... No, not the Korean pro gamer legend. ... Wonder what he's up to lately...
I think I brought this up once upon a time, but... what would it be like if I were to write an original fantasy setting stuff? I have no idea why I'm fixated on that idea lately, but the thought just won't leave me alone.
I think when I mentioned this last time, I mused about using Starcraft's Protoss abilities, since they're oddly suitable in a fantasy setting despite being the high tech race in a sci-fi game. Warcraft is fantasy, Starcraft is sci-fi. But same creators means lots of similarities. Warcraft's Lightning Storm, Starcraft's Psionic Storm... whatever, same crap, different name. I'm sure some character in Warcraft can use Mind Control too, like Starcraft's Dark Archons. Sylvanas's story in Warcraft is very noticeably similar as Kerrigan's in Starcraft. Gee. It's almost as if they're made by the same people! (duh) "This is not Warcraft in space! It's... much more sophisticated! I know it's not 3D!"
Fantasy settings like Skyrim have magic spells of various levels, though the names may vary. "Novice" is just a fancy way of saying "Level 1". So there'll be stuff like "Level 1 Fire spell" or "Level 3 Ice spell" and yadda yadda. And it just so happens that in Starcraft, there can be similar tiers of abilities, based on function and scale. Like... taking a simple energy beam attack...
Level 1: Sentry Sanitation Beam. Does minor damage.
Level 2: Oracle Pulsar Beam. Does a lot more damage faster.
Level 3: Colossus Thermal Lance. Does massive damage in a wide area, sets the ground on fire.
Level 4: Void Ray Prismatic Beam. Does catastrophic damage in a huge area, gets stronger as attack continues.
Level 5: Carrier Purifier Beam. For all your planetary incineration needs!
Though this does create a tiny bit of an issue, like... I can't have a whole bunch of people being able to use these spells. That'd be an absolute chaotic disaster that'd be fun, but not in a story setting. There'll be people using Vortex to create temporary black holes (that'll go well on a planet!), using Purifier Beams to erase cities, some jerk using Time Stop to screw with everyone else at the same time, and some prick using Mind Control on every possible target. That world would be doomed within a week of someone discovering those abilities. Maybe it should be limited to just one person, who also has enough restraint to not glass the planet in a fit of rage.
And as for the story itself... I think I'd prefer deliberately copying common events, but then events turn out drastically different. Like... the main character stumbles upon a carriage that's under attack by bandits! But it looks like the bandits picked the wrong carriage to f*ck with, and got wrecked instead! So the main character simply watches the carnage for a bit before moving on with his life! ... Though if this was similar to Skyrim, one of the guards would run up to him and demand why he didn't help. Or maybe the main character did try to help, but then accidentally vaporized the carriage along with everyone else. He quickly leaves the scene, and one day, hears news that the princess has been missing for days! And no one knows what happened! Such tragic news indeed! Maybe that'd be too comical, or too dark, one or the other.
Heh... It's an amusing idea that won't go away, which means... this is what that Thought Dump document is for, I suppose...
Diamond and Pearl continued to wave as their ship left the harbor. From the ground, Platinum waved back, smiling as she sincerely wished for her two friends to have fun in their trip to Galar. She wanted them to leave on high spirits and kept her smile until she could no longer see individual people on the ship in the distance. Her mood worsened the further the ship sailed and she could no longer keep up the bright expression.
Platinum lowered her hand and let out a long sigh as she lowered her head. She slowly rubbed her arm, as she suddenly found herself feeling incredibly lonely. She had left on journeys to other regions without Diamond and Pearl before, and she hadn’t felt that lonely then. Perhaps it was because in those cases, she was going to new and unfamiliar places, visiting senior or junior Dex Holders and spending a lot of time with them, so she didn’t get to truly feel the void left by her two friends’ absence. But now, this was the first time Platinum had been left behind in Sinnoh, and she could suddenly feel the lack of Diamond and Pearl in the familiar atmosphere of her home region.
“… Sister? … Are you okay?” Moon asked carefully from the side, noticing Platinum’s unusual expression.
“… Yes, I am okay. But… I cannot help but feel a little bit… uneasy,” Platinum answered honestly. She didn’t say that she felt lonely, however, since Moon was right there with her, as always.
“Diamond and Pearl will only be gone for a month, and they’ll definitely be in contact,” Moon said, trying to cheer her up.
“I am aware,” Platinum answered quietly. “But… for some reason, I still cannot shake this feeling…”
Moon briefly wondered what could be causing that uneasy feeling, but soon guessed at the truth. Platinum was undoubtedly feeling very lonely all of a sudden. And while it irked Moon a little, knowing that Platinum was lonely despite the fact that she was with her, she understood why. After all, for as long as Moon had known her, Platinum had been with her two friends, Diamond and Pearl. They did not meet every day, of course, but they were not separated for long. And with Twinleaf Town being pretty close to Sandgem, the two friends were never that far away either.
Then the solution to Platinum’s loneliness was pretty clear. She’d just have to go to Galar as well. She was only staying behind because of her work. So if Moon was to cover for her, Platinum could find the time to travel to Galar. Of course, covering Platinum’s workload was not an easy task, but for her happiness…
“Sister, if you’re feeling that lonely, maybe you should go to Galar too,” Moon suggested. “I know you have a lot of work to do, but I could do them in your stead. I’ll probably manage for a couple of weeks, so you’d have enough time to visit Galar and have fun with Diamond and Pearl.”
