Hey readers - here we are with the final part of 'Showdown in Pewter City' : )
Let me tell you guys, I am so glad to be done with this episode. Now, most of Nolan's 'first' experiences have been met, meaning there will be less emphasis placed on them, so hopefully I'll be able to get through entire episodes with fewer chapters, which can only be a good thing : )
And talking about good things, do any of you guys notice? The new cover art for this story : ) I figured it was about time I made something a lot better than what I previously had up, so hopefully you guys think it's an improvement. I certainly do : )
Now, let's talk about the result of last week's voting topic. I'm happy to say that the winner of which region my next Nuzlocke will take place in is... The Orange Islands! I guess you guys wanted me to do this in the canonical order ; ) Still, I think to keep it fun, we'll be voting each time. Also, the reviewer which voted for the Orange Islands asked me how I plan to Nuzlocke this region where there isn't a mainline game set there, well don't worry because I'll be explaining that in the footnote : ) There will also be an importance announcement down there, so please check it out after you've read this chapter : )
Beyond that, I'd just like to say a BIG thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support you guys show this story means so much to me, so thank you : )
Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OCs are.
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Showdown in Pewter City - Part 6
Tomorrow afternoon came around a lot faster than any of them had expected.
Before Ash really had a chance to process it, night had given way to dawn, and it was time to get up and start the day. The raven haired boy could have sworn that he had only just fallen asleep when the alarm clock had gone off, signalling that morning had arrived. Still, despite the limited amount of rest that he had gotten, Ash immediately felt wide awake, and more importantly, confident for what the day would bring. He was going to earn that most coveted Boulder Badge today. He could feel it.
The morning raced by in a haze. After the trio of young Pokemon trainers had gone through their usual morning rituals and had eaten their breakfast, they decided to do some shopping in the city, to stock up on suppliers for the next leg of their journey. After a long discussion the previous evening, the friends had decided that they would be moving on from Pewter City at the end of the day, regardless if Ash won in his battle against Brock or not. If he didn't, they would simply return at a later date so that he could try again, preferably after he had managed to capture a wider variety of Pokemon.
Once the three of them were all satisfied that they had everything they'd need for their next journey - which admittedly took a lot longer than it should have done - Nolan, Ash and Misty returned to the Pokemon Centre in order to collect Pikachu. They were all delighted to hear that the little guy had sustained no lasting injuries from his battle the previous day, and that he was now fighting fit again after a good long rest. Nurse Joy had promptly discharged the small Electric Type Pokemon back into the care of his trainer, and with no further business to attend to at the centre, the group refocused their attention on the main objective of the day, namely, Ash's rematch against Brock. The raven haired boy had worked long and hard on his strategy all night, and although it wasn't ideal and there were no guarantees that it would even work, Ash still felt a comfortable degree of hope and confidence about going into this battle. Or at least, he was more hopeful and more confident about challenging the young gym leader than he had the last time he'd stood outside the Pewter City gym.
Yes. That's where Nolan, Ash and Misty currently were, with Meadow and Pikachu in toe, the latter with a look of nervous uneasy on his furry little face. They all took a moment to just stare up at the small stone structure, but quickly brushing away any trepidation, Ash forced himself to step forwards before he had any second thoughts or gave himself the chance to talk himself out of this. Not even pausing for a moment, the raven haired boy flung up in the two wooden doors and marched straight inside the gym, where his greatest challenge to date was waiting for him.
"I'm back!" he declared, his voice echoing powerfully through the darkness.
Nolan was hit with a strong sense of Deja vu as he followed his best friend across the threshold of the Pewter City Pokemon gym, Misty mirroring the action. They, along with Meadow, stepped forwards to join Ash and Pikachu, and found themselves in almost exactly the same situation as they'd been in not twenty-four hours previously. The large chamber was shrouded in inky black darkness, but on the other side of the room, just a barely distinguishable shape in the shadows, they could just about see Brock, and he was once again sitting high upon his stone pedestal. Light suddenly flooded the room from the ceiling, and their view of the gym leader was thrown into sharp clarity. He was looking down upon them all, though his smirk seemed to be trained on Ash alone.
"Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" Brock shook his head in an almost condescending manner.
The teenage gym leader seemed to find it almost... amusing that Ash thought he stood a chance after the spectacle that was their previous battle. The thought of the perceived slight against him caused Ash to clench his jaw angrily.
"We're ready for you this time Brock!" the raven haired boy fired back indignantly.
Another patronising sneer flashed across Brock's face, as the expression 'some people never learn' echoed through his mind. Nevertheless, he knew that as the gym leader, he had to accept any challenge from another trainer, regardless of how foolish it may be, so shaking his head, the young gym leader clambered to his feet.
"Ha!" Brock scoffed, incredulous at Ash's confidence, which admittedly seemed a little misplaced given the beating he took yesterday, "We'll see!"
In a scene that was eerily reminiscent of the last time all four of the youngsters had been together in this particular building, the two combatant trainers took their place at either end of the battlefield, after Brock had activated the mechanism that wheeled it out into the room of course. Meanwhile, Nolan, Meadow and Misty, when into the stands to observe from the sidelines. Pikachu, despite being pre-warned by Ash that he would not be taking part in this rematch, decided to remain at his trainer's side, in a show of moral support. And with that, everyone was in positive.
It was time to start the battle.
"We'll deploy the same rules as last time" Brock called across the field to Ash, who was listening to the older boy's words with rapt attention, "Meaning that both of us will only use two Pokemon each. Only you as the challenger may exchange your Pokemon. I will not. In addition, there will also be no time limit for our match. A trainer loses when both of his Pokemon are unable to battle any further. Clear?"
"I got it" Ash nodded his head to confirm that he understood.
Brock returned the gesture, before deciding to get straight down to business. With that sentiment in mind, the teenage gym leader quickly produced a pokeball, would he hurled into the air without so much as a moment of hesitation.
"For my first Pokemon..." Brock declared, eyes fixed on the red and white sphere as it arched through the air, "I choose you... Geodude!"
In a burst of crimson coloured light, the small Rock Type Pokemon materialized on the battlefield, and despite not having faced Geodude in his last gym challenge, Ash wasn't surprised to see him. He had after all heard all about this particular Pokemon from Nolan's own experience when it came to battling Brock.
"Geodude" Geodude rumbled in his low, gravely voice.
