A Pokémon fanfic that starts out deceptively similar to other stories. A young trainer aspires To Be a Master, with great dreams of being the best, placing his hoped-for Pokemon on a pedestal. A year later than most trainers, he finally receives his starter... And it's a Numel. Hilarity Ensues, but not for long.It later becomes Darker and Edgier than the games ever dreamed of, with prophecies, genre deconstructions, and the consequences of ignoring warnings. However, it still has moments of comedy.It can be found here.It now has a crossover with the Pokemon fic Regret which can be found here.
This fanfic contains examples of:
Aborted Arc: What ever happened to that red jacket...?
Accidental Aiming Skills: The protagonist is pro at this - especially when trying to catch birds.
Ultimately, Hanna. Her secret weapon lays waste to Nick's team, and she even beats Nick himself in a fistfight.
Action Survivor: It's a wonder that the protagonist is still alive at this point, especially after being mauled by Pokemon (and people!) so many times.
AFGNCAAP: The protagonist can be seen as this, sometimes. Not any more! Now we have his full name, gender and severalpiecesofart by the author to give us an idea of his appearance! So what if it took 150+ chapters?
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Harlan has a massive crush on the moody feline that is Ike, to the point of choosing the go with the main character after Nick dies to stay close to him.
An Arm and a Leg: Carlita's tail gets chopped off during the battle with Nick.
Anti Air: Ike was meant to be this, but Kostya and Alice are used, more often than not - mostly because the protagonist doesn't believe Ike can be trusted.
Arc Words: You will face many trials. Do not let yourself become dark. Do not get sidetracked with the injustices of the world; do not become angry and bitter. And, when the time comes, let go.
However, the full text was interrupted; it first ran 'And, when the time comes, let go of h—'.
Artifical Tail: Carlita is probably going to get one. But even with that, she still will never dance again.
Back for the Finale: Jude makes an appearance for Oonu's funeral in the final chapter.
Battle Amongst the Flames: The main character has been involved in four so far: when he breaks out of the warehouse during The Tournament arc, when he faces Vaporeon in Sunyshore, the battle with Lola outside Stark Mountain and finally the battle with Nick inside Stark Mountain.
Battle Royale With Cheese: A minor one happened during the battle against Vaporeon, where nearly everyone except for the main character and his group get killed. Also it seems that the entire battle on Stark Mountain is this, as everyone except the main character, Lola and Nick get taken out of action.
Best Served Cold: Hanna seems to have spent an awful long time training up Molly to kill Nick.
"Look, if you're worried about me, really. Don't. I've been preparing this for years."
Big Damn Heroes: Interestingly, two examples in The Tournament arc: inverted when NamNar busts out of the building to save people, and when the main antagonist, Nick, shows up and kills his own followers to stop the fighting and probably save them from a very bloody Curb-Stomp Battle.
Lucian at the very end of the Vaporeon Arc.
Sela and Vaikuntha tend to become this from time to time, most recently with the rest of the Gym leaders at Stark Mountain.
Then, he shut his eyes tight and leaned against Chase, just as the white pokémon leaned down and pressed the tip of its snout against the dragon's forehead.
Bilingual Bonus: Cossette and her family speak French natively, and it's been implied that Jude speaks it, too.
Blood-Splattered Innocents: The main character, although how innocent he is at this point in the story is debatable. And more often than not, it's his own blood.
Cossette, very literally taken.
Blue Eyes: The protagonist has them. They play an essential part in convincing a delusional Nick that he's not his brother.
Those big blue eyes, so wide, so trusting, so confused.
Broken Pedestal: The plot and much of the character interactions later in the story thrive off of this trope.
Butt Monkey: The protagonist. Let's face it, life for him isn't exactly peachy.
Cerebus Syndrome: It starts off as a cheerful, humorous story about a trainer starting his Pokemon journey, but soon there's more blood than Pokemon battles. It Got Worse from there.
Completely averted with the protagonist and Benjamin.
Chekhov's Gunman: Lola. First introduced way back in the beginning as a random goth trainer who got stranded in Snowpoint. Then pops up again during the tournament and gym race arc. Then is killed on national televison. However the latest chapters have revealed that, not only is she alive, she's responsible for worsening Nick's Sanity Slippage, she fixed the gym race slightly so the main character got a gym position, she organized the nightmare attack, she owns the Xatu that has been invading the main character's dreams lately, she goaded the main character into attacking Vaporeon by sending messages from Nick's number, she knows the truth about the prison break and helped to cover the main characters involvement in it, and finally she's 'the first' in the ghosts' prophecy...
Cliff Hanger: There are some truly terrible ones, some coming right after an even worse one before it.
Coming of Age Story: The story starts off technically when the protagonist is ten. Five years so far have passed.
Conflicting Loyalty: The main character is torn between desperately believing that Nick can be saved and taking him out for the safety of the region.
More than implied now. It's just not the MC that's the plaything - it's Abigail and Nick.
Convection Schmonvection: Somewhat averted. In Stark Mountain characters wearing dark clothing are shown to be boiling and non fire pokemon have a hard time battling for long periods due to the heat. It can also easily kill and destroy things. However a rickety rope bridge can still stand without bursting into flames...
