Sunday, February 27, 2011

Drifting Sand, Hidden Age







Within me no adult
Only child and elder
No Winter in my life
But I am always Spring
And Later Fall will come
Much later, much later
A busy Spring of growth
Racing into the sky
Yet I yearn for Winter
I hide in cold darkness
Beautiful white silence
But come dreaded Summer
I may taste real Winter
My time always reveled
And in Summer's dry heat
For me a second Spring
No sun to make me cold
Forever is my Spring
Before the silent white




Hello reader,

The poem above was written completely on the spot, without any long pauses and without revision.  I suppose you could say it was improv.  There's a depth to it you probably don't expect, but I can't say it's a good poem or anything.  It's just something I wanted to type after having gone for a nice walk in the snowy outdoors.  Today is sort of my last day to finish my essay for school.  Although it's due Wednesday, I intend to bring it in for some guidance in tomorrow's class.  I'll then edit it a few times over before handing it in on Wednesday.  I was feeling kind of shut-in and crappy this morning (I woke up at 7am!) so I went for a walk! One of my favourite walks to take is through the exploration trail(?) leading to Riverdale farm.  I jogged for a bit at first.  Later on, I felt really nice and refreshed as I treaded through the many inches of snow on the ground in the park.  There were lots of people in the cool, wintry park; some sledding, some playing, and some just watching.  It just felt good to get out like that, though I'm not really sure why.  I walked along the trial toward Cabbage town/Riverdale park west, and as usual, I stood underneath the Weeping Willow tree for a little while.  This time, they were a slightly strange sight to behold. The Weeping Willows, which, although seemingly sullen and anguished, always bestowed upon me a strange, almost nostalgic feeling of calm aliveness.  These charismatically wistful trees that normally contrast with their lively, upright surroundings were doing just the opposite; they were budding!  Budding amongst the thick snow and dead tree-brethren all around!  I found that pretty interesting.  Immediately after I got to thinking about it, I found myself overwhelmed by Winter's mystique!  Everything around me covered in thick whiteness, from the sky dropped tiny speckles of what could only be rain, snow or hail - I couldn't even tell.  It seemed as though they were floating down ever so slowly, and on whim I suddenly decided to lay on the ground right underneath the thin, drooping hair-like branches of the Willow tree, letting the deep snow absorb me.  The first moment was the best: complete relaxation, coolness enveloping me all over, cold speckles landing on my face, and nothing but drooping branches ahead of me, with the emptiness of the Winter sky as the backdrop.  I must have been lucky that no one was anywhere near me even though plenty of people were out with their dogs on the other side of the park.  I let myself relax entirely, and eventually closed me eyes for a while.  I didn't get up until the frost started to bite, and all the while, not a single person dared disturb my calm, revitalizing experience.  It sounds strange, but I'm thinking the cool, "invigorating" air of Spring is, in fact, more of a "calming" air, and it's really the cold, pure air of Winter that's more rejuvenating.



Within me no adult, only child and elder.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

-Mini Post #8-

Hello, hello...

New Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptyTriangles

Here's my usual music vid post:  I downloaded Windows Movie Maker n' did this:



Alright, so my goofing around is officially done.  Even so, I do believe I have something to say for whatever I've gained from my leisure.  For example:  I battled on Pokemon Online at least 10-15 times over the last week (each battle is typically under ten minutes), so my Pokemon battling and team-building skills, however useless they may seem, have improved.  I've learned from things I've read online, even Facebook - which can be a means to waste time and learn about people!  Whenever I've thought of any ideas for things to write about, I briefed them into a notebook for later reference.  Truth is, I haven't been feeling well for the last few days, although I feel fine today.  Lately my teeth have been hurting from too much pressure and grinding.  Furthermore, I developed a huge toothache yesterday :(  This morning it was a lot worse, which is probably what caused me to awaken at ten in the morning.  Thanks to two Advils(the little transparent liquid caplets), the pain is surprisingly minimal.  For now.

I'm feeling pretty good about my future of writing - I'm able to come up with some interesting ideas quite often, and it doesn't seem so difficult to improve my abilities overall.