Platinum looked mildly surprised at the suggestion, but soon shook her head. “I appreciate your suggestion, but I cannot do that. Diamond and Pearl are traveling to Galar to pursue their goals as comedians. Had I accompanied them, they would undoubtedly make as much time for me as possible, and perhaps even travel to places that they would ordinarily have not. Even if they do not think so, I will be a burden to them.”
“But surely it’ll be okay if you’re with them for just a few days?” Moon asked.
“No. Even if I am with them for a single day, that is still time they will have to set aside for me, and they will feel guilty about not being able to do more for me afterwards. Their trip to Galar is a rare opportunity for them. They have to focus solely on capitalizing on it. I will not become a distraction for them.”
Moon slowly nodded, as she understood Platinum’s argument. “You’re right, and I get it. I want them to succeed with their goals too. But… you’re too considerate, Sister. I’m afraid that you’ll suffer too much, enduring the loneliness for their sake.”
Platinum smiled and gently patted her on the head. “Of course, I will not be completely alone, so I will manage.” She glanced at the ship in the distance and sighed. “… I will certainly miss them, but I suppose I will just have them compensate me upon their return.” She could feel her mood worsening again as she watched the ship become smaller in her view, and forced herself to turn away. “Come, Moon. Let us return to Sandgem Town. We still have work to do.”
“Yes, Sister.” Moon glanced at the ship in the distance as well. ‘… Please come back soon, guys… And you better bring some good souvenirs!’
holy moly i was a huge fan of your fic back in the day i can’t believe you’re still around! it’s always so nostalgic to read your writing. hope you’re doing well!!!
Sometimes, I can't believe I'm still around too! Heh. And yeah, I'm doing just fine nowadays, thank you.
So, the updates to the Headcanon Chronology (which won't be super common) usually goes unannounced, but the page itself has the date when it was updated.
The bolded entries are updates, but in this case, since the last update wasn't that long ago, I've kept the older update (the bolded entry outside of the red box) still bolded. I think I'll keep an entry bolded until at least a month has passed.
So... where is each Pokemon region located in relation to one other? Was that ever really revealed?
Obviously Kanto and Johto are connected. Lore-wise, the Sinjoh Ruins are connecting Sinnoh and Johto, and the ruins are to the north of Johto, so Sinnoh is to the north. Kanto also has the Sevii Islands to the south, and the only other game where you can go to the Sevii Islands (or some of them) is in Emerald version, which is in Hoenn, so big implication that Hoenn is to the south of Kanto/Johto. Sinnoh and Hoenn are relatively easy to guess given... Snowpoint City and general tropical everything in Hoenn, and presumably these places are going to be in the northern hemisphere since the Japanese locations that they're based on are all in the northern hemisphere.
So what about the other regions? They're all based on somewhere in the world, so are we to assume that their general location in the Pokemon world is similar to the real world counterparts? Such as... is Galar like a stone's throw away from Kalos?
40km may not exactly be a stone's throw, but that's pretty freaking close.
And Paldea is based on Spain, right? Now, I don't know the map of Paldea, but... is there water to the northeast corner of it, or landmass? Because... if the regions are located similarly to the real world counterparts, Kalos and Paldea are supposed to be connected.
The map of Kalos I think has landmass in the southern half, so there are no issues there. ... Also, today I learned that there's a tiny ass country between Spain and France. A bit bigger than Liechtenstein, but I do not understand the reason behind their existence. Though I suppose, given how so much of Spain is trying to go independent, this little nation might've been a part of Spain that succeeded?
Anyways. I don't know what the map of Paldea looks like, but if it's supposed to be based on Spain, I assume it looks mostly like that? Although, I think Kalos is only the northern half of France. I mean, Paris is like in the northern quarter of France, but the corresponding Lumiose City is smack in the middle of Kalos. So in that regard, I suppose Paldea could just be the northern or southern half of Spain, for variety's sake (a mix of land and water areas). Who knows. Maybe it's smack in the middle of Spain, so it's nothing but land. That'd be... an interesting Pokemon game, where you don't need Surf at all.
Then again, a Pokemon region is going to need a frozen area for all the Ice types to exist. Every region had them, whether it was just like a freezer type cave, or a whole section of the map that's just constantly buried in snow. And if Paldea is supposed to be based on Spain, it's not going to see snowfall, so the developers could take some liberties with how the map looks or the climate. But if the map shape looks too different than the real world location, then I can't assume that the regions will be located in similar places as real world. If Paldea looks nothing like Spain, then it can't be right next to Kalos that looks exactly like France. You could argue that the Pokemon world should not have any similarities with the real world, but... Generation I literally mentions South America. So while that might have been forgotten and/or retconned, the initial idea that the Pokemon world is just a Pokemon-ified version of the real world remains.
Anyways. All that said, for now, I'm just going to keep with the idea that Pokemon regions are located similarly to how the corresponding real world places are. Which then further supports Moon when she demands to know why White and Y are always with Platinum in my stuff, since they're from the other side of the world. It's not a short trip.
Hmm... I suppose common stereotypes may be at play, though I'm not too sure about it.