Curse Cut Short: Fairly often, although more and more in recent chapters due to the rating going up.
Chapter 121 starts off with a "Holy freaking sh—", the first time the protagonist has resorted to such language.
Dance Battler: Carlita to a T. Not any more. Without her tail, the doctors aren't even sure she'll be able to manage a slow waltz.
Dark is Evil: The dark-haired trainer turned out to be Nick, and we find that out just before his Freak Out. He has also been stated to wear dark clothes from then on out.
In Chapter 147, it is implied that the dark-haired monster might actually be Lola.
Early-Bird Cameo: Lola gets introduced way back when the main character and Hanna first visited Snowpoint City, and only pops up again during The Tournament arc. Also, the Electabuzz that the main character owned for all of 10 minutes comes back later with a more important role, as one of Lola's pokemon.
Enemy Mine: The protagonist teams up with the mercenary who attacked him early on in the story in order to infiltrate Vaporeon's hideout. He gets betrayed, as some of his friends suspected he would.
Failure Is the Only Option: The only way for the story to end peacefully at this point is if Nick goes to jail or dies. Considering the protagonist's feelings towards him and the fact that he already bailed him out of prison once before...
Vaporeon is a TV celebrity and Arianna seems to be pretty well known in fashion circles, if Hanna's reaction is anything to go by.
Fangirl: Implied with Hanna's remark in chapter 16. She has also been shown to root for the protagonist and Alicia's relationship, even going as far as to help him out.
Cossette, to an extent.
Flat "What.": Nick's reaction to hearing that Matthew is dead. Possibly deconstructed, given the circumstances and description of how flat the word was.
Four is Death: There are four Pidgey chicks when the main character adopts them. Is it that surprising that not all of them make it? Poor Oonu and Woonu...
Full Name Basis: At the point of her introduction, it was almost exclusively Sela Schaffer. More and more, it's Nick or Nicholas Sayre, too.
Grey and Gray Morality: The main villain only snapped and killed in revenge of his little brother's death because the government did absolutely nothing about it, even when it happened before (and to the main character!). Many characters have voiced sentiments agreeing with his basic ideals, even if he took things too far.
"Not to mention the fact that when you get to be this high in the world, especially in today's training climate, we're all about five minutes from pulling a Nick Sayre."
"No we're—"
"I don't know where you were, but I was in Sunyshore fighting off trainers and Pokemon with my goddamn fists when that riot broke out. You were all fighting tooth and nail against each other. And judging on your Luxray's behavior, you're not a perfectly innocent trainer, either," she snapped, cold once more. I reeled back, caught off guard by the personality change. "The fact of the matter is that each and every one of us has the potential to turn just as bad, if not worse, than he is. All it takes is the proper trigger. For him, it was Matthew."
Although he now has followers who completely agree with him, possibly more than he himself agrees.
The 'good guys' also have done horrible things. The main character himself has killed a Pokemon, is more keen on stopping his ex-best friend instead of his fanatical followers, Shadow Sneaked an entire camera crew to who knows where and never bothered to care about where they potentially ended up, may or may not have been indirectly responsible for the deaths of at least eight Pokemon, and, of course, could very well be responsible for Nick becoming a monster and causing the rest of the tragedies, anyway.
Groin Attack: Hanna uses one during her fistfight with Nick.
Handicapped Badass: Ike and Carlita become this after the Stark Mountain fiasco.
Hot Blooded: Carlita, Des (when he gets mad, anyway).
Ho Yay: Nick and the narrator for starters. Doesn't help that the author seems to encourage it via deviantART commentary.
I'm a Humanitarian: Several lines of ghosts, most notably the Duskull line, have been stated to eat humans as part of their diet. Dusclops can speak in human tongue specifically to lure children to them. Kostya just evolved, and he suddenly doesn't need his translator anymore.
I Can Still Fight: Carlita quotes this as she desperately tries to stop the main character from recalling her. She really can't, as she's just had her tail chopped off and can barely walk without it.
"I can still fight! I—I'm not bleeding anymore, see?"
Idiot Hair: The protagonist is shown to have one in pictures drawn by the author.
I Have Your Wife: Happens a lot. The cops keep Benjamin with them in order to draw out his parents, who were members of Team Galactic, after they started an armed siege when the organization fell. Vaporeon holds the mercenary's girlfriend hostage in order to ensure his loyalty. Lola does this to Alicia to get the the main character's side to withdraw their pokemon during a battle. Finally, Nick's family was held hostage to get him to hand himself in to the authorities.
Incompatible Orientation: Archie and Alicia, and their respective relationships with the protagonist.
Important Haircut: Cynthia cuts her hair short after the Champions Tragedy.
During the Gym race, Hanna cut her hair, too.
Improbable Weapon: Skarmory feathers have become an increasingly popular alternative to swords.
In the Back: Lola stabs Vai this way during the chaos of the Stark Mountain battle.
Somewhat the norm, though, considering Benjamin and Cossette are the only major characters who are younger than the protagonist, anyway. Most of his friends seem to be at least a year or two older.
