Writing The Quest: Kanto

Drewscow

Poke-Trainer
Member
This is my first piece ... so please comment and critique on it!
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
I will also update about two to three new chapters a week!


Chapter 1: Bulbasaur

Hi, my name is Ryan. Today is my tenth birthday. As many people know, kids get their first Pokémon on their tenth birthday. Let me tell you a little about myself. I’m about 4’8 and I weigh 100 pounds. I have short brown hair; I also spike my bangs. I am a little tan but not pale. My eyes are green just like my dad’s, at least that’s what my mother tells me.

“Ryan, breakfast is ready!” my mother called.

“Okay! I’ll be right down.” I replied.

My mother is a little weird. She hasn’t been the same since my father left. She always talks about him like he is a hero. My neighbors tell me not to get too exited, because he left her for something else. My neighbors won’t say, but one of my goals for my journey is to find him.

I run down stairs. My mother is sitting the table up. She is 5’3 and has brown hair like mine. She cuts her hair down to her shoulders. Her eyes are a dull gray color and her facial expression looks dreary and tired. As she set the bacon on the table she saw me.

“Honey, it’s time for breakfast. Hurry up and eat quickly, for you have to pick up your first Pokémon at Professor Oak’s lab,” she said, “You don’t want to be the last one and end up with a Pikachu or a Rattata!”

“Mom, don’t worry!” I replied, “We don’t have to be at the lab until 10:00 a.m., its only 8:56!”

“Ryan, are clock is a hour late … it’s actually 9:56,” my mother started, “Good thing I bought you a new bike! Hurry up and leave, I packed up spare clothes, and all the materials you’ll need to go on this adventure.”

“Thank you Mom! Now I have to go, I love you.” I said.

I gave my mother a hug and left. I live in the village of Pallet town, home to the famous Pokémon trainer Red. I hope to like him one day. Thankfully Pallet town is fairly small and it would only take me 5 minutes to get to the laboratory. As I pulled up, a man in white coat run up to me.

“YOUR LATE, GET INSIDE NOW!!!” he screamed in my ear

We went up the winding hill to a big building with a windmill at the top. We opened the doors and saw three people around a table with three pokéballs. The oldest one was no doubt Professor Oak. He looks about 60 and is pretty pale. His hair is gray but towards the side burns it is a tan color. He is about 5’8 and was wearing a lab coat that covered his whole body.

There was also a girl and a boy. The girl was about my height and had blonde, crinkled hair. She wore a bright yellow dress and carried a pink bag. Her eyes were a bright sky blue, it matched her attitude. The boy was 5’1 and wore dark clothes. The clothes were as dark as his jet black hair. The mood on his face showed that he wasn’t the happy camper. His eyes were pitch black, but you can still see the pupils.

“There you are, I was beginning to wonder if you would show,” Professor Oak said, “Well, you all turned ten today and you all get your first Pokémon. The last time I had three trainers get their Pokémon on the same day, one of them became the strongest trainer in the world.”

“When do we get are Pokémon!!!” the Girl blurted out.

“Mera, even though you’re Daisy’s child doesn’t mean I won’t scold you for childish things like that.” Professor Oak replied.

“Okay Great-Grandpa …” Mera said.

“Now, since Ethan was here first, he gets the first choice,” exclaimed Oak, “There are three Pokémon, each representing the three main types. There is; Bulbasaur, the Grass Type; Squirtle, the water type; and Charmander, the Fire type.”

The table in front of us had three Pokéballs. Each one had a little symbol on it, corresponding with the Pokémon inside of it. The table turned a little and Ethan reached out for the Pokéball with the fire mark on it.

“Professor, I would like this one.” Ethan said. He threw the ball into the air and a little reptile popped out.

“Charmander! Char! Char!” the creature said.

“Ahh, Charmander, good choice Ethan.” Oak said, “Now it’s Mera’s turn. Sorry Ethan, if you weren’t late you wouldn’t be last!”

Mera looked at the three balls. She reached out and picked up the ball with the water mark on it. She took it and ran out.

“I GOT A POKEMON!!! LETS GO SQUIRTLE!!!!” she screamed.

“Hehehe, she can get carried away sometimes,” Oak said, “Now Ryan, you get Bulbasaur, the grass type.”

He went to the table and picked up the Pokéball that was marked with the leaf. He handed it to me. I threw it and a little green creature popped out.

“Bulba! Bulbasaur!!!” It said.

“That’s Bulbasaur, unlike the rest of the starters, it has a second type. The other type it has is poison. So be careful and not sniff it’s bulb!” Oak exclaimed.

Ethan came up to me. Up close, he is a lot scarier. I swear though, it looked like he had eye liner.

“Let’s battle, I bet my Charmander could beat your Bulbasaur.” He told me.

“You’re on!” I replied.

“REALLY, NOT IN HERE THOUGH” Shouted Oak, “I will be ref. and I will also put out pointers to the both of you!"

End of Chapter One
 
Don't use caps for writing, ever...

