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I know it's not a gaiden like usual, but you can consider this an alternate recap of Pokemon Legends: Liberation from Salieri's point of view. Just don't tell her you read her journal! She'll hunt you down

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 2

It’s Day Two on my journey to becoming the greatest gym leader of all time. Since I got the Trio Badge yesterday, the score became Salieri: 2, The World: 1. I’m on top again, and I can tell. This morning I decided to check out Striaton City’s Trainer Academy. As soon as I walked in, I was challenged by the students to battles in order to test my knowledge, or something like that. Well, to my knowledge, none of them can beat me.

I beat every single kid in there. Not one of them had the Trio Badge. Winning was great, I even got to stand on a desk with a cool pose and everything. But it's not enough. I won’t get stronger until I leave this city. My potential is limited here. I’m positive the trainers and pokemon along this trip will be much tougher than Chili, and he wasn’t easy to defeat. I’ll be out of this place soon.

But first I want to check out this “Dreamyard” thing.

-S.d.F

****

Well this day has taken a turn for the strange.

First of all, there was this old lady at the Dreamyard telling me that I had no idea what I was doing. Apparently I need to be more focused on what I actually want? She doesn’t even know who I am. Why is it that old people always think they know what’s the best for us? Has-beens shouldn’t preach to gonna-be’s.

And then I battled Henrietta. Well, first I saw Wayne battle Henrietta. It was a pretty good fight. But anyway, then I challenged her with Salem. Salem took one hit –just one little Fire attack- and decided to tap out. So I lost. To Henrietta! She’s different when she battles. Not as much of a wuss.

I was so embarrassed. I’ve never lost like that before, and it was the first loss I’ve had so far. Wayne and Henrietta told me it wasn’t that bad. I knew that sooner or later, I’d experience a loss. There will be more to come. But honestly? Losing sucks. It makes me feel weak. I need to train harder. There’s no point in doing this if I’m going to lose.

N told me that Salem had some issues with taking chances, so I knew

OH. MY. GOD. I forgot to say this before! N can talk to pokemon! I don’t know how he does it, but he just knows what they’re saying. He’s amazing! Wayne doesn’t seem to like him, but I think N’s cool even if he’s sort of obsessed with pokemon. Like, seriously obsessed.

Anyway, I had to train Salem to come out of her shell when it came to taking risks, so Wayne and I went to the Dreamyard to train. He told me stuff about his family. His parent’s died in a car crash, so he lives with foster parents. His dad is super strong, too. Just like mine! He also took off his shirt and jumped into a lake. It turned out he’s in pretty good shape. So naturally, I had to jump in too.

I think I saw him checking me out. I don’t know. Maybe not. I’d like to think so.

Also, I think he might have just jumped in there to pee. Which isn’t a big deal. Kind of gross though.

So we went to the Dreamyard to train. It was a pretty good set up. Salem and I played tag with Wayne and Petilil, with battling in the mix. Not a bad training exercise.

Except Wayne Petilil and I fell into a trash compactor and almost died. That sucked. I was pretty close to chewing out my own arm. I think Wayne was ready to accept it, though. Except he told me he could beat me in a battle. And obviously I wasn’t going to let him die thinking that.

Obviously we were saved. Salem came down and braved the trash compactor for us. She’s done really well, I’m proud of her. She’s beginning to realize that she’s better than she think she is. I don’t take just any pokemon on my team, after all. Only the best.

Now, you would think that would be the end of ridiculous events that happened to me today, but not exactly. Wayne and I were separated by a cave in underground, and I ran into someone from Team Plasma.

Oh yeah, Team Plasma. They’re this activist movement that’s been preaching about pokemon rights lately. I think the movement is spreading. It’s a pretty radical group. Makes me wonder if what we do with pokemon is right.

I don’t want to keep my pokemon with me if they don’t want to be on my journey. They all know what I’m trying to do. I’ll only take pokemon who are willing to go the distance.

So this nutjob from Team Plasma attacked me. What. A. ********. This guy was the worst type of sexists pig. Even after I started kicking his a**, he wouldn’t stop telling me I wasn’t good enough. Wtf? I’m the one kicking his a**, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

I hate it when men think I can’t do anything. Reminds me of grandpa.

He said something about getting Dream Mist or something weird. So I let him go after a while. Beating him senseless wasn’t going to make him change his mind about me. I hope not all of Team Plasma is like that. As long as they don’t get in my way, then they can just keep talking their nonsense.

After I healed my pokemon from the fight, I went back to rescue Wayne from this creepy Psychic pokemon. Ugh. I hope she wasn’t in my head. I think I’ve created a good psychic defense for myself, though. Psychics rely on the same abominable tricks all the time.

His Hitmonlee ended up saving both of us. Turns out the psychic belonged to a nurse that was helping Wayne. I guess I started a fight over nothing. Simple misunderstanding.

When we got out of the Dreamyard, we saw a lot of other trainers. Even Emi and Henrietta were there. Henrietta was crying about some jerk taking her Darumaka away. I felt bad about it. If she points me in the right direction, I’m willing to punch one of those Plasma guys in the face for her.

After that, it was pretty late, so I got a room with Henrietta and Emi to call it quits for the night.

So in the end, what I think I learned today was that I’m not as prepared for this as I thought I was. This morning an old lady told me that I didn’t know where I was going or what I was looking for. And now I’ve been shown that I still have a long way to go before I can get what I want. My journey has just begun. These mistakes just add up to experience.

And I think I finally made some friends! Not pokemon this time, either! Moze told me I’d get a new start in Unova, and I believe that he got that right. Hopefully I’ll get to know them all better while we all work to become what we aim to be.

