Following the success of my first FanFic short story, i'd like to introduce: Outback Tales! Just a taste for what's to come.
Thanks Guys! - Jack.
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“Darren love, grab the tea off the stove!”
I lazily brushed a fly away from my nose, ignoring my name being called.
A rough hand clipped me around the ear, startling me from my lazy state.
“Darren, did you hear me? I’m sick of your laziness!”
“And who’s the one who sits around all day drinking tea?” I called back with a laugh.
“I heard that!” She responded pointedly. “Struth are you lucky I’m your wife or I’d of kicked you out years ago!”
I swung my legs over the edge of the hammock I’d fallen asleep in, yawning loudly for annoyances’ sake.
The door burst upon to reveal Sheryl armed with a teapot in one hand, a pokeball in the other.
“Go and do something useful with yourself, ye’ sack of bones.”
She tossed the pokeball to me, disappearing back into the kitchen. I moved tentatively back towards the living room step by step.
Suddenly Sheryl appeared at the side door, her sun-wrinkled face accentuated by her messy red hair.
“I’m warning you!”
“Well old girl, I guess its just you and me.”
I gave my Kanghaskan a rough slap, turning back to the work ahead of us. She uttered a click of protest, tapping at the ground in frustration.
We’d done this too many times before.
“C’mon Sheila, this is easy. Don’t tell me your giving out on me, girl.”
Even I noticed the reluctance in my tone.
I glanced across the sun-scorched Earth ahead of me, covered in a thick layer of Gumnut leaves. As much as I loved my little patch of outback, I’d never liked house work.
I turned back to the house, making sure I couldn’t be heard before continuing.
“You know, if we do this quietly the ‘old’ way, we can get this outta the way and go start some training,” I whispered persuasively.
Sheila raised her head, her lips pulled over her curved teeth in a happy smile.
“Sh sh though, ok? We don’t want any unwanted attention.”
I pointed back towards the house with my thumb. Sheila nodded, turning back to the task ahead of us.
She began concentrating intensely and then thumped her large feet, splitting the earth like an explosion. The leaves disappeared instantly, relieving us of the job.
Before I could praise her, a nasally voice shrieked like a Banshee from the inside of the house.
“DARREN WALTER SMITH, I TOLD YOU ABOUT DESTROYING PROPERTY! THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, OR SHEILA WILL BE OUT!”
I glanced at Sheila, stifling a chuckle. We both knew as gruff as Sheryl was, she’d never get rid of our beloved old girl.
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”
“Yes darl!” I yelled back, swallowing the nerve that had formed.
I looked at Sheila, whispering quietly, “Next time, try to do it a little quieter, girl.”
Sorry i've been so late on the update, guys. I've been rather busy.
Anyway, Enjoy! ^_^
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“I’ll seeya later, darl!” I yelled, sprinting from the front door into the baking heat.
“Alright!” Sheryl called back, adding, “I’ll be there at one!”
I ran slowly across the wind-beaten land, searching the horizon far beyond me. As far as I could see, the only visible structures were dugtrio mounds that rose from seemingly every direction.
Cacturnes stood on their own, soaking up the intense heat with pleasure. Finally after another five minutes or so of jogging, I found it.
A twisted rock that spiralled from the ground loomed like an out-of-place behemoth in this desolate landscape. I stood, resting one hand against it, the other over my forehead as a guard against the unrelenting sun.
I didn’t have to wait long before a short burst of wind hit me from the side.
I glanced up to see what looked like a falling comet hurl towards the Earth. As it gained speed, the features of the Dragonite became more focussed, as did its rider. A man in his early twenties looked down at me with a wide grin, his blonde hair blowing rigged against the wind. In a single motion, he leapt from the Dragonite, rolling to absorb the impact.
“’Ey Daz!” He said cheerfully.
“Hows it goin’, Sammy?” I replied, shaking his hand roughly.
“Not too bad, mate,” he stated with distraction. “Hey, we better get going or they’ll start the tournament without us!”
In agreeance, the Dragonite shot a burst of blue flames, singeing the ground a deep purple.
“Alright, alright!” He said with a laugh. “C’mon, old bloke, we’ve got a tournament to catch!”
I climbed the side of the Dragonite, sitting behind a spike that fit perfectly between my legs like a harness.
Without further prompting, the pokemon brayed loudly and burst upwards into the endless blue sky.