Not wanting to waste any time, for fear of letting any self-conscious doubts creep in more than anything, Ash quickly lunged into action. In one swift manoeuvre, the raven haired boy flipped his hat around without even taking it off his head, whilst with his free hand, he reached down to his belt and unclipped one of the pokeballs that hung there. Trying to remain confident in his decision, Ash quickly hurled the red and white sphere high into the air.
"Pidgeotto!" the young Pokémon trainer exclaimed as the pokeball began its descent back down to Earth, "I choose you!"
Crimson coloured light filled Ash's half of the makeshift battlefield this time. Everyone watched on as Pidgeotto emerged from the pokeball and spread her wings wide, clearly as a show of intimidation. It didn't really work though. Geodude just glared at her in a thoroughly unimpressed manner.
"Geotto!" Pidgeotto narrowed her eyes at the Rock Type Pokemon that was to be her opponent.
"Go! Pidgeotto!" Ash wasted no time in springing straight into action, "Use your Gust attack!"
Hastening to obey her trainer's instruction, Pidgeotto quickly began to beat her wings together. In a matter of moments, the avian creature had summoned up a powerful vortex of wind. The miniature hurricane soon formed a ring around Geodude, throwing up tonnes of grit and dirt and small pebbles, obscuring both of the Pokemon from sight for a moment.
When the air cleared and the dust settled, Ash and all the others saw something, something which didn't bode weak for Ash or his Pidgeotto. Having shrugged off the Gust attack with ease, Geodude was now trying to pummel poor Pidgeotto with his fists. As it was, it was taken all of the attention and skill that Pidgeotto had just to keep her enemy at bay.
"Huh?!" Ash couldn't believe his eyes, and gaped incredulously a sight at the scene before him.
Across the battlefield from the raven haired boy, the gym leader let out a low, long-suffering sigh, and shook his head out of sheer exasperation. The look he gave Ash was almost pitying, which immediately set the raven haired boy's teeth on edge.
"Didn't you you learn anything after our last battle?" Brock said in a tone that practically oozed with condescension, "Trainers can't just walk into a gym without having a good strategy in place. The one you've come up with is terrible! Don't you know that Flying Type Pokemon are weak against Rock Types?"
Ash grit his teeth angrily. If there was one thing he hated, it was being made to feel like he was being talked down to.
"Oh yeah?" the raven haired boy scoffed derisively in response, "Well you just watch this! Pidgeotto! Grab hold of Geodude's arms in your talons and don't let go!"
If she found the instruction strange, Pidgeotto didn't show it on her face. Instead she just quickly followed the command, and seizing a moment of opportunity, the large avian creature managed to snag a grip on the Rock Pokemon's two bulky arms. Pidgeotto then clung on as hard as she could whilst Geodude instantly started to struggle, trying desperately to free himself.
"Good work Pidgeotto!" Ash cheered, beaming.
Across the battlefield from him, a look of utmost confusion was playing across Brock's face, and he wasn't the only one. Over in the stands, Misty turned to look at Nolan in bewilderment.
"What's Ash doing?" she asked the golden haired boy, wondering if he had any insight to offer. Sadly, he just shrugged his shoulders in response.
"No idea" Nolan admitted, his calculating eyes fixed upon his best friend in puzzlement.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Nolan and Misty were no longer the only spectators of the rematch between Brock and Ash. Filing into the gym and taking seats of their own, came nine young people. They were none other than Brock's little brothers and sisters. They all watched the battlefield intently, eager to see their beloved big brother win.
Meanwhile, out on the battlefield, Brock narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out the same thing. He wasn't sure what Ash was up to, but he was sure that he didn't like it.
"Just what are you up to, Ash?" the teenage gym leader muttered under his breath to himself, before shaking his head and calling out in a louder voice, "Geodude! Try to break away! Whatever those two are up to, don't let them do it!"
Sadly, it might already be too late for that.
"Now Pidgeotto!" Ash exclaimed as he watched Geodude grappling to free himself, whilst Pidgeotto kept his arms locked in a death grip, refusing for all she was worth to let go, "Take off high into the air, and take Geodude with you!"
"GEOTTO!" Pidgeotto chirped her understanding.
In one graceful manoeuvre, the large brown Pokemon shot straight up, finishing up as close to the arched ceiling as she could get without crashing into it. All the whilst, she was dragging a squirming Geodude along for the ride. Once his Pokemon was in position, Ash smiled and called out his next command.
"Now use your Quick Attack!" the raven haired boy yelled up to where the two Pokemon were now grappling in the air, "Straight down towards the ground!"
"What?!" Brock exclaimed in surprise, whilst over on the sidelines, Nolan, Misty and Meadow all gaped in shock as well.
"Pi?" Pikachu squeaked at Ash's side, looking up at his partner in concern.
Ash ignored the general surprise of all of those around him. He just looked on with a dangerous glint in his eye, and a borderline smug smirk on his lips.
"GEOTTO!"
Even though she personally thought that the order she had just received was downright crazy, Pidgeotto had complete faith in her trainer, and thus followed his command without any hesitation. Dropping out of the air, Pidgeotto dive-bombed towards the ground like a feathery bullet, taking an increasingly frantic Geodude along with her.
"Dude!" Geodude cried out in alarm as the ground was quickly come up towards them, "Geo! Geodude!"
On the battlefield below the two Pokemon, Brock turned a ghastly shade of white. Realisation had set in, and he now understood exactly what tactic Ash was trying to deploy. And much to the teenager gym leader's chagrin, he knew that it actually stood a very good chance of working.
"Geodude! You've got to break free!" he yelled, concern for his Pokemon's welfare evident on his face, "Now!"
But it was no use. Pidgeotto's talons might as well has been metal chains, they were bound around Geodude's arms so strongly.
Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the battlefield, Ash watched the scene unfold, his eyes narrowed with concentration. He knew that he had to time this just right. They only had one shot at this, and if it went wrong, it would probably mean that Pidgeotto's time in this battle would be at its end. The raven haired boy was naturally very anxious to make sure that things didn't come to that.
"Closer... closer... come on" Ash muttered under his breath to himself as Pidgeotto got nearer and nearer to the ground, "NOW! PULL UP AND LET GO!"
Realisation snapped into place in Pidgeotto's mind, and she cottoned on to her trainer's idea. With a smirk on her beak, Pidgeotto swiftly pulled out of her dive at the very last second, releasing Geodude from her talons at the same time.
CRASH!