As for my Pokemon team, well, I'm still experimenting here and there.  Currently my main team consists of Gliscor, Arcanine, Starmie, Scizor, Cinccino and Gengar.  Arcanine, and especially Gengar, both of whom I really like, are the prime suspects of any 'failness' this team may have.  Making predictions for Destiny Bond is pretty difficult and risky, especially when your opponent is counter-predicting it.  His ghost type damage hasn't really helped me much when it comes to type coverage as opposed to power, and overall he's a powerful but fragile Pokemon.  Well, if my opponents were disallowed from using OU legendary Pokemon such as Heatran and Zapdos, then my team is already really awesome, and would seem to win most battles.  I'm also experimenting with variant teams, like switching Arcanine for Infernape, Gengar for Meganium (yes, actually trying this...but I think I'll stop now), Cinccino for Dragonite + Gliscor for Aerodactyl (but I may need to find a less fragile substitute-lead), etc.  I should probably give Electivire, Dusknoir and some others a try.

Lately I'm reminded again of my long-term goals.  I think they're quite achievable, and the idea of achieving them makes me feel a bit excited, although I'm not sure how others would see them.

A few of my goals (Just the beginning) :

Canadian 6-Dan Go player (This is more of a side goal, and shall be left aside for quite a while)

Established Author (The first step is to teach myself for a while, learn at school, and practice in the meantime - practice by writing my Fan-fic, for example.  Second step is to start writing novels.  The goal here is to write at least two novels and get at least one published.  I should also write more than five short stories)

Poet (Develop a collection of poetry, both 'popular poetry' and 'sophisticated' poetry, amounting to at least thirty pieces.  Should have at least one published)

Anyone know what "sophisticated" or "deep" poetry is actually called, if anything?
Also, anyone wanna tell me if I should be using ['] or ["] for those??  lol

Japanese Language Proficiency (Become fluent in all aspects of the Japanese language, obtain highest level certification, learn at least 800 Kanji, and create two or more examples of Japanese writing, which can include poetry, short stories, translations etc.)

Fitness/Health/Martial Arts (Achieve 1st-Dan or equivalent in a martial art.  Body weight <91kg, able to perform several 'tricks':  Handstand: 12+ seconds, "Tornado Kick", well-done Cartwheel, "Wall-running" and at least one more.  High flexibility:  Able to come close to Splits both ways and kick over head both ways.  I aim to get onto a good sleep schedule permanently, and follow a loose, but effective, balanced routine.)

Satisfying Independence (Living on my own, with a decent/good job, ample spending money, and a good atmosphere.  No debts!  Should have a decent collection of representative room things:  scrolls, posters, games, books etc.)

Video Game Progress (Pokemon:  Complete/near complete 'favourites' collection and finished, fully trained main and LC teams with ample substitutes/variations.  Decent collection of games overall, including RPG's: LoZ etc, Fighting: DBZ, etc.)

Singing (Not aiming to be 'good', but I would like to become 'decent'/'far above average' at singing in Karaoke - a voice that's easy to listen to - and specialize in at least five English and five Japanese songs)

So yeah!  Indeed, I added some things to this list that weren't there before, and of course getting a university degree is one of my aims.  Singing, Video games and Martial Arts are more or less new to this list, and expectantly less important.  Video games are just a passion of mine that's hard to live without, so might as well improve upon it when I can.  Singing, well, I would consider it a social 'skill', if you will.  As mentioned in my last post, martial arts would be a big plus for me, 'nuff said.

Ok I'm out, peace!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Drifting Sand, Hard Work

Hey!  I feel good right now, but surely it's just a cruelly temporary thing.  Why do I feel so good!  Because I just did a lot of stretches!  Sure, it may be half past three in the morning, but I slept through Monday because of my topsy-turvy schedule, so what can you do.  I even tried to brute force myself awake until it got to a "normal" sleeping hour, but I failed...  So I'll just go with the wind for now, see what happens.  I'm definitely going to try getting some exercise in a few days a week.  Yes, that's what I've decided!  One might reason that exercise causes even more loss of what little energy they had, but it doesn't quite work like that.  It seems to actually bestow energy!  Being all stretched out and flexible - I mean really stretched - is like feeling...Alive!  Infants are really flexible, right?  Old people are usually more mechanical and rigid from age, so it seems to make some sense to say that flexibility is a form of liveliness.



