In Progress Chromatic

Hi everyone. This is my fic. The beginning may not be very good, but I'm trying to improve it. I would appreciate constructive criticism/feedback, especially from experienced writers. Enjoy. EDIT-Chapters will now be posted on the first page, but there will still be post-updates.

CHAPTER LIST:
Chapter 1: A New Dawn
Chapter 2: First Fight
Chapter 3: The Joyful Forest and Swablu
Chapter 4: A Chord City History Lesson
Chapter 5: Striking a Chord
Chapter 6: Blakkit Does Its Best
Chapter 7: Readying the Appeals
Chapter 8: Contest Chaos!
Chapter 9: Retreat and Recovery
Chapter 10: The Warring Factions

Chapter 1: A New Dawn


“…And now for our next entrant, from Piano Town, it’s Chloe Lyron!” The announcement was responded to by thunderous applause as the spotlight shone on a chestnut haired girl wearing a shimmering, sequined blue dress. Raising a Poke Ball high in the air, she professionally tossed it.

“Lumineon, Go!” she shouted at the top of her lungs above the crowd’s roar. The ball opened and released a bright blue fish in a shower of pink-tinted bubbles…

BEEP! Chloe’s alarm clock . She sat up drowsily in her bed and checked the time. “And I was having such a nice dream,” she thought to herself.

“Whoa! It’s 9:30 already?!?” she said quickly and breathlessly. She quickly put on clothes and a backpack stocked with various useful items that she had selected the previous night. She ran down the stairs and grabbed a cereal bar and called “BYE” as she ran out the door and sped in the direction of the lab where she would get her first Pokemon. This was the day. This was her time. She kept telling herself that as she made her way to the humble laboratory.

“Can I help you?” asked a stern, yet subtle voice that Chloe recognized as belonging to the Professor of the Chroma Region, Professor Dogwood.

“Um..ye..yes” she stammered, out of breath from her run.

“I bet I know what you’re here for” he said. “You’re here to get a starter Pokemon, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir.” she replied.

“Well then, if that’s is the case, then just go in the waiting room, it’s down to your right.” He pointed at a small hallway, and said “I believe there was another young and aspiring trainer in there”. Having said that, he hurried of to prepare for the trainers.

“I wonder if any of them like Contests,” she thought to herself as she walked down the hallway.

As Chloe walked into the waiting room, she began to worry about what her starter would be. “I hope it’s something cute.” she thought to herself.

“Hi there, what’s your name?” she heard a voice say. The source of the greeting was a boy that looked about the same age as Chloe.

“My name’s Chloe.” she answered.

“Well, my name’s Braden Armstrong.” said the boy. “I want to win the Chroma League, and become the Champion!” he said.

“Well, Contests are more my thing,” she told him pointedly.

Before Braden had a chance to respond, Professor Dogwood popped his head in, and said “The starters are ready, would you like to see them now?”

He had led them back to the front room, and they were now facing a table with three Pokemon on it. “Let me introduce you to the starters.” said the Professor. “First we have Kixaroo.” he motioned to an orange kangaroo, which was practicing standing on its tail. As soon as he saw Chloe and Braden, it stopped, which made it fall, picked itself up, then did a pose that looked liked it had been rehearsed for that very moment. “Yes, yes.” Said the Professor laughingly. “Now we have Puzol.” he said motioning at a floating purple puzzle piece with one eye in its center. It performed a small aerial display of floating up, then spinning with elegant ease. “Last, but not least, we have Blakkit.” he motioned in the direction of a small, black kitten. It made no attempt to show itself off, it just sat down where it was and looked at Chloe with golden-yellow eyes. “Well then, have you made your decision yet?” inquired the professor.

“I want Kixaroo!” Braden blurted unexpectedly.

"I think I would like Blakkit.” Chloe said quietly in contrast to Braden’s loud voice.

“Very well then, here are your Pokeballs, your Pokedex, and of course, your starters.” he said handing these items to them.

“It’s time to start my journey!” Chloe yelled eagerly. She paused.

“Let me guess, you’re not sure about what to do first, or how to do it?” the professor asked her.

“Umm… well no, not really…” she said sheepishly.

“It’s really easy, Chloe,” said Braden, “you said you wanted to be a Coordinator, didn’t you? Well, the first Contest happens to be in Chord City, which happens to also be the first official gym city in the Chroma League, so it’s a great chance to meet new people.”

“That sounds great,” she said excitedly, “and I suppose I’ll be seeing you there too, Braden?

“You sure will, but in the meantime, I suggest you get appeals ready, and catch at least one more Pokemon, because you won’t be able to compete without 2.” he responded.

“Okay!” she said. “I’m off to catch new Pokemon!” She then hurried out the door. She had decided to take one last look at her favorite place, the Vibrato Cascades, a waterfall that was just outside her town in the Joyful Forest, and was said to be the home of a Legendary Pokemon. She didn’t know what is was called or what it looked like, but one day she hoped to meet it. As she marveled in its beauty, she hardly noticed Braden walk up behind her.

“Hey, Chloe,” he called “would you like to have a battle? “You do want to see how Blakkit does, don’t you?” She wasn’t sure why, but she was very eager to battle, because she knew that her Pokemon would need experience. “Sure,” she said, “How about right here?”

“That’s fine with me,” Braden responded, “Let’s get started.”

No comments? All right, Chapter 2.

Chapter 2: First Fight
Braden brought his pokeball up to eye level and threw it out, sparing no energy in it, flinging it as hard as he could. “Go, Kixaroo!” he said. The orange kangaroo’s feet hit the ground hard, and it used the impact to jump twice as high, and then land on the ground with a shuddering thud.