I know it’s been a day full of mistakes, but I realized that it’s just part of the learning process. And I wanted to end on a good note too. After all, my family always says you should never go to sleep upset!

-S.d.f

P.S. I’m still not sure if Wayne peed in the lake or not. I don’t think I’ll ever know, but next time I’ll tell him to warn me first.

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 4

Today is incredible! MOZE IS HERE!

I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m just rushing this because I’m want to go back to hanging out with him and my new friends and I’m excited. Calm down, Sal. Let me go back to the start.

I was woken up in the museum by some librarian who told me the gym was closed because of the tournament. At first I said “Bullshit”, but then I remembered I had to get to that tournament and I hadn’t eaten any breakfast.

So I ran there as fast as I could and picked up a banana and orange juice. Not ideal for a tournament, but I could deal with it. Emi was there too! I had no idea she could fight, but that was cool to find out. I hope I get to fight her some day.

My first opponent was this Robert guy. I could not stop thinking about getting a sandwich during that match. That banana was not nearly enough, especially since the moonshine soup from yesterday did not really work for me. But then I finally got a sandwich later, so that made up for it. Oh, I beat Robert, like, flawlessly. I think he’s hospitalized? Anyway, the sandwich shop we found was actually pretty good. If Wukong doesn’t want to make breakfast tomorrow, I’m down to go there again before our gym match.

After I beat up Ronny Robert, I realized that the dojo had been torn apart around me. Gorm (I mean the Gorm, martial artist extraordinaire) had a fight with a man named Zack that blew up the building. I think that Zack is Wayne’s dad? He seems pretty tough. Maybe even as tough as Moze.

Oh! So the tournament was moved to the Challenge Rock which is like a big rock and my opponent in the second round was Blackbird McKnight who looked like Chinese Santa but he was actually really good and then he laughed like Moze so I beat the cotton out of him and HE WAS MOZE!

I moved onto the next round, and he saw me do it. My big brother finally came back to visit. And at the best time, too! We even got to play music together. But he’s still coughing up blood.

It’s worse than before. I couldn’t help but think back on everything that happened with him in Saffron City. I still don’t know about how he got into those things. We don’t talk about it anymore. He wants it to be behind us, but I feel like there are still things about my brother that I don’t know. Important things.

I want him to tell me. I want to know what’s wrong with him. He won’t tell me if he’s okay. He sounds okay. But he doesn’t look okay.

I get scared when he leaves. I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again. Do you ever get scared that someone you love will one day be gone? I don’t want him to go without knowing more about him. I don’t want him to go at all.

This is stupid. Stupid talk. Moze is here! There’s no reason to be planning for the worst when the best is yet to come! My big brother is still as jolly as ever. That Santa outfit really suited him, cause he’s a big goofball. Still has girls tripping over his feet. I wish guys would notice me. I think I’m pretty…

I went back to the tournament and was set up to fight a girl dressed as a superhero. Ridiculous. Some people don’t take things seriously enough. Like my brother.

It turned out that she was Henrietta. As soon as I found that out, I felt really bad that I was about to kick her a**. But she begged me to forfeit so she could move on. She told me a big story about how she needed to win to talk to Gorm and prove herself to Emi. Or something. I don’t know, but I was pissed.

Doesn’t she know how much things like that tournament mean to me? Well, I guess not. Maybe I just never told her before. Either way, she offered her shinai. That’s a warrior’s soul. I’d rather have a soul shaped like a battleaxe or a katana, but to each their own.

I knew it must have meant a lot to her, and Moze told me that my publicity was being overshadowed by Gorm anyway. There wasn’t much else to gain from that tournament except for the title. So I tapped out. I don’t even really want that shinai. Henrietta owes me big time.

I watched the end of the tournament, and Emi won the whole thing! I was pretty surprised, although that last fight wasn’t much of a fight. Rather, she and Henrietta might have made out with each other. Which is okay with me. If they’re lesbians, I have less competition.

Oh, I finally remembered why Emi seemed so familiar! I met her before, way back when I lived in Saffron City. She was running away from her grandma, who was a total b***h that kept her under cultural rule. We let her stay at my house. At first I just thought she was throwing away a family for nothing. But I saw her reasoning eventually. She just wants to be free.

It was the first sleepover I ever had. And also the first guest I ever had. Come to think of it, Emi may have been the only guest I ever had.

When I finally caught up to Emi and Henrietta, Mayer appeared with a letter from my mom! I don’t think the girls were used to people having psychic swordsman butler pokemon, but Mayer’s been with my mom for ages. It’s normal to me.

She didn’t send me my nunchucks! How disappointing! Instead, she sent me an Air Balloon. Which looked like a condom until I blew it up. I gave it to Chen Zhen.

I mean, it would have been cool if she sent me condoms, though. Just saying. That’s a pretty cool thing for a mom to do. Not that I’d be using them anytime soon. I have to get past my first kiss first!

We finally got those sandwiches. Best sandwiches ever. That might be an overstatement. I was really hungry at the time. But they were great.

I saw Robby Tobb at the sandwich shop and I thanked him for the recipe. I did it wrong, though. The ingredient wasn’’t moonshine, it was Musharna. Either way, Robby turned out to be an Iron Chef. He agreed to teach me some cooking if I helped train his pokemon.

It was pretty cool. He’s got two Fighting types, so they were easy to deal with, even if his Combusken is a crybaby. Seriously, he’s like fifteen feet tall. He needs to man up. And his duck pokemon is a b***h, but even she managed to learn something new.

I’m pretty sure I took a lot away from the learning experience. Well, Wukong did too. He’s now our team chef! I had no idea he had a natural knack for the culinary arts. I think I might just stick to martial. Although Robby did give me a new recipe to try out. Maybe later.