I mean, I've never been in Galar or Paldea so I wouldn't know for sure just how serious it would be. I know that Alola was pretty Hawaii, to the point that when I played Yakuza 8 and 8 Gaiden that take place in Hawaii, I found a lot of things to be oddly familiar. But for Kalos, if it wasn't for Lumiose City's tower, I wouldn't have guessed that it was based on France. ... Though I think the map of Kalos looks a hell of a lot like France... I don't remember. It's been many years since the last time I saw a map of Kalos. And for Unova, if it wasn't for Victini's island, I wouldn't have known that it was supposed to be based on New York.
Now. Southeast Asia, eh? ...
Hmm. That could be a bunch of places, but I'm assuming, given the concept of the new games, the region is going to be more island-y than continental? So... Philippines? Indonesia? ... I've only ever really known two people from the Philippines, and they both betrayed us repeatedly, so my impression of that whole area is not going to be positive. As for the rest, I've never had any meaningful contact, so I have no strong feelings one way or the other.
Anyways. Given how many nations are crammed in this part of the map, I say there's a high chance that the games will exaggerate your neighbors as opposed to your people.
Definitely island-y, though of course this could just be the coast of somewhere continental.
So the player characters are wearing full-on wetsuits underneath, huh? So... definitely a lot of diving going on. Okay. ... I somehow highly doubt that spearfishing will be in the game, but... hehehe...
It'd be an amusing twist if one of the corresponding manga characters couldn't actually swim to save their life. In Korea, you're called a beer bottle in that kind of situation. Not super sure why, but I'm assuming it's because a glass beer bottle will immediately sink to the bottom of the water while making the classic "glug glug" sounds as water rushes in from the opening, just like what would happen to someone who can't swim at all is suddenly thrown into deep water.
So... I remember pretty much nothing about the canonical specs of the villa as it appears in DPPt. And I vaguely remember little tidbits about the villa in the games.
Which means I'm left with "minor" logistical issues when writing any scenes that involve that villa. Like... does it even have a second floor? Or guest rooms? In Heart, there was a second floor but no guest rooms. Which is also weird. So does the second floor only have a bedroom, and nothing else other than maybe a bathroom connected to it?
I think every time I write a scene with that villa, the size and specs change to meet whatever conditions are required at the time. Otherwise...
The villa must be big enough to be able to hold everyone (20-ish people) for a sleepover, have enough room for a decent kitchen, fireplace, living room with sofas and a large TV, bathroom, a piano, and whatever else furnishing options that were there in the games, have a second floor that apparently only has one room and no others so that Diamond and Pearl still have to sleep on the floor downstairs. What a curious building. ... Specs will need to be pre-defined or something.
Of course, I guess it really doesn't matter. Who's keeping track anyways, right?
White: "I could've sworn that the last time I was here, there were two guest rooms upstairs..."
Moon: "Must've been a different villa."
White: "How many villas do you think people get to visit on average? I'm sure it was this one. And I know there were two guest rooms because Y and I took one each, and Lady Platinum had her own room!"
Blue: "I thought there were a lot more guest rooms. Didn't we once have a major New Year's party here at one point? Every Dex Holder slept here, and half slept on the upper floor!"
Moon: "But... every time I'm here with Sister, I always slept on the ground floor..."
White: "... ???"
“Senior, there is something important we need to discuss,” Platinum said carefully.
Red turned to stare at her. “… What?”
Platinum swallowed nervously at the coldness of his stare, but steeled her resolve. “From what I have gathered, the splinter faction had indeed succeeded with their K3 Project. However, they only managed to succeed once, and entirely by chance. And so I beg you, senior Red, to spare the completed clone.”
Red didn’t show any emotion as he responded. “After all those things we fought on our way down here, are you suggesting that we leave one intact? And you agreed that we had to destroy the server room and all evidence of this project. Why are you changing your mind now?”
“I had agreed to purge everything related to this project because I was unaware that they had actually succeeded. The terminal in this room has records of a successful case. The monsters we faced on our way down here were failed clones of senior Blue. And I share some of your sentiments regarding the matter, senior. However, the completed K3 Project is not like the failed clones. The failed clones were simply mindless organic monsters that have not been implanted with the memories of senior Blue. The completed clone, however, has the personalities, the appearance, and the memories. In essence, she is senior Blue, and importantly, she would also believe as such. I believe that this is the closest we will have of senior Blue’s resurrection. We must spare her and accept her return.”
Red looked down at the floor as he considered her words. Blue’s revival… that was something he could only dream about but not dare to hope. But… was this really her revival?
The “perfected” clone was supposed to be identical to the real Blue. But… how accurate was the cloning? Red didn’t mind if Blue’s physical body had a negligible discrepancy. If this clone was physically identical to Blue to the 99th percentile, that was fine. But what about the mental scanning that was done in the real Blue’s dying days? Out of 100 decisions, how many different choices would this K3 make compared to the real Blue? And how many different choices would K3 make over the course of a lifetime?
There was no way for anyone within this splinter Team Rocket faction to know of Blue’s true personalities. After all, Red knew that Blue two very different levels to her personality. On the outside was her “fake” self, which was bright, cheerful, flirty, and mischievous. But this was a front she put up in front of strangers or those she wasn’t fully comfortable around, in order to protect her “true” self, which was kind, but deeply suffering and lonely, who only wanted a place to belong. And having been her friend for so many years, and having even lived with her for quite some time, Red knew Blue’s true self better than anyone. But there was no way that Blue would show that self to the doctors within this splinter faction while they performed these mental scans and personality tests.
