“its wide, beautiful eyes peering cheerfully around”
In real life, house pets like cats and dogs require generations of breeding and domestication (at least as far as I know). I wonder if the same works for Pokemon. I’m guessing that capture-programs bypass that. (looks at Blue’s Shiftry) They’re not perfect, though. Pokemon still remember what people do to them. Magmar in particular are apparently very vengeful and begrudging.
“a venonat, which he traded to Leaf after she and Red caught a pair of bellsprouts”
Venonat…what a strange pokemon. Bug/Poison, but naturally learns Psychic-type attacks like Confusion and Psybeam. Is there some connection between Bug and Psychic-type pokemon?
Also, I thought of the Sprout Tower. Interesting that there is an entire religious group that specializes in one particular pokemon. I wonder if Erika has been there.
“a lot more non-lethal attacks than the bellsprout family”
This makes me more scared of both the veno-pokemon and the bell-pokemon.
“with its haunting melody”
For some reason, I thought of Howland Reed.
“one of abra’s natural predators: an umbreon”
Oh God, please don’t make my mind start contemplating the Eevee-evolutions again…that pokemon is too much. I don’t think it can even BE explained in this story.
“that wild abra might encounter and be wary of”
Are there pokemon that wild abra are not afraid of and are okay with allowing to be near them?
“The tall grass rustles silently as she passes through it”
In my opinion, this is a VERY risky project that the trio are conducting. Anything could have happened, and in the case of Red something DID happen.
“things that comfort her”
I wonder if there are trainers who thrive on NOT being calm or tranquil.
“It works! IT WORKS!”
I grinned at this. Red’s plan paid off. However…sooner or later he’s going to come up with one that won’t.
“nine minutes and fourteen seconds without pause”
That’s impressive. Wigglytuff are no joke.
“We should have cut the grass around here”
In-game, Oddish can be fought and caught in this area, though from Gen 2 onwards they only appear at night.
“as it vanishes”
That one’s quick. Now I’m imagining an Umbreon very slowly, inch by inch, sneaking up on an unsuspecting Abra.
“Maybe a sense of safety instead”
I thought of double-battles in which one of the enemy pokemon is a Psychic-type.
“She could be a groomer or breeder if she just likes spending time with pokemon”
‘Groomer’ and ‘Breeder’ immediately made me think of Ruby and Gold respectively in the Adventures manga.
I wonder what Professor Juniper thinks of her daughter’s dreams and aspirations.
“their well-being is at an equal priority with her own”
Yep. Said it before; Leaf is crazy, and so are Blue and Red.
“to help them live longer, safer, happier lives”
Unlike many other people, Leaf does not enjoy watching Gym Challenge battles. What is it that made her this way? Why is she so compassionate towards pokemon?
“Pokemon are awesome, pokemon are fun”
(looks at the Stormbringers and the death and destruction that they cause just by mere presence and proximity) Is it wrong that I grinned evilly and then agreed with Leaf?
“other trainers that might be less interested in her well-being”
In my opinion, Leaf WILL encounter trainers whom she would grow to despise and/or detest.
“her feelings of love and caring”
Knowing Leaf, she’s probably already given all her abra individual names and at one point tried to care for all of them simultaneously while they are not within their pokeballs.
“beaming out love for all to feel”
I imagined nearby pokemon suddenly feeling uneasy and fleeing as fast as they could.
“the connection of its mind took his breath away”
If Red is ever within telepathic proximity of Mewtwo…
“the sudden, crushing sense of despair”
Should Red learn to push that despair away, or to embrace it?
“sobs that felt like they would break him in two”
I thought of the stories of sirens and mermaids luring sailors with enchanting music and singing to shipwreck and/or drown.
Also, I started playing the entire soundtrack to the first Max Payne game when I got to reviewing Red’s scene. It felt appropriate. Great, now I’m thinking of what a noir-genre movie in this story’s world would be like. Fitting pokemon into noir monologues. Heh.
“he feels almost exactly the same way he did right after his dad died”
I wonder if Sabrina carries grief and pain that she keeps locked away within her own mind.
“If he holds still too long Blue will finish looping around and come up behind him”
The thought of stopping the project early never once occurred to Red. The guy is nuts. He just doesn’t give up.