Robby’s so boss that he got someone to make a montage out of our training, so when Wayne invited some of us up to his hotel room I knew I had to show them the video.
Somehow, his parents got him the coolest room ever. With water beds! And Moze came over to watch the montage too!

So now my friends are getting drunk again. It’s pretty hard to write this when everyone’s dancing around. My light source is pretty lame since Wayne took the lampshade and started wearing it on his head. Also Emi has this thing called a beer bong. No idea where she got it from. But it looks fun? I think I’ll pass on drinking for tonight.

Moze is calling for me! It’s time to play Kings! Arrrg, I’m being antisocial! Have to get back to my friends!

-S.d.F

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 6

One time, when I was a little kid, my dad hired a spirit medium to come to our house because he thought we had a Gastly infestation. I met that medium, and she told me that ghosts were nothing to be afraid of. They’re misunderstood creatures who lash out because no one gives them a chance.

This is a load of bullshit, because the ghost in my hotel room is psycho. Entirely. Creepy too. I found him when I woke up. He was trying to read my journal and stole my pokemon! Fortunately it was part Water type, so I managed to electrocute it before doing a quick emergency capture. It’s not a pokemon I want on my team, but something had to be done.

Needless to say, I got out of the pokemon center quickly after that. Now I’ve got this ghost in my bag that I don’t know what to do with. Maybe I can release him. But then who’s to say he won’t go and start scaring random people? Or worse, stalk me in revenge? No, I think I’ll hold onto him until I figure out what to do.

Anyway, I just split up my team across Castelia for some advanced technique training. Chen Zhen’s doing his own thing, I trust that he’ll find a way to improve himself. Wukong’s is iffy, but I think that he may manage the basics of his technique today at the least. Liuye Dao’s training is the hardest. We’ll see what happens with him.

I took Salem to battle that old lady from yesterday, Chari. Turns out she wasn’t just another crazy old person, she was a superb battler too. The hits I landed didn’t even make a dent before Salem was taken out by her Torkoal. Damn. I guess I need to try even harder. Maybe Salem needs some intense training too.

Remember for later: Old people are full of experience. Sift through the senility to find it.

****

It was only a minute after I wrote this last note that things took a turn for the worse.

I had forgotten that Eevees can evolve through intense feelings of bonding with their trainers, not just through elemental stones. Salem and I had one of those moments, and she transformed into an Espeon. A Psychic type. I was so bewildered and confused that I must have scared her, because right after that we Synchronized.

It’s a weird feeling. I was aware of myself, but it was like I was also Salem. I saw her whole life story. And she must have seen mine, because right after she ran away. I know it’s because of those nasty thoughts I had at the time. About Psychics. She went into my head, I couldn’t help but feel violated.

By the time I found her, Chen Zhen had found her too. He at least managed to calm her down. I couldn’t even do that. I tried to apologize, but she wasn’t having any of it. And now Chen Zhen is mad at me too. I guess he must really care about her. The two of them won’t even look at me.

What am I supposed to do about that? I’m trying to make things right, but it just isn’t working. If we can’t work together as friends, how can we work together as a team? I need their help, or else I’ll never get my gym. I’ll never be more than just Salieri Del Forrest, pokemon trainer, without my friends.

In light of the situation, I decided to give that ghost pokemon a shot when I was challenged to a battle by a girl named Iris. We tied, but that ghost surprised me. He had guts, even if he was disobedient. And plenty of wild abilities too. I nicknamed him Haizhe. Maybe we can work together after all. And if I can work with him, maybe my other pokemon will trust me again too.

Later on, I tried to get in some more training at the docks when something incredible happened. Some sort of phenomenon occurred in Castelia. I don’t know how to do it justice. The sky turned orange and waves of gold streaked across it. I felt like my body was being washed over by power.

But a second later, I saw that my veins in my arms were glowing, and then I threw up blood before passing out. Luckily, some Interpol Agent found me on the street and took me to a hospital. The amount of blood in my body went back to normal, and I was feeling fine.

I don’t feel the same, though. I asked the agent, Jump, to tell me what was wrong. He danced around that subject, but told me he knew my brother and that he owed him a favor. So naturally, this idiot translated that into the need to bring me to a banquet he was doing some undercover work at.

This guy sucks. He showed me the area where he and my brother had a pokemon battle, and just looking at it is enough to know how strong he is. But he’s just so…stupid? I can’t tell how smart he really is, but I know it’s not very. He seems goofy, but he’s really putting on an impression that he’s just immature and irresponsible. Two traits I can’t stand.

Right now he’s getting me a dress while I sit in this department store and wait. I can’t wait for this banquet to be over. I can’t wait for this day to be over. My team’s morale is broken, and it’s all my fault. Instead of doing something about it, I’m stuck attending some Plasma event because of a promise some idiot made to Moze.

There better be a bar. I could use a drink.

And if he makes me wear high heels, I'll be stabbing those stilettos into his feet.

-S.d.f

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 7 ((Part 2))

WOW so I have superpowers now but besides that things are going nuts and I'm going bananas so I'm starting with Team Plasma. Oh wait no I should start with Jump.

Jump told me his backstory. His parents were Interpol Agents that got blown up, and he felt like he wasn't there in time to save them, even though he was just a kid. So he became Interpol himself. It looks like he's happy all the time, but there's just no way he can be. He thinks just because his eyes stand out I can't see it, but when he told me that story I could tell he's still got some issues. Pretty sad.

But even though I think he's an alright guy now he's still a MORON because he snuck us into a hotel room unchecked. What. I know a thing or two about Interpol, and those guys get to be checked in FOR FREE. He thought it was sneaky or something. Idiot.

