Hyper Potion
The Anti-Sedative
- Joined
- May 10, 2010
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(I'm not entirely sure at the moment in which order I'd like this opening post to flow, but for now the beginning of the story is first, followed by a description of my purpose here and the cool things I'm planning for later. Please give one or both a read - it would mean a lot to me!)
Pokemon: Goldenheart
0.0 - Prologue
It was already late when Caplan decided to set up camp. Cherrygrove lay some ways farther south, and as he began to gather firewood Caplan reflected on how badly he’d misjudged the distance between the village and Mr. Pokémon’s little cabin. Route Thirty hadn’t seemed nearly as long during his trek north two days ago – in all the excitement, he must have just lost track of time.
The main road to Violet was off to the east, far enough away that Caplan felt fairly certain nobody would be able to spot his fire. Rumors of thieves on the routes were gathering in all the eastern villages, and as unprotected as Caplan was he wanted to avoid trouble at all cost. And he had the egg to consider.
As Caplan arrayed his firewood into the small conical shape like the Professor had shown him – or near enough, anyways – his thoughts turned again to that little white-and-spotted egg bundled up inside his bedroll. Warm to the touch and awkward to carry with one hand, it was a sight Caplan had never hoped to see: the beginning of a Pokémon’s life, either a mystery or a miracle and maybe just both. When nestled in his arms, he could feel the little twitches inside, sometimes hear the faint chirps of a life nearing its own first birthday.
Caplan couldn’t think of another time when he felt so excited – energized even, and he had no real understanding why. He would never say as much to anyone, but deep down Caplan had already convinced himself that he was connected to this egg somehow, and even though he thought the idea pretty childish, it persisted until he’d given up and accepted it. After all, if nobody knew about his little fantasy, he couldn’t be embarrassed because of it.
Soon after the fire really got going, Fang emerged from the bushes lining their little campsite, silent as always but painfully visible despite all his stealth – only the eyes which weren’t looking would miss this predator. Caplan himself had been savvy enough to point out to the Professor the distinctive discoloration of the Pokémon’s spines, the scales of turquoise from head to toe; but it was how the light shimmered off the body that classified this totodile as a shiny.
As rare as shinies were, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of theft, black market trades, vandalism and worse when it came to acquiring one. Sinister snakes sow sins through shinies was the old saying, and that was only heard in places where the shiny condition was mostly understood as a benign mutation. Communities who shunned or outright killed shinies were few and far between, but they were definitely out there. At least according to the Professor, anyway.
Since the arrival of Fang and his two hatchmates, New Bark – especially those at the lab – had been keeping a close eye on the three shinies, hoping that the stories of hunters and villains wouldn’t reach their young ears. But either they didn’t know or they didn’t care, and so far on their little trip Fang had been calm, reserved, and generally much happier than he’d ever been trapped indoors.
And fortunately for both Caplan and his new Pokémon, the residents of Cherrygrove had been more than kind. It hadn’t taken very long for Caplan’s fears to dissolve, and really his stay at the Pokémon Center was probably much more enjoyable than it would have been on his own or with an ‘ordinary’ totodile croc. The female trainers had definitely given them a warm welcome – but Caplan attributed that almost entirely to Fang.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Caplan asked as Fang worked his way into the bedroll beside the egg. Caplan didn’t seriously expect to understand any response – not yet – but Fang was especially clever at speaking with his eyes: they widened to their full, caught the reddened glow of the fire, and when he nodded exuberantly Caplan had his answer. Still, he reached into his bag and pulled out the thin can of Pokéfood. He unscrewed the lid and laid the can on the ground between them. “I know you don’t like it, but feel free to eat if you get hungry tonight.”
Caplan moved his little foldout chair closer to the fire. “Let’s not wander off again, though – I don’t want you to get lost or anything.” To this, Fang furrowed his brow and let out a squeak that was as close as he could manage to a roar.
Caplan shrugged. “Well who’s going to watch the egg if you leave?”
Fang sighed and wrapped his tail around the egg.
“I’ll stay up a few hours more and keep watch, bud. When I go to sleep though I’ll put you back into your Pokéball. You’ll be safer that way.”