And so, if this K3 did not have Blue’s true personality, then it would just be an incorrect approximation. And sparing it and allowing it to join him and the others would just be a constant reminder of his failure to save her, and of his loss.
Red clenched his hands and teeth. He had to make his decision. And right now, it was clear what he should do. “… No…” His heart couldn’t handle that possibility. “K3 is not Blue. It’s just a failed experiment, and an inaccurate approximation at best. This whole project, and everyone involved in it, has to be erased from existence.” Memories of Blue were all that he had left of her. And he wasn’t going to let some poor approximation of her replace those precious memories. “This whole damned project has to be destroyed, and no exceptions.”
“Senior, you are mistaken. The completed clone is not an inaccurate approximation, but-”
Red shook his head angrily. “Shut up! If you’re not going to help me, then stay the hell out of my way!”
Platinum gasped in terror and backed away from him a little. Red realized too late how he had sounded, and noticed her pained and devastated expression. He closed his eyes and trembled as he knew that this image of her would be burned into his memories forever. And he would inevitably try to erase it with heavy drinking, as he had been doing for all the other painful memories that he had tried to erase but failed.
“… I see…” Platinum trembled a bit but took out her Empoleon’s Pokéball. “… I apologize, senior. But… if that is your determination, I cannot allow you to proceed. I have to stop you here. Not just for senior Blue’s sake, but for yours as well. I will not stand idly by as you make the biggest mistake of your life, and one that will haunt you forever.”
Red looked up and saw Platinum and her Empoleon. And just like that, something seemed to snap within his mind. He sent out his Venusaur. “Biggest mistake? No. The biggest mistake of my life was… listening to your advice. Never again.” And in his enraged state, he ended up crossing the line and saying something he never should. “Besides, your suggestions aren’t of any help anyways. Just ask White or Y.”
Red knew that Platinum had a deep wound in her heart, and he had just mercilessly stabbed it. And the effect was immediate. Platinum opened her mouth to say something, but didn’t. She looked unsteady on her feet as her trembling hands slowly reached up towards her heart. Red could see her heavily distraught expression, and wished that he hadn’t. And so, in order to focus on something else, he got his Venusaur to attack first.
…
Red watched Platinum’s Rapidash fall. This fight was almost over, as Platinum now had one last Pokémon left. Her Empoleon was still barely standing as well, but it was on its last legs and would soon fall.
By now, Red had calmed down enough to notice Platinum’s condition in this fight. She had not performed nearly as well as she had in any of their practice battles. She frequently made wrong decisions, reacted slowly, and didn’t seem to be fighting with the intent of winning. Even now, she wasn’t focused on the fight. It was clear that she did not want to do this at all, and she no longer had the will to face him.
Platinum had been so determined to stop him before. But ever since the fight began, that determination was nowhere to be seen. And it was obvious why. And now that he had calmed down significantly, Red deeply regretted saying that to her. He also regretted in initiating the fight to begin with. Perhaps if he didn’t attack, Platinum would have recalled her Empoleon and stood down. And perhaps there was a peaceful solution as well. Maybe if Red had offered to consider her suggestion, at least until it was evident that K3 was not truly Blue, then Platinum would not have even tried to stop him by force.
But it was too late now. He had crushed Platinum’s spirit, and was currently locked in a fight against her while she didn’t want to be here at all. He had no doubts that once this was over, she would never want to talk to him again. He would apologize once the fight was over, though he doubted that it would do anything.
Red sighed and sent out Blue’s Blastoise while returning his Venusaur. He kept his Espeon out to continue suppressing Platinum’s Empoleon. He had to finish the fight quickly, make his apologies even if it was futile, and then proceed to the server room to destroy everything. Platinum reached into her bag for her last healthy Pokémon, which was her Glaceon. Red narrowed his eyes, as the Glaceon was… significant. It was the offspring of Red’s Espeon and Blue’s Ditto, and it represented the happier times when Red and Blue were together. Would Platinum use it now, against both Red’s Espeon and Blue’s Blastoise? Even though Blue’s Ditto wasn’t for combat, Blue’s Blastoise still served as a reminder of those happier times…
Platinum stopped reaching for Glaceon’s Pokéball. She couldn’t bring herself to send out the Glaceon in this fight. There wasn’t any point, either. This fight was lost, and she didn’t even want to continue with it anyways.
Red saw Platinum stop and understood her intention. He approached Blue’s Blastoise and pointed at Platinum’s Empoleon. “Hydro Cannon,” he ordered, but added in a quiet voice so that Platinum wouldn’t hear. “Only use one cannon, and don’t use full power.”
Blue’s Blastoise visibly hesitated as it didn’t want to do it, but soon did as ordered. It aimed one of its cannons at the Empoleon, and after looking away entirely, fired a partial Hydro Cannon. The Empoleon feebly tried to defend against the attack, but it had been weakened far too much from the fight. The high powered burst of water overcame its defense and sent it flying back.
The burst of water obscured Red’s vision so he couldn’t see what exactly had happened. But he could tell that the Empoleon had withstood the initial burst and stood its ground momentarily before the continuing stream of water had sent it flying backwards. And then he heard a loud, pained scream.
Blue’s Blastoise aborted the Hydro Cannon. Red quickly scanned in front of him to see what happened. On the other side of the research chamber, Platinum’s Empoleon lay defeated, almost on top of its trainer. And the trident on the face of the Empoleon had stabbed deep into its trainer just below the ribs.