Anyway, it wasn’t, because when I walked outside I saw that Parasol Girl from Team Plasma. She was leaving the room next to ours. And she was with that waiter from the Italian restaurant, but he dropped that phony accent. I thought I was being paranoid, and that Team Plasma had been spying on me. That bugged me all morning.

Shopping for new clothes fixed me up, though. I like the way Jump braided my hair (Jump braids hair lol), I’m going to keep it this way. But I need to get some more cash or I’ll be broke really soon, even with the money from beating Burgh

Oh yeah I beat Burgh. I kicked his a** it was sweet, I know I got really lucky but it was still sweet. Here’s what happened.

Burgh’s got three bugs. The first one was Dwebble, the “Rock Inn” Pokemon. Pretty cute. Haizhe took some hits but held it down overall. He’s very precise even if he lacks power. I wonder if he was trained before he started sneaking around hotel bathrooms ewww he’s so weeeeeird.

The second pokemon was Scolipede. A fifteen foot centipede. Not as cute, still cute though. Haizhe only got one hit off before going down, but he had set up a lot of advantages for my next pokemon (that squid’s smarter than he looks). I know I was taking a chance, but I chose Chen Zhen. He got brutalized at first, I got him over whatever was keeping him from forgiving me and he OWNED Scolipede! He rocked out, just like I expected.

This is the best part. The third pokemon was a Leavanny, just like Mom’s. Chen Zhen went down no problem. Now, I know I should have chosen Wukong. I really should have, I admit I was being cocky. But I was on a roll, and I thought if I could get Chen Zhen to be my friend again then I could do the same with Salem. I apologized for everything that happened between us. And then we Synchronized again.

But we were in control this time.

I can’t explain what happened, exactly. It’s like we were both watching each other’s thoughts on TV at the same time. I could give her orders instantly, just by moving. I made her fight exactly the way I wanted her to. No miscommunications. She trusted me enough to let me take the wheel, and we ******** UP BURGH’S s**t!

Honestly, when I saw Leavanny samurai slice through Chen Zhen, I was a little worried. Salem didn’t have the training to combat that yet. If we didn’t Synchronize, we may have lost. All Leavanny needed was one hit. I’ll never know for sure. But all it took was Hidden Power, Quick Attack, and my kung fu to make sure we got that victory. I was ecstatic. I still am. GO SALEM!

After I claimed my badge (rightfully, this time. You suck, Lenora), I went to the desert to meet Wayne. He lost his match before mine, and wanted me to teach Hitmonlee Blaze Kick. Also he may have been crying. I’d normally give him grief about that, but since I cried that morning I thought it would be hypocritical. You cry sometimes too, shut up.

When I got there, Henrietta was there too. She told me that somebody from Team Plasma threatened to kill her. Wayne told me that they killed his friend and blew up his grandpa’s house. Seriously. We’re being followed. I told you this was nuts.

Henrietta wants to fight them. What happened to that timid girl I knew seven days ago? What happened was she wants to fight psychos now. I got lucky compared to those two. I’m not trying to get involved. But if they hurt my friends or family, I swear, I’m going to destroy them.

We agreed to meet at Henrietta’s house in Nimbasa City later, that’s a whole thing I’ll get there soon. She left, and I taught Blaze Kick to Hitmonlee with Wukong. I was pretty impressed in my teaching skills, he got it almost immediately. And after that, I showed Wayne my Aura

OH so I’m okay by the way. That whole bleeding thing? Yeah, that’s part of my Aura ability. I saw Jump later, and he told me that it was my Aura activating. Everyone’s got a unique Aura ability they can bring out if they train hard enough, and Moze thought mine would be similar to his. He called it Nianzhu, so I’ll do the same.

I think it’s like biofeedback, but better. The ability to have complete awareness and control over my body. Today, I already figured out

No instead, I’m just going to make a list that I update (if I can do more):

-Blood Sensing (my blood, duh)
-Skin Armor (my skin gets really tough. And gets a nice tan too!)

So it’s only two things for now. Jump said if I’m not too careful, I might hurt myself. I think he’s right, if this power works the way I think it does. But it’s incredible! I still have so much to learn about how it works, but imagine the possibilities! I could be superhuman!

I wonder how Moze’s version of this ability works. Can he do what I do? What can he do? Did he ever hurt himself with Nianzhu? Is Nianzhu why he’s sick? I have so many questions and I told you I’m going bananas.

Anyway, I left Wayne to head across the desert. I wanted to ask him if he was okay about what happened with his friend, or his grandpa, but he didn’t seem phased. Besides, he had a gym match he wanted to complete and I didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer (Dwebble Downer? Hehe). So I left. I felt kind of bad, but I decided I’d try to talk to him later on, when there was a good time.

Before I left for the desert, I saw N again. He was just goofing around, like a kid who takes himself way too seriously. It’s pretty dorky, but I can’t help smiling. I really just have to step up to the plate here. Why haven’t I asked for his number yet?

While we were training in the desert (NOTE: the desert is a great place for training, go back sometime) we met this pair of archaeologists. One of them said Chen Zhen was weak just cause of his species. Beat that guy too. I’m telling you, I’m on a roll today.

They turned out to be pretty nice guys. Dr. Markus and Simon. I’ll have to hit them up when I go through Driftveil. The doc told me I was Native Unovan. I feel like I should care more that I found out what my race was, but that’s not really a pressing concern to me. That’s just the color of my skin, right? There can’t be anything else behind it. I’m Salieri Del Forrest, that doesn’t define me. I’ll look into it some other time.

After the desert, we got to Nimbasa City. It’s a pretty big place. Not as big as Castelia, but it might be livelier. There are a couple of places I want to check out tomorrow. The Battle Institute looks promising.