“Um…Go Blakkit?” Chloe said nervously as she tossed Blakkit’s pokeball up slightly. Blakkit pounced out of its ball, as if the ground beneath it was food. “This is a battle, Blakkit,” Chloe said, “Are you up for it?”

The only response that the cat gave was a glare at Kixaroo, followed by a “Kit, Blakkit!”

“You can’t be serious,” Braden said, “using a Dark type Pokemon against a Fighting type?” Chloe, who didn’t know anything about type advantages, whipped out her pink Pokedex, and checked the “TYPES” section.

“Let’s see…Dark type…WEAK AGAINST FIGHTING TYPE!?!?” she said, suddenly realizing she had no chance against Braden. “Oh well, all I can do is my best, I guess. Blakkit, use Scratch!” she said. Blakkit sprung forward and raked its claws against Kixaroo.

It let out a hurt “Kixxx…” before finally getting over it.

“Kixaroo, use Jump Kick now!” Braden said. It sprung up again and then used its feet to come crashing down on Blakkit.

“Oh no, this is bad,” remarked Chloe, “ohh, what should I do?”

“Alright Kixaroo, it’s just about up. Jump Kick, one more time!” said Braden confidently.

“Blakkit, dodge it!” commanded Chloe.

“Blaaaaakit!” it screeched as it narrowly dodged Kixaroo’s attack. As Kixaroo hit the ground, it felt its own attack’s impact. It let out an “Arooooo!!” in pain. As Chloe’s eyes darted around back to Blakkit, she noticed a dark purple energy forming itself around it.

She checked the move on her Pokedex. “Dark Pulse”, she read, “ well, it’s better than nothing! Blakkit, use Dark Pulse!

“BlaaaaaAAAAAAKIT!” it meowed intensely as the purple energy was forcefully dispelled in all directions, while Kixaroo was still recovering from shock.

“Kixaroo, dodge it…, no wait, that…wouldn’t work…oh, um, use Jump… Kick?” Braden said cautiously. The tables had been turned, and he knew it. Kixaroo jumped up feebly, but it wasn’t fast enough, and it was engulfed by Dark Pulse. Chloe averted her attention back to Blakkit. She was shocked to see that its fur was standing straight up, and its eyes were glowing red.

“Blakkit, that’s enough, stop!” she shouted. Her pokemon responded by its fur settling down, and its eyes returning to their natural golden color. “That could have gotten bad, if I hadn’t stopped it,” she thought as she glanced at Kixaroo and Braden, whose mouth was gaping with shock, alongside his pokemon, who lay on the ground, unconscious. After calling back his Kixaroo, he walked over to Chloe.

“…Wow. That was…impressive, to say the least.” He said in a manner that it was obvious that he was shaken up.

Reading his emotions, she responded, “ Yeah, it was…eerie. It’s like Blakkit couldn’t handle the energy.”

“To tell you the truth, it probably couldn’t,” said Braden, “I would let it battle some more, so that it could get strong enough to control Dark Pulse. Maybe even take a gym battle or two.”

“A gym battle!” she exclaimed in a disgusted tone, “I wouldn’t be seen at a gym!” She kept putting disgusted emphasis in her words.

“Why not?” Braden asked, unable to understand the girl’s hatred.

“Contests are where it’s at for me,” she said in a dreamy voice.

“Yeah, you already told m-“

“Besides, all they ever do at gyms is battle, battle, battle.” she said, cutting him off mid-sentence. “It’s really boring, honestly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, a battle is great every once in a while, but when that’s ALL you do, then there must be a issue or anger problem somewhere.” she said in a changed tone, all the while not noticing that Braden was fuming right beside of her.

“I bet you’d think that!” he said furiously. “I bet you couldn’t even beat the first gym! You’d have a type advantage and everything! It’d be WAY too easy! The Chroma League might be harder, but then the Elite Four, I happen to know that one of them uses Psychic types, so you’d have a huge advantage there too! But NOOO! You just go do your contests!” he said, his tirade leaving him out of breath.

“Hah! I intend to! I also intend to win!” she responded angrily. With a mutual “humph” they both walked off in a rage.

A few minutes later, Chloe found herself sitting at the edge of the outflow stream of the Vibrato Cascades, soaking her feet as she gently stroked the fur on Blakkit’s back. “Maybe I should give just one gym battle a go. What do you think, Blakkit?” she inquired of the cat, not noticing that it had fallen asleep in the sereneness of the scene in comparison of the argument. Chloe laughed, and recalled the cat. Deciding that going to Chord City would be the easiest way to go; relieved that it was the location of the first contest in the Chroma Grand Festival as well, so it wouldn’t be a total waste of time.

“So,” she thought to herself calmly, “it looks like my best bet will be to go through the Joyful Forest!” she said with a tone that showed her natural impatience. She hopped over the stream in which she had been dousing her feet in earlier on a few rocks. After reaching the other side, where the forest was located only a few steps away, she decided to send out Blakkit to walk with her for protection. “Now Blakkit, listen very carefully,” she said so that the kitten would understand it in-depth, “we’re going to go through some woods, and wild Pokemon could just jump out of nowhere, so we’ll both have to be on our guard. Are you ready?”

Blakkit mulled it over for a moment before responding with a “Blaaaa! Blaaaaakit!

“Alright then, let’s go!” Chloe said before taking off into the forest, with Blakkit right on her heels.

really awe inspiring, please make more!