Red watched in horror as Platinum cried in agony before him. He felt his strength draining from his body as he realized that everything had gone wrong. The reason why he chose to use Blue’s Blastoise for Hydro Cannon was because it would do less damage to the Empoleon than an Overgrow powered Frenzy Plant. Hydro Cannon would push its target while Frenzy Plant tended to pierce. While he was the one to initiate this fight, he didn’t want to hurt her. He just wanted to defeat her so that she would back down. But now, as a result of his actions, here she was, bleeding out on the floor.
Red crouched next to Platinum and tried to see if there was anything he could do. Platinum was feebly trying to push her Empoleon but didn’t have remotely enough strength. Red grabbed her bag and dug through it to find the Empoleon’s empty Pokéball. He quickly returned it so that its trident was no longer stabbed into the girl. But the decision may have been the wrong one, as the girl was now bleeding much worse than before. And the blood was dark. Her pained cries quickly turned into rapid pained gasps as she struggled to breathe. … She was not going to survive for much longer…
“Platinum…” Red called out.
Platinum managed to open her eyes and for a brief moment, made eye contact. But she soon lost enough strength that she could not keep her eyes open. Her rapid breaths were almost too quiet to hear now.
Red looked up at the ceiling and sighed. That brief eye contact told him enough. … He was going to lose Platinum. He had already pushed her away a long time ago, but… he didn’t want to lose her. But it seemed that everything that he tried to do in recent times only ever backfired spectacularly.
He had accepted Blue’s confession so that they could be happy together, only for her to die shortly after. He had tried to avoid hurting Platinum’s feelings by staying silent so that he would not end up venting his frustrations onto her, only for her to be hurt by his silence and cold treatment. He had called Platinum back from Sinnoh even though he fully knew just how badly she was hurting so that he could apologize to her and try to reconcile, only for her to avoid him as much as possible thus preventing the apology and only widening the gap between them. He had deliberately partnered up with her on this mission to reconcile, only to have that plan go down the drain upon encountering the failed Blue clones and now conflicting with her over what to do next. He had deliberately switched to using a weakened version of Hydro Cannon to deal less damage to Platinum’s Empoleon so that he’d still win the fight without hurting her feelings, only for that Hydro Cannon to result in an accident that caused fatal damage to Platinum.
He had to choose now. Maybe if he carried Platinum out of the facility right now so that she can get medical attention, she had a chance to survive. But doing so would mean that the K3 Project would remain intact. But if he set out to destroy K3, he would have to leave Platinum behind, and she would bleed to death. He could try to call the other Dex Holders for help, but they were all scattered around the facility. There was no way that the others could even locate where Platinum was and then come over to save her in time. There was too much opposition, too much ground to cover, and not enough time.
Red looked down at Platinum one last time before he tore himself away. He was going to destroy the K3 Project. It was what he had set out to do. And it was what made him fight Platinum. … And it was what killed Platinum. Backing out of it now, after dealing fatal damage to her, was not right. He was committed now, and he had to finish what he set out to do. He now had one thing left to protect in his whole life, and that was his memories of Blue. He had lost everything else. So at the very least, he would honor his memories of Blue by destroying this whole damned K3 Project down to the ground.
…
Red found the server room at the end of the hall and quickly ran towards it. Since he didn’t have Platinum’s perfect memory, he had to look up its location in the nearby map of the facility floor. But now that he found it, he could resume his plan to destroy the K3 Project and all of its data. That said, he didn’t actually know how to purge data from a server, so he intended to simply blast all the computers with enough firepower to completely destroy them. It would have to do. As for the completed K3 itself… If Red couldn’t find it while he destroyed the servers, then he’d have to find some way to destroy this whole facility so that K3 would be buried in the rubble.
Red reached the door to the server room and kicked it open. He expected at least one scientist, but to his surprise, he didn’t find any of them. Instead, standing by a console was someone that was far too familiar, whose presence made him immediately freeze on the spot.
“… Blue…” he muttered, his eyes open wide.
The girl looked at him in surprise as well. She took a step towards him, looking incredibly relieved to see him, but then stopped. She seemed to remember the situation involving her and her expression drastically darkened.
“… Red…” she mumbled as she lowered her head.
Red shook his head to clear his thoughts and clenched his teeth. He had to remember his purpose here. Anything less would be an insult to Platinum. But while his brain told him that he was looking at K3, his heart told him otherwise.
“You… you’re…” he stammered out as he unknowingly stepped closer to her.
The girl reached out for him but stopped herself. He could see tears welling in her eyes as she restrained herself.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as tears began to fall. “It… must be difficult for you… to see her again like this…” She held her right arm with her left hand, as if preventing herself from reaching out again.
Red slowly approached her. His brain kept telling him that he was staring at an imperfect approximation of Blue, but his heart kept telling him that he was close to the real Blue. The girl in front of him was not displaying the false shell personality that Blue showed to strangers and those she had not warmed up to significantly. Instead, she was showing the depressed and lonely side of Blue who had the unfortunate tendency of sacrificing her desires and happiness for the sake of others.
Even now, she was claiming that she was not Blue, and was actively distancing herself from him, even though she clearly missed him dearly. She was willing to sacrifice herself if it meant that Red would be able to destroy the K3 Project and that his memories of Blue would not be tainted.