The large brown avian creature was able to regain altitude in time and just barely prevented herself from smashing straight into the battlefield. Geodude on the other hand, wasn't quite so fortunate. With a resounding thud that echoed throughout the entire gym, the Rock Pokemon plummeted out of the air like that stone that he was. Even the magnetic forces that his species could manipulate to achieve levitation didn't react in time to stop the inevitable, and the momentum sent poor Geodude hurtling face-first into one of the large jagged stone spines that littered the field. A collective wince rippled through everyone watching. That had to have hurt...
"GEODUDE?!" Brock yelled out in utter horror, "ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Quite frankly, he wasn't.
Almost in slow motion, the Rock Type Pokemon became unstuck from the jagged boulder he had crashed into, and he numbly rolled down to the ground. Geodude's bulky arms lay prone at his side, and what looked like a dark bruise was already forming across his face. In a matter of seconds, the Rock Pokemon's eyes slowly drift shut.
He was out cold.
For a single, stunned moment, Brock could do nothing more than gape on in sheer disbelief. Over in the stands, Nolan and Misty both mirrored the expression, whilst behind them, Brock's younger brothers and sisters all looked horrified. All of them watched quietly as Brock snapped out of his shocked reverie, before he produced a pokeball and pointed it in the direction of his unconscious Pokemon.
"Return, Geodude!" the teenage gym leader said grimly.
In a haze of red light, Geodude was absorbed back into the confines of the red and white sphere. Watching from across the field was Ash, and he had the biggest smile imaginable plastered all over his face.
"YEAH! YOU DID IT PIDGEOTTO! YOU DID IT!" the raven haired boy screamed out in celebration, just barely resisting the urge to jump up and down in joy, "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! WELL DONE!"
Pidgeotto did a lap of victory through the air around the perimeter of the room, before she landed gracefully on her side of the battlefield, directly in front of Ash. They both looked rather pleased with themselves.
"How's that for a strategy, Brock?" Ash couldn't resist taunting his opponent just a little. Not after all the lectures he'd had to endure from the other boy.
Looking distinctly miffed, Brock growled angrily under his breath for a moment, all whilst scowling in the direction of Ash and Pidgeotto. Then however, he smirked, as he brought out another pokeball.
"That little trick might have caught me off guard with Geodude..." the gym leader begrudgingly admitted, toying with the pokeball in his hand, "But I'd like to see you try it on... Onix! Go!"
Brock hurled the second pokeball high into the air, and Ash waited with baited breath. The raven haired boy could feel his nerves mounting as the coiled up stone behemoth that had practically squashed poor Pikachu the day before materialised on the battlefield. Throwing back his head, Onix et out a loud guttural roar.
"OOOOOOONNNNNNNIIIIIIIXXXXXXX!"
The echoing scream of war practically made Ash vibrate where he stood, it was so deafening, but the young Pokemon trainer refused to back down. After all, he and Pidgeotto had come this far despite formidable odds against them. He had every confidence that they could see this through to the finish. They had too. Ash's first official league gym badge was riding on it.
With that thought spurring him on, Ash immediately lunged into action.
"We'll have to play this one differently Pidgeotto!" Ash quickly warned his Flying Type Pokemon, who ruffled her feathers in response, "You have to use your speed! Keep on moving and don't give Onix any opportunity to hit you!"
"Pid" Pidgeotto cooed back, nodding her understanding.
Without pausing for even a moment, not even to catch her breath back after the last battle, the large brown creature took off into the air again, and began moving erratically through it. She kept on changing her direction, trying to make it as tricky as possible for her opponent to pin her down. It was a tactic that thankfully seemed to be working.
"ONIX!" Onix grumbled loudly as Pidgeotto shot past him in a blur of motion he could barely track.
From his position behind the huge Rock Snake Pokemon, Brock arched an eyebrow.
"Curious strategy to deploy..." he noted aloud, and noticing that he had caught his opponents interest, Brock elaborated on his thoughts, "Whilst having your Pidgeotto fly erratically is a clever way to ensure it takes no damage from a super effective Rock Type move, it also comes with the drawback of making it harder for it to launch any attacks at Onix".
Ash was forced to admit that Brock had a point about that. With that realisation, he quickly changed tactics.
"Stop Pidgeotto!" he called out, and up in the air above his head, his Flying Type Pokemon immediately halted, beating her wings to remain airborne, "Try using your Gust attack!"
Even though she knew that it was unlikely to be effective, Pidgeotto did as she was told anyway. Flapping her wings together as hard as she could, the large brown avian creature unleashed a powerful vortex of swirling wind. The miniature tornado struck Onix right between the eyes, but he barely even blinked.
"Onix..." he grumbled, tilting his head to the side, almost looking confused.
Ash and Pidgeotto both immediately grimaced. This was going to be a lot harder than they thought it would be. Across the battlefield from them, Brock couldn't help but smirk smugly.
"Ha!" the teenage gym leader scoffed derisively, "It'll take a much stronger attack than that if you wanna take down my Onix!"
Ash grit his teeth in frustration.
"Now Onix!" Brock continued, gesturing wildly with his arm, smirk still in place, "Use your Rock Throw attack!"
"OOONNNIIIXXX!" the Rock Snake Pokemon let out another guttural roar, before with surprising speed for a creature so massive, he sprung into action. In the time it took for Ash to blink, Onix had coiled his tail around one of the large jagged stones that made up the battlefield. In one swift manoeuvre, the Rock Snake Pokemon snapped off the stone with remarkable ease, before hurling it high into the air.
It was heading straight in the direction of Pidgeotto!
"Dodge it!" Ash yelled desperately. He had no doubts after all that if a solid stone projectile of that size directly hit his friend, not only would it take her out of the match, but also potential cause her a serious injury.
"Geotto!" Pidgeotto screeched in alarm as the huge rock flew towards her at immense speed. Thankfully however, she was faster. With a graceful manoeuvre that would put even the most talented of acrobats to shame, the feathery brown Pokemon effortlessly dodged out of the way of the incoming threat.
Unfortunately- or fortunately depending on your point of view - that particular chain of events ended up having a rather... unexpected result indeed.
Because whilst Pidgeotto might have successfully darted out of harm's way to relative safety, the huge rock's trajectory hadn't been altered in any way, shape or form by her actions. And due to that little titbit, it meant that the airborne boulder was still travelling in the same direction.
DONG!
With the resounding clang of metal meeting stone, the huge rock thrown by Onix collided with one of the metal beams that lined the ceiling, creating such a racket that the noise of it echoed throughout the entire gym. This in turn caused everyone present to instinctively look up. They all watched with wide eyes as the stone tumbled back down towards the ground at tremendous speed, but because the floor beneath it was clear, that wasn't the cause of the alarm which flickered across many of their faces. No. That was brought about by the damage that the huge stone had left in its wake. Because the metal support beam that it hi wasn't just any old metal support beam. It was the metal support beam that the gym's internal sprinkler system was attached to.
WHOOSH!
It was like being caught unaware outside when the heavens abruptly opened, Nolan couldn't help but silently think to himself. The impact of the large rock hitting the gym's fire safety system had clearly caused the serious malfunction, because quite suddenly and without any kind of warning whatsoever, each and every sprinkler in the gym activated, and everyone got soaked as the whole room was submerged in an internal downpour.
"Great..." Nolan said flatly, a highly unimpressed frown on his face. He, unfortunately, had chosen the one seat in the stands which happened to be directly under one of the sprinklers. As such, he was completely drenched through in a matter of seconds, "Just... Great!"
Misty snorted, but quickly tried to disguise it behind a cough when Nolan's indignant eyes sharply snapped over to her. Meadow on the other hand, showed no such restraint.
"BULBA! BULBASAUR! SAUR! BULBA!" the little Grass Type Pokemon roared with laughter, finding her poor partner's predicament utterly hilarious. Nolan rolled his eyes at her.
"Your concern and support is duly noted, and truly overwhelming" he told his beloved partner sarcastically, though that only made Meadow laugh harder.
Nolan wasn't the only lifeform in the room that was... less-than-thrilled about the sudden makeshift waterfalls unexpectedly opening up over their heads though. Despite all of them being soaked because of the accidental mishap, Onix, possessing the largest body of them all, was obviously getting hit by the water the most. Add in the fact that water severely weakened Rock Type Pokemon like him, and it was no wonder that the giant Rock Snake Pokemon was thrashing about and howling in unimaginable agony.
"OOOOOOONNNNNNNIIIIIIIXXXXXX!"
Ash looked on, transfixed, as Onyx continued moaning and shuddering in pain. He was so taken off guard by this unexpected turn of events that it was only the sound of his best friend's voice that was able to snap him back to the present.
"Ash!" Nolan called out from his spot on the sidelines, "Now's your chance!"
Surprised to hear the golden haired boy shouting out to him, Ash turned to see him and Misty both looking down at him from the stands intently.
"Huh?" the raven haired boy blinked.
Seeing his confusion, Nolan was about to elaborate, but this time Misty beat him to it, having also came to the same conclusion as her blonde haired friend.
"He means that Rock Type Pokemon are weakened by water!" she reminded Ash, whose russet coloured eyes immediately went very wide.
Now fully understanding what his friends were trying to telling him, Ash realised that they probably wouldn't get a better opportunity than this, and quickly turned his attention back to the battle.
"Pidgeotto!" he called out to his faithful Flying Type Pokemon, "Try your Gust attack again whilst Onix is distracted!"
"Pidgeotto!" Pidgeotto nodded, and hurried to do just that.
Beating her wings together again, the large brown avian creature unleashed another powerful Gust attack. This time however, as the vortex of wind shot through the air towards its intended target, some of the water still falling from the ceiling ended up being pulled into the Gust attack, transforming it from a miniature hurricane into something more reminiscent of a cyclone. And that ended up mattering quite a lot. Because when the slightly altered attack hit Onix head on, it did far more damage than it naturally should have as a result.
"OOOOOOONNNNNNNIIIIIIIXXXXXXX!"
Onix let out another guttural scream, thrashing about and going berserk, all the time roaring wildly in absolute agony. In a matter of moments, the Rock Snake Pokemon simply couldn't take it anymore, and weakly crumpled to the ground.
"Onix!" a horrified Brock called out.
Onix groaned weakly in pain, still conscious for the moment, whilst hundreds of droplets of water streamed like fountains down the surface of his body. Seeing just how effective that last attack had been, Ash hurried to order it again. He knew that their victory was close at hand now, and getting closer by the moment...
"Again Pidgeotto!" the raven haired boy exclaimed, "Finish it off!"
Ash raised his arm, about to issue another specific command. Before he had the opportunity to do just that however, tiny hands suddenly clamp down on the boy's arm. Ash, not even seeming to realise this, closed his eyes. His other arm and both his legs were suddenly grabbed as well. From their positions on the sidelines, Nolan and Misty stared in bewilderment as they struggled to process what it was they were seeing.
Each and every one of Brock's nine younger siblings were clinging on to a different part of Ash's body. Why? Nolan and Misty hadn't the faintest idea.
"My conscience is holding me back!" Ash suddenly yelled out, his eyes still tightly squeezed shut. He didn't even seem to register that it was in fact a physical presence that was actually holding him, "I can't bring myself to beat Brock! I'm imagining his little brothers and sisters stopping me from beating the one person they love!"
Nolan couldn't help but roll his eyes fondly in amusement. Sometimes his best friend could be so dense. At the blonde boy's side, Misty sweat-dropped.
"Ash!" the Water Type Pokemon Specialist cried out, "I think you'd better open your eyes!"
Snapping out of the reverie that he had slipped into, Ash did as she said, and quickly realised that the younger children really were holding him back. A look of sheer surprise immediately appeared on his face.
"Huh?!" he exclaimed in confusion.
Brock's little brothers and sisters were quick to clear that confusion up for him though. Each and every one of them was glaring at Ash with a surprising amount of pure loathing.
"You leave Onix alone!" one of Brock's little brothers yelled fiercely, "My brother worked hard to raise it, you big bully!"
"Believe me kid, I'm no bully!" Ash felt the need to defend himself, even if it was from the words of a six-year-old.
Across the battlefield from this little spectacle, Brock scowled and put his hands on his hips. He was quite clearly unhappy about the bad behaviour his siblings were displaying.
"Stop it! Get off! All of you!" the teenager ordered, his tone not one to be argued with, "This is an official match, and we're going to finish it no matter what!"
"But Brock!" one of his little sisters whined in protest, "We know that you love your Pokemon so much!"
"That's why we can't watch Onix suffer from another attack!" another of Brock's little brothers reasoned.
These words seemed to really resonate with Ash. His mind flashed back to their previous battle the day before, specifically to the moment when Brock had immediately called off Onix when Ash had forfeited, before Pikachu could be seriously harmed. A deep sigh escaped passed the raven haired boy's lips. His conscience was telling him that he now had to do the same thing. There was no way he could ignore that feeling.