(ahem) If Im not mistaken, constructive critism is what he wants, not some small comments. the reason I quit my old story was everyone said either "great job" or "this sucks". I haven't read this story yet, but I'll make the best review I can(won't be so good though) to help you with this story.

Writers should be able to take on board any kind of comment, short or long, positive or negative. There's no need to be rude about a perfectly fine comment. Sure, it's not a full-scale review, but it's a nice thing to give. Besides, you are not the writer of this story and you don't have a place to comment on that, anyway.

yeah, take dat' twiggers

^But that was spam... Thanks for reading! As long as its not just "you suck" or "this stinks take it down" then I really don't mind. How about Chapter 3? This one's kind of short, but the SPPF version is a LOT longer. However, this is when I wanted to end the chapter, but according to SPPF rules, it isn't long enough.

Chapter 3: The Joyful Forest and Swablu

Chloe had been wandering in the woods for what seemed like hours. In reality, it had only been about 45 minutes. She was alone, bored, and she would be lost if it weren’t for the built-in map on her Pokedex. She didn’t know why the stupid people that founded her stupid region named this stupid forest STUPID JOYFUL! She sat down on a slightly flat rock. She wondered why she hadn’t seen any wild Pokemon in the woods. She had recalled Blakkit because she didn’t the threat that trainer guides promised. The regional guidebook, “Traveling Through Chroma” that she had bought at a bookstand before she had left her home, had told her that many species of wild Pokemon were supposed to inhabit the forest. It looked totally uninhabited by anything.

She had just about given up, when she heard a faint noise. It sounded like it was coming from high above her. She had never heard such a beautiful sound in all her life. It was a faint melody, high, long, and completed by its slight vibrato. It sounded as if it was looking for something. She looked up. She could see nothing for the trees. She was upset all of a sudden, and wanted to know what was making the bewitchingly calming tune.

As the sound faded away, she found herself walking to follow it. She was under the spell of the hollow melody. She didn’t know why she was so captivated by it; it had no harmony or rhythm to back it up. It often fell off beat, and under its spell, so did she when she walked blindly. She wanted to escape its influence, get out of the forest, anything. The melody led her to a small clearing, where it abruptly stopped.

Freed from the trance, she looked around and tried desperately to gain her bearings. She saw a bush or two, the occasional rock, and the same trees covering her. It was strange, she thought. She heard a different noise. It sounded like trickling water. She was right. With a half turn of her whole body, she spun around to discover a small river. She was sure that it hadn’t been there before.

“That’s odd,” she thought. She walked over to it and discovered that this forest was indeed inhabited. A small blue bird, with wings like cotton, looked at her and chirped pitifully. She wondered if whatever had been making the music had led her there. From her backpack that she had stocked with supplies before leaving her home, she pulled a blue bottle of liquid and sprayed it on the injured bird, causing it to give a slightly more energetic call.

“Swa…Swablu…” it chirped.

“Hmmm…” Chloe said, “I wonder what kind of Pokemon you are.”

She opened her pink Pokedex. “Swablu. The Cotton Bird Pokemon. It can’t relax if it or its surroundings are not clean. It wipes off dirt with its wings.” Chloe studied it for a second and decided that she was going to catch it. She pulled out a red and white Poke Ball, but withdrew it.

“This little cutie deserves some special treatment,” she thought, and replaced the red and white ball with a black one with golden accents.

She remembered what her mom had said before she had given it and five others like it to her. “This a Luxury Ball,” she recalled her mom saying, “it will make any Pokemon caught inside instantly nicer and more willing to adapt to being a Trainer’s.”

Chloe held the orb to Swablu, who turned into a beam of red energy that went into it through the button in the middle. It shook for a moment before finally settling. She blew a strand of her chestnut hair out of her face before finding a trail and following it out.

“About time I get here!” she thought as the Chord City skyline came into view.

…

Meanwhile, the Chord City gym leader had just given a badge to a mysterious trainer.

“Now,” the trainer thought to himself, leaving the gym triumphantly, “to find the girl.” His faithful partner, Gastly, shrieked shrilly in a tone that blended abstractly with the miniscule sliver of waning moon left in the night sky.

Not too bad. There is a little too much 'CH' everywhere. In my sincere opinion if you read more fiction, and give enough time to your own, then you can become a really good author. Not that that helps you currently, though. Thumbs up! >D

Thanks! Whoa...I totally just noticed the Ch thing...Chloe was just a random name I liked, Chroma is like a Chromatic Scale in music (13 Notes instead of 8) and Chord will be explained in the next chapter.

Well, still nothing so I'm going to go ahead and post Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: A Chord City History Lesson

Chloe was eagerly running toward the city lights, expectant of the warm glow of artistic civilization that awaited her there. Chord City was a well-known haven for artists, and had been for the past thousand years, since the riot of 1104 when all artistic civilization in Chroma was destroyed because of the fiery leader, King Laone, who believed only military strength was worthwhile, and that art and knowledge held it back and gave people the intelligence to know that he was wrong, which was his true intention in causing the uproar. He wanted people to think that his beliefs were correct so his ideas would last forever and shape a new Chroma, and artistic spirit only showed them how he was wrong. He ordered paintings and music sheets to be burned, sculptures destroyed, books shredded and ripped apart, schools torn down and replaced with armories. Chord City was on the very edge of the west, so it was last in the riot that started in Soprano City, the royal city at the time, in the east. It was said that the reason the king, who had personally come to watch his greatest victory, and his men stopped was because the great legendaries of Chroma came and intervened. Melowing, Harmonice, and Rhythmelee, if she remembered correctly. They alone controlled the Olden Music, the force which kept all at balance in Chroma. The king thought he had vanquished them in his conquest, but they arrived at the city’s gates and, with their combined powers, brought the full strength of the Olden Music back to the people of Chroma in a single song.