“pushing them both to try new things, until something helps”
Hannibal. The Chrysalis scene.
“It’s surprisingly easy, maybe too easy”
…
“Instead he focuses on his heart”
This chapter is a freaking Psychological Thriller. It is horrifying a pulse-pounding. Psychic-type pokemon are terrifying. And yet they too have natural predators that could easily tear them apart.
“What’s he doing again?”
Temporary memory loss? What the hell did Red do to himself here?
“It’s probably not important”
I wonder if he would have had the same reaction to Blue or Leaf being crippled or killed.
“It’s a nice feeling, being able to walk through fields of empty grass and not worry about pokemon jumping out and attacking”
Man, it must suck to live in this world. How many people rarely if ever dare to venture beyond the settlements they live in?
“before it gets flooded”
Now I’m laughing imagining a trainer battle of Abra vs Abra.
“not have to worry about their allowance restrictions for months”
That’s assuming they live that long…
“He’s already thinking of”
Blue really is still a kid at this point. You should NEVER think like this when you haven’t even gotten the money yet.
“afford a larvitar”
I wonder if there is a stock market for pokemon; buying or selling shares or currencies regarding the worth of a certain pokemon species.
“a rattata or meowth or whatever most people could get”
I wonder how many people spend months or years saving up money to get ONE pokemon to start their career as a trainer. And there is no guarantee that their pokemon would be obedient, efficient or even survive its first encounter with a wild pokemon.
“he raised it himself, without even using a pokeball”
Jesus Christ…
“spoiled rich kid”
In my opinion, Silver in this story does not seem spoiled at all. I’m still worried that he may turn out to be even more dangerous than his father.
“a small group of whismur following it”
Oh no.
“some of which don’t sleep”
Wait, WHAT?
“if they get close enough to fight”
In my opinion there may be too many of them to risk fighting. Best to avoid conflict.
“how far he almost sank into total apathy”
I thought of the fanfic Actual Apathy by Vad, on the Spacebattles website.
“singular goal: catch the abra after it wakes”
…why.
“His therapist seemed genuinely curious”
I wonder how many real-life therapists are either annoyed or amused by being compared to the character of Hannibal Lecter.
“If I passed the class, I would have succeeded. I didn’t, so I failed”
‘She’s a Pass.’ – Dredd (2012).
“Red rolled his eyes…I’m a genius now”
I love that Red can be a very mean and spiteful person when he wants to be. Blue likely has experience of that worst side of him.
“but his thoughts aren’t being overwhelmed with negative associations like when the partition is down”
Psychic power and ability is one of the main subjects of this story. It is fascinating that in this story and in the games as well, there are humans who have psychic abilities but cannot project fire, water, plants, poison, etc nor are they capable of flight.
“mental and emotional pokemon attacks”
I wonder how wild pokemon use Ghost-type moves are used to attack or defend against other wild pokemon. How do abilities like that develop naturally in pokemon like Spinarak?
“trying to consciously hold onto a ‘default’ feels like trying to cup water in his hands”
I wonder if Blue’s battle-calm could be tied to him being Dark.
“a few paces behind him and to the left”
…so it was awake and so close to him that he could have reached out and touched it, yet it did NOT teleport away. Red achieved something incredible here.
“I’d like to bet my buyers personally anyway”
I wonder what exactly first made N take notice of Leaf.
“share the thoughts of one of his pokemon”
Giovanni cannot do that either. He cannot form a telepathic link with Mewtwo.
“without the ability for their pokemon to sense them, they would be incredibly hard to interact with, let alone train”
Blue is the sort of person to meet challenges and obstacles rather than avoid them. Instead of trying to get around the difficulty of training a Psychic-type, he wants to overcome it. It would undoubtedly add to his reputation.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone like that”
Does Giovanni have any Psychic-type pokemon?
“the speakers above them says”
Ha! I love that it is only revealed at the last minute that Bill was listening to their debriefing the whole time.
“next time, I’m going to be bringing more pokeballs”
Blue, stop disrupting ecologies.

