Well, I see that someone else is using the old posting format of "one thread, one chapter." Always good to know I'm not alone. So, it's been like three weeks since the last chapter, and I've stopped with the SS card set previews in CAC (the whole set will go up concurrently with Chapter 100, the final chapter). So, now that Alex and Tschel are Pokémon Masters, their story is basically done as far as I can stand to make it. I could go on forever, of course, because I honeslty like them. They're great characters, truly fun to write, and really darned cute as a couple. Who knows, I might make a sequel series to SS some day, if I have the time and get an inspiration for another series, but the thing is, the whole Neo League thing was originally just an extension of how the original SS series suddenly dropped off. So before any sequel series to SS, I'll be touching up and rereleasing the vintage SS ("Pokémon S"?), if I can make it work. I still have yet to write SS OAV 5 though, but that will probably go up around Chapter 95 or so, because its plot is incredibly spoilerific for SS (it may not look like it, but I had the end of SS mapped out extensively before I even wrote Chapter 5).
So without further babble, here's the chapter. It's really short, but I've had a lot of crap (a lot of crap) with school to deal with:
EDIT: You ever have one of those days where you just go "Oh, CRAP!"? Yeah, that happened to me after realizing Simon is, uh, dead. So I'm taking Vashou out of character and making him in there instead of Simon. And now I must kick myself for taking so long to realize this.
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Kenneth didn't know why he was always hiding himself in plain view like this, but he still followed Rei down to go congratulate Alex and Tschel on their first Elite Eight victory. It had been a close one, and Kenneth would have put money on them losing the next round, but still, they'd done better than most other trainers would have.
"Well, here we are," Rei announced, opening the door into the, as everything else in the Goddish-forsaken city was, brightly-lit room where Kenneth could see Alex, Tschel, and seemingly everyone they knew, plus a face he didn't recognize.
Alex laughed as Kenneth entered and immediately had to shield his eyes. "Yeah, it's bright," Alex said.
"Too much so," Kenneth muttered under his breath.
"Interesting to see you here," Tschel commented. "Thought you were supposed to be in hiding or something."
"I am," Kenneth grinned. "Hiding right in front of them where they'll never find me."
"Gutsy," David commented.
"It's the only way I ever play the game," Kenneth said reflectively. "It's just what I do."
"Games," Rei scoffed. "I wish you'd stop thinking of it as such."
"Hey now," Alex said, "Let's not argue."
"He's right," Kenneth laughed. "So," he said, pointing to the girl he didn't recognize, "Who's your new friend?"
"New," she scoffed. "Friend," she then scoffed.
"Sam's new friend, mainly," Alex grumbled. "We... know each other from a long time ago, though."
"Old girlfriend or something?" Kenneth raised an eyebrow.
Alex shot Kenneth a look. The unknown girl did, too. He backed off a bit and then added, "Okay, okay, so not that."
"We're rivals... sort of," the girl said, crossing her arms in some kind of indignation. "He and I started off as trainers at the same time, and we hadn't been exactly friendly before that."
"Rivals, eh," Kenneth scratched his head. "Interesting."
"He got my Nidorina killed a couple of months after, and I've never forgiven him since," she spat.
Tschel looked confused. "You got a Pokémon killed, Alex?"
"That was a... complex situation," Alex hesitated to explain.
"Well," Kenneth grinned, "Can I at least get your name, miss?"
"Amanda," she said almost grudgingly.
"Name's Kenneth," Kenneth introduced himself.
"So why's it all gutsy for you to be here?"
"Uh..." Kenneth wasn't sure he wanted to tell his biggest secret, being a Rocket Executive, or at least a former one, to this girl. "Let's just say I got into some trouble a little while ago."
"Well, enough of that," Alex said, "We're here to have fun, so let's have it."
"That's a good idea," Rei said.
"I try to have only good ones," Alex laughed.
The events at the safehouse where Team Rocket was gathering, however, weren't nearly as fun. The house itself was relatively small, and underfurnished. Nobody really knew how Vashou and Buson managed to get it rented out, aside from the two themselves, but everybody else's consensus was that it was a more or less legal thing. No other explanation seemed to fit those two.
Ryan was sitting at the table in the kitchen, not eating anything since there wasn't any food in the fridge. It didn't matter that there wasn't any there anyway, seeing as the fridge itself was broken. He'd just made a habit of sitting there blankly, since it was better than doing like Vashou tended to do, and watch the Neo League Championships on the only channel the cable-less TV got.
"So," Ryan called out into the living room, "How're those kids doing?"
"They won," Vashou called back. "Close, though."
Ah well, Ryan figured. He was hoping to time it so that Team Rocket would get the ambush right as Yasashii and Hakujin lost, but that was going to be a while in coming, apparently. They were good enough to match the Elite Eight and all.