The people rioted against King Laone and a new king, King Olued, brought the spirit of art back to Chroma. He then named the city where Laone was defeated Chord City after the enchanting music of the three legendaries. He had been to the city many times later in an attempt to thank them, but they never showed themselves to any human ever again.

The statue of the three legendaries that was erected shortly after still stood at the city’s entrance, completely out of place in the hustle of modern times, past the long gone age of kings. Chloe remembered hearing the story so many times before, that now actually visiting the place where it occurred, the city felt strange: vividly alive and historic.

“Enough of that,” she said aloud, still standing at the statue of the three, “I need to go register for that contest.” She hurried off toward the Contest Hall, briskly dodging civilians on nighttime strolls or running errands.

She finally arrived at the purple and yellow roofed building only to discover that she was locked out for the night. She checked her watch and was startled to find that it was 11 at night. The hours of the contest building were 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM. She decided to go to the Pokemon Center for the night and register for the contest tomorrow. As she turned away, she saw a figure standing in the dark behind her. It was hard to make out, because, whoever it was, was wearing black pants, black dress shoes, a black hat, dark sunglasses, and, a black tuxedo and cape.

“Hello?” she ventured to say, not knowing if the entity was benevolent or malicious. It said nothing in response, and simply disappeared at the sound of her voice. She heard malevolent-sounding laughter all around her, not coming from a centralized point, but rather the entire city. Chloe was determined not to stay here any longer than she had to. She hastened her pace towards the faint glow of the Pokemon Center’s lights.

Upon her arrival, she was greeted by the night nurse, who asked if her Pokemon needed healing.

“Yes, I suppose they could use it…” Chloe replied absently. She was preoccupied by the idea of the figure in black. It tormented her mind as the nurse came and gave back her Pokemon and a room key. She silently rode up the escalator, walked into her room, and fell asleep.

Hmmm...been a while since I posted a chapter, hasn't it? Well, here's chapter 5. Enjoy, just don't salivate on it. This one's short to make up for the next one, which will be longer.

Chapter 5: Striking a Chord

The next day, the mysterious figure was out of Chloe’s mind completely. As soon as she had awakened, she quickly made haste to the Contest Hall. The automatic doors opened to reveal a desk with a smiling receptionist and random groups of people sitting on couches dotting the space, grooming Pokemon, sharing advice, and just meeting each other. She took a deep breath and walked forward to the desk.

“Idliketoregisterplease” she said hastily, ashamed that the jumble she heard had just come out of HER mouth. The receptionist just laughed.

“Let me guess, it’s your first time, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Chloe’s voice trailed off. She didn’t want to speak at all, for fear of what might come out of her mouth next.

“Don’t worry. It’s completely natural to be nervous.” Chloe spun around to see where the cheerful, flowing voice had come from. The person that stood before her was a twenty-something woman with shoulder-length hair like wet straw, blonde and black, with a muted pink sundress and a yellow shirt underneath it. Her eyes were a beautiful silver, and they shone like the moon.

“Oh, hello there, Nicole. Coming to register for a contest as usual?” the receptionist asked.

“No, I don’t think I will this time. We’ve had countless challengers at the gym lately. I don’t know where they’re all coming from!” Nicole sighed, and Chloe was confused.

“Wait a minute,” Chloe huffed. “ You’re a Gym Leader…AND you perform in contests? YOU CAN DO THAT?”

“Yes.” Nicole responded as though she thought Chloe lived under a rock for not knowing that it was possible.

Braden’s words echoed back in Chloe’s head: “I bet you couldn’t even beat the first gym! You’d have a type advantage and everything! It’d be WAY too easy!” She’d never admit it to his face, but she had been giving it some thought.

“Well then, what would you say to a little battle?” Chloe asked confidently. “After I sign up for the contest, of course.”

“That’s fine,” Nicole responded cheerfully. “We’re supposed to be closed today, but I’ll make a special exception for someone who loves Contests and Gyms. You see, most people just laugh me out when I tell them that I do Contests, even as a Gym Leader. Anyway, the Gym is down the street. Go left as soon as you see the Pokemon Center. It’s a big building, you can’t miss it.” Without another word, the Chord City Gym Leader was gone.

“Well, let’s get you registered!” the receptionist cheered brightly.

Just one thing, try write a bit more 'cause as much as I love bite-sized chapters, it leaves you a little less to read. Anyway, it's really interesting and it's bulding up, can't wait for the next chapter.

Yes, chillens, I'm still here. Haven't had access to the computer for awhile, but I'm still here. Now, I present to you...*drumroll* a rather long chapter!

Chapter 6: Blakkit Does Its Best

Nicole was right. It was extremely hard to miss the gym, a building painted entirely hot pink.

“Someone who loves both Contests and Gyms?” Chloe recalled what Nicole had said to her earlier that day. Could she really be that way? She had never even considered it…but now was her chance to find out. She closed her eyes and stepped inside.

She did not know what to expect when entering a gym. What she DID see was a dark room with a small opening in what appeared to be fabric with a single light shining onto it. She crawled through the tiny opening to discover a tunnel of about the same size that opened on to a massive stage lit with an uncountable number of lights. There was Nicole at the other end, ready for her challenge.

“So, do you like my place? Pretty great, huh?” Chloe looked around. They were on a raised platform with seats below them.

“So, do we start now, or what?” Chloe inquired.