My friend MelodyofOblivion and I talked about something mentioned in the Naruto Anime.  Two kinds of strong people, 'geniuses of talent' and 'geniuses of hard work'.  Although he classified me as the former, it's not really true.  For some things, it might be partly true, but for others, not at all.  When it came to strength training, for example, I was a genius of hard work, big time!  I'm not just saying that, like so many people who always remember the past in such a positive (or overly dark) light.  When it comes to writing, particularly the use of imagination, but also the acquisition of knowledge or ability, I feel as though my friend might be partly right.  I do think I have at least some talent.  Still, I cannot be grouped into either category of geniuses, and I may be required to become a real genius of hard work in order to reach any kind of level that could ever be mentioned in the same breath as "genius".  Although it almost sounds like we can group 'geniuses of talent' into two subcategories - 'physical talent' and 'mental talent' - a notion I've long pondered, I can hardly say that things can be labeled and categorized so sharply, so simply...

So now I need to get started on my essay, which is due on March 2nd.  I have a bad feeling about my recent essay, which I have yet to get back, so this one needs to be good!  I musn't underestimate this course, I need a 73 to become a true university student!  This is no time to slack off!  In school I've always had a pattern of 3-1-2 in terms of academic success throughout a given year.  It's like some 'fail' essay with the climax inside the first body paragraph.  I believe it's supposed to be 2-1-3, but correct me if I'm wrong.  When it comes to a school year's progress, 2-2-2, or better yet, 3-3-3 is preferable.  So in other words, I tend to do my best at the beginning of the year, but plummet in the middle and then desperately claw my way back up at the last minute.  I'll try to avoid that this time...

I think in the future, when I have more time, I'll totally take up Karate again, or maybe another martial art.  Maybe I'll take up a martial art that I think will be the most challenging for me, like something really acrobatic and/or requiring amazing flexibility.  After all, I already know a lot about the basics of Karate, and it's not the kind of martial art that forces you to really bend or reshape your body, at least not like TKD, Capoeira and such.  Even though my body is more bulk>agility oriented (probably not like that originally, I worked extremely hard in the past to gain brute strength...), I've always been really interested in flashy techniques, including the kind that aren't even martial arts-practical, such as wall-running!  Parkour?  Back in grades 10-11, I was part of the martial arts club, where I learned 360 ("Tornado Kick").  During that time, I was able to teach myself (by brute-forcing it, sans-research...) some other cool things, such as Handstand (Including hand-walking, max duration: 14 seconds), Cartwheel, and Wall-Running (I progressed enough to call it what I call it, 3-4 steps up, occasionally getting really high up a wall by fluke).  Of course, my Wall-Running only worked on high-friction walls, such as brick or stone walls, or anything no more slippery than drywall.  Not only would a martial art greatly improve my (now-lacking) health and fitness, it could come in handy in various ways.

Going back to my course - I've decided to do my essay on "Hills Like White Elephants" and "Cat in the Rain".  I think I understand them, at least better than I understand the other short stories studied in class.  Neither of them are terribly long, and we were given one example essay comparing the two.  There are 18 different questions the students of our class have to choose from for our essay, but unfortunately, I read them all and put stars next to seven of them.  I might just have to try writing each of them and see which one I have the easiest time with...  If I don't sound terribly enthused, it's because these kinds of stories are not really up my alley.  I prefer fictional literature of the most fictional kind:  Fantasy fiction to be precise, hence all the Anime and Manga I watch and read.  Videogames allow me to venture off into other worlds, and the same can sometimes be said for music!  Even martial arts can provide this function - I'm Gohan!  ^^  It's Ovaaa Niine-  TH$#**$&#*$&#!!

In everything I do, I always push for the maximum possibility of customization - I suppose the same can be said for my life!  That's why I even like things like Pokemon games;  I have 649 Pokemon to choose from for a team of six, and everything from their stats and natures to their moves and items can be authentically me!
If you look at a few of my favourite Pokemon:  Arcanine, Wartortle, Ninetales, Vulpix, Lilligant, Espeon...
What do they all have in common?  It's not as though I noticed it before choosing them as my favourites.  All of them are among the most "beautiful" or "aesthetically pleasing", particularly Ninetales, whom I think is the most beautiful of all Pokemon (yes, sorry Milotic) and all of the others in that list.

Wartortle is the second stage of three evolutions, all of which I like:  Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise.  So why Wartortle?