Buson wandered in and looked at Ryan. "Still sitting around doing nothing?"
"Oh shut up," Ryan retorted.
"Witty," Buson shrugged. "Starting to think that this whole mess with the Neo League is never going to happen."
"So did I for a while," Ryan shrugged back. "Doubt and such. Now, well, I know what we're doing."
"Besides just having Juliet beat up everyone with Tribo?" Buson asked.
"Of course, that sends a message," Ryan explained. "It sends a message that Team Rocket isn't nothing, that we're to be respected."
"Nothing like random violence to get people to respect you," Buson smirked.
"That's what it looks like," Ryan admitted, "but thing is, people like Stein and Kenneth just talk and talk, they almost never get any action done. Nothing happens. We needed to get rid of people like him to get in some more... decisive executives, have the Elites become the decision-makers."
"You figure that we know what it's like to be out doing things, we should lead," Buson chuckled. "Lovely."
"What else?" Ryan asked.
Clapping Ryan on the shoulder as he walked by, Buson said as he left, "Just watch out, Stein and Mikhail have some bite left in 'em."
"You had me come all the way out here just for this?" Mikhail asked as he paced around the suite Juliet had rented for her stay in Nightshade.
"You're one of the few people I can trust anymore," Juliet sighed, sitting at the table near the window.
"There isn't much I can do if you're coerced by the Elites," Mikhail reminded her, "They technically outrank us."
"Outrank," Juliet repeated. "You make it sound like it's military."
"A lot of the terms and hierarchal crap we use sounds like it's military," Mikhail nodded. He then sighed and said, "With what Ryan's trying to get done, soon we'll have gone from being just a highly professional mafia, nothing more than an international crime syndicate, to something downright paramilitary."
"We act like that now, too," Juliet's voice was quiet, regretful. "Organized hidden bases, strict command structures, even assassinations."
"So what is it you really called me here for besides just to have someone to talk to about the Elites?" Mikhail asked.
"I need help," Juliet admitted.
Mikhail stopped his pacing. "With?"
"I know you know that Kenneth found out what the Elites were actually planning long before this half-hearted operation, and that Kenneth tried to stop it in its tracks... and he delayed it massively," Juliet explained. "Please, I know you're trying not to antagonize the Elites, but we have to."
"Appealing to criminals for morality," Mikhail chuckled. "Kenneth would have found that hilariously funny. But you make sense, it's no good to do like Ryan's planning. He's just a sucker with a large head, an overinflated ego, and a taste for glory."
"Harsh words, and words I didn't expect to hear from you," Juliet said.
"I don't always say what I really think," Mikhail explained. "My job, basically, doesn't let me. So when I do it sounds odd."
"So, have any ideas how to go about this?"
"Oh, I have a few..." Mikhail started, suddenly looking very thoughtful.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that Marrils aren't as efficient in writing as they'd honestly like to be. >_< Oh yeah, and that they're very irritable when their chapters are so short.
So without further babble, here's the chapter. It's really short, but I've had a lot of crap (a lot of crap) with school to deal with:
EDIT: You ever have one of those days where you just go "Oh, CRAP!"? Yeah, that happened to me after realizing Simon is, uh, dead. So I'm taking Vashou out of character and making him in there instead of Simon. And now I must kick myself for taking so long to realize this.
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Kenneth didn't know why he was always hiding himself in plain view like this, but he still followed Rei down to go congratulate Alex and Tschel on their first Elite Eight victory. It had been a close one, and Kenneth would have put money on them losing the next round, but still, they'd done better than most other trainers would have.
"Well, here we are," Rei announced, opening the door into the, as everything else in the Goddish-forsaken city was, brightly-lit room where Kenneth could see Alex, Tschel, and seemingly everyone they knew, plus a face he didn't recognize.
Alex laughed as Kenneth entered and immediately had to shield his eyes. "Yeah, it's bright," Alex said.
"Too much so," Kenneth muttered under his breath.
"Interesting to see you here," Tschel commented. "Thought you were supposed to be in hiding or something."
"I am," Kenneth grinned. "Hiding right in front of them where they'll never find me."
"Gutsy," David commented.
"It's the only way I ever play the game," Kenneth said reflectively. "It's just what I do."
"Games," Rei scoffed. "I wish you'd stop thinking of it as such."
"Hey now," Alex said, "Let's not argue."
"He's right," Kenneth laughed. "So," he said, pointing to the girl he didn't recognize, "Who's your new friend?"
"New," she scoffed. "Friend," she then scoffed.
"Sam's new friend, mainly," Alex grumbled. "We... know each other from a long time ago, though."
"Old girlfriend or something?" Kenneth raised an eyebrow.
Alex shot Kenneth a look. The unknown girl did, too. He backed off a bit and then added, "Okay, okay, so not that."