Either Fang didn’t see the sense in arguing or he was already asleep, and for a time Caplan was content to stare up into the black and starry sky, drawing strength from that same feeling as before. He was connected again, to his Pokémon, to the egg, and to a new sensation which took hold deep and sent him into a peaceful sleep that night: destiny.
Next time... 1.1 - Silver
---
Goldenheart is going to be my attempt to fuse three elements of fiction that I love: the underpinning themes of Pokemon (trust, coming of age, courage), a story driven by reality, and the process of writing itself.
For this whole year, I've been a writer without a story. I'm not really comfortable going into the details, so let's just say that I spent most of 2011 in and out of the hospital. A few weeks ago I finally broke through and seriously I'm feeling stronger and more alive than I can recall.
And the first compulsion I had was to not only write, but pour everything I had into a story that could be nothing but the most fun for me to develop. Naturally, it's Pokemon! I've never attempted doing something like this, so here I am with the opening pages of Goldenheart and I hope it's something you'll enjoy!
I am using my playthrough of Pokemon HeartGold as the spine of this fan fiction. It's no Nuzlocke run, but if I struggle against my rival or a gym leader it'll show up in the writing. While I have no plans for a Pokemon to die, it's definitely possible. I'm cranking the plots and dangers of the game all the way up - the threats are real, and both success and failure will affect the outcome of the story (whichever way it goes). Team Rocket, for example, can already be felt. They're dangerous, and their attempt for power is going to leave scars all across the Johto region.
But I'm not trying to write a piece of grit here. Like I opened with, my aim is to balance realism with the heart of Pokemon. The character of Caplan is definitely naive, a youngster in the old world, but by the end of this story he'll have grown into more of a man - yet that childlike center will hopefully be intact. While the leaders of Rocket are definitely bad people, rays of redemption will occasionally shine - some of them may even end up switching sides!
---
Goldenheart will be broken down into several episodes, or arcs. Each episode will be made up of 10 parts, usually following the linear plot of the game but with something unrelated occasionally thrown in. The first episode (starting properly with 1.1 - Silver) is going to take Caplan all the way through the first gym against Falkner. From there, you can look forward to getting a look at the whole of the Johto region in a way that I expect to be a refreshing perspective for a more mature audience.
Oh, and I do have a blog set up for all this: pokemongoldenheart. I'll cross-post everything to here, but it would be neat to get a few subscribers :awww:
Pokemon: Goldenheart
0.0 - Prologue
It was already late when Caplan decided to set up camp. Cherrygrove lay some ways farther south, and as he began to gather firewood Caplan reflected on how badly he’d misjudged the distance between the village and Mr. Pokémon’s little cabin. Route Thirty hadn’t seemed nearly as long during his trek north two days ago – in all the excitement, he must have just lost track of time.
The main road to Violet was off to the east, far enough away that Caplan felt fairly certain nobody would be able to spot his fire. Rumors of thieves on the routes were gathering in all the eastern villages, and as unprotected as Caplan was he wanted to avoid trouble at all cost. And he had the egg to consider.
As Caplan arrayed his firewood into the small conical shape like the Professor had shown him – or near enough, anyways – his thoughts turned again to that little white-and-spotted egg bundled up inside his bedroll. Warm to the touch and awkward to carry with one hand, it was a sight Caplan had never hoped to see: the beginning of a Pokémon’s life, either a mystery or a miracle and maybe just both. When nestled in his arms, he could feel the little twitches inside, sometimes hear the faint chirps of a life nearing its own first birthday.
Caplan couldn’t think of another time when he felt so excited – energized even, and he had no real understanding why. He would never say as much to anyone, but deep down Caplan had already convinced himself that he was connected to this egg somehow, and even though he thought the idea pretty childish, it persisted until he’d given up and accepted it. After all, if nobody knew about his little fantasy, he couldn’t be embarrassed because of it.
Soon after the fire really got going, Fang emerged from the bushes lining their little campsite, silent as always but painfully visible despite all his stealth – only the eyes which weren’t looking would miss this predator. Caplan himself had been savvy enough to point out to the Professor the distinctive discoloration of the Pokémon’s spines, the scales of turquoise from head to toe; but it was how the light shimmered off the body that classified this totodile as a shiny.