"Pidgeotto! Stand down!" Ash commanded.
A look of intense confusion flashed across the bird's features, and she turned to stare at her trainer in shock. She wasn't the only one for that matter.
"What do you think you're doing?" Brock yelled in annoyance from the other side of the field, "This match isn't over yet Ash!"
But Ash wasn't listening to the gym leader's protests. Instead, he just gently removed all nine of the smaller children from his own body, before he plucked a pokeball off of his belt, and mutely returned Pidgeotto to it. Only then did the raven haired boy turn back to face Brock, a kind smile on his face.
"Those sprinklers going off was just an accident. Winning the match because of that wouldn't have proved anything" Ash reasoned, and try as they might, the three other trainers present just couldn't argue with that fact, "Next time we meet, I'll beat you my way, fair and square".
And without so much as another word, not even to say farewell, Ash promptly turned on his heel, unmatched out of the gym with his head held high. Pikachu hastened to follow him, whilst everyone else just stared after him in shock.
Over in the stands, Misty allowed her shoulders to slump down in a defeated manner. A look of genuine sadness was creeping into her expression as she turned to face Nolan.
"Just when he finally gets a lucky break, he decides to be a nice guy too" the orange haired girl shook her head, though from exasperation or fondness was unclear.
Nolan on the other hand just smiled. He of all people could understand Ash's reasons for turning down a cheap victory perfectly. He really respected the fact that even when at a severe disadvantage, his best friend wanted to earn his badges, and not take the tempting, but easy way out. A swell of pride grew for Ash as the golden haired boy arose to his feet.
It was time they left to follow their friend.
The first inklings of evening were beginning to settle in as Nolan and his friends walked down a weathered path that ran alongside a riverbank, a setting that created a scene that was both very calming and beautiful. They had left Pewter City behind them for now, and had resumed their journey across the Kanto region. Unsurprisingly, a somewhat heavy atmosphere had befallen the group though, despite the tranquillity of the pleasantly warm evening. After all, Ash, despite having chosen to walk away from the match, was understandably still very disappointed about things had played out, a feeling that was practically palpable to Nolan and Misty. As such, the two of them kept on eyeing their raven haired friend in concern, and it was beginning to grate on his very last nerve.
"Stop it!" he insisted when Nolan cast him a worried look for the third time in as many minutes.
"Stop what?" Nolan blinked in surprise, taken aback by the demand.
"Looking at me like I'm this fragile thing that's about to break!" Ash told his golden haired best friend in an annoyed tone.
Nolan winced. He knew that he was guilty of the accusation that Ash had just made. He just couldn't help it though. Worrying about the people who mattered to him was a gigantic part of Nolan's nature, and Ash had just suffered two major losses in a row. Surely it was only natural that the golden haired boy was the bit worried about his friend right now. He didn't want the raven haired boy to lose a faith or confidence in himself after all.
"I'm sorry Ash, I'm not thinking that. I promise I'm not... " Nolan apologetically bowed his head, "It's just... I don't want you to give up, that's all. Not when I know you have it in you to become a Pokemon Master, just like I know I do. I guess I just don't want these losses you've experienced to make you doubt that".
Ash allowed a soft sigh to slip his lips. That was no way that he could remain irritated with his best friend. Not after hearing those reasons.
"I appreciate your concern Nolan, I really do, but honestly, I'm fine" Ash gave the other boy what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "Am I disappointed that I didn't defeat Brock? Of course I am - but I'm not giving up. One day, after me and my Pokemon have had longer to train, I'll come back to Pewter City, and I'll win one of those Boulder Badges for myself".
Nolan beamed at him, pleased that his best friend's self-esteem, whilst definitely dented, was still ultimately intact. Misty meanwhile smiled and clapped Ash on the shoulder.
"That's the spirit Ash" she said encouragingly, also relieved that he wasn't giving up hope, "And who knows, maybe you'll catch a Water Type Pokemon, or even a Grass Type. That'll make it easier to battle against Brock's Rock Type Pokemon".
Ash grinned, and nodded at her bracing words. He opened his mouth to say that he thought that that was a great idea, but sadly he never got the chance to. For at that exact moment, cutting off any words that the raven haired boy might have been about to utter, a new voice broke into their conversation; far away at first, but closing in fast...
"Ash! Nolan! Misty!" the voice was more than a little familiar to the three young trainers at this point, "Hey! Hey! Wait up! Ash!"
In almost perfect synchronisation, Nolan, Ash and Misty all turned around to look back the way they'd just come from. To their collective surprise, they saw that none other than Brock was there. The teenager was running as fast as he could, clearly attempting to catch up to them. For what possible reason, Nolan had no idea.
"Brock?" the golden haired boy couldn't help but question, confusion in his tone and expression.
The three of them waited and watched in bewilderment as the older boy finally caught up to them. Immediately upon doing so, Brock took the opportunity to rest, doubling over with his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. Once he'd managed that, he straightened up again with a smile.
"What are you doing here Brock?" Ash was the one that asked the question playing on all of their minds.
"I came to see you Ash" was the reply he received.
"Me?" the raven haired boy looked thoroughly bewildered in that moment. Brock grinned down at him kindly.
"Yep!" the teenage gym leader confirmed with a single nod of his head, "Back at the gym, you forgot... this!"
And without missing a beat, Brock then took a step closer and held out an arm towards Ash. Opening his clenched fist, the teenager then revealed the biggest surprise of all.
A Boulder Badge.
Sitting in the palm of Brock's hand, glittering under the setting sun and identical in every way to the one pinned to Nolan's chest, was a Boulder Badge. Ash looked down at awe for a couple of moments, before his russet coloured eyes snapped up to meet Brock's. The confusion playing through them was obvious to see.
"A badge? For defeating a Gym Leader?" the raven haired boy breathed in a mystified tone as he gazed longingly at the most coveted object. His eyes betrayed just how tempted he was to reach out and take it, but knowing that his conscience and integrity wouldn't allow it, Ash quickly shook his head, "I can't accept that. I didn't beat you. I gave up".
Brock gave Ash a smile that was both very kind and reassuring, but also implied that he wasn't about to back down on this. It was the type of smile that made it much easier for the younger children to see Brock fulfilling the role of a parental guardian.