I was the first one to get to Henrietta’s house, so we hung out in her room. Her house is kind of what I expected it to be. Except for the medal she got for a city wide kendo tournament. Is she that good, or did she just beat a lot of people who suck? I can’t imagine her to be a very good fighter, not after what happened in the tournament in Nacrene. I wish I had a medal. Ugh. How does she do these things?

Wayne, Takamaru and that Luka kid showed up later, and Henrietta tried to band us together to make an anti Team Plasma team. I know that eventually, Team Plasma will come to try and liberate my pokemon. If they’re already spying on me, why wouldn’t they? But I’m not going to go pick this fight this time. If they want it so bad, they can come and get it. Plasma is psycho, I don’t want anything to do with them if I can help it.

Henrietta is still trying to fight them, though. Same with Wayne and TK. Luka seems more sensible than that, but he’s not against the idea. If they get themselves in trouble, I’m going to have to bail them out. I guess I’ll fight for them until they can fight like me. Yeah right. They’ll never be able to fight like me. We set up a chat room in the C-Gear (the C-Room) so we could keep in contact with each other.

Each one of them has superpowers too, so I can’t be all that worried. I’m not sure about the full extent of what they can do, mine included. But I’m going to figure it out. I think it was that whatever turned the sky orange in Castelia on Day 5. Freaky.

We ate pizza until Henrietta’s parents kicked us out (lame), and when we got the boot I tried to get Wayne to come play some football so I could talk to him after the game about what happened to him with Plasma. Wayne didn’t want to play, though. And of course, TK had to go and interrupt it by calling Wayne and I a couple.

Why do people keep doing that? We don’t act like a couple. I mean, Wayne makes me laugh and he’s definitely not a coward and he’s a good trainer and a good person but that doesn’t mean I like him or anything. He’s my friend. Honestly, one of my only friends. I don’t want that to change. Even if he is kind of cute. And then there's N. AAAAAAHHHH boys are complicated.

I took TK to play football with me instead. It was pretty fun. We walked to the center after. He told me a little about his home life, I told him about mine. And then I told him about that thing with Bill in the Pinwheel Forest. I’ve been trying not to think about it, but it’s hard. Talking it out helped a little, but I didn’t want people to know. Oh well. I think I can trust TK. Besides, he’s the youngest one out of all of us. Someone’s got to keep an eye on him, you know what I mean? If something happened to him because of this stupid Plasma thing, I think I’d feel partially responsible for it.

I tried to talk to Wayne one more time at the pokemon center, but he just went straight to his room from eating. I don’t think he’s avoiding me, but I don’t think he wants to talk about it either. Is that healthy? I’m not sure if I should just keep letting that go or not. Something in my gut tells me I shouldn’t. Maybe that’s the pokeburger talking. I’ll try and pull him aside tomorrow.

So now I’m going to go out with Chen Zhen and Liuye Dao to try to learn one more thing about my Aura ability before I go to sleep. I figure if I have control over my body, I should have control over my bioelectricity, just like I taught Liuye the other day. Maybe this power isn’t solely meant for combat, but I would like that extra offensive edge.

It’s probably going to hurt if I electrocute myself. I hope my pokemon don’t freak out over it. They’re tough, but I think sometimes they worry about me too much. Especially Liuye. Which is nice, but I don’t want them to think I’m helpless. We protect each other, he doesn’t have to just protect me.

I should get going. I need to find a spot where we won’t be too loud.

-S.d.f

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 8 ((Part 1))

I once got into a fight with a kid in elementary school. It was in the cafeteria. Everybody else was in a big circle around us, so I had plenty of room to work with. At one point I hit him, hard, into a table and kicked his arm against the bench.

It bent in a way I've never seen before. And there was this cracking sound. The whole cafeteria heard it when they went silent. It sounded so painful. He went from confident to crying in seconds. I didn't mean to hurt him that badly.

What happened to Liuye Dao was the same thing. He got broken, his spirit got crushed, and it was all my fault. The only difference was that there was only one break in that kid’s arm. Liuye Dao’s cracked like a broken mirror.

Henrietta sent a message over the C-Room. Plasma, Stadium. So I went to the stadium. But it wasn't Plasma. It was something completely new.

They called themselves the Freedom Liberation Force. Freedom fighters trying to uproot our shitty government. They took everyone in the stadium hostage and set up guards outside so the cops couldn't get through. So really they were terrorists trying to uproot our shitty government.

Yeah, I know the system sucks. The World Government's treats all criminals like dirt. I wonder what they'd do if they knew Moze used to have illegal drugs. Maybe they'd through him in jail I dunno. He's not a bad guy, he's the best guy there is. But that defense doesn't work for what they call justice nowadays.

These guys were assholes though. And I didn't care for their trash talk. Besides, if I wasn't around then the rest of the crew wouldn't have been able to take out a guard, I'm sure of it. This guy took on all of us, and Robby, AND N all at once. He had Aura too, some kind of spinning ability. But he was in another league with it.

We took him down eventually. It wasn't flawless, though. Melty almost melted my pokemon alive. Twice. And Henrietta just watched it happen. I almost knocked her out after that, but N convinced me not too. If you call yourself a hero or a trainer or whatever you shouldn't suck at it.

Wayne and N told us that the FLF had Electrodes rigged to blow under the stadium. There was a floating WG fortress nearby with a signal that could emulate the Damp ability so the explosions wouldn't go off, but the signal was being jammed by the FLF's ringleader.

Her name's Pachi. She's Native Unovan. Just like me. The way Wayne talked about her made her sound like a dirty tribal woman. If he knew I was Native Unovan too, would he say that about me? I don't know what it means to be a Native Unovan.