It's simple.  Wartorle's face gives him a certain 'coolness', but without following the idea with the rest of his appearance, like Blastoise, who is cool and not ugly at all, but also not very "beautiful".  Wartortle has little circular marks on his cheeks that give him seemingly more character than his two counterparts, and his dark blue skin offers him additional 'coolness' that, although apparent in Blastoise, is not characteristic of Squirtle.  Last but not least, his tail is larger, of a lighter colour, and designed to look more "beautiful" than the others'.  Even his ears are lighter, longer and more graceful than the others.  I like Wartortle a lot, and water happens to be my favourite type.

Getting back on topic, I think what this says about me is that I'm somewhat aesthetic-minded; one could even jump to the conclusion that I see things in a superficial way, but let's not jump to conclusions :)
After all, this is just Pokemon, and who doesn't love Beautiful things?  I'm an artisan!  I mean, when it comes to the other extreme in Pokemon, we have some really ugly (in my opinion) Pokemon with high battling stats as their main attractions.  This leads everyone to use them, monotonously, in a conforming manner...
Here are some examples:

Ferrothorn - Very high stats, super-commonly used.


Heatran - A lengendary Pokemon...  But allowed in OU tier...  I'm so sick of him.


And perhaps ugliest of all, as if drawn by a 3rd-grader.  A new legendary Pokemon, Kyurem (Dragon/Ice)


BLEH!  Let me heal your eyes with a few "beautiful" Pokemon:

Starmie!  So much dignity-->Still strong/useful for battling, and not ugly!

Meganium!  The most beautiful of all fully evolved 'Starter' Pokemon!



Lilligant!  Finally a nice Pokemon from the ugly fifth generation set:



Adios for now!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

-Mini Post #7-

Well, just a short little post tonight.


My new trial Pokemon team:

Gliscor, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar and Cinccino.
The addition of Gliscor, with Stealth Rocks and high defense, adds more dimension to my team.
Give his 4x Ice weakness, Dragonite was removed, and Cinccino is back :)
Team substitutes:  Dusknoir, Volcarona and Infernape

Team Version 2 (Dragonite variant):
Aerodactyl, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar, Dragonite
Subs: Dusknoir, Volcarona, Infernape, Gliscor and Salamence

When I was watching the video I posted in the previous blog entry, Naruto Shippuuden Ed 15 (not the one above, the one in the previous post), I decided to write a poem inspired from it.
It probably sucks, but I wrote it in about 3-4 minutes:

I'll post the video again, and the poem below it.  Please play the video ^^



Against the window, waiting
Looking out again
The white stars falling, drifting
And rain on the ground
A false sun shines in the sky,
Covered by the clouds
But one tiny star remains,
Quietly waiting
The rain continues to fall,
As always will
Until two white stars are there,
Together again

Thursday, February 17, 2011

-Mini Post #6-

Well, hello again!



Due not only to my lack of posts as of late, but also for the sake of my own boredom/curiousity/mood/writing skill development, I post for you a poem.

I sit here in light's way
To sleepless light,
Myself I do condemn
Of seizing night,
To sunless dayless days
Of sunless skies,
But dreamlessly I dreamt
Like fireflies,
For suns a vibrant grey



I'm hoping to hear a comment or two about what you notice about this poem, what you think it means, or what's wrong with it.  Whatever you want to say!  Thanks!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny Fanfic Chapter II

Hey guys!  So first, here's a brief summation of current stuff.

Wrote an in-class essay worth 5%, I kind of procrastinated the preparations, so I don't think I did great, but I'm thinking I didn't get any lower than, say, a B-.  We'll see!  After the break (Reading Week) an out-of-class comparative essay (750 words) is due, which means I have to get to work within the next three days or so...
Not much else to say...  Still writing poetry here and there, but I think I should refrain from posting it all online...

Here's Chapter two of my Fan-fic!  I plan to write many chapters, since it's a preliminary for myself as an aspiring author.  Since it's Pokemon, I probably can't ever get it published, but if I can do well with this, I'll at long last be able to move onto an original novel!  I'm already almost done part 1 of chapter 3, so here's all of chapter two!

Note:  I'm planning to completely edit/revamp the whole thing later, so sometimes you'll notice something is capitalized when it shouldn't be, or certain things are described in detail and others not, etc...
You'll also notice weird spacing, but it's not so consequential at this point...

Here you go!  Suggestions, criticisms etc.  Lemme know!