Holy balls. I love how dark this series is. The whole chopping body parts, and pokemon dying gives me chills. Crazy to revisit this world after 20 years!

I'd like to note that throughout the story it's getting harder to remember characters considering how many there are. Can I suggest noting physical attributes every so often. For example how JK Rowling would mention the Weasley's hair or Harry's scar.

I was kind of hoping for Rayquaza to be at least neutral if not benevolent, just because I really like it when assumptions in the setting (like all Legendaries are rampaging monsters) are challenged, but I suppose that Latios and Latias serve that purpose as well (unless there's a sudden and horrifying twist). Also I'm not really a fan of the three (six?) golems being aimless engines of destruction, even if them actually being something humans can rely on could break the setting. Still, it's really interesting to see things like the Unown and Mega Evolution come into play and just in general how the whole world changed at once, and the protagonists of the story had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Listening to this as I start the review:

Game of Thrones relaxing music - Weirwood Theme - Extended One hour (by Lord Elrond on Youtube)

“each of the character perspectives in this one could easily have been their own chapter”
When every character is equally interesting, how do you decide which one should be the protagonist for a scene?
“Blue looks exhausted”
Here’s hoping he doesn’t become addicted to stimulants.
“Blue stares”
Ha!
“your sister is competing in the Pokemon Coordinator Contest”
I wish there could be more events focusing on Pokemon Coordinating. There are just too many interesting things in this story.
“It takes most of the morning for Red to search the local advertisements”
I wonder what the Psychic community is like in each and every settlement in Kanto.
“reading the local news”
Leaf needs to be fast on her feet to catch and write about recent/current events. (looks at the Rocket Casino) …nothing is going to ever be the same for the trio ever again. If Giovanni’s organization is not effectively and thoroughly dealt with, they may be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.
“the clefairy markets”
This made me think of all the other individual pokemon markets. Like I said, too many interesting things.
“he reminds himself not to get attached”
I’m guessing that Leaf is unable to stop this from happening. She has way too much compassion and empathy for her own good. (Looks at Professor Juniper) Makes me wonder how that one raised her.
“there’s definitely something stopping my powers from manifesting”
Red’s powers are STRANGE. What IS he?
(looks at Red’s current predicament in the Rocket Casino) I suddenly thought of a certain scene in Dredd (2012). ‘Lower your gun, rookie. I’m your backup.’
“he can’t empty his account without showing a bill to his mom”
Red Verres is already learning first-hand the hardships that come with working toward your long-term goals and aspirations.
“to get as many lessons as I can”
…does Sabrina know about the Rocket Casino? Erika (if I am correct) led a raid on that very casino and apparently failed to discover the hidden lower floors. Was it because she truly did not know, or manipulated the investigation to prevent the floors from being discovered?
“herd movement patterns”
I smiled at this, then thought of Tauros. I wonder what their infant/toddler selves look like.
“the second mind appears next to his own”
Sabrina has clearly been affected by her interactions with Mewtwo. There is literally no other being in the world who is like him.
“He feels like he’s balancing on a tightrope with one foot in the air”
Jesus Christ, being telekinetically probed by a psychic does not seem pleasant. No wonder the staff of that lab are uncomfortable around Mewtwo.
“I’m going to send across a feeling. I want you to tell me what it is”
(looks at Ghost-type specialists like Agatha and Morty) Hmm.
“as they’re not influenced anymore”
…Mewtwo’s manipulating the lab staff, isn’t he?
“the experience of cycling through emotions from outside influences”
Christ alive, it must be terrifying to face Sabrina at seven badges.
“it’s got to be easier for them”
Or more difficult.
“trying to shy away from the second consciousness”
I wonder how Red’s pokemon feel. (looks at Misty and her Starmie) Hmm.
“feels his whole body start to shiver uncontrollably”
What if Mewtwo is now able to infiltrate the minds of others without them realizing it?
“when you’re training your abra”
She sounds like she has her own experience of training abra.
“It’s instinctual, a part of how they communicate and interact with others”
It’s gonna be one hell of an uphill task for Blue to attempt to train Psychic-type pokemon.
“his aquascope”
I wonder what it’s like to fight Misty at seven badges. Maybe the challenger would have to go underwater…
“to swim back to the surface”
Which Water-type pokemon are just as fast on land as they are in water?
“One minute rest, then back down”
Maturin is now a trained and experienced warrior…but she is not the only owned pokemon who is like that.
“each with a trainer standing beside them, aquascope in hand”
Training in an environment that contains water clearly has its disadvantages seeing as humans cannot breathe underwater.
“lies on its back and gurgles as it swims in lazy circles”
Said it before, I always love these moments. They are not machines, but sentient creatures with wills, hopes and fears of their own.
“She’s smart enough not to do that”
Blue really means this too. He’s not just saying it out of optimism. After all, Maturin was (apparently) bred in Pallet Lab.
There may be other Wartortle who are bigger, stronger and/or faster than Maturin but not as smart.
“The new narrative he would shape…that he loses momentum either”
