type
Considered Characters
Corsola (Litini) - Water / Rock
Dedenne (LunetteArk) - Electric / Fairy
Drampa (Tricky Magic) - Dragon
Florges (Slimeboisss) - Fairy
Golurk (Arcade Rabbit) - Ground / Ghost
Hakamo-o (kitkatwithabat) - Dragon
Indeedee (Litini) - Psychic / Normal
Joltik (Miss Leafea) - Electric
Klefki (Nihilego Fanatic) - Steel / Fairy
Kommo-o (zetsunaflames) - Dragon
Lycanroc (Spyrorocks389) - Rock
Malamar (Jeyko) - Dark / Psychic
Polteageist (Soul of the Witch) - Ghost
Quaquaval (Souldra) - Water
Togekiss (Jalengu) - Fairy / Flying
Tropius (Plumfadoodle) - Flying
Turtonator (kitkatwithabat) -Dragon
Wormadam (WryterWarrior) - Bug
Zorua (Miss Leafea) - Dark
Knocked Out
Hitmontop (Litini)