“Sure. Let’s get this show,” Nicole started, tossing up a Poke Ball, “On the road! Go Mime Jr.!” The ball exploded in a flash of white light and a dainty pink and navy harlequin with a red nose and tiny arms fell out of the light and landed in a graceful pirouette.

“Okay…let’s see…” Chloe checked her Pokedex’s type section, determined not to have the short end of the stick like last battle. After deciding on a Dark type, she tossed up her own Pokeball and Blakkit popped out. The dark cat stretched a little, and then sat down calmly.

“Awww,” Nicole gushed, “it’s a cute little kitty!”

Chloe smirked. If the Pokedex was right, that “cute little kitty” would blow Nicole and Mime Jr. away.

“I’ll start with Mime Jr.’s Doubleslap!” Nicole shouted. Mime Jr. ran at Blakkit waving its hands fitfully.

“Blakkit, get out of the way, and use Shadow Claw!” Chloe commanded. Blakkit agilely jumped from its crouching position and scraped Mime Jr. with dark purple claws filled with ghostly energy. “Good thing that the Pokedex has move descriptions for each Pokemon.” Chloe thought appreciatively.

“Nice work, there!” Nicole commented, “but you’ll have to do better than tha-at!” she added in a singsong voice.

Chloe was prepared to do better. “Blakkit, show her your Bite!” she instructed it. Blakkit raced forward, its tiny jaws open and ready to chomp.

Nicole was ready faster. “Mime Jr., use Doubleslap!” The tiny clown waited until Blakkit was close to it, and unable to dodge due to it attacking. Mime Jr. began slapping Blakkit repeatedly.

Chloe was having a mental battle of her own. She knew that if she used Dark Pulse, she would probably win. On the other hand, if she used it, she might not be able to call Blakkit out of the trance-like state it went into. She watched Blakkit getting beaten up by Mime Jr. and could no longer control the urge to win.

“Now, Blakkit,” she started, unable to repress the words pouring out of her mouth. “DARK PULSE!” Blakkit glowed the familiar dark color that haunted the memory of her first battle. Would it work this time? She didn’t know.

“Oh no…” Nicole muttered as the darkness engulfed Mime Jr. and then receded on an unconscious Mime Jr. Nicole could not find the ability to speak; like Braden, she too was astounded by Blakkit’s sheer power. She held up her Poke Ball, and Mime Jr. was pulled back into it. This time, it was HER turn to take the lead. “Eckho, GO!” she said, tossing out another Poke Ball.

A silver, elongated robot shaped like a speaker with an eye in the middle of its body appeared from the white light.

“Eckho, the Sound Pokemon. Eckho has the ability to copy sounds it hears and play them back in strange combinations.” Chloe’s Pokedex buzzed as it obtained data on this strange creature. “Type: Psychic and Steel”.

Chloe decided to go ahead and keep Blakkit in the game, because it appeared to her that Blakkit had gained control of its power. She was so close. If she got through Eckho, she would have won a gym battle. She was glad she changed her mind; this was actually enjoyable! She shook of the other distracting thoughts and decided to concentrate fully on the battle.

“Eckho, use Metal Sound.” Nicole commanded calmly. Eckho emitted a harsh sound, as though someone was holding a microphone up to someone else scraping fingernails on a blackboard.

Blakkit looked as though the sound had torn its head in half. “Blakkit, can you do another Dark Pulse?” Chloe asked the cat. Blakkit attempted to generate enough energy, but simply couldn’t.
“Aw. How sad. Little kitty’s all tired,” said Nicole, her voice dripping with sarcastic care. “Eckho, finish it off. Flash Cannon.” she commanded, flipping her hair carelessly. Eckho seemed to suck up all the light in the room. Then, after it was in one compact ball, Eckho sent the light-ball straight on a collision course with Blakkit.

In the nick of time, Blakkit’s negative energy cumulated and it released Dark Pulse. The purple and black aura that surrounded it collided with Eckho’s Flash Cannon. The attacks rebounded on Eckho. It appeared to be all over for Nicole. The strange contrast of light and dark on the elevated stage proved too much for Eckho. As light, darkness, and sound impacted the speaker-like Pokemon at full force, the last of its energy ran out.

It was done. The attacks fired, the dodges made, but Blakkit’s type advantage proved superior against Eckho and Mime Jr.’s superior strength.

“You realize that you just got lucky with that last attack, right?” asked Nicole from across the stage, who had returned to her cheerful demeanor.

“Yeah.” Chloe couldn’t concentrate, adrenaline flowing through her. “Yeah, I see why you do both.”

“Good.” Nicole grinned. “This may have just been a match for fun, but I’m still a gym leader, and you did just beat me. So, as a result of this incredibly fun battle, I am proud to present you with the Stage Badge!” Nicole handed Chloe, from a pocket in her skirt, a gleaming metallic token, about the size of a coin, in the shape of a stage.

“Thanks…” Chloe choked out, incredulous to the fact that she had won the battle. She told Nicole goodbye and returned out through the fabric tunnel and out into the fresh air of Chord City. All she had to do now was compete in the contest, and she could move on to the next city. For now though, she had to prepare. She didn’t want to be out too long, as her gym battle had taken longer than she thought that it would, and the sun was now setting. She did not want to be out at night. The figure in black kept haunting her mind. She ran in the direction of the Pokemon Center yet again.

Ok...no comments, eh? Alright, Chapter 7, then!