It’s not just winning, but HOW and WHEN he wins. I love it. Blue Oak is an avid and keen player of the Game.
Currently, Blue is both in mortal peril and in a dire crisis. It’s sink or swim for him at that point.
“this is a lot more basic than I thought it would be”
Being a highly skilled trainer and battler is one thing, but it takes more than that to lead and run a Gym.
“catch!...Throw!”
Vine-eye coordination. There are all sorts of ways to utilize a Grass-type pokemon’s vines.
“gambols around a bit, rear feet kicking at the air”
Imagine him doing that as a Venusaur.
“she happens to have something to trade”
Red, Blue and Leaf gaining contacts, building connections and improving their own skills. I like it.
“but clearly Miss Palmer prefers the more personal touch”
Or she looked up Leaf’s last name.
“I want leads”
It’s all a business, Leaf. Always keep that in mind when you interact with other reporters. Not all of them are in it to better the lives of others, and too many of them aren’t concerned with sharing the truth of events with the public.
“she thinks the only story worth putting real effort into is the kind that p-ses someone in power off”
Zoey is going to get herself killed sooner or later in my opinion. This world is NOT a safe place. People die in it all the time.
“the Pokemon Coordinator Contest gets underway”
Ooh, this is one of the most memorable scenes of the story for me!
“while others exchange bets”
I’d love to learn about the gambling industry in Kanto. How many pokemon trainers had put themselves into perpetual debt?
“a bowl of popcorn”
Ah, popcorn. By itself, it tastes like cardboard. And if you add salt and butter, it tastes like salt and butter. And yet it is difficult to stop eating it once you start.
“the prices of various pokemon fluctuate”
…there is definitely at least some level of corruption in the Coordinating industry. I cannot help but firmly believe it. My opinion on society and humanity in general leans far into the cynical side.
“and raichu”
Why did my mind randomly tell me that raichu are probably good dancers? Aren’t they just very large mice/rats? Hm, now I wonder how they would interact with Raticates. Probably tilt their heads at them.
Also, personally I consider raichu to be more adorable than pikachu. Those electric mice to me become more adorable the older they grow. (looks at Adventures-Red’s Pikachu having numerous scars on his body and missing a chunk of flesh from his ear) …that one’s a warrior, alright. He’s been through a lot.
Also in the Adventures-manga, Red’s Venusaur is able to bring down an out-of-control Ponyta with little effort.
“that makes her look like a fairy princess”
What ARE the kinds of stories that girls in Kanto enjoy reading, watching or listening to in their childhoods?
“She releases Moonlight with a flourish, sending the ball straight up into the air”
(looks at Brendan in this story) …DayStarELD, I won’t lie; you know how I’m hoping you’d write that one’s personality. But as always, it is your story.
“and begins to sing”
Pokemon Coordinating…how does one describe or define it? (shrugs)
“in the exact same pitch and tone”
Daisy is Sam Oak’s granddaughter, alright.
Also, I am curious of the history between Sam and Agatha, assuming there is any. There may even be rumors about them in Kanto and even beyond. I’m guessing that Sam is very private about his personal life and mostly sticks to speaking about his work and research in interviews.
“the notoriously random and unpredictable Metronome”
What a weird move. What on Earth is it? And why are Clefairy (and Togepi for some reason) able to learn it?
“can’t wait to try it”
Uh-oh.
“just thinking about the effects made a weaker form of them trigger”
Ghost-type attacks are terrifying. Pokemon are so scary and yet so beautiful in this story. (looks at Raff gamboling around) Plays games of fetch with humans, can strangle you to death, slice you to pieces or poison you…
“Ayane says, brow furrowed”
I love Red.
“separate and alien”
I shuddered at this.
“he imagines it there, in his head, watching, waiting…”
The greatest thing the Devil ever did is making people people he doesn’t exist.
“had certainly drawn a lot of stares”
This made me smile. Then again, it’s probably not an uncommon sight. Pokemon trainers use all sorts of exercises and training methods.
“avoid and defend, playing to his pokemon’s strength”
Withdraw is clearly Maturin’s best move, and Blue may become known as an expert in it.
“Instead the two continue to struggle against each other”
Oh no!
“You had to get her to Withdraw before she would listen”
I have to agree with Mary here. I doubt there would be much leeway for incidents like this in Indigo Plateau. Blue still has a long way to go, and Maturin needs to keep on improving her discipline.
“Mary kisses its snout before standing and returning it to its ball”
There are likely trainers who maintain an emotional distance from their pokemon, refraining from petting or hugging them.
“At least we won”
I could SEE Red giving Blue an unamused look.
“it seems like there’s some corruption going on behind the scenes”
I’m getting Mikael Blomkvist-vibes.
“illegal pokemon fighting rings”
Ooh, that immediately piqued my interest. Illegal fights, eh?
…Blue’s going to get involved in that, isn’t he?
“if you don’t trust her to have the best interest of your city at heart…Ah, youth”
Zoey doesn’t trust anybody, does she? She is clearly the protagonist of her own story.
“a source who risked a lot to tell me”
…
“something was off about the execution”
Zoey Palmer is not a stupid person. Misty would likely want to know what the hell happened with the Renegade at MT Moon. I doubt she’d let it go.
…what if she grows to suspect Brock?
“screw that mystic nonsense”
Ha!
“His elated giggles”
Have I ever mentioned that Red is crazy?
“Blue snorts and shakes his head”
Not the first time he’s seen something like this from Red.