Pokemon:  Crimson Destiny

Chapter II, Legends and Rivals  Part I

"Pokemon, go!" shouted Crimz as he tossed his Pokeball into the fray.

With small, stout legs and short arms reaching out into the sky, each with three tiny fingers, the Pokemon sprung joyously forth from its Pokeball.  The large, brown shell on its back distinguished its body and round head from the backdrop of the clear, blue sky.  The Pokemon landed artfully with its curled blue tail wagging out on one side.

"Squirtle, go!" Crimz commanded, and Squirtle trotted quickly toward the big, green, crooked-faced Cacturne.

Aware, Cacturne turned its attention away from Lance's Pokemon and charge boastingly toward Squirtle.  The red Gyarados was still hanging in there.

"Squirtle, slow it down first with Bubble!"  ordered Crimz.

Cacturne's arm was swinging again, preparing for another thrust of its needly arm, but from Squirtle's mouth a huge flurry of bubbles swarmed and enveloped the Cacturne's body.  It's sinister face flushed with panic, lifting away all traces of earlier moxie.

"Now blast it with your Water Gun!"  Crimz commanded.

A stream of water bursted forth from Squirtle's mouth, knocking the incopacitated Cacturne onto the hard, stone-paved ground.

"Hey hey, kid, don't get too confident now.  That little squirt can't possibly take down my Cacturne!" said the Rocket girl.  "Cacturne, get up and prepare yourself, now!"

"Alright squirtle, let's do Bubble again--"

"Sucker Punch!" the girl hastily commanded.

Cacturne suddenly sped up and pounded Squirtle before it could prepare its attack.  The hit was hard, the damage high; Squirtled crashed down hard into the ground, bouncing once on its shell before landing on his stomache.  It couldn't get back up.

"No, Squirtle..." muttered Crimz, disappointed.

"Hahaha, there's no way that little Squirtle of yours could get up after a hit like that from my high-level Cacturne.  You've lost!"  concurred the Rocket girl.

"Ruby, just finish them off for good!" yelled the Rocket man.

"No need, no need.  Haven't I done that already?  Let's just let him cry."

"Do you..." Crimz mumbled quietly.

"Huh?" Ruby turned and looked in his direction again.

"Do you really think...that I could be beaten...SO EASILY!?" Crimz yelled in anger.  "Squirtle!"


...

Squirtled remained flat on the ground, still as stone.  Suddenly, a blue aura began to luminate about its body as it lifted itself up from the ground with its small arms.  A new look of determined adamance posessed the glowing Squirtle, as though its personality had been wiped away.

"I'll teach you not to under estimate me, FOR GOOD!" shouted Crimz.

The bewildered Ruby glanced over at her colleague.  "Toxin...  What's up with that--"

"Torrent." said Toxin, the Rocket man.

"Squirtle, first use Bubble!" Crimz commanded, brimming with confidence.

Again, Squirtle blasted out a barrage of bubbles, but this time the attack was a lot bigger and stronger!

"Cacturne, break out of it!  Right now!" Demanded Ruby, but Cacturne was almost completely immobilized.

"Let's finish this!  Water gun, go!" Crimz commanded.

Squirtle let loose a huge blast of concentrated water that completely overpowered Cacturne, sending it slamming into the temple wall.

"Cheh...  Cacturne, return..." said Ruby as she beamed the Pokemon back into its ball.  "Beginner's luck!"

"Gyarados, return." ordered Lance as he beamed back the exhauted red dragon.

I wouldn't have thought that an unevolved water type like Squirtle could have taken down that grass type Cacturne, but I proved that wrong.  This Squirtle should be pretty low level though, can I even take out that guy's Nidoking?  Squirtle may have the type advantage, but what does that matter against a fully evolved, high-level Pokemon?

...

But I have to try!

"Squirtle, go!" ordered Crimz.

"Hey you, little punk." said Toxin.

"Huh?" said Crimz in surprise, and Squirtle also stopped to listen.

"You think you're real tough now that now that you've beaten that pathetic Ruby and her pathetic Pokemon, am I right?" asked Toxin.

"What!?" shrieked Ruby vehemently.

"I think you're weak too, filthy Rocket." said Crimz with bravado.

"What moxie, condescending little punk.  Well, you are correct that most Rocket grunts are weak, all with nothing but hollow confidence.  Weak in numbers, defenseless on their own - That they are.  Compared to me, that is."  said Toxin. "Ruby is soft.   Little punk, I'll show you how weak you and your Pokemon really are."