Chapter 7: Readying the Appeals

The next day, she felt great after her battle against Nicole. She had earned a gym badge and discovered the fun of gym battles. If she saw Braden she would have to apoli-. No. She was not about to give that idiot the pleasure of being right. She needed to focus on her contest anyway. She had found a small cleared area outside of town that looked deserted. She tossed up two Pokeballs, and Blakkit and Swablu appeared.

“Hi there, you two! We’re going to work on appeals for Contests!” she said, trying to sound encouraging. The two Pokemon looked confused. “Oookayy…we’re going to make your attacks theatrical.”

Blakkit and Swablu decided to pretend like they knew what was going on.

“You want to win the Contest and travel some more?” Chloe asked the Pokemon, who, at the moment were quite bored.

Blakkit gave the closest thing it could manage to a shrug, while Swablu tweeted indifferently.

“Look.” said Chloe, letting their infectiously bad attitudes affect her. “This is a good opportunity, okay? It’s really easy. You don’t even have to battle or anything. Help me out, please?”

Blakkit and Swablu exchanged a meaningful glance, then turned to Chloe and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s see…Swablu, try a Heal Bell.” she said, checking Swablu’s attacks as she had done with Blakkit during her battles against Nicole and Braden.

Swablu gently fluttered upward, closed its eyes, and opened its beak to produce a beautiful sound. It was as though a church’s bell tower had lodged itself inside Swablu and was ringing all its bells now.

“Can you try using Mist with that?” Chloe suggested.

Swablu stopped using Heal Bell, then created a silver-; Chloe didn’t know how to describe it. It was like a fog, but much lighter, yet, it was still there.

“Great!” Chloe commented. “Can you add Heal Bell to that?”

Swablu once again opened its mouth and let out the magical pealing of the bells that was Heal Bell. Chloe marveled at its pure, calming beauty.

“That was good, Swablu!” she commented. “Now, let’s try battling. Swablu, go over there.” She pointed at a small patch of grass about ten yards away from where Blakkit was seated. Swablu fluttered over quickly.

“Okay, I’ll be refereeing the match. Don’t worry about getting lost, because I’ll also give you some help with move choice. Blakkit, you get to start with Scratch!”

The cat bounded off towards Swablu, claws extended. It leaped up, spiraling like a football, with claws furiously scraping the air, waiting to hit a target. Blakkit had gotten the idea of Contest battles. They were the true test.

Swablu, new to battling was not as fast as the cat in readying an attack, but it knew what to do. It created its Mist again, and flew out of the way of the cat’s dangerous claws. When the cat was confused, it quickly zoomed in for a Fury Attack.

“BLAAAAAA!” it cried in pain. It jumped backwards and did a half turn. Seeing its attacker, it leaped forward for a Bite. It hit its mark perfectly. Swablu’s gentle wings had been the target, and Swablu just couldn’t take it.

“Swablu, use your Heal Bell!” Chloe suggested, not wanting to discourage Swablu by making it lose on its first battle. “Then, Sing!”

Swablu let the melody of the bells flow out of its mouth like a river. Then, after it looked well healed, it let a more eerie melody out. You could literally see the notes as it continued. Blakkit, after hearing it and not being able to take much more, fell asleep.

“Finish it with Fury Attack!” Chloe yelled excitedly.

Swablu flew in rapidly and began pecking Blakkit repeatedly. Blakkit gave in and fainted.

“Great job, Swablu!” Chloe cheered. She listened to a sound in the distance. It was clapping. She turned around and was startled to see……no one. Could it have been the figure in black that she saw her first night in Chord City?

As if the figure was reading her thoughts, the same evil laughter she had heard that night sounded again.

“Why don’t you come and show yourself? WHY?” Chloe demanded.

“All in good time, my dear, all in good time…” the voice trailed off.

Chloe knew that there was no point in following it. She couldn’t catch it anyway. What did he mean by all in good time? What did the voice know that she didn’t? She couldn’t stand not knowing.

“Come on, you two. Let’s work on your appeals some more!” she told the Pokemon, shaking the events off.

Still no comments? Come on guys, I need feedback!

Chapter 8: Contest Chaos!

After a few more days of practicing, the day of the contest finally arrived. Chloe, along with other coordinators, gathered inside the purple-roofed building known to the world as the Chord Contest Hall. It was one of the most prestigious Halls in the world. Winning here would take an enormous amount of skill. For her, however, she would need a little luck, too. There were 6 Halls in Chroma total. She only needed to win 4 of them to go to the Chroma Grand Festival, though.

“Contestants, please make your way to the backstage waiting area! Prepare yourself for the first round of appeals!” Chloe heard a voice say over the intercom.

A pair of metal doors swung open automatically on mechanical hinges. A large room with couches, potted plants, and screens visible from anywhere in the room. The screens flickered to life and displayed a stage with a panel of three judges sitting at the front of the audience. She looked at the ceiling.

Nicole, the Chord City Gym Leader grinned and waved at the audience. Suspended from the ceiling was the platform that Nicole called a stadium.

“How? What? Huh?” In her astounded state, she was unable to even think in complete sentences. She had definitely heard Nicole tell the attendant that she was busy with Gym Challenges; too busy, in fact, to attend the Contest. On top of that, the large speaker system suspended from the ceiling had a cloth tube running from it into the ceiling and…down through the walls.

“No wonder it seemed like a maze.” Chloe mused. “It lead here!”

“Hello, everyone!” Nicole called cheerfully. “I’m Nicole Morceaux, and I’m going to be your announcer for this Contest! Now, without further ado, let’s meet our first contestant! Give it up for our first contestant of the afternoon,”

The rest became a blur to Chloe. A Ninetales with a graceful Fire Spin, a singing Altaria, a Mudkip combining Water and Ground type moves.