"No. I lost to you" Brock said in a tone that, although soft and gentle, did not brook any argument, "You beat me in battle and in being kind to all Pokemon".
"But..." Ash frowned, still looking uncertain.
"You know, he has a point Ash" Nolan couldn't help but chime in. He had seen how great his best friend's desire for one of the Boulder Badges was, and although he understood and respected that Gym Badges needed to be earned rather than just given out freely, he could also understand where Brock was coming. A very important part of being a good Pokemon Trainer was showing them due love and kindness after all. Plus, Brock was the official gym leader, and could decide who he thought had earned a badge. If he said Ash had earned one, then he had.
Brock nodded gratefully at Nolan, appreciating the back-up, before he shifted his focus back to Ash.
"To tell you the truth Ash, I get more pleasure from raising Pokemon than from making them battle. That was why I was so impressed when you didn't not to take the final shot against Onix" the young gym leader revealed to the group, much to their surprise. With how skilled Brock was when it came to battling, they had understandably assumed that that was his passion, but they were quickly proved wrong on that front, "I don't care about being a great Pokemon trainer, I want to become the world's best Pokemon breeder. But I can't leave here because I have to look after my brothers and sisters".
Nolan swallowed hard. That was the real tragedy when it came to Brock, wasn't it? Forced into responsibilities that weren't even his, and unable to chase after his own dreams because of it. It really was the epitome of unfairness.
Much to the golden haired boy's surprise however, Brock didn't seem too bitter about his situation. If anything, he seemed more resigned to his fate. For the duration of his entire speech, he had been looking out across the water, a serene expression etched into his features, one that spoke of acceptance. He abruptly turned around however, in order to address Ash directly.
"Ash! I want you to take this and fulfil my dream!" the teenager declared, holding out the small silver badge more persistently, "Will you do that for me?"
Ash couldn't stop himself from smiling and nodding, and if he was perfectly honest, he didn't even want to.
"I will!" the raven haired boy promised sincerely as he stepped forwards and took the offered Boulder Badge out of Brock's hand, "And I'll do my best to deserve this too".
Brock smiled and nodded, and opened his mouth to reply, but unfortunately for the teenage gym leader, he was interrupted before he had a chance to utter so much as a single word.
"Brock!" yet another new but still familiar voice suddenly chimed into the conversation.
Nolan and everybody else turned to look in the direction that the new voice had originated from, and saw to their immense surprise and utter confusion that Flint of all people was standing there, an expression of the utmost guilt and shame imaginable burnt into his face. Instantly, a very dark look flashed across Brock's own features. Just the sight of it sent a cold shiver down Nolan's spine... and suddenly it all clicked into place for the golden haired boy. Flint was... he had to be... nothing else made sense...
He must be Brock's father!
"You go follow your own dreams!" Flint urged the teenage gym leader, seemingly not noticing how Nolan was now gaping at them both in sheer astonishment.
"Flint?!" Ash questioned in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Misty was the one to ask the obvious question, clearly having not figured out what Nolan had yet.
As they all watched, Flint slowly reached up, and to their collective surprise, the middle-aged man removed his hat, and then his beard, revealing it to be a disguise. Now that his true identity had been revealed, his resemblance to Brock was uncanny, and unmistakable.
"My father!" Brock spat, his tone like acid.
Ash and Misty both gaped at Flint at the venomous accusation was thrown at him. Nolan on the other hand was struggling to just barely hold back a cold glare. Having heard first hand exactly what the man had done to his own family, the golden haired boy was struggling not to be judgemental, when all he felt was pure and unadulterated disgust at Flint's actions. He tried valiantly to keep any of that from showing on his face though. It wasn't his place to say anything after all.
"Huh?!" Ash looked at Flint with new eyes as he quickly caught up with what was going on here, "You mean you're the good for nothing father who left home and never came back?!"
Flint at less had the tiniest amount of decency, and looked deeply ashamed of himself.
"That's right. It was me" the man sounded on the verge of tears, his tone and expressions were so riddled with guilt, "I couldn't become the great Pokemon Master I wanted to be and because I was such a failure, I was too embarrassed and ashamed to go back to my family".
"So instead, you just abandoned them completely" Misty shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him.
"I did..." Flint said in a voice that was almost tortured, it was so heavy with emotion, before he turned to face Brock guiltily, "And I know the after all these months I have no right to come and talk to you now... but Brock... Son... I am so sorry".
Flint's sincerity was obvious, but it did little to soften Brock's hard expression.
"Eleven... that's how old I was when I had to step up and fill your shoes" Brock whispered, and although he still down furious, he also sounded close to tears, "Just eleven..."
"I know Brock" Flint couldn't look his son in the eye, so he ended up lowering his gaze to the ground in shame.
"You made me watch what was happening to Mom all on my own" Brock continued, still talking at a volume barely more than a whisper.
"I know" Flint nodded guiltily again.
"I had to give up everything that I wanted to do with my life, all because of your mistakes and selfishness and weakness" Brock sneered coldly.
"I know Son..." Flint acknowledged gently.
"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW!" Brock suddenly roared, causing everyone else to jump violently where they stood, as the usually calm and reserved boy's temper finally exploded, "EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, I HAVE COOKED MEALS FOR TEN PEOPLE. I HAVE CLEANED THE HOUSE. I HAVE MADE SURE MY FAMILY ARE CLOTHED AND EDUCATED. ALL THE WHILST KEEPING OUR ANCESTORS' GYM RUNNING! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL, I MADE SURE THAT MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS KNEW THAT THEY HAD SOMEONE WHO LOVED THEM LOOKING OUT FOR THEM. IT WASN'T MY JOB TO DO ANY OF THAT! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOURS!"
By the end of this tirade, Brock was panting heavily as though he'd just run a marathon, his whole body rigid with pure and unadulterated rage. Flint on the other hand looked like he wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow him up entirely. Meanwhile, Nolan, Ash and Misty all just stood awkwardly on the sidelines, wisely keeping out of this family dispute.
After a long pause, Flint finally worked up the nerve to speak.
"Nothing I can ever do or say will be enough to make any of that up to you" Flint said bluntly, but he continued talking before his enraged child could interrupt him, "But I want to at least try to make amends to you now Brock".
Brock couldn't help but scoff derisively, his eyes full of burning loathing.
"Oh yeah?" he sneered sarcastically, "How?"
"By lifting responsibilities that were never yours from your shoulders, Son" Flint said empathically, nothing but utter sincerity in every word he spoke, "You deserve the chance to go live your own life and have your own adventures. So you go fulfil your dreams Brock. It's time I started taking care of my family again".