"We're rivals... sort of," the girl said, crossing her arms in some kind of indignation. "He and I started off as trainers at the same time, and we hadn't been exactly friendly before that."
"Rivals, eh," Kenneth scratched his head. "Interesting."
"He got my Nidorina killed a couple of months after, and I've never forgiven him since," she spat.
Tschel looked confused. "You got a Pokémon killed, Alex?"
"That was a... complex situation," Alex hesitated to explain.
"Well," Kenneth grinned, "Can I at least get your name, miss?"
"Amanda," she said almost grudgingly.
"Name's Kenneth," Kenneth introduced himself.
"So why's it all gutsy for you to be here?"
"Uh..." Kenneth wasn't sure he wanted to tell his biggest secret, being a Rocket Executive, or at least a former one, to this girl. "Let's just say I got into some trouble a little while ago."
"Well, enough of that," Alex said, "We're here to have fun, so let's have it."
"That's a good idea," Rei said.
"I try to have only good ones," Alex laughed.
The events at the safehouse where Team Rocket was gathering, however, weren't nearly as fun. The house itself was relatively small, and underfurnished. Nobody really knew how Vashou and Buson managed to get it rented out, aside from the two themselves, but everybody else's consensus was that it was a more or less legal thing. No other explanation seemed to fit those two.
Ryan was sitting at the table in the kitchen, not eating anything since there wasn't any food in the fridge. It didn't matter that there wasn't any there anyway, seeing as the fridge itself was broken. He'd just made a habit of sitting there blankly, since it was better than doing like Vashou tended to do, and watch the Neo League Championships on the only channel the cable-less TV got.
"So," Ryan called out into the living room, "How're those kids doing?"
"They won," Vashou called back. "Close, though."
Ah well, Ryan figured. He was hoping to time it so that Team Rocket would get the ambush right as Yasashii and Hakujin lost, but that was going to be a while in coming, apparently. They were good enough to match the Elite Eight and all.
Buson wandered in and looked at Ryan. "Still sitting around doing nothing?"
"Oh shut up," Ryan retorted.
"Witty," Buson shrugged. "Starting to think that this whole mess with the Neo League is never going to happen."
"So did I for a while," Ryan shrugged back. "Doubt and such. Now, well, I know what we're doing."
"Besides just having Juliet beat up everyone with Tribo?" Buson asked.
"Of course, that sends a message," Ryan explained. "It sends a message that Team Rocket isn't nothing, that we're to be respected."
"Nothing like random violence to get people to respect you," Buson smirked.
"That's what it looks like," Ryan admitted, "but thing is, people like Stein and Kenneth just talk and talk, they almost never get any action done. Nothing happens. We needed to get rid of people like him to get in some more... decisive executives, have the Elites become the decision-makers."
"You figure that we know what it's like to be out doing things, we should lead," Buson chuckled. "Lovely."
"What else?" Ryan asked.
Clapping Ryan on the shoulder as he walked by, Buson said as he left, "Just watch out, Stein and Mikhail have some bite left in 'em."
"You had me come all the way out here just for this?" Mikhail asked as he paced around the suite Juliet had rented for her stay in Nightshade.
"You're one of the few people I can trust anymore," Juliet sighed, sitting at the table near the window.
"There isn't much I can do if you're coerced by the Elites," Mikhail reminded her, "They technically outrank us."
"Outrank," Juliet repeated. "You make it sound like it's military."
"A lot of the terms and hierarchal crap we use sounds like it's military," Mikhail nodded. He then sighed and said, "With what Ryan's trying to get done, soon we'll have gone from being just a highly professional mafia, nothing more than an international crime syndicate, to something downright paramilitary."
"We act like that now, too," Juliet's voice was quiet, regretful. "Organized hidden bases, strict command structures, even assassinations."
"So what is it you really called me here for besides just to have someone to talk to about the Elites?" Mikhail asked.
"I need help," Juliet admitted.
Mikhail stopped his pacing. "With?"
"I know you know that Kenneth found out what the Elites were actually planning long before this half-hearted operation, and that Kenneth tried to stop it in its tracks... and he delayed it massively," Juliet explained. "Please, I know you're trying not to antagonize the Elites, but we have to."
"Appealing to criminals for morality," Mikhail chuckled. "Kenneth would have found that hilariously funny. But you make sense, it's no good to do like Ryan's planning. He's just a sucker with a large head, an overinflated ego, and a taste for glory."
"Harsh words, and words I didn't expect to hear from you," Juliet said.
"I don't always say what I really think," Mikhail explained. "My job, basically, doesn't let me. So when I do it sounds odd."
"So, have any ideas how to go about this?"
"Oh, I have a few..." Mikhail started, suddenly looking very thoughtful.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that Marrils aren't as efficient in writing as they'd honestly like to be. >_< Oh yeah, and that they're very irritable when their chapters are so short.
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