Ironic Episode Title: "It Is Cruelty To Be Humane To Rebels" in the chapter where Stantler and Houndoom are murdered, "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This" for the nightmare chapter, "A Horizon To Catch Up To" for the protagonist's Moral Event Horizon, and many others.
Jade-Colored Glasses: Definitely in place on our protagonist, especially considering that most recently, he has been more worried about where to put the bodies and actively wished for Vaporeon's death.
Karma Houdini: Depending on whether or not you believe she was lying, Lola qualifies. She masterminded at least most of the major plot points and was even behind several deaths, albeit indirectly. And while she dies, she wanted to die. She died happily, knowing she was able to get one last, great rise out of the protagonist. Aside from some mild injuries, she didn't suffer any sort of karma.
Karmic Twist Ending: Arguably, most of the ghosts' warning turns out to have this to some degree. The protagonist was effectively put on trial by the public during the Gym race arc, he purposely was out trying to become as dark as possible to avoid psychic locks, he's been nothing but sidetracked to the point that Arceus had to drop in on his dreams to try to set him back on track, his personality has become much more cynical and distant, and he still hasn't let go of Nick. The real kicker is that he is even aware of the last one, and simply is unable to. The only part of the prophecy that's been completely played straight so far is that they told him not to die - but it's unknown whether that was the ghosts' attempt at humor or honestly a part of the warning.
Nameless Narrative: We just call him NamNar, short for the Nameless Narrator, since his name still hasn't been revealed yet. The author keeps the protagonist's gender unknown for half the story. The protagonist's name has yet to be revealed. Yet, the narrator is given a lot of character development, and the story is a very good one. In chapter 159, it's revealed.
Never Got To Say Goodbye: Des to Isabella, NamNar to Woonu, NamNar to Archie, NamNar to Lola... And most recently, NamNar to Nick.
Never a Self-Made Woman: Initially played straight with Hanna, but she has come into her own later in the story.
Parents In Distress: Nick's parents were held hostage by an armed gunman who demanded that he hand himself in. Trying to rescue them is what got him caught.
It was Nick Sayre and his Garchomp, laying side by side. Eyes closed and the ghost of a smile. Chase curled around him, protective and loyal even then. Both of them dead.
Played for Laughs: A lot of the violence is. Only to coincide with Mood Whiplash when the other characters/the readers realize that the injuries don't simply go away.
Psychic Dreams for Everyone: It's hard to tell. But then there are the nightmares. Which takes this trope somewhat literally, as a psychic caused them.
Earlier in the story, the protagonist regularly gets dreams visited by stalker ghosts and goddesses of love. Again, taken a little more literally, as he didn't actually see the future in any of them.
Put on a Bus: Happens to Hanna and Jude at different points during the Vaporeon arc.
Real Men Eat Meat: Partially subverted, in the fact that the protagonist fought with vegetarianism and killing Pokemon for food. He went back to eating them, however.
Screw Destiny: Played straight, subverted, inverted, and all around just screwed around with to the point where even the cast isn't sure what would be screwing destiny and whether or not anything they've done counts as it.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jude ditches the main character after his What the Hell, Hero? moment at the end of the Vaporeon arc. The main character does this when he quits being a gym leader after the events at Stark Mountain.
Selective Slaughter: Nick, Houndoom, Stantler. If you deserve your Pokemon, well then, you're okay in their books!
Stay in the Kitchen: The main character bans Hanna and Cossette from coming with him to face Nick. This is justified though, as he thinks Hanna doesn't have any pokemon and Cossette has next to no battle experience and only has a crippled Gallade to rely on. This doesn't dissuade them in the least.
Stepford Smiler: Carlita shows signs of this when the main character tells her she can't dance.
I couldn't decide whether or not she was forcing herself to be cheerful.
The Reveal: The narrator's name is revealed at the end of the last chapter.
The Runaway: Cossette is implied to have run away from home after having an argument with her parents, shortly after the main character moves to Sunyshore, and is currently living with him in the gym.
Theme Naming: Jude plays this straight, though some of it is a little... obscure and random.
The Eevee litter Isabella and Alexander came from all had four-syllable names that started with vowels.
Title Drop: The main character gives an epic one during his confrontation with Nick.
"But I'm finally going to fix that, one way or another. I'm taking you down off of that pedestal, Nick. And if I have to kill you to do that, to keep Sinnoh safe from you, I will."
Tomato Surprise: The dark-haired trainer turning out to be Nick.
Not really. More like a [2] for the protagonist, and a sufficiently [3] reader already suspects that the dark-haried trainer might be Nick; after all he's one of the only characters we know who is dark-haired and we've seen him with a Snorunt...
The black hoodie-wearing trainer turning out to be Lola.
And again: the protagonist DID just murder someone in relatively cold blood. And is then more or less rewarded for it, and at the very least, forgiven by most of the cast.
Jude also gives one the the main character, complete with a punch to the face, after his attempts to team up with the mercenary in the Vaporeon arc go pear shaped.
.It now has a crossover with the Pokemon fic Regret which can be found here
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