"Bring it!  Squirtle, Water Gun!" Crimz shouted.

"You can't!  ...  Go Dra--!"

"Wait."  said Lance as he blocked the robed girl with his right arm, eyes still focused on the battle.

Squirtle ran over toward the towering Nidoking and blasted out another power-pumped Water Gun attack, a perfect hit.  However, Crimz and Squirtle were surprised to see that Nidoking barely cringed from the attack and easily stood its ground.

"Surprised?  Little kid, I can see into your heart.  Right now you're thinking, '~I don't stand a chance, I was wrong.  I shouldn't have gotten myself involved...~'  Am I right?"  said Toxin mockingly.

...

"Now you're thinking, '~It's alright, Lance the dragon master is here.  He can't possibly lose, he was once the champion of the Elite Four.  He would never lose to the likes of Team Rocket!~'  Am I right?  Of course I am...  Nidoking, Thunderbolt."
Before Crimz could even give out a command, Squirtle was completely encased in a shroud of electrifying yellow!
Super-effective damage from a strong Pokemon's Thunderbolt left Squirtle unconscious and completely unable to battle anymore.  Defeated.

...

Crimz was stunned; speechless and completely disillusioned.

"Hey, little punk.  What's with that shocked face?  Your Pokemon is the shell-shocked one, hahaha!  I can tell you what your Squirtle is thinking, kid.  It's thinking, 'Why was I cursed with such a pathetic little punk for a trainer?'"  Toxin laughed darkly.  "Oh, and that Cacturne from earlier?  It had already taken heavy damage from that Gyarados before you came!  Hahahahaha!"

"S-Squirtle...  Return..."  said Crimz in a fragile voice.

"That's about enough of that."  said Lance.  "Go...  My friend."

Out from the ball came a huge Pokemon.  Its body towered over Nidoking, strong and dignified.  It's enormous tail was like a second half of its body, casting off a mild wind whenever it swayed.  With arms and large legs each tipped with three jagged claws, tiny bat-like wings and a white serpentine underside extending from its neck to the tip of its tail, the Pokemon's skin shone a bright orange under the beaming morning sun.







Dragonite.





                                                                                                         

                                                                   

Pokemon:  Crimson Destiny

Chapter II, Legends and Rivals  Part II


"Nidoking, Giga Impact!"  Commanded Toxin.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" shouted Lance.

Once again, Nidoking became engulfed in its own aura, then charged briskly toward the valiant dragon standing before it.  Dragonite's head reared back, gathering speckles of energy into a ball.  As soon as Nidoking had closed in, Dragonite fired the powerful Hyper Beam.  Nidoking's Giga Impact attack was easily overpowered by the immense force of Dragonite - Lance the dragon master's strongest known Pokemon!

"Nidoking, return."  Said Toxin as his Pokemon was transported back into its Pokeball.  "Heh, i would expect nothing less of the former Pokemon League Champion.  No, in fact, I actually expected more.  You disappoint me, 'dragon master'.

-[Kssssshhhhht - Toxin, we failed.  Some young punk messed things up on our end.  We're movin' out! - Kssssshhhhht]-  Toxin grabbed the Walkie Talkie from the belt at his waist.  -Kssssshhhhht "Fine, we're moving out as well.  Notify headquarters."

"Not so fast!" said the robed girl as she pulled out a Pokeball, but Toxin and Ruby excaped with a ball of smoke.

...

The Rockets were gone, the temple safe, but Crimz was still on his kness, shocked and depressed.

...

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!  WAY TO GOOOOOOO!!"  The people around were clapping and cheering.  But why were they so happy?

Lance and the robed girl stepped over to Crimz, giving him a hand getting up.

"They've seen your bravery, kid.  This is the village's way of thanking you."  said Lance.

Crimz stood up and looked out in the crowd of people, wiping away a tear from his eye.  He smiled proudly for a moment, but cringed in frustration immediately after.  He wanted revenge.

"Was that your first battle?  That was some decent battling.  I saw you storm into the temple earlier, did elder Carnellius give you a Pokemon?"  said the robed girl as the crowd began to dissipate.

"You're--"  Crimz mumbled, interupted.