Also, maybe go into a bit more description with the surroundings. You did a fine job with the characters, but I can't picture the setting. Also, you're making the story too cookie-cutter, too predictable, too much of stuff everyone has already done. I can pretty much know where the story is going just by reading the first chapter. Maybe you can spice the writing up so I can't know what will happen, but that doesn't mean having Ethan beat Ryan as spice, I mean more plot. This isn't something planned out for you, this is something that you are planning. Have fun, be creative, and go big.
 
I like the story. It's kinda cliche, (as is every Pokemon Trainer's journey, so no biggie), but I still find it interesting. Make sure you throw ' in "Let's" and "You're" and just focus on grammatical errors.
 
Chapter 2: Charmander

We walked out of the Laboratory. It was almost night time and the light reflected on the clouds, making the sky look orange and pink. There was a light breeze in the air and it made the trees ruffle a bit. I turned around. I saw the professor walk out with two colored flags. Ethan was right behind him. Professor Oak changed into a referee outfit. It was a black shirt with a Pokéball on the upper right section and white pants.

“Follow me to the behind the lab, that is where we have the battle field.” said Professor Oak.

We followed him around the lab to the back. We saw a field the size of half a football field. It was dusty and we were in the shade of the lab.

“Let’s make things interesting,” said Ethan, “loser doesn’t get their Pokédex.”

“Fine, looks like you won’t get your Pokédex.” I replied.

“Hey, you shouldn’t make deals like that,” said Oak, “A trainers Pokédex is their most resourceful tool. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that it has saved lives before.

We were then instructed to go to the oppisote ends of the field. As we did, I noticed that the field had dull markings. It formed a rectangle and in the middle there was a word. It looked like brawl, but I couldn’t tell.

“Ready to lose?” Ethan shouted across the field.

“Nope, my Bulbasaur is really B.A.” I shouted back.

“These are the rules, each side uses one Pokémon. The loser doesn’t get a Pokédex and the challenger gets the first turn!” Oak said.

“This is going to be easy.” Smirked Ethan, “I will just use a fire type move and burn your Bulbasaur up.” Ethan threw the Pokéball from his hand onto the field. On it opened, blue sparks came from it. It was a little red lizard with fire from the tip of its tale. It has a tan colored belly area and it went up to its tale.

“So that’s what a Charmander looks like …” I mumbled. My mom never can hold a job and we are not that well of. One of the reasons I became a trainer is to earn money for my family. We don’t have a TV, and I was home schooled so I don’t know what most Pokémon look like.

“Go Bulbasaur!” I yelled when I threw the Pokéball onto the field. My Pokéball spewed red sparks when Bulbasaur came out. I glanced at Professor Oak. He looked at the sparks in wonder.

Ethan made the first command, “Charmander, use ember!” Charmander opened its mouth. Surprisingly, it only had few teeth and all of them where very dull. A little gray puff of smoke came out.

“Looks like your Charmander does not know how to attack, it is really weak looking.” I chuckled.

“Hold on you two, I hope you both know your Pokémon’s moves. Charmanders can’t learn ember at level five. It only knows growl and scratch. Bulbasaurs know tackle and growl. You two better learn those moves or else you’ll do horribly at battle.” Oak scolded.

“Hey! Don’t say I don’t know my Pokémons moves, I have not even gone yet!” I yelled back. I didn’t know the moves that Bulbasaur knew, so when Oak told us I was relived.

“Bulbasaur, use tackle!!!” I yelled.

“Saur, Bulba, Bulba! Bulbasaur chanted. It started running straight towards Charmander and ran it over.

“Good hit,” smirked Ethan, “but mine will be stronger! Charmander use growl!”

“Chaaar, Char Char!” It growled. When it did that, Bulbasaur shuddered.

“HA! It did nothing to my Bulbasaur,” I said, “Now then, tackle it again Bulbasaur!”

“Bulba!” It said. It charged at Charmander at full speed. This time, it looked like it was weaker.

“I guess you don’t get it. Charmander use Growl again!” Ethan said with a dark tone.

“Chaaar, maaannnderrr” It rumbled. Bulbasaur got that same look it did before.

“Stop that! It’s a waste of time!” I said.

“Is it?” Ethan said, “Don’t you know that growl lowers a Pokémon’s attack and makes them weaker when they use a physical attack? Ryan, you are very simple minded.”

Despite his looks, he seems to be a very smart person. Suddenly, half of the Laboratory blew up and the brick flew everywhere. One of them hit Ethan in the head and knocked him out. That’s what I call Karma! When the dust cleared I noticed that Oak has a couple cuts. I looked at my arms and legs. I also had some bruises, but not as bad as Ethan. His head was bleeding and he had many bruises.

“Are you okay?” shouted Oak.

“Yeah,” I replied, “What happened to cause that explosion?”

We looked at the lab; we saw a giant tank and men in black suits. They all looked exactly the same. They wore a black cap and black clothes. On the front of the shirt, there was a big ‘R’ on it. They even had the same hair, it was a purple color. They were taking the Pokéballs on the shelves and putting them into bags.

“Don’t just stand there!” yelled Oak, “I will get Charmander and we will both fight these goons!”