“Now let’s meet a newcomer to the Contest world, Chloe Lyron of Piano Town!” Nicole’s voice jolted Chloe to life.

“That’s ME!” she called, running out the metal doors onto the stage. This was her contest moment. She always thought when this happened, she’d be wearing a nice pink dress or a scarlet skirt or something nicer than her white-and-teal striped t-shirt and khaki shorts. “Go Swablu!” she yelled as she tossed the Pokeball upward and the bird exploded from a flash of light.

It knew what to do. It flapped its wings and generated a light mist in the stands, and followed with the sound of the heavenly bells.

“Now, Swablu, wrap it up with a Double Team into a Quick Attack!” Chloe commanded strongly and confidently.

Swablu buzzed rapidly, creating illusions of itself. Then the copies zoomed rapidly toward a central point, and created a misty blur. When it cleared, there hovered Swablu, doing the closest thing to smiling it could accomplish.

“What an excellent performance!” Nicole exclaimed over the roaring crowds. “Let’s see what the judges thought!”

The three judges talked it over for a few seconds before coming upon an agreement.
“Chloe has scored an overall score of 21 out of 30.” the head judge responded. “So far, that will grant her entry to the second round.”

“Hooray for Chloe…” a mysterious voice yelled cynically. It wasn’t just a booing person’s voice, it was the voice of the person who had been watching her ever since she arrived in Chord City.

Chloe thought she saw a ripple of worry cross Nicole’s face, but it faded as suddenly as it had come. Did Nicole know who the mysterious person was and why they were after her?

The story is great so far, but I suggest that you make the chapters longer. It's just that when I read a new chapter, the story line at times seems, well, slow. Sometimes, that is. So far, Chloe got her starter, battled her rival, caught a Swablu, learned aboutsome history, meets the gym leader or Chord City, wins a badge from her, and got through the first round of a contest. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm rushing.

Also, if chapters are longer, I have more to look forward to. That's all.

Overall, that's the only thing that bugs me, and the plot is nice. :D

Trust me. It will majorly increase in the next chapter. Like, I may even need to do parts.

Readers prepare. Here's Chapter 9.

Chapter 9: Retreat and Recovery

Nicole was now officially worried. “Why are THEY here, especially now?” she wondered to herself. Could this talented young girl Chloe have anything to do with it? She would have to keep her eyes open. If they were here, ready to disrupt the contest, action would have to be taken. Chloe had looked worried, but no one else seemed to notice it. Maybe, if they held off for just a little while longer…

. . .

Chloe grinned at the crowd and retreated hastily back to the waiting room. The judges’ faces flickered into static on the screen. A mysterious figure dressed entirely in black appeared on the screen. Screams were heard from the Hall, so it must have gone up on the big screen monitors there, as well.

The mysterious figure opened its mouth. “I am your worst nightmare. You may call me Phobiam.”



“So, his name is Phobiam.” Chloe said in a whisper to herself. “What does he want?”

An explosion was heard from the appeal stage. Chloe peeked outside and saw the mysterious man with three Pokemon. One, she knew from her days at the Trainer’s School-Dusknoir. The other ones-well, one looked like a tiki from some tropical culture, with a purple energy being with small green orbs imbued in it emanating from the tiki.

“Spiritiki” the Pokedex buzzed. “The Spirit Pokemon. It is the evolved form of Spiritomb. Spiritiki was revered by ancient cultures as a bringer of either good or bad fortune. They believed that a new one was born every time a new tiki was created.

“Ohhhhkay.” Chloe turned her Pokedex to the other Pokemon, a tall, shadowy being with crystals lining its body.

“Crystalye” the Pokedex stated. “The Darkness Pokemon. It is the evolved form of Sableye. It hides deep in caves and hates light. It is said that if you threaten one, it will crystallize you permanently.”

“Ehh. Harsh. M’kay, staying out of his way, check.”

She looked out to the stage again. The three Pokemon were firing Shadow Balls out into the crowd.
. . . . .

Ugh. They had arrived. Nicole held up a small microphone to her mouth. “This is Hebe. Requesting immediate backup at Chord City Contest Hall. We have a Code Titan. Repeat, we have a Code Titan. I’ll work on evacuating the pedestrians while you send down agents.”

“A Code Titan? Are you sure? We haven’t had one of those in…over 60 years!” The voice that came in response was cool and collected, or, at least, it sounded like it should have been. “I’ll send someone over right away.”

“Thanks.” Nicole signed off. “EVERYONE!” she called to the crowds of screaming audience members. “REMAIN CALM AND EXIT ORDERLY!” She had to find Chloe. Poor girl didn’t know it yet, but she was important.

. . . .

Chloe was scared. Why had Phobiam been stalking her during her time in Chord City? She had to find Nicole. Maybe she would know. Chloe raced off, only to bump into Nicole.

“Chloe, please, come with me.” Nicole urged. “I assure you, this will all be explained.”

Now Nicole was talking her language. “Okay, where are we going?” she asked.

“To a place that has been kept secret from the world with the exception of only a few people. Now, quickly, we need to hurry.”

After ducking through rows of seats in the contest hall, Nicole and Chloe dashed outside. A blond, happy looking teen awaited them on a Pidgeot.

“Ready to go, ladies?” the teen asked.

“Ian, I’m going to need you and Pidgeot to go full speed. If we don’t get to Soprano City fast, then Chord could be destroyed.” Nicole said.

“Yeah, I know. I got your message just like everyone else. You don’t have to tell me twice.” Ian turned to talk to Pidgeot. “Let’s go!”