Pachi has a power that lets her jam signals and make portals. Somehow it triggers my sixth sense. That just makes it spookier.

We fought our way inside, but when she saw me she threw me out of the stadium with a portal into a dumpster outside. I was furious. She must have known I'd land there. Trying to embarrass me. She thought she had the right to. With the power she has, maybe she really did.

Some Spanish girl outside the stadium asked me to save Henrietta, and called her a superhero. I wouldn’t call her the same. Although I really have to give her credit, she’s trying.

I got back inside and joined the fight. We broke apart the stage and scored a hit on Pachi. But I hadn’t been there for the first half of the battle. I didn’t know how hard it would be to do twice.

The portals redirected everything we threw around back at us. She wasn’t even trying to hit us with her own power. She had told some other FLF person over the phone that she’d stall. That’s what she did.

And in all that chaos, she grabbed me. Knife to the throat. I’ve never come that close to getting killed before. She was buying time. Everybody made a move, and before I knew it, Liuye Dao nearly got killed trying to save me and the FLF were gone.

I ran to the pokemon center but somehow it got half blown to bits during the fight. The Battle Institute was set up as contingency medical service for trainers. And they saved him. Barely.

Liuye’s in no condition to travel with me. I’m leaving this city behind as soon as I can, I have to. It just doesn’t feel good to be here anymore. And if I keep going forward, how is he going to survive? It only gets harder from here.

I sent him home to get proper medical care. And he thought I was just throwing him out like a broken toy. He even told me that himself, N translated. I didn’t even know Liuye could talk, but he did. Because I was breaking his heart, and he cried and I all I could tell him was that I wanted what was best for him and that he would come back when he was at the level he needed to be to survive.

And we said goodbye. But how can I ever make this up to him? He would rather be dead than to be disgraced and I let him down. How many apologies can I make? His bravery was rewarded by my weakness.

So I tried to walk it off. But everyone kept looking at me. It was because the cameras were running inside the stadium.

It’s almost funny. I finally get to be on TV all over the world. The chance to show everyone what I’m made of. And they saw me fail completely. Maybe they were giving me pity, just like my friends did. Or maybe they were scared of me. Because I looked like her.

I took a shortcut to Henrietta’s house through an alley and some guy jumped me. He said a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way, and I was already on edge. He called out my weakness.

The rest was a blur. When I was done with him, he didn’t look like a man anymore. There was a kid at the end of the alley who saw what I had done. She ran scared before I could tell her my side. And Moze tried calling me, but I had to hang up on him. He was calling out my weakness too.

I left that man there and got to Henrietta’s house. Everybody else was there, plus that Spanish girl. Turns out she’s Henrietta’s friend. I think she has a crush on her, too. You can tell from the way she talks about her. Fortunately Henrietta is probably a lesbian.

I finally got to talk to Henrietta and told her never to let her psycho pokemon go loose like that again. She said it was her fault and apologized, like I knew she would.

Then her parents called her. They yelled a lot of things over the phone. Her grandpa just died, and she skipped the funeral to be in Nimbasa. For us. Her parents practically disowned her over the phone. And they mentioned, almost casually, that they thought she wouldn’t be trying to kill herself again. That’s right.

She explained to me what she had done to herself and her time in the hospital, but a lot of it failed to register with me. It was too much to process at once, on top of the rest of my day. How could ever try to discard the life you’ve been given? I could have ended up anywhere, but I ended up on the front door of someone who loves me. Without him I wouldn’t be here now. To ever give up your life would be a stab in the back to everything you’ve ever been a part of.

She wants to be strong now. So she fights. And it shines a light on old memories of her. I understand how she feels. I need to be stronger too. If I’m not strong enough, then I’ll be buried under all that pity. The people who told me I wouldn’t be good enough would win, and I’d fail the people that believed in me. So I have to keep going, more than I thought I would. I won’t stop at gym leader. If I’m the best of them all, the greatest trainer on the face of the planet, then no one will put me down anymore. And I’ll be free from all of that.

I told her I’d stay.

So we’re all sleeping over here. Even N. I took the master bedroom, a small plus to counteract one of the many cons of today. But I’ll count it.

It’s because of this weakness that I couldn’t make Liuye Dao all better. He relied on me and I failed him. Henrietta is relying on me now. They want to be heroes, but if we’re weak then who can counts on us?

I won’t be weak anymore. Those days are long behind me. And people like Pachi will shiver when they hear my name.

-S.d.f.

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 10

This morning I woke up feeling cold, which was weird considering how warm it was outside. I felt fine later. Maybe I’m getting a cold? Who knows.

My pokemon were already up and really wanted to train. I was still kinda drained from yesterday but I couldn’t pass down their enthusiasm. So I did my usual thing, got us food, and went to train with Henrietta.

My pokemon learned some new moves, refined old ones. The training the day before had been sloppy. All power, no substance. It was pretty good this time around. Henrietta’s a damn good battler considering we tied everytime. But that’s what I expect from someone who’s trying to team up with me, nothing less. Chen Zhen’s leaves kept everybody going so we got a lot of battles in at once. Same with Robby’s cooking. Yum <3

Wukong’s been taking up every word of what Robby has to say when it comes to cooking. No complaints. How come I can’t get Wukong to listen to me without hesitation? Whatever. Maybe he’s got a man crush or something.

And Robby showed me some pointers today after I trained with Henrietta. But he gave me the boot when I went to chop tomatoes with my nails. It totally would have worked! Kung fu is an all-encompassing art, culinary included! Even though that happened, cooking with Robby was fun.