Fuck.

If you end up going back to edit this chapter at any point, it might be worth adding reference/s to the new Blipbug-Dottler-Orbeetle line?

“mind stuttering and restarting between thoughts”
HA!
“I notice…that I…am confused”
Red is such an awesome character.
“CATCH IT NO WAIT BRAIN DAMAGE(?!)”
This story is too good.
“pulse once again dashing frantically at the sudden appearance of the arbok”
Hmm. Considering that Ekans and Arbok tend to have poor hearing, how does one go about training them?
“The temperature inside is cool, the lights dim but steady”
It may not look like much, but this house may be one of the most secure places in Kanto.
“All of the rooms are barely furnished”
I wonder what Bill’s childhood and upbringing was like.
“some strange, opaque glass”
Hmm. Bill might have designed and built the house himself instead of buying and renovating it.
“violin and piano”
I smiled at this. Bill is not a machine disguised as a human; he does have hobbies and leisures.
“every kind of biochemical equipment”
There may be no telling how wealthy Bill may be. I don’t think even Bill himself knows.
“a cross between a fridge, an incubator and a thermocycler”
I wonder what Bill thinks of Porygon.
Also, in the Adventuress manga, Elite Bruno sends his Hitmonlee to Cerulean Cape to assassinate Bill…
“robotic arms”
It’s all mechanical, apparently. Bill does not seem to have any lab assistants.
“he invites two strangers into his lab without apparent reason”
Bill is a strange person.
“Unless Bill went crazy recently”
Why do I get the feeling that Bill has not been even remotely fazed by the events surrounding Groudon and Kyogre?
“a Hazchem suit”
Uh-oh.
“Just one person works here?”
Garland in Body of Lies (2008). Quoting it below:
Garland: ‘Something tells me they won’t make it to Hasbaya. We have…ninjas waiting.’
Roger Ferris: ‘Who do these ninjas work for?’
Garland: ‘Me.’
I wouldn’t be surprised if there are mercenaries who are under contract to Bill. Bill may be a very dangerous man who sees morals as just something that shouldn’t get in the way of his work. There has been no reveal thus far in this story as to whether Bill is in contact or correspondence with Giovanni.
“I don’t think even Pallet Labs has this much equipment”
…yeah. Like I said; Bill may be one of the wealthiest people in all of Kanto. And yet he seems to only spend his money on his research.
“Leaf whispers, both cans of soda still in her hand”
I love this.
“The regenerative power…Of tangela cells”
Tangela disturb me. What ARE those things? Are they like octopuses?
“still in his mid thirties, there are already silver streaks in his hair, and deep lines around his eyes”
I thought of Zhuge Liang, styled KongMing. In both the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novels and in historical records, the man worked tirelessly, and ate and slept little, which contributed to his death.
“I can’t remember”
I thought of the Mind Palace in the BBC Sherlock series.
“Yeah, sounds fun”
You enjoy writing Bill, don’t you?
“I don’t really follow the news. And by really I mean pretty much ever”
…when was the last time he left the Cape?
“People tend to irritate me”
Hmm. Why is that?
“tangela lose bits of them all the time”
Are they similar to Staryu?
“heals at ridiculous rates”
I thought of Blue utilizing Gon’s Leech Seed to win battles of attrition.
”stop the effects of aging”
(looks at the Stormbringers) …I wonder if the prospect of gaining a sample of Stormbringer DNA would be enough to get Bill out of the Cape.
“Just one of those would make people so much safer, reduce so much suffering”
You clearly haven’t seen Altered Carbon, have you, Red?
One of my favorite lines in the series:
‘Where is the voice that said altered carbon would free us from the cells of our flesh? The visions that said we would be angels. Instead…we became hungry for things that reality could no longer offer.’
“I’ve spent half my life writing TMs to give pokemon new abilities”
So in other words, Bill revolutionized the practice of wielding Pokemon in combat.
“spread this regeneration to other plant pokemon, then non-plant pokemon”
(looks at Snorlas) Able to attack enemies while asleep…there is more to Snorlax than meets the eye. They aren’t just sheer powerhouses.
“Shut up, I need to concentrate”
Will Graham closing a door on Brian Zeller.
“Don’t upset him, we’re guests”
I love that he’s anxious for himself while vocally defending Leaf. I love Red.
“Okay, sure. Please shut up, would you?”
Charisma is Bill’s dump stat, isn’t it?
“Someone without people skills. Maybe something important came up”
Leaf’s mother is similar to Bill, isn’t she?
“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”
Red’s probably met at least a few scientists who are like this.
“he always expected someone a bit more like Professor Oak than Blue”
Oh God, I LOVE that Bill makes Red think of Blue. That’s amazing. And hilarious.
“what he’s most famous for”
How many logistics and storage businesses curse Bill’s name to this very day?
“This is where I study machine learning”
Bill is a goddamn genius. He is an expert in multiple fields of science and research. (looks at the cast of House MD) House specializes in infectious disease and nephrology, Cuddy is an endocrinologist, Foreman is a neurologist, Cameron is an immunologist and Chase is an intensivist.
I wonder if there are scientific fields that Bill is NOT particularly proficient in. Where did he study anyway?
“Sure, you could program it for any number of tasks”
(narrows eyes) The pokedex is a dangerous device. Red used his to save his and Leaf’s life in Viridian Forest.
“What are they even teaching in schools these days”
I now want Bill to become a teacher; he agrees to teach for a single semester at a university and then promptly overturns the curriculum.
“You’re one of Oak’s…I figured you’d know more than that”
I now really, really hope that Bill meets Blue.