… That was something that the real Blue would have done.
Red stood in front of her and reached out with trembling hands. The girl closed her eyes and pulled back, as if afraid of what was to happen next. And even though his brain kept screaming the reality of the situation, his body moved on its own and embraced her tight.
“… I’m so happy to see you again,” he said as he was overwhelmed by the familiar feeling.
“But… I’m not her,” the girl said as she trembled in his embrace. “I’m… just a clone. I’m… K3…”
Red shook his head. “No. You’re not merely a clone of Blue. And you’re not K3. You… are Blue…” He closed his eyes and pulled her even tighter. … Everything about her matched his memories. This was Blue. Despite everything that happened, he had gotten her back.
Blue hesitated but finally allowed herself to embrace him back. “… Thank you, Red…”
For a while, Red simply enjoyed the feeling of embracing the one he loved, but the reality of the situation slowly began to pick away at his mind.
“Blue, what were you doing here, anyways?” he asked, pulling away.
Blue still looked a bit longing, but like him, she forced herself to focus on the situation. “I wanted to destroy all data related to the K3 Project. I was purging all data from the servers, and looking for a way to make this facility collapse.”
Red managed a short chuckle. “Wow. That’s exactly what I was trying to do…”
Blue looked at the computer console. “The data purge is complete. And from here, I can get the main reactor to overload, which would also damage the computers connected to the main power. But I can’t overload the secondary reactors without going there directly. If I can overload those as well, the explosions would be enough to make this facility collapse upon itself, burying everything under rubble, including whoever overloaded the secondary reactors.” She rubbed her arm and glanced at Red to gauge his reaction. “… I was planning to do that when you found me…”
Red grabbed her hand and held tight. “Blue, no. I’m not letting you do that. I’m not losing you a second time.”
Blue managed a smile. “Okay… Then let me just overload the main reactor. After that, we can get out of here, and… well, we’ll have some explaining to do to the others, won’t we?”
Red chuckled. “Yeah. We sure do.”
As Blue resumed to work on the computer console, Red wondered if there was anything else he was trying to accomplish. But as he wondered, ugly reality reared its head and he was suddenly hit with such a heavy weight of guilt that he felt as if his heart would implode.
He slowly turned to stare in the direct of the door of the server room, and more specifically, down the hall. The reunion with Blue and the confirmation that she was not an imperfect approximation had relieved him so much that he had momentarily focused on only what was directly in front of him while disregarding everything else. But now that his objectives were completed, the memories came flooding back.
“I beg you, senior Red, to spare the completed clone.”
Platinum’s voice echoed in his mind and he felt dizzy as the gravity of his actions hit him hard. Platinum had wanted him to spare K3, as she was essentially Blue’s resurrection. Red had refused her suggestion, and when she tried to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life, he had crushed her spirits and attacked her. The fight fatally wounded her and he had left her to die in order to stick to his convictions. Except he didn’t ending up doing that. The moment he saw Blue, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy her and instead, accepted her immediately. … He had attacked and crushed Platinum’s spirits, only to do exactly as she had suggested anyways.
“It’s done. The main reactor is beginning to overload. The facility won’t be leveled, but we should get out of here anyways, probably within 10 minutes, just to be safe,” Blue said from behind. “… Red? Is something wrong?”
Red couldn’t answer her. Instead, her voice seemed to jolt him awake from a long slumber. He bolted out of the room as fast as he could, sprinting down the hallway to the research lab. Blue quickly ran after him, noticing immediately that he was not running towards the exit.
Red soon found the lab he was looking for and burst through the door. Immediately, the heavy smell of blood reached him and he felt a little nauseous. And near the corner of the lab, he found Platinum lying motionless on her side, facing away from the door, in a small puddle of her own blood. The fact that she was on her side meant that she had attempted to crawl shortly after he had abandoned her, but the lack of a blood trail also meant that she did not make any progress before ultimately losing her remaining strength.
“Platinum!” Red cried out as he knelt beside her. He grabbed her by the shoulder and winced at just how cold her skin was now. He carefully pulled her towards him so that she would roll onto her back, and half expected to see her wide open but dead eyes staring back at him. But to his partial relief, the heiress’s eyes were closed.
Blue caught up with Red and ran into the lab. She immediately gasped in horror at the scene and quickly knelt beside him.
“Oh no… Platinum!” she cried out as well.
Red put his hands on Platinum’s neck to check for a pulse. And as he focused his senses on his fingertips, he leaned in close to her face to check for her breaths. As he leaned closer, he could clearly see the tear marks on the side of her face, made even clearer thanks to her skin becoming even paler due to blood loss and shock.
“Please… don’t die on me…” he muttered desperately. “Not like this… please…”
Blue momentarily glanced around the ruined lab room, picking up all sorts of clues regarding what had happened in here, thanks to her… enhancements. She then looked at Red and pieced together his current reaction and his unusual behavior earlier.
“… Red… what happened here?” she asked, dreading the answer.
But before she could even finish asking the question, Red interrupted her, as he felt the faint pulse on his fingertips, and the faintest of breaths on his ear.
“She’s alive!” he cried out in relief. He looked back at Blue desperately. “Blue, please help. She’s bleeding badly. We need to take her to a hospital as soon as possible!”