“What! Us against that tank! No thank you!” I yelled back. I wasn’t about to fight guys that had a freaking tank and could blow us to bits.

“You have to! All those Pokéballs has Pokémon that future trainers will get. Without them, ten year olds can’t journey through the world and learn about Pokémon.” Oak said.

“Fine … LETS DO IT FOR JOHNNY!” I replied.

“Who’s Johnny?” Oak questioned.

“It’s a movie quote, come let’s go!” I said. We ran into the lab. There was only two goons, each only having one Pokéball on their belt. They heard our running and turned around.

“Tch, it’s only a kid and a old guy,” the first guy said, “We, Team Rocket, can beat them easily!

“Who’s team rocket?” I asked.

“We are only the most evil team of all times!” the other one said.

“Well I don’t care! Charmander use scratch to open the bags!” shouted Oak. Charmander leaped towards the bags and cut them open with its scratch attack.

The first Rocket threw his Pokéball, and purple sparks came out. When the sparks faded, I saw a snake like Pokémon. It was purple with two beady eyes. It’s belly, it’s neck and the bottom of its body was yellow. It also had three beads at the end of its tail.

“Ekans! Use wrap on the geezer and his Charmander!” the Rocket said. It made a rattling sound and lurched at the Professor and Charmander. The situation was looking worse, Bulbasaur was weakened, they caught Oak and Charmander, and it was three on one.

“BULBASAUR!!!” it screamed

End of Chapter 2
 
Well what a twist! :)
Arbok doesnt have a rattle, you must mean its pre-evolved form ekans. Its ok though they did the same thing on one of the actual episodes so.. and isn't the belly and underside of a snakes body the same? oh well, it still is a very nice chapter and looking forward to the next! :)
 
BlueEmboar said:
Well what a twist! :)
Arbok doesnt have a rattle, you must mean its pre-evolved form ekans. Its ok though they did the same thing on one of the actual episodes so.. and isn't the belly and underside of a snakes body the same? oh well, it still is a very nice chapter and looking forward to the next! :)

Thanks for pointing that out! I fixed the Arbok typo.
 
Hmm... There are some notes I'd like to run past you quick before you get too far ahead with this (I'd give a full critique, but I don't have a lot of time to work with right now, as I believe I somewhat explained to you via PM when I asked you to take care of the spacing issue, which I'm grateful that you did). Also, forgive me if I sound like an English teacher here...but these are kind of immediate...

Personally, I'm not too impressed with this, but the fact that you're taking the time to write out things like character description (simple, though it be) shows that you have at least some sort of decent incentive as an author. However, a lot of minor editorial issues that strike me as quite distracting.

First off, you have a tendency to overuse, misuse, or miss use of commas and semi-colons. When it comes to the latter, I prefer a 'minimalist' approach myself or just try to avoid them altogether if I can. Case in-point, the following use I noticed is completely wrong...

There is; Bulbasaur, the Grass Type; Squirtle, the water type; and Charmander, the Fire type.

When listing, try to always use commas. Semi-colons are just for joining related sentences, and usually just ones that have words like "however" or "though" in them since they're an immediate continuation of the previous sentence (though, you can also get along without merging two related sentences to begin with). Also, you're not supposed to use them in place of colons either, which in this case wouldn't be used to begin with since words like "is" (though, you'll want to change that to "are" since it's plural and you're dealing with multiple creatures here) signify that you're talking about something specific and don't need a colon to separate it (and, besides, colons are almost only supposed to be used after the words "as follows" or "the following" have been used, though there are some variations of those and exceptions that can be made...but very rarely...). Additionally, you don't need the commas to separate the creatures' types from their species' names since their directly related in the statement; so just use them after the word "type" when describing Bulbasaur and Squirtle respectively.

Likewise, you'll want to watch out for these types of statements too...

“Thank you Mom! Now I have to go, I love you.” I said.

This should be rewritten as such...

"Thank you, Mom! Now I have to go. I love you," I said

Note how I added a comma before Mom there, since it's the person who Ryan's addressing in this statement (I know you got that fact down in other places where people are addressing one another in their dialogue, but it's not something you want to miss). Also, I switched the comma you had between "Go" and "I" with the period you had before the ending quotation marks. Some people may overlook it, but it's really more proper to write most stuff in dialogue as regular sentences with appropriate punctuation, as well as ending dialogue with comma in place of a period (when you're not using something else) if you're going to have the description of how someone says something immediately follow.

Finally, you're supposed to write out any number one hundred or less in general writings, since just using numbers themselves tend to break up the flow of a sentence. Case in point...

I’m about 4’8 and I weigh 100 pounds.

Should be something more on the lines of...

I'm about four-foot-eight and I weigh about one hundred pounds

It's not a huge issue, but some people just don't like having to read numbers and it's technically more professional than the way you had it. There are other cases here you could apply this too as well. Just know that the only real exceptions are proper numbers (like codes or model numbers), times of day and dates, and (of course) numbers over one hundred.

Sorry if that seems a little nitpicky, but it helps to take care of those issues early on, since they're minor. I'll try to come back to this later on and give a full critique.
 
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