“I helped design your granddad’s species tracking algorithms”
…Bill’s in his thirties. How old was he when he started selling inventions and innovations?
“spawn of Cedric”
Bill is stealing this whole chapter and I love it.
“Oh boy. Okay, let’s keep this basic”
Bill is frustrated that most people cannot keep up with him.
“And if you’re not blisteringly stupid”
Ha!
“prepare some food for us”
So it prepares the food dishes, the utensils, and probably does the cleaning afterward. Artificial Intelligence is one of the most amazing things in the world in my opinion.
“Red is distracted by the blur of movement”
This made me grin.
“He’s not used to people dismissing his aspiration as too low”
I wonder what Bill would think of Blue’s ambitions.
“What do you really want, if you could have anything”
I’d take it all; money, immortality, perfect heath, ability to fly, super-strength, mind-reading, the whole lot. We all only have one life, after all.
“I want my dad back”
…the Gold/Silver arc in the Pokemon Adventures manga.
“It could reassemble Tom Verres atom by atom”
Oh man…Altered Carbon. What a series. I love it so much.
“pacifying all wild pokemon. Make the world a truly safe place to live”
Honestly, in my opinion Red is more naïve than Blue in some aspects. If humanity no longer has to keep fighting pokemon or anything else, they would then start focus entirely on fighting each other.
“It bores me…so I don’t do it”
Dr Gregory House and Rick Sanchez.
“They never stop finding new limits that they need someone else to help them overcome”
Bill is jaded and cynical about human society, which is why he only works on projects that he has a personal interest or stake in.
“You’re still young”
Leaf is currently being hunted by at least one Renegade beneath the Rocket Casino…
“Better by what values?”
I wonder how much Giovanni values human life.
“Lot of power to put into one person’s hands”
In my opinion, there is no true answer to this. We humans have been abusing power since we first came into the world, and we haven’t slowed down at all since.
“If it’s truly sapient, anything else would be slavery”
Leaf, we humans enslave each other. I don’t think machines have a chance. This is why I’m not very much into stories about AI, aliens or supernatural creatures being subjected to prejudice or unequal treatment.
“Anything with sapience and even the slightest bit of self-preservation”
Robot: ‘What is my purpose?’
Rick Sanchez: ‘You pass butter.’
Robot: ‘…oh my God.’
Rick Sanchez: ‘Yeah, welcome to the club, pal.’
“It’s like worrying about a meteor strike”
Calvin in Calvin & Hobbes: (looking up at the night sky) ‘I’M SIGNIFICANT…screamed the dust speck.’
“designing a system that can think and act on its own”
That is exactly what Giovanni did with Mewtwo; while pokemon in general do have intelligence and independence – such as asking for or demanding snacks from their trainers – Mewtwo is a whole other level. In my opinion, he could NEVER be controlled. He is subordinate to no one. At best you could convince him to become your partner. I suspect that someone like Blue could never persuade Mewtwo to work with him.
“What do you guys want to look at while we eat?”
In my opinion, Bill DOES want to get out into the world…but he has too much that he wants to do that can only be done in a lab. I say that Bill needs to hire a team and/or staff. He definitely has the money to pay them.
“an eevee perched on her shoulder”
Hmm. I wonder…when any of the eevee-evolved forms mate, are the offspring always eevee? If so, what would be the differences between an eevee born from a Vaporean couple and one that is born from an Espeon couple?
“The kind who probably won’t get himself killed on my property and make me have to deal with the media”
Wait, what?
“you’re going to spend the time between then and now preparing”
I suspect that Bill may be more pleased than he lets on with the trio’s overwhelming success in hunting abra.
“Nothing particularly dangerous, and nothing illegal”
I find it highly suspicious that he stated this without needing to be asked or prompted…
“I’m self funded”
That’s got to be a story in itself.
“if you ever manage to find something solid in your research, let me know”
Red and Leaf now have Bill as a contact. This is a big development for them.
“It’s Yudkowsky’s term for”
I GRINNED at this.
“could better judge and understand yourself and your desires”
Imagine an evil person gaining control of such an AI…
“I need to help to make sure society doesn’t come crashing down from a series of catastrophic pokemon attacks”
Come to think of it, I wonder what the religious organizations throughout this world think of the return of Groudon and Kyogre.
“a swarm of the new pokemon”
…psychic power. Red believes that this is what creates all pokemon life. He might be right AND wrong at the same time.
“inanimate objects gain sentience when they become pokemon”
Creating partitions. Mind control. Substitute. This is a terrifying world.
“A pokemon that’s smarter than a human, and has Electric or Steel or Psychic powers?”
A creature like that does not get captured…
“stopping that from happening will probably involving enslaving”
Benjamin Church in Assassin’s Creed 3: ‘There is no single path through life that’s right and fair and does no harm.’
“Stop people from eating them, or glorifying battles for sport”
N has the same goals as you, Leaf. Where he differs from you is his methods.
“for the clever mind does naught with thought but lights a shuttered room”
Stalin was clever. So was Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Cao Cao, and many others.
“He can’t afford self-imposed disadvantages like this”
Is it wrong that this made me smile evilly?
“Sorry, mom”
No you’re not, Red.
“I warned you I wouldn’t live up to your expectations”
So what I gathered from this chapter is that Red choosing to deceive his mother is both Bill’s and Leaf's fault. Ha!

