1As you may or may not know, I've been here on for almost 3 years. The writer I have to thank for that is PokemonOtaku0909 and I've given the story before, but here's a refresher. I officially registered that a site I had seen in 2008 (from one of my friends; don't know if they have/had an account or not) and then one in 2011 (from one of my classmates who was …an acquaintance; they asked me to proof something and I did. Don't know what kind of story it was, though) was the same site I had found in June of 2014. I joined on the 14 of June. I had been watching the episode of Maylene vs. Ash and that was interesting as I read the comments. I saw an advertisement for someone saying that they had a story up about Maylene getting revenge on Paul. That someone was PokemonOtaku0909 and here's the link to that story: s/9902461/1/Maylene-makes-Paul-suffer
After I reviewed it, he recommended his best story. From then, we had PM sessions (and we still have those, actually) and have read each other's works. We've learned each other's real first names. I call him 'Otaku' mostly because I let him decide who he reveals his real name to. We've gone on to write stories for each other and with our real first names (us as characters in the Pokémon world) as our characters. We have a collaboration coming up and this is a different one. This collab (as well as this one-shot) is Pokémon without Pokémon. Some of you may know what that is and realize that it's that kind of AU. If you don't know, then I'll tell you and if you do know, jump to the A/N, the disclaimer and then the story. So a story (be it a one, two, three or four-shot; or even a full-fledged story) can be Pokémon characters (typically human characters) in a 'real life/our world' setting. There can even be OCs. Example: there's a story with Ash Ketchum as a college athlete (just an example) and 'Pikachu' is the name of his pet dog/cat/mouse/hamster/guinea pig. That's basically how that works. I hope this taught you something.
A/N: Neither of our OCs have had last names mentioned in previous one-shots. These last names are not our real life last names. This is just a little one-shot as to how Eileen and David meet each other online and in the Pokémon world setting.
If either of us choose to do this kind of format for future stories (outside our collab), then basically, the following regions (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh) are structured as one big region with its islands (Orange Islands, Sevii Islands) off to the side. Unova, Kalos and Alola are also their own regions. The towns keep their names and everything.
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs of Eileen, some places, her family and the storyline. David belongs to PokemonOtaku0909. Also, both of our characters are a bit older than they have been in the past. The months and years are to give you a timeline of how we began to talk and eventually, form our friendship. Also, this is rated for T for language and alcohol usage. It should also be noted that there will be OC/existing character ships mentioned.
Head's up! This story parallels (for lack of a better word) "An Unexpected Meeting" and if you've read all of our stories, I would read AUM as a refresher. Here's the link. s/11864936/1/An-Unexpected-Meeting
Getting to Know You
(June 2014)
It was a warm June night in Viridian City, Kanto. A young woman had her cellphone in her hands. She was watching a PokéTube video of a fight between her friend Ash Ketchum and her mentor. Her mentor was Maylene, a young woman whose family runs a gym in Veilstone City, Sinnoh. She had previously watched a young man from