Brock was quiet for a long, tense moment, an unreadable expression lining his face. It quickly turned into a look of the utmost contempt though.
"You and I... are so far from being okay..." Brock told his father bluntly, before sighing deeply, "But you're right. I do deserve the chance to live my own life, and my brothers and sisters deserve their father back, even if I don't think that he deserves them. That being said, I can't just leave them in your care and hope for the best, so you and I, right now, are going home and you can face all of them with me present. Then, expect phone calls from me every time I reach a new town or city, and I'll be talking to all nine of them. And believe me, if things start to slip, I'll be back home immediately, and I will call social services myself to get you out of our lives forever. Is that understood?"
Flint swallowed hard and nervously nodded his head. His eldest child could be downright scary when he wanted to be it seemed. Or maybe he'd just learned to be because he'd had to.
"Understood" he croaked out meekly.
Brock gave him a stern nod, before he turned his attention back to Nolan, Ash and Misty. He even managed to muster up a strained smile for them.
"I'm sorry you had to witness all of this, that wasn't my intention" the young gym leader bowed his head apologetically, before looking back up at the young trio with an air of hope, "And I'm sorry to burden any of you any further, but would you please mind hanging around here for a little while until I've sorted this out. There's something I'd very much like to talk to all three of you about".
Too overwhelmed by the events that they had just been witness too, Nolan and his friends could do little more then silently nod their agreement. Brock beamed at them happily for a moment, before he turned back to his sheepish father, and harshly ordered him to start walking. In a matter of seconds, both Brock and Flint were walking out of sight, leaving Nolan and the others with one very important question.
What exactly did Brock want with them now?
It was almost three hours later before that question was answered.
As requested, Nolan and his friends had waited for Brock's promised return, deciding to relax by the riverbank and have an impromptu picnic of sorts for their dinner. They were just cleaning up when the darkness of night began to truly set in, and the stars slowly but surely began to come out.
The three young Pokemon trainers were starting to get tired of waiting though. They were just starting to wonder if they should maybe head back to Pewter City in search of Brock when none other than the aforementioned boy himself turned up, wearing a huge backpack on his back, and an apologetic look on his face.
The teenager profusely apologised for keeping all of them waiting for so long, explaining that the process of reintroducing Flint to his younger children had been a long and delicate process, one that needed to be handled with the utmost care. Nolan, Ash and Misty had all been very understanding about that, but they had quickly demanded an explanation as to what it was that their presence was required for.
The answer could not have surprised them more.
Brock wanted to travel with them! Despite being several years older than the rest of them, Brock explained that he had never travelled anywhere on his own before, before he shyly admitted that he was rather nervous about the concept. On that basis, he asked Nolan, Ash and Misty if it would be okay if he came with them, as long as he wouldn't be a burden to them that was.
Three enthusiastic responses were what met his rather bold request.
Nolan couldn't help but beam at the older boy, and had quickly assured him that having him along for the ride wouldn't be any kind of burden, and that he was free to accompany them for as long as he desired. Ash and Misty both shared those sentiments, and told Brock that he was welcome to join their little group as well.
Now all four of the young Pokemon Trainers had resumed their journey on the trail leading out of Pewter City, each of them sporting a bright smile on his or her face.
"Hey guys, are you all sure it's okay if I go with you on your Pokemon journey?" Brock couldn't help but ask again. The last thing he wanted was to just saddle them with himself after all.
Nolan, Ash and Misty all just gave him patient but genuinely warm and welcoming smiles. They understood that this was all brand new to Brock after all, travelling around with friends, and that it might take some getting used to.
"Sure, we're sure!" Ash happily nodded, more than pleased by the newest addition to their travelling group, "Right guys?"
"The more the merrier!" Misty playfully winked.
"Exactly!" Nolan said to the older boy with a reassuring smile, "We're glad to have you!"
Brock grinned warmly at his new friends, feeling really reassured. He really did felt like he might have found somewhere to belong in this little group, so he accepted their words at face value, and trusted that they were being sincere. A companionable silence fell over the group as they continued on their way, to where - none of them was sure yet. But as they went, Nolan couldn't help but glance down at his newly acquired Boulder Badge which was still pinned proudly on his chest. He smiled, though a new thought quickly entered his head. One thing that right now was quite frankly the only certainty in life that he had.
He might have won his first badge... but there were seven more to go...
And that marks the end of another episode : )
Oh. My. Gosh! I cannot tell you guys how glad I am to be done with this chapter! Writing this thing was insane. Not only is it almost twice the size of one of my usual chapter, but just... so much stuff happened! Yeah - being done with this chapter is definitely a relief, let me tell you : )
But yay! Brock has joined the gang, and the travelling group is now finally complete. Or at least in terms of main human characters it is. And Ash now has his Boulder Badge as well, not to mention the fact that Brock gave Flint a good piece of his mind. I really feel like family histories get glossed over in Pokemon stories. I mean, I get why it's done in the anime, but in fanfiction I like it when authors explore those parts of their characters more, which is what I hope to achieve going forwards : )
But enough about the contents of this chapter for now. Instead, I have a couple of important announcements to make, so to start those off, let me explain about what the second Nuzlocke in this story is going to entail. Now as I mentioned before, there was a bit of confusion about how I intend to nuzlocke the Orange Islands, so here's the answer. By playing a rom hack/fan-made game set there : )
Yep, I've decided that for this region only, I will be taking the plunge, and moving away from official Pokemon Games for a while : )
The rom hack/fan-made game is called Pokemon Orange Islands. If you haven't heard of it, there are plenty of playthroughs of this wonderful game on Youtube where you can check it out. I have played this game numerous times myself, both in preparation for this nuzlocke, and just for fun. It's a wonderful and fun game which closely follows through Ash's adventures in the anime through the Orange Islands, with many twists and turns. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested : )
It is quite easy though, focusing more on anime nostalgia rather than posing a challenge, so here are the rules I'll be playing by : )
Rule 1
On each new island, I can only try to catch my first wild encounter. If I fail to catch it or knock it out, I cannot try for another Pokemon.
In addition to this rule, I have added some other elements for my Nuzlocke.
First of all, much like I did in the Fire Red nuzlocke, I will be limiting the number of Pokemon I can use. Since the anime season based in this region is much shorter than any other region by far, I don't want Nolan to catch too many Pokemon there. So this time, I'll be limiting the number of his captures to one in every five.