They were off. Pidgeot soared at speeds like a jet. Chloe thought it was like being inside a tornado, but Ian seemed to love it. Finally, they stopped down at a giant domed building with a symbol Ω as door handles. It was in the midst of a giant city with all sorts of different kinds of buildings in many different styles of architecture.

Ian recalled his Pidgeot and held the door open for the two.

“Don’t be shy, Chloe. There’s someone here you need to meet.”

Chloe was trembling. She had absolutely no idea of the things that would lie ahead for her. She cautiously stepped inside the building. It had gold carpeting and mahogany wood furnishings on a door that looked like the one they had just entered. Nicole opened the door and Ian and Chloe went inside.

“Wait a minute!” Chloe interjected. “This isn’t kept secret from the world! This is the Final Hall, where trainers take on the Elite Four challenge!”

“Ah, so you do know your way around more than Contests,” Nicole chuckled. “We must inform Dionysus that he was wrong.”

As they walked further down the dim-lit corridor, Chloe’s questions grew. Who could Dionysus be? Why did they bring her here of all places?

“Um…just one question…who are you people?” Chloe couldn’t resist asking.

The hallway opened to a metal door with the emblem of an icicle on it. Ian pushed the door open.

The door opened to a frigid room set up like a battle arena. The floor was almost completely frozen, and it was hard not to slip as they walked. The only person in the room turned around to greet them as the door slammed shut.

“Hello, challengers!” he exclaimed in a tone that seemed odd to Chloe considering his appearance. He was pale, with eyes of a stunning steely blue, wearing a thin sky-blue overcoat, buttoned to below his ankles. His hair was an extremely light blue, and he looked disappointed to see them. Chloe may have preferred Contests, but she didn’t live under a rock. He was Cole Froid, Ice-type user of the Elite Four. Nicole and Ian, however, seemed to have a different name for him.

“Hello, Morpheus.” They greeted him in unison.

“Oh, it’s just you. I’ll open the doors and tell the others that you’re coming.” he muttered. It was obvious he would’ve rather had challengers.

The door behind him swung open on its hinges and the trio went through.

They passed through several rooms seeing the other Elite Four members who Nicole or Ian called something strange. Each one had some strange name. Amanda Floris had Persephone; Landon Blake – Erebus; and Claire Bordeaux – Athena. Chloe wondered if Nicole and Ian had names like that too.

Finally, after some time, they arrived at the Champion’s Room. Instead of going in, however, Nicole took out a key with a circular spiral shape as the handle and inserted it into a small Ω - shaped keyhole. The floor opened beneath them and they plummeted downward.

“I’m going to die! These crazy people are murderers!” Chloe’s mind screamed. Before she could think anything else, The bottomless drop angled on a hard surface into a slide. The three were deposited nicely on a cushion in a dark room.

“Chloe,” she heard Nicole start, “welcome to the base of the Order of Olued.”

OMG YAY CHAPTER 10!!!!

Chapter 10- The Warring Factions

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the old story of how Chord City got its name, right?” Nicole started again. “Well, somewhere between the storybooks and the history lectures, most of the story was lost. Allow us to fill you in. A long time ago, a different set of legendaries presided over Chroma. They were Gryphold, Royaroc, and Glaincient. They were known as the ‘Dissonant Ones’ and constantly fought. What we now know as the Legendary Pokemon of Chroma, Melowing, Harmonice, and Rhythmelee, were born of the people’s desire for peace. So, you see, when the invasion of Chord City began, the Olden Music was threatened. Since it couldn’t repel the invaders itself, it used its power to reach out and take away the power from the Dissonant Ones. The copied power took musical form and became Melowing, Rhythmelee, and Harmonice, respectively. They were known as the ‘Harmonious Ones’. Chord City, was, of course, the place of their final battle-”

“But that’s all very away from the point. Isn’t that right?” Ian interjected.

“Yes.” Nicole sighed. “The point is,” she glared at Ian, “the Dissonant Ones are still out there and are fighting for control. Good news is, so are the Harmonious Ones.”

“Bad news time again. There is a group known as the Sons of Laone that are searching for the Dissonant Ones and trying to ready forces for a hostile takeover.” Ian glared back at Nicole. “Your turn again.”

“Good news time again. We, along with all the other Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, and another one member that shows considerable prowess, form the Order of Olued, and we are searching for the Harmonious Ones and preparing to fight the Sons of Laone.” Nicole said. “So, any questions?”

Chloe wanted to hit her for asking such a dumb question. “Yeah. Okay, one: Why are you telling me this? Two: Why did you bring me here? Three: Why was Phobiam following me around Chord City?”

Nicole looked worried. “Phobiam has been following you?” She and Ian exchanged a nervous glance. “Then we must take care of one and two immediately. All of the members of our order were not able to be here in our base, but there is one we think you might want to meet. He might be able to explain one and two better than we can.”

Ian flicked on the lights and Chloe was astounded by what she saw. Tiled marble floors, flawlessly polished with pictures of all the current members of the Order down a hallway. Strangely, each had a statue of something else below the pictures. Nicole’s had a young-looking girl holding a puppy with small Pokemon at her feet. Ian’s had what looked like a mailman with winged shoes, flying as if he were in a hurry beside various Flying-types. The strange thing was, that even though the statues looked ancient, they were wearing modern clothes!

The strangest thing of all, however, greeted her next to a statue of a man surrounded by grapevines and various types of Pokemon.

“Hello there, Chloe. Remember me, don’t you?” he asked.

She stood there, mouth gaping, staring into the eyes of Braden Armstrong.