I don’t know why, but I decided to listen to this while reviewing this chapter:

'ALTERED CARBON' Best of Synthwave and Cyberpunk Music Mix (by ThePrimeThanatos on Youtube)

“my computer decided to implode yesterday”
Back up your work, always. Use an external hard drive every day. Don’t trust your computer. A writer not very long ago lost many chapters of work due to their computer deciding to die on them.

“engrossd by every new comment that showed up”
(looks at Giovanni’s blog) How does he take the time to go through all the emails he receives? Has N ever written to him?
“running around trying to put fires out might just feed them”
Exactly.
“let it blow itself out”
The attention span of the average person is eight seconds.
“I’m not responsible for this. The people who did it are”
Leaf, it’s never about who is actually at fault. It’s about who is the easiest person to blame. Don’t forget that.
“An apology first, for clearly angering so many people”
Don’t. It’d just be seen as a weakness and an invitation to be attacked even more.
“Probably wishes she’d never come to Pewter”
If it wasn’t Leaf, it would have just been someone else. She couldn’t have been the only person who wanted to write an article about the museum.
“with a cup of coffee”
Coffee beans. I wonder where in Kanto they are grown, or if not, where Kanto imports them from.
“How are you not riding this wave?”
Red claims that Blue has an ego, and I’d say that if anybody knows Blue Oak, it’s Red. Also, man is Blue obsessive; his mind is almost entirely wired to his long-term goals and ambitions.
“Leaf gives Laura what was intended to be a quick summary”
I suddenly became suspicious that either Laura’s or Leaf’s phone may be tapped.
“once you’re in any way a public figure, your whole perspective has to change”
You become a constant target; everything you say, everything you do. The same goes for Blue and Red. (looks at Bill) No wonder he became reclusive. Still, I wonder if him bonding with the trio, especially Red, can be seen as him somewhat becoming more social. He sent Red and Leaf to represent him on the St Anne after all.
“ignore it…and get to work on your next article”
The same can be said for story-writing; don’t become bogged down by arguments, and always look ahead. Learn from what you did wrong in your previous work and use it to do better in the future. (looks at Mewtwo) …Giovanni’s greatest current fear; that he has succeeded all too well in creating the most intelligent and powerful pokemon on the planet. Not just raw destructive force like the Stormbringers or Groudon or Kyogre, but other forms of power.
Imagine if Mewtwo were to form HIS OWN FACTION, with both pokemon AND humans looking to him as their leader…
“your job is to investigate and report”
(looks at her now being in the Rocket Casino) …the Renegade(s) there is going to try to kill her. Leaf, Red and Blue are in mortal danger. There is no way that Giovanni’s people would allow them to leave the casino alive.
“her other interests, a short lived passion…then get bored and move on?”
Hmm. Leaf is quite an interesting character.
“local myths in Kanto, and how she has little interest in that anymore”
I suspect that her interest in that may revive and grow rapidly very soon.
“I’ve got some friends in Cerulean”
Can Laura trust all of them, though?
“enjoy Cerulean!”
People are being murdered beneath the Rocket Casino…and I still do not trust Leader Erika.
“I just want to make sure I’m not doing more harm than good”
(looks at Blue openly challenging the standards, policies and practices of Vermillion Gym) I love Blue.
“stares at it distrustfully”
Ha!
“what engaging stories Cerulean City might be hiding”
If Blue ever learns about that Cave…
“the beach in Pallet”
Quoting a line from arvalis’ artwork of Gyarados in his Realistic Pokemon gallery at Deviantart:
‘Though Gyarados is feared the world over, some believe a Gyarados sighting brings great prosperity to one's life.’
“the only way to regain his momentum is to take Misty out in their first fight”
And this is still only the start for him…he’s not even halfway there yet! Erika is the fourth Kanto Leader whom he is challenging.
“the jump in difficulty between getting one’s first and second badges is much higher than any other”
Hmm…I wonder if the most difficult Challenge matches for Leaders are the ones in which the challenger does not have any badges.
“scale back the majority of their safety precautions”
Erika would NOT be easy to defeat. She is the newest of Kanto’s Leaders, but she became Celadon’s Gym Leader for a reason.
“he doesn’t remember it as well as Daisy does”
Daisy Oak may be just as brilliant and as driven as her brother but is simply better at hiding it.
“speculation online is that she favors adaptability. Being able to change to sudden circumstances”
(looks at the Cerulean Cave) …
Also, which of Kanto’s Leaders plan and prepare for every possible strategy, method, situation and outcome? (looks at Adventures-Giovanni) Jesus Christ, that guy is scary.
“I’ll see what I can learn from her gym members”
I don’t think Red would challenge Sabrina…but anything is possible.
“forgetting them a moment later…all Blue can think about are the upcoming battles”
I love this writing.
“their growth is accelerated when they’re in combat”
I tilted my head at this. (looks at abra) Hmm.
“A gym is the best place to get lots of fighting experience safely”
What is required/demanded to become a member of Viridian Gym?
“switching his pokemon constantly”
Maturin and Gon have been with him the longest, if I am correct.
“Finally, he’s back where he belongs”