"Oh, that's right!  I haven't introduced myself, I always forget!  My name's Roary!  Roary the--"

"Dragon trainer."  Crimz interrupted.  "Having lived on the plains just an hour from here, I've heard all about the famous dragon trainers.  Lance, the dragon master and former Champion of Johto's Elite Four, and  Roary, a child prodigy who became the rival of Blackthorn city's Claire, but lost to her many years ago, along with the right to become the Blackthorn gym leader."

"Humph!  I've gotten a lot stronger since then!" claimed Roary, irritated.

"Then there's Claire, the female dragon master and Blackthorn gym leader, currently on the rise again as a new Elite Four candidate."  Crimz added.

"Hey hey, you're pretty knowledgeable." said Lance.

"Grrrr I'll defeat her!  Come on, bring her here, that Claire wouldn't stand a chance now!" Roary exasperated.

"Well, it's about time for me to leave..."  said Lance.

"Where are you going?"  asked Crimz.

"He's going on a new journey!"  said Roary excitedly.

"A new journey..."  said Crimz.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've journeyed around like the old days.  I'm off to rediscover myself...  ...
...And the world of Pokemon..."  Lance replied.  "Crimz, this is only the beginning for you.  Your very first journey.  Have fun with it, and take care!"  said Lance, the dragon master.

...  "Crimz."  said Lance as he turned around, facing the road.

"Become strong."  said Lance as he walked off, heading back toward the Waterfall entrance.

...  Cool

"Keep this a secret, but truth is, Lance has been in a slump.  Ever since he was defeated in the Pokemon League, he hasn't been able to battle with his former power.  That's why he's going on a journey!  I'm on a journey too, Crimz!  And it's just about time for me to leave!  Who knows, maybe we'll meet up somewhere.  I don't know about the dragon master, but I'll give you a battle once you've gotten good and strong!  Bye!"  Shouted Roary as she jogged away.  

It couldn't be seen clearly from so far away, but she eventually summoned a Pokemon from a ball and disappeared into the sky.  On what, Crimz did not know.

"Crimz!"  yelled a voice right behind him, startling him badly.

"WHAT!"  Crimz turned around and yelled back.  ...  "Uh, sorry, you startled me...  Wanna' try not yelling in my ear next time?"

It was the robed man from earlier that was guarding the village entrance with Roary.

"Hahaha."  laughed the man, patting his back amiably with brutish force.  "Come on."

"Hey, um..."  Crimz muttered.

...

"Who are you?"  asked Crimz.

"EEEEEHHHHH!?"  the man yelled with a comical face.  "Ugh...  My name's Jagg!  Got it?  Jagg!"

"Ooh...  You're..."  Crimz paused.

...

"Nope, don't remember anyone named Jagg..."

"Ghaaa!"  sighed Jagg.  "At any rate, let's go into the temple, your grandfather, I mean, Elder Carnellius has asked for you to come in, now that all the commotion's over with!"

...

"You, over there!  You too..."  said Jagg.

Standing several meters away, leaning against the temple stood a tall young man, not much older than Crimz.  Black pants, a silver belt, and a blue jean-jacket over a buttoned white dress shirt unbuttoned around the collar, with short, dark, parted hair and cold, dark, confident eyes.

"That was a pathetic battle you made me watch."  he said.

"What...  Well why don't you--"  Crimz caught his tongue, and the young man turned away and stepped slowly toward the temple doors.

I can't ask him for a battle, I don't have any useable Pokemon right now...  That jerk, thinks he's so cool...  I'd like to seehim battle a Cacturne and a Nidoking...

Crimz followed him to the Elder's room, while Jagg waited at the entrance.

"Welcome back."  said Elder Carnellius.  "First, give me your Pokeball."

"Uh, okay Grandpa.  Here."  said Crimz as he handed it over.

A robed, hooded lady who had been standing in the other far corner of the room, completely unnoticed, stepped over and received the Pokeball from Carnellius, then bowed and left.

"She'll take care of your tired Pokemon for you.  Your Squirtle will returned to you in good health very soon."

"So that was your very first Pokemon.  No wonder you were weak."  said the young man.  "You picked a water type, so...  Elder Carnellius, please give me a Charmander."


The elder passed one of the encased Pokeballs over to Rane.  "Here you go."

"Although it would seem the two of you have met, let me introduce the both of you."  Said Carnellius.  This is Crimz, my grandson.  And Crimz, this is..."

Rane.