Blue nodded and quickly did what she could do to stall the bleeding. She was worried that her efforts were too late to make any difference, but she definitely had to do something, or Platinum would bleed to death before they escaped the facility.
Red reached up to his communicator to reach out to the other Dex Holders. “Everyone, the main power reactor of this facility is going to overload soon. So if you can hear me, get out of here as fast as you can!”
There were various acknowledgements from the scattered teams, but at the end, he could hear Y’s tired voice. “Is Miss Platinum okay?”
Red looked at Platinum as Blue finished with the improvised treatment. “… She’s badly hurt… but I got her.”
“Oh no… what happened?”
Red grimaced at the question and clenched his hands into fists. “… She’s bleeding badly. So if you get out before we do, call for an ambulance or something.”
“Okay…” Y said between breaths. “… Please hurry. I… I can’t lose Miss Platinum too…”
Red shuddered and looked away from Platinum in shame. He was glad that Y couldn’t see him right now. “… Yeah… Now get going!”
“Red, I did what I could, but it’s not good,” Blue said worriedly. “We have to hurry.”
Red gingerly lifted Platinum onto his arms. The girl visibly winced in pain at the motion and her troubled breaths became more noticeable than before. “Platinum… I’m so sorry…” he said softly. “… I swear I’ll save you…” He looked over at Blue sadly, who was looking at him with suspicion. “And Blue… when we get up top… I’ll explain everything. So for now, please don’t say anything and help me save her…”
By the way, I am still around. I'm working on a variety of stuff at the moment and I aim to have a few posted by next week.
And note that you can always check the Maintenance page to see if I've truly been MIA, or have been doing stuff without posting anything. In this case... yes. Only once, but still.
... Hi, grandma... hi grandpa... I... finally came back. ... I should've been the first one to visit. But I ended up being the last instead...
And as I walk around our old home, I feel nothing but emptiness. The old apartment's been painted over differently. The old corner store is no longer there. The trees of our memories no longer exist. All of the other buildings that were familiar have been repurposed. And worst of all, there's no one left to reminisce these old memories with me. The hometown of my memories and the people in it are gone forever.
Farewell, hometown. I will never be back ever again. ... I don't have any reason to ever return.
So, once upon a time, I had a crazy idea of writing a short featuring "Red & Yellow" (note the quotations).
At some point, that idea had vanished, as it wasn't even mentioned in the last post where I listed a ton of crap that I said I could work on. But that wasn't because I forgot. Unfortunately, there are some catastrophic flaws that prevent the short from being a thing.
The story plan was to have Red and Yellow go on a "date" to the central clearing of the Viridian Forest. Yellow would see it as a date, but Red would not, given how he doesn't have that feeling towards her, hence the quotations. Red is looking for something in that clearing and Yellow is just helping him get to that clearing, as she'd know the forest best. And while heading there, Yellow would talk about the many flowers they'd find there. Here's a segment of that:
“I sometimes go there to relax and rest. There are a lot of beautiful flowers there, and it’s so calm and peaceful. It’s wonderful!”
Red nodded a bit. “I’d bet. But… uh… you’re awfully enthusiastic about that place. You really like it there, huh?”
Yellow blushed a bit and scratched at her cheek. “Well… um… yeah. It’s peaceful and lovely, like I said, and… I guess I feel it’s kind of significant… with the flowers.”
“Flowers?”
Yellow blushed even more and lowered her head a little. “Um… yes. Flowers can have all sorts of meaning, you know? And symbolism and all that…”
Red chuckled and petted her on the head. “I’ll take your word for it.”
And once at the clearing, Yellow would talk some more about flowers, and how they can be a significant gift to someone, whether that'd be because of the namesake or matching colors to a person's eyes. Yellow would look off to a cluster of red flowers next to a bunch of yellow ones, and in between would be a handful of orange flowers. And then...
“Thanks, Yellow. You’ve been a great help. I think I found what I need,” Red said from behind.
Yellow looked up from the field of red and yellow flowers and turned to face him. “You did? Great! What did you…” she trailed off and her expression hardened.
Red smiled warmly as he looked at the cluster of beautiful dark blue flowers. He gently touched one of the delicate petals and nodded. “Yeah… she’ll definitely love these…”
And the short would end. Now, the short would be very mean to Yellow, who would've been all excited about a "date" with Red, and her excitedly talking about significance of flowers while referring to her relationship with him, when Red is there to just pick flowers to give to Blue. A truly certified Bakamitai moment, right there. Heh. But that's not the reason why the short had to be scrapped. I mean, I don't give a damn about breaking Yellow's heart.
The catastrophic flaws are in the premise. One, Red doesn't need Yellow's help to find a clearing in a forest, since he can just fly over it to search for it. Which means that dragging Yellow in this does not make any sense. And two, Red isn't that dense. And he's certainly not that mean. He's not going to ask Yellow to help him in finding flowers for Blue, when he already knows that she has a crush on him but not vice-versa. And three, Yellow's not going to help him in finding said flowers for Blue if he tells her what he's looking for and why. And there's no logical explanation as to why Yellow wouldn't ask Red what he's looking for and the reason for it, and for him to keep it secret.
So unfortunately, as amusing as it would've been for the short's tone and mood to completely flip over at the literal very end, it wasn't meant to be. Damn. And so goes the only possible time for Yellow to get a spotlight in any of my stuff. Heh.