Then N came told me to do Aura Training with me. It was weird, he never asked me to hang out before. I mean he didn’t really ask me but he kinda did. You could tell he just wanted to me leave the house with him. Well I guess he had a good reason to cause

Actually I’ll get to that later but for now N and I were training and hanging out. I experimented with my senses. I can amp them all up, which is so awesome. Super vision? I saw two dudes making out in a hotel room 2 ******** blocks away. My awareness sense? I could almost count all the people in the park at a glance. Smell? Actually that kind of sucked cause of the garbage but still. You got the idea.

The problem was getting them to the right levels. Heightened hearing is not something you want at a traffic circle, trust me. I fixed them up after a while, trying to find the right balance between everything. But I put them back to normal when I was done. Not sure if I’m ready for having them as my default mode yet.

I don’t get why people think they only have five when we have so many more. I trained almost all of them but three: pain, time, and my sixth one. With the rest of the senses down I realized just how aware I was of what was going on inside me. The learning curve is starting to drop.

So now my list of controls is

-Skin. I actually haven’t turned the toughness off since the stadium. I like the way it looks. Did I mention the tan? I think I did
-Muscles
-Senses. Most of them
-Bio Elec. This one’s kinda tough. The taser fist is perfected though biggrin
-Nails
-Blood. I cut myself cooking before, but I could stop the bleeding. Don’t know if it’ll work with big wounds yet. But awesome

Pretty cool, pretty cool. N and I went all around the city, testing out my senses and his ability. Oh his ability is cool too. He calls it Full Restore cause he says he can restore whatever he wants. Like when the ice cubes I was using to practice my heat sense with melted, he restored them back to ice cubes. Kind of like Chen Zhen’s Recycle.

We talked a lot too. He told me that since he can restore wounds, he was responsible for not having the strength to heal Liuye. I told him it wasn’t his fault at all. Honestly, hanging out with him and everybody else made me feel way better than I did when I woke up. They helped me get it together.

N especially. N is so great. And cute. I “accidentally” poured water on his shirt and he had to take it off to restore the dryness and damn. He’s in shape. I had no idea there were muscles on him at all.

And he’s smart. Like knowledgeable. We had a good discussion about the world government when it came up on the news.

See, one of the emergency restrictions being placed on Unova while the FLF was at large was on travel. Normal people aren’t allowed to travel between towns and cities anymore unless it’s public transportation. Oh I’m sorry, regulated public transportation. Only trainers with licenses are allowed, or anyone important enough to get a pass.

What the hell? I know I can still go wherever but everyone else? It’s more than a major inconvenience, it’s one step closer to being in a lockdown all the time. N pointed out that Unova’s public transport wouldn’t be able to accommodate everybody, either. The system will eventually slow to traffic that’ll lock people down anyway.

I know they’re paranoid about the FLF, because everyone is. They’re freaking out. At the same time, they’re treating us like heroes cause we helped stop the Electrode detonation.

We were getting recognized by people. And thanked. It was actually really nice to hear how much they appreciated it. N was loving it. I think he likes being a hero more than Henrietta does.

What I didn’t like was that the media was giving us nicknames. And I was the Anti-Hero. That’s so stupid. It’s not even creative. I’m not an anti-hero, I’m not any type of hero at all. We found a newspaper that interviewed the cop I talked to at the stadium for like a second, and twisted around my words to make me sound like a cheesy superhero trying to be badass.

I had no idea N and I were hanging out for hours. It was great. Eventually, Zero found him and they had some side conversation. Which was rude, considering Zero can speak English just fine somehow. I don’t like that Zoroark very much.

N told me he needed to go do something, Wayne was coming to meet me, and that I should stay here. Before I could figure out why, he bailed. Real fast. It was sketchy at the time, and then Wayne popped up. He told me that he and I were going to hang out anywhere but Henrietta’s house. Which was weird, but I rolled with it.

So we went around double battling chump trainers for change so we could get food. Classic.

I finally got the chance to ask Wayne about his friend that Team Plasma killed, and his grandpa’s place. But he told me that he was fine and then made some joke I can’t remember.

I let it slide, but I’m not sure I buy that. How can someone like Wayne be that way? He’s not a cold guy. But I know how it feels to not want to discuss your feelings. I almost wanted to give him a hug. Is a hug too much? It’s not like I’d be making a pass at him. Right? Right.

Finally, we went back to Hen’s and I opened the door the SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Everybody yelled that when I walked in the door. Even people I didn’t know. And Jump. And there was a party. I was so confused, it was surreal.

Turns out that Haizhe told my pokemon that I don’t have a birthday

Okay so if you just started reading this journal you might not now that I don’t have a birthday. Or at least one I know of. My dad had no way to tell when me and Moze were born so we just let it go. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m even sixteen. Well, as of today, seventeen. Officially.

Anyway, I didn’t really care, but apparently my pokemon thought I did when Haizhe told them he read about it in my journal. That little creep. (note to self: choke him out later) So they told N, and N told everybody else, and somehow Jump found out (through TK?) and they decided to throw me a party.

It was amazing. Robby and Wukong made this gigantic sub platter cause Haizhe told them sandwiches were my favorite food (******** you Haizhe), Jump DJed and everyone was dancing and having fun. They even got a videophone for Moze and everyone at home to call in! I got to see Liuye! I can’t say our conversation was long since it was entirely one sided, but he looked better than before!

I had no idea that this was what I needed to get me back to normal. My friends did though.

So yeah, people partied until they either got too drunk or tired and passed out everywhere. N was like a machine cleaning up after that. Jump got me a music player and Henrietta got me some sweet steel toed boots.

All in all, I can see why people enjoy their birthdays now. I like writing that word. Birthday birthday birthday. Sweet.