“Up first on the Ice stage– Challenger Darren Smith of Reddust Town!”
I fumbled at my belt, adjusting the three pokeballs into place before climbing the stairs to the challengers’ podium.
I stared around at the hundreds of eager faces that beamed in excitement from every corner of the stadium. I was surprised how many people were here solely to spectate. I assumed there were a lot of challengers here today.
A balding referee stepped forth and raised two flags.
“We’re here today for a challenge upon the Ice stage, with the field specialist, Allegria, and the challenger Darren Smith.”
He nodded to the mysterious girl that stared me down from the other side of the field and then to me. She inclined her head in response, thick tresses of her ice-blue hair falling unevenly around her shoulders.
As he mentioned my name, she directed her eyes towards me.
They turned the blood within my body cold, my veins freezing instantly. Her skin shimmered glacially beneath the overhead lighting.
I was mesmerized.
With a cold smile, she drew a ball from beneath her top in anticipation and pressed it to her chest. I did so as well, preparing for our first clash.
“And… fight!”
With the call of the referee igniting a roar of excited cheering, I tossed my first pokemon to the ground.
“Go Mulga!”
My Tangrowth appeared upon the nearest iceberg. Usually, he was confident from the first moment, but the icy surface seemed to phase him. He slid awkwardly around, itching to begin moving to maintain a sense of stability.
“I’ll begin with you, Abomasnow!”
With the call, a pokeball spiralled to the ground, releasing a mighty Abomasnow. It roared once, quietening the stadium’s constant buzz instantly.
At that moment, I realised my mistake.
Sending out a grass type against a fellow grass type, including the fact the majority of its moves would finish Mulga in seconds, were it not for his bulkiness. Still, I had faith.
Before I could issue my first command, the wind grew noticeably colder. At first my throat constricted as the air thinned, but within half a minute, my vision was limited to a meter before me.
I thought at once to Abomasnow’s ability. The ancient tribes of the mountains call it, “Blizzard Bringer.”
This was simply madness. A white-out in the middle of the outback?
I heard Mulga cry out in something that couldn’t be confused for anything else but fear.
“Mulga, mate! Where are you?”
He cried out once again. The noise finished short, as if being cut off.
As If answering the one question in my head, the blizzard faltered, allowing me to view the battle field once again.
The Abomasnow stood in the same place, its trainer behind it. Her icy hair blew wild in the gust, a triumphant glint in her eye. I followed her line of sight, gasping in horror as I saw then what she was looking at.
Mulga lay face down upon an iceberg, frosted over and a sickly purple.
“Return, Mulga!” I called, wishing to relieve him of futher pain.
The referee raised a red flag in the direction of my opponent, indicating the first win.
I swallowed hard, glancing at the fearsome beast across from me. What did I have left that could beat that sort of play?
“Go, Trevor!”
My Slowbro was of course a lot more accustomed to the slippery conditions, but even so, he wasn’t so used to it being as frosty. I saw him shuffle slightly, preparing to leap into the water if I commanded it.
“Abomasnow, Leech Seed!” The girl yelled.
“You know what to do, Trev!”
Happily, he slid from the ice, dodging the seeds that flew towards him. I knew he couldn’t last long underwater, but at least when he surfaced, my Slowbro would have the advantage through the element of surprise.
I waited a moment in silence, allowing my opponent to be slightly confused. We’d practised this many times. After exactly a minute, Trevor would break the surface with a powerful Psychic or Surf depending on the enemy. We’d never failed before.
I didn’t have to count long before I saw his pink head pop from behind the Abomasnow. His eyes flashed a dangerous purple, indicating an incoming Psychic onslaught.
In the fraction of time that my opposition had to turn, the beast was lifted from its iceberg in a purple haze. Immobilized, it was thrown mercilessly over the battlefield.
As I looked around, time seemed to slow. Every set of eyes in the stadium was upon the airborne creature.
As I followed its path, everything seemed to speed up again.
It crashed to the ice hard, smashing a gargantuan hole.
I glanced to the referee who raised a white flag,
As the Abomasnow was called back, an almighty roar echoed from every direction around me. Trevor slid back to the iceberg in front of me.
With haste, the stage specialist sent out her second pokemon.
As its form twisted into shape, a frown shot across my face.
A Froslass? I’d always had the impression they were weak.