(looks at the Rocket Casino) …yeah. It isn’t the Stormbringers that are the greatest threat to humanity. It’s humanity itself. We are the harbingers of our own destruction.
“I saw your fight with Brock online!”
A LOT of eyes are on Blue in Celadon, and both he and Erika know it. Erika has ambitions and goals of her own, and I doubt that any of them involve being used as a stepping stone for Blue Oak of Pallet Town.
“Dennis!”
Please tell me his last name isn’t ‘Reynolds’.
“the brackish water”
Which Water-type pokemon could fare well in dirty or polluted water? Watch out for Muk…
“the poliwhirl bobs up and spits”
At least Zephyr’s got the height advantage here.
“without Blue even needing to prompt him”
Real-life rats usually have good survival instincts.
“which makes her snort”
Ha!
“a jet that nails Joey square in the face”
Looks like Amy’s poliwhirl is improving in skill too; firing accurate shots with only a split-second to line up and aim.
“inaudible to Blue or Amy”
I hate Supersonic now…
“the depths they’ll go to hide their methods and mislead opponents”
This made me look at Koga…and wonder if the strategy he may employ against Blue would be overwhelming force.
“You were faking that confusion”
I love this. This is a great battle.
“a game of whack-a-diglett”
I evilly imagined this; a child is happily playing the game in an arcade, only for the hammer to land solidly on one of the emergent diglett with a different sound from the others, and the kid quickly realizes that the diglett they just struck is real, alive and very, very angry.
“they strike it…darkens with its blood”
Razor Leaf. Not like a Normal, Fighting or Poison-type attack. There’s something about it…
“I look forward to seeing your Challenge”
I wonder if any of the Kanto Leaders had experienced something like the following:
A trainer with no badges challenges and loses to them. They then leave the settlement, win all the other Kanto badges, then return to challenge the Gym once more but this time at seven badges.
“The river is you, but its current is shaped by things that are not you”
This is truly a Rational fic, and I love it.
“You cannot control the world around you. You can only react”
If the route to discovering the origin of all pokemon truly lies in psychic power as Red believes…(looks at Arceus being a Normal-type in-game) In my opinion, Arceus shouldn’t have a type at all, nor should it be catchable or even that the player can battle it.
“at peace, no matter how the river rages”
(looks at Bug and Dark types being strong against Psychic-types) Bug-type pokemon…and yet Butterfree can use Confusion and even learns it naturally without a TM.
“Without audio or visual distraction”
Meditation is a near-total mystery to me. I’ve never practiced or studied it.
“Breathing, focus on the breathing”
This makes me think of Harry Verres’ first encounter with a Dementor, courtesy of Professor Quirrell.
“Red hangs up and sighs”
Of course they’d be scammers and opportunists in the world of pokemon research.
“in the Alolan islands”
I need to get back into the pokemon games one day. The problem is the constant grinding that I’d have to do.
“developed what rudimentary powers they have, and be considered full Psychic Types”
(looks at Eevee being able to evolve into the following types: Water, Electric, Fire, Psychic, Dark, Grass, Ice or Fairy) Dammit, why does that one have to be so fascinating?
“researchers like Darwin”
…
…you mean Charles Darwin?
DayStarELD, please say this is a thing; that in this story there is a pokemon-version of Charles Darwin. Because it may become my absolute favorite aspect of this whole story. In the Adventures manga, Green is stated to specialize in Evolution.
“maybe he can breed the first ever Bug/Psychic spinarak”
Maybe! Who knows what mysteries and discoveries one could find in this world. Also, in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, sirens have wings and can fly, but are also skilled swimmers who can breathe underwater.
“being able to catch and study abra”
Do abra live in herds/packs?
“I need to talk to Bill”
And thus the seeds are sown for a beautiful friendship…or not. Maybe. It’s probably the closest thing to a friendship that Bill has had with anyone in recent memory.
“Once he knew what I wanted, he insisted”
Red and Leaf may be the first people in a long time to get to meet Bill in person.
“Red stares. Leaf stares. The wind blows Red’s hat off, and he doesn’t move”
I can tell that you had been looking forward to writing Red and Leaf’s first meeting with Bill.

Great chapter. Very exciting to see Mewtwo on the cusp of freedom.

Aw, was really hopeing for a good Rayquza. Aztec Rayquza is interesting though and I am glad we didn't get evil another-rampaging-monster Rayquza (I guess I was more afraid of that then wanting a good Rayquza).

cool beans!

I think this is the only time I would have been upset if you posted an normal chapter instead, so thanks for not doing that.

Have you considered writing fewer interludes? Every time I'm excited there's a new chapter, and then we're in some random dude's head who has nothing to do with any of our main cast. I feel like a lot of excellent authors get bogged down trying to branch out more and more into other characters' point of view, while regular chapters featuring the protagonists we are here for become less and less common. It's a common cause of reader fatigue in long-running stories, I think.

I understand wanting to show events that don't fall within the limited perceptive radius of the main characters, and segments from other characters' point of view are a good and often well-executed way to do that, but I'd still urge you to only make use of that as little as necessary.

Wow.