Oh, and Jump gave me the playlist at the end of the party. I don’t think it’s a real playlist. It made sense in the beginning and then just became kind of random to me. I asked him if it was a playlist and he told me, direct quote “Either this is a playlist or either I’m drunk or wait no it’s both. Mostly the second.”

I liked it though. Weird party mix, but I liked it. If only this wasn’t a blog and not a book, cause if it was I could put up links. Oh well.

Seventeen Years – Ratatat
19-2000 Soulchild Remix – Gorillaz
New York Border – Mouth’s Cradle
Kong - Bonobo
Beggin – Madcon
Shoot Down The Stars – Gym Class Heroes
Mighty Healthy – Wu-Tang vs Beatles
Nice Weather For Ducks – Lemon Jelly
Bonito – Jarabe De Palo
D.A.N.C.E. - Justice
Do The Astral Plane – Flying Lotus
The Anthem – Onra
Vacation – Vitamin C
Green Light – John Legend
I Want You Back Sleepyhead – The Jackson Pit
Happier Ending – Viewtiful Joe 2

Sleepy time now.

-S.d.f

The Quest to Become a Legend: Day 12

Wow. This lockdown is getting old. I like all the training I’m getting in during the downtime, but I need a change of scenery. Thankfully it’s over tomorrow. I’ll challenge Elesa too, she won’t stand a chance against me after today.

Wake up, eat, group training. Same old same old. Everyone’s really improved in the last few days, it’s great to see. Reminds me of the dojo.

I locked myself into the master bedroom for my Aura training. I had something very different in mind. Certain changes I made in my body remained activated without my concentration, passively existing without using Aura to be sustained. So I decided to reinvent myself. It’s like that song that’s on the music player Jump gave me says. Harder Better Faster Stronger.

It was kind of painful. And awkward to get used to. I need to experiment with certain shifts to get the right balance of things, but I think I’ve done it right.

So my skin is still super tough, has been for days. My hair is as tough as steel now, and silky smooth! My senses are all enhanced, but not to the point where I’ll be overloaded. My connective tissues and lungs are stronger than before, and my muscles are denser and more flexible for more power, endurance and higher reflexes. Changing my bones hurt like hell, but now they’re super dense but hollow. If normal bones are wood, mine are like the strongest bamboo.

On the outside, I look mostly the same. Except for that sweet tan. My hair’s shinier, I guess. I tried out having big boobs, but they kept getting in the way when I moved. So I settled for medium.

I don’t know for sure, but I think I’m prettier now. I’d like to think so, cause Wayne asked me if I wanted to go to the Battle Subway with him. Obviously I said yes!

The city had shut down the public transit lines, but the battle exclusive ones were still open so we checked those out and chose a tag battle line. With my senses of balance and awareness improved, I could ride that subway forever. Well, not forever since I had to use a little Aura consistently to keep myself good, but it’s better than motion sickness.

He and I crushed basically everybody we battled. We even beat the Subway Bosses in a tag match! They’re really strong, I think they could have beaten us outside a regulated match. But it was a great fight.

And Wukong evolved! ******** yeah! He’s an Infernape now. And his temper’s actually gotten better because of it. You think he’d be more of a hot head now. Get it? Cause the fire is on his head? I’m glad I wrote that one down.

So with so many Battle Points, I got myself some items. I got a Razor Fang cause I think it would make a cool necklace for Wukong. Plus it increases your flinch rate. I also got Wise Glasses for Salem to boost her attacks, and also cause they’d look so cute on her.

We got some food after. There was a jazz band playing at the Musical Hall that was pretty good, and we sat on the hill outside to listen to them without paying for tickets. While we ate Wayne suggested that I do something nice for Liuye Dao when I see him again. Like polishing him. Because Steel types like that? I saw TK do it and he’s got all kinds of Steel types, so it must work. I’ll see if Liuye’s up for it.

He told me other stuff too. About himself, his past as a trainer. So Wayne had three pokemon before Ronin Daphne and Eukayra, but Team Plasma convinced him to let them go. Since then he’s been trying to get them back. He told me he thought he failed them as a trainer, and as a friend.

I had no idea he had a grudge against Plasma before he met me. It’s just like with Henrietta, it puts a whole new spin on things. I always thought Wayne was just a trainer without a care in the world, but he’s so much more than that. He’s loyal, he’s kind. Even if he’s a goofball. But I like that he’s a goofball.

He and I got closer than before. I still don’t know what he really thinks of me. It’s hard to tell what he really thinks of anything. He’s so much deeper than he lets on. Wow I am gushing right now. I sound like a thirteen year old.

We both got a message that the house went on fire from Robby. But then we got another saying he put it out, so it was all good. I wonder how that happened. I’ve never seen Robby mess up in the kitchen. It must have been something else.

Maybe Zero was messing with him. She’s only been hanging out with N. Most of the time she’s not even around. Unless she is, disguised as something or someone random and then changing form to scare us for kicks.

Oh well. At least the food was saved.

Robby made a big dinner to celebrate the end of lockdown. It was so good, I’m stuffed as we speak. There was a little drinking going on, but I didn’t get drunk. Well, specifically, I worked out a way to shift my metabolism so I didn’t get drunk. Pretty useful. That should be useful in removing any other foreign substances. I’ll never get sick again! And if I can out how to remove my fatigue poisons, I won’t have to let silly things like exhaustion slow me down so much.

So here I am, sitting on the living room couch stuff with food using Salem as a pillow. She is so ******** soft. Like a smooth cloud. Oh man thinking about this is getting me sleepy.

I thought this lockdown was going to destroy me, that I’d go crazy from staying here too long. But I’ve kept some good company. My parents would be proud. I know Moze is.

-S.d.f