Gold: "Damn it. The freeloader drank all the soda again. I'm going to need to get more."
Lyra: "... You know, maybe you should not call him that anymore."
Crystal: "Yeah, Gold. Don't call your friend something like-"
Lyra: "I mean, he's more specifically a deadbeat."
Crystal: "..."
Gold: "True. He doesn't really do anything other than watching TV. And he doesn't really have a job either."
Lyra: "And yet he still blatantly leeches off of you. So... deadbeat!"
Crystal: "... You two really are childhood friends, huh? You're in perfect sync..."
Silver: "Oh hey, Crys. And Lyra's here too, huh?"
Crystal: "Hi, Silver."
Gold: "Freeloader."
Lyra: "Deadbeat."
Silver: "???"
The new chronology in the Headcanon page lists a ton of stuff, from the past and the future. Obviously the stuff about Platinum's first meeting of Red and Blue is way in the past, while the stuff about Red and Blue's daughter is in the future. So... where is "the now"?
Generally, I tend to think of "the now" of the chronology as a range. So instead of a specific point, it's a range that contains that point. And the range is important because the short stories and whatnot that I make will be in that range. The last short story I made was The Grand Opening, which is a bit too far in the future for my liking. So I'd say that the current "now" is somewhere between right before "the disaster era" in the chronology where everything goes wrong all of a sudden, and right after the Assassination Excerpt inspired entries.
Once I make short stories of the key moments in that range, "the now" will steadily advance further down the chronology.
Well... I'm about to go on a vacation for a while so it's entirely possible that I don't do anything, but I may be able to squeeze in something before that.
So here's a bunch of stuff I could be making but will most likely not happen for a long ass time, given my track record!
Legacy Excerpt - The Choice
The fateful moment that determines if the story goes into the good ending or the bad ending. What will Red end up doing?
Legacy Excerpt - [redacted]
Details require the one above to be released first.
SA V2.0 Excerpt - Final Run
The infamous Triple Kill chapter of the old SA, but reimagined with all the stuff in the Headcanon Chronology up until "the now". Will the three that died in the old SA die this time?
SA V2.0 Excerpt - Walk It Off
The chapter where Platinum is rescued from capture by Blue in the old SA. But reimagined with new and more characters, and additional influence that didn't exist back then!
NG+ Excerpt - Victory, at a Cost
Red wins the Pokemon League for the third time. But at what cost. (I think I listed this once before...)
Short - Loneliness
Diamond and Pearl head off to Galar, and Platinum feels uneasy.
Short Story - Sleepover
Some of the juniors gather in Platinum's villa for a sleepover! (... I think this was also listed at some point...)
... I think there were more story ideas I said I'd work on that seems to have been removed from existence at some point. Hmm...
As advertised a few moments ago, here's the rationale behind Diamond's team update "update" that turned it into an overhaul.
A Dex Holder's team update is when I change 2 or less Pokemon, and an overhaul is for 3 or more. Diamond's team was updated... er... years ago with 2 changes, and then I made another change much further down the line, changing it into an overhaul. So, here goes.
Diamond's canon team is, in no particular order...
... I think it was Rotom... Don't remember, don't care. If I sacked it years ago for the update, it must've been sh*t, or not really suitable for Diamond.
Now, Munchlax is his signature and probably his first Pokemon, but it's a repeat if it evolves into Snorlax, and if not... it sucks ass. So it's fired from combat roles and will now just mess around at home or something.
Rotom is being removed since the existence of Rotom Dex will mean that it'll be more suitable for those roles than an active combat role. Also, does it even stick around? I guess it'll possess various appliances in Diamond's house or something.
Rotom and Munchlax were replaced with a Skarmory and a Steelix. Skarmory serves as aerial transport and one durable unit. And the Steelix serves as another durable unit, and a Mega Evolution Pokemon at that.
Diamond's nickname scheme is taking a single syllable from the Japanese name of the first stage Pokemon. And his Pokemon used to almost spell out Platinum's name (Puh, Beh, Roo, Li), so the next Pokemon should've had the name "Tsu" for "P. Berlitz", but instead, he went for "Moo", so "P. Berlim". ... Well, the streak is over, and therefore irrelevant. So using a single syllable from the Japanese names of Skarmory and Onix gets "Doh" and "Wa" respectively. ... Insert "annoyed grunt"...
Now, the next update that changed the update into an overhaul is the removal of Lickilicky, because that thing sucks ass. ... Well, so does Bastiodon, but it fits very nicely with Diamond's team, so it can stay. For now. And so with that replacement, Diamond's overhaul team becomes...
Slow and steady, except it's very sturdy, hence the theme name.
This change completes my mission to give all non legendary base stat total 600 Pokemon to a Dex Holder. ... Until Generation X comes out, anyways. And so the cycle will begin again.
Anyways. Archaludon, that bridge dragon goes to Diamond solely for that purpose and nothing else. But among the BST 600 things, this is probably the most suitable for Diamond. He got 4 Steel types now.
So... how does he get that bridge dragon? ... I don't know. Maybe Platinum caught it again because it reminded her of him. Will it appear anywhere? ... Well, considering how Blue's Metal Slug Goodra never made an appearance despite the overhaul years ago...
Anyways, there you have it. Doh, Roo, Moo, Puh, Wah, Lah. Doesn't spell Platinum's name, doesn't list musical notes. It's just a random conglomerate of syllables.
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