Not that I’d complain.
The graceful looking pokemon looked very comfortable in its surroundings.
I frowned once again as it seemed to shudder in pleasure with the icy winds surrounding it. Regardless, I knew this would be fairly straightforward.
“Trevor, you know the drill!”
As Trevor went to duck down, it seemed that my opponent did too.
A slight smile played at her lips, but otherwise she stood quietly.
I was a little suspicious, but otherwise, her lies would do no good. After all, how could she stop me?
Trevor disappeared from sight, provoking no reaction from the other side of the field.
After the count had finished in my head, Trevor appeared again. I saw that deadly glance many had seen before being taken to their doom.
Once again, the purple haze crept across the ice like a fast-moving mist. As it reached the Froslass, utter confusion struck me.
The attack had missed.
Trevor seemed as confused as I was, floating momentarily in the water.
That was enough for it to all turn.
“Now Froslass. Blizzard!”
Once again, the cold winds struck up. Ice shards pelted down upon the stadium, leaving a layer of permafrost in its wake.
The water froze instantly, rendering Slowbro all but helpless.
As the red flag rose, I called him back.
As I had no choice, I sent my last pokemon to face the unexpected opposition that was Froslass.
Lickilicky burst from his ball, sliding awkwardly against the ice pieces that floated atop the water. As I looked at the shimmering water, I knew the circumstances were less than desirable – but we didn’t have an option.
My gaze moved across the field to my opponent.
Her glacial eyes shone confidently with the trump card she’d pulled.
I stood for a moment staring her down.
I searched for a solution in her every movement, but nothing came.
As she raised her finger to begin the final clash, it came to me.
“Ol’mate,” I said, directing his attention to me. “Use fireblast!”
As flames flickered into life, I followed up my command with, “Now, I want you to use Rollout!”
Slightly bewildered but still trusting, Lickilicky curled into a tight ball and entered the maw of the flames.
I had a feeling Fire blast would miss, as the weather seemed to protect the Froslass in some way I couldn’t describe. I knew for a fact Psychic couldn’t miss. But by attacking close range, I knew the Froslass was at a disadvantage.
It was the most amazing thing I’d ever experienced in a battle. A flaming ball of pure destruction, rolling to meet its competitor with devastation.
The Froslass didn’t stand a chance.
As Ol’mate reached his target, I knew this was our second victory.
I didn’t bother looking towards the raised white flag – I knew that in most cases, everything came down to and depended upon your last pokemon. I’d chosen Ol’mate because he was a consistent, and most of all, very tough pokemon to befall.
I focussed all my energy on preparing myself for our final challenge.
From across the other side of the field, I saw a Weavile appear.
I knew little about Weaviles, but that they were narcissistic, stubborn and most of all, renowned for a deadly reputation on the battle-field.
With a whisper from its owner, it dashed with prowess across the icebergs, landing swiftly, one shard before Ol’Mate.
“Alright, let’s start this off,” I shouted, pointing to the opposition. “Ol’Mate, begin this with a bang! Fire blast!”
As a jet of flame burst into life before me, the Weavile seemed to anticipate the movement. It tipped the iceberg quickly, using the movement to propel itself into the air.
The crowd voiced awe as it glided through the air swiftly.
“Now, Weavile, brick break!”
As I heard the call, I smiled in triumph. There was something I could do in this apparently hopeless situation. Perhaps it would end sooner than I’d thought.
“Ol’Mate, use dive!”
With that, the Lickilicky cartwheeled sideways into the frigid water. Less than a second later, the Weavile filled the space where Ol’mate had been only moments before, cracking the ice in two with a powerful punch.
Looking confused the Weavile stood for a moment, dancing backwards and forwards, searching for its opponent futilely. Its trainer seemed just as stunned.
“Now, Ol’Mate!” I yelled with confidence. “Finish it with Fire blast!”
Before the Weavile could respond, a pillar of flame spurt from the fissure in the ice, scorching it mercilessly.
It slumped to the ice, fainted and stone cold. Tendrils of red light spun forth, signalling the return of it to the mysterious stage specialist.
A cheer exploded around me as a low humming slowly filled my ears.
The world seemed to gain a shimmering quality, almost phantasmal.
I saw Sheryl jump as the flag rose, crystalline tears forming in the creases of her sun-beaten face.
I was one step closer to reaching the National Tournament.
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