What I mean by this is that I have grouped together almost every island that appears in the game into groups of five. You guys as the readers will then be asked to vote on which one of those five Pokemon I use throughout the Nuzlocke. This in turn will be the Pokemon that Nolan catches in the story. He will NOT be catching the other four Pokemon in the story, as they will not be used in the Nuzlocke.
This means that in the Nuzlocke, I will be able to use a total of six Pokemon that come from wild encounters. These will be the six Pokemon that Nolan catches over the course of the story.
Hopefully this will become clearer once we properly get into the story : )
Finally, I will be playing with the Duplicates Clause. This is to make the encounters more diverse and interesting. I am also barring any Pokemon that was voted to join Nolan's team in the previous Nuzlocke from being catchable in this one.
Rule 2
Every Pokemon that is captured and then voted to be added to the story and Nuzlocke must be given a nickname.
When making your votes, feel free to leave suggestions for nicknames. I'll either pick which one I like the best, or come up with nicknames for each Pokemon myself if nothing calls out to me : )
Rule 3
If one of my Pokemon faints in my Nuzlocke, it is gone and cannot be used anymore. In addition, that Pokemon will be written out of this story. No Pokemon is safe from this.
Much like I did in the original nuzlocke though, I have made a modification to this rule in the interest of story telling. Pokemon will ONLY be written out of the story if they are lost in the Nuzlocke BEFORE I make it to the Palace of Victory (This game's equivalent of the Indigo Plateau). What this means is that once I reach the Palace of Victory, my team is safe.
This is to keep the rules consistent with my original Fire Red Nuzlocke, and because I feel it would be really unfair to write out characters that are lost at this point in the game, especially ones that have been on Nolan's team for so long.
To compensate for this however, I can only take on Drake, the Orange Islands Champion, in my Nuzlocke ONCE, and in-game, the death rule will still apply. How well I do will determine how well Nolan does at the end of the Orange Islands arc of this story.
And that's just about it for standard Nuzlocke Rules, so let's go over the additional ones I'll be playing by : )
Rule 4
Gift Pokemon.
I will be using Gift Pokemon in this Nuzlocke, just like I did in the Fire Red Nuzlocke. To my knowledge, there's only one that I'd really classify as a gift Pokemon anyway - a Porygon. Personally, I think it will make for an interesting character to add to Nolan's team.
Rule 5
A Level Cap will be set in place whilst I playing my Nuzlocke. I will only be able to grind up my team to the level of the next gym leaders Ace Pokemon.
This one isn't so much in direct relation to this story, but more to add challenge to the game. It is important however, because it makes the game harder and thus the risk of losing a Pokemon and having to write them out of the story is much greater.
Rule 6
Evolutions. Like in the Fire Red Nuzlocke, in the interest of story telling and to add challenge to my Nuzlocke, I will be setting a limit on the number of Pokemon I can evolve both in the game and thus this story.
For each gym leader that I beat, I will be allowed to evolve one Pokemon.
This means that this time there will only be four evolutions over the course of the story. You guys will get to vote on which of my Pokemon I get to evolve after each gym badge, so with so few available, you guys need to pick wisely : )
Rule 7
Rival battles. This is an entirely new element I'm adding now that the first Nuzlocke is behind us.
Going forwards, whenever I defeat a game's main rival, you guys will get to vote between a selection of Nolan's old Pokemon that I can bring over into the game I'm currently playing. Not only will this mean I can have them on my team again in the game, but it also comes will an added benefit. It means that the chosen Pokemon will be added back on to the list when it comes to voting for evolutions. It also comes with a downside however, because if I lose that Pokemon in the game, I will have to write it out, regardless of it having already once made it to the 'safe-point'.
Hopefully all of this will make more sense later on. To my knowledge, there are only three rival fights in this game, so we'll see how it goes : )
And I think that about covers all the rules : )
If you guys have any questions, please leave them in a review and I'll try to clarify anything : )
But before I can begin my new Nuzlocke of this fantastic rom hack/fan-made game, I need you guys to vote on something rather special for me - the new starter Pokemon that Nolan will get in the story : )
For any of you guys that have played this game, you'll know that it's based heavily upon the anime, and thus you don't get a choice of starter in this game. Rather, you get given a Pikachu just like Ash got in the anime. But aside from that, you can also take any of Ash's other Pokemon that he had at that point in the anime series. Those Pokemon include: - Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Kingler, Tauros and Muk. Yeah, you can get all of these Pokemon right at the start.
But that just isn't my way of doing things, so I've come up with a couple of alternate options. So for the voting topic this time, you guys will be voting on which option I go with. Here are the options: -
Option 1 - I can take the Bulbasaur and immediately evolve it all the way to Venusaur so that I can have Meadow continue on and be my starter Pokemon in this game as well.
Option 2 - I can take a Pikachu or a duplicate of one of Ash's other available Pokemon at this point and use that as my starter instead. This option would exclude Bulbasaur and Tauros however since those two have already been on Nolan's Kanto Team. If you vote for this option, please also state which Pokemon you would want.
Option 3 - In a different one of the Kanto games, I could randomise the three starters into random Pokemon, and you guys would then decide between those three Pokemon the next voting topic. I would then manually put that Pokemon into this game right from the start to use as my starter. They would have to be a Kanto Pokemon though, because this game only contains the original 151 Pokemon, save for a few exceptions like Misty's Togepi and Tracey's Marill.
Please vote for one of these options in a review because this one in particular is a very important decision that has to be made : )
Now, on to my other important notice for you guys. As you know, I've been posting an update on this story every week for over half a year now, and to be honest, I'm starting to burn out with it a little. So since this Nuzlocke in particular is going to be a lot shorter in comparison to the others, I've decided that for the duration of this one, I will only be uploading a new chapter every other week, i.e. once a fortnight. This is a decision I've been thinking about for a while now, and this seems like a good time to follow through with it. It was either this, or just take a long break from this story, which I really didn't want to do. At the same time though, I don't want to lose my inspiration for this story by focusing too hard on it, plus I want to be able to pay some attention to my other stories as well. I hope you guys understand why I've made this decision, and that it wasn't one I made lightly.
And that's just about everything from me for this week. Thank you so much for reading my story, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to leave your vote in a review or even just general feedback because I'd love to hear your comments, and I'll be back in a fortnight's time : )
Until the next time, keep on reading : )