As rare as shinies were, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of theft, black market trades, vandalism and worse when it came to acquiring one. Sinister snakes sow sins through shinies was the old saying, and that was only heard in places where the shiny condition was mostly understood as a benign mutation. Communities who shunned or outright killed shinies were few and far between, but they were definitely out there. At least according to the Professor, anyway.
Since the arrival of Fang and his two hatchmates, New Bark – especially those at the lab – had been keeping a close eye on the three shinies, hoping that the stories of hunters and villains wouldn’t reach their young ears. But either they didn’t know or they didn’t care, and so far on their little trip Fang had been calm, reserved, and generally much happier than he’d ever been trapped indoors.
And fortunately for both Caplan and his new Pokémon, the residents of Cherrygrove had been more than kind. It hadn’t taken very long for Caplan’s fears to dissolve, and really his stay at the Pokémon Center was probably much more enjoyable than it would have been on his own or with an ‘ordinary’ totodile croc. The female trainers had definitely given them a warm welcome – but Caplan attributed that almost entirely to Fang.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Caplan asked as Fang worked his way into the bedroll beside the egg. Caplan didn’t seriously expect to understand any response – not yet – but Fang was especially clever at speaking with his eyes: they widened to their full, caught the reddened glow of the fire, and when he nodded exuberantly Caplan had his answer. Still, he reached into his bag and pulled out the thin can of Pokéfood. He unscrewed the lid and laid the can on the ground between them. “I know you don’t like it, but feel free to eat if you get hungry tonight.”
Caplan moved his little foldout chair closer to the fire. “Let’s not wander off again, though – I don’t want you to get lost or anything.” To this, Fang furrowed his brow and let out a squeak that was as close as he could manage to a roar.
Caplan shrugged. “Well who’s going to watch the egg if you leave?”
Fang sighed and wrapped his tail around the egg.
“I’ll stay up a few hours more and keep watch, bud. When I go to sleep though I’ll put you back into your Pokéball. You’ll be safer that way.”
Either Fang didn’t see the sense in arguing or he was already asleep, and for a time Caplan was content to stare up into the black and starry sky, drawing strength from that same feeling as before. He was connected again, to his Pokémon, to the egg, and to a new sensation which took hold deep and sent him into a peaceful sleep that night: destiny.
Next time... 1.1 - Silver
---
Goldenheart is going to be my attempt to fuse three elements of fiction that I love: the underpinning themes of Pokemon (trust, coming of age, courage), a story driven by reality, and the process of writing itself.
For this whole year, I've been a writer without a story. I'm not really comfortable going into the details, so let's just say that I spent most of 2011 in and out of the hospital. A few weeks ago I finally broke through and seriously I'm feeling stronger and more alive than I can recall.
And the first compulsion I had was to not only write, but pour everything I had into a story that could be nothing but the most fun for me to develop. Naturally, it's Pokemon! I've never attempted doing something like this, so here I am with the opening pages of Goldenheart and I hope it's something you'll enjoy!
I am using my playthrough of Pokemon HeartGold as the spine of this fan fiction. It's no Nuzlocke run, but if I struggle against my rival or a gym leader it'll show up in the writing. While I have no plans for a Pokemon to die, it's definitely possible. I'm cranking the plots and dangers of the game all the way up - the threats are real, and both success and failure will affect the outcome of the story (whichever way it goes). Team Rocket, for example, can already be felt. They're dangerous, and their attempt for power is going to leave scars all across the Johto region.
But I'm not trying to write a piece of grit here. Like I opened with, my aim is to balance realism with the heart of Pokemon. The character of Caplan is definitely naive, a youngster in the old world, but by the end of this story he'll have grown into more of a man - yet that childlike center will hopefully be intact. While the leaders of Rocket are definitely bad people, rays of redemption will occasionally shine - some of them may even end up switching sides!
---
Goldenheart will be broken down into several episodes, or arcs. Each episode will be made up of 10 parts, usually following the linear plot of the game but with something unrelated occasionally thrown in. The first episode (starting properly with 1.1 - Silver) is going to take Caplan all the way through the first gym against Falkner. From there, you can look forward to getting a look at the whole of the Johto region in a way that I expect to be a refreshing perspective for a more mature audience.
Oh, and I do have a blog set up for all this: pokemongoldenheart. I'll cross-post everything to here, but it would be neat to get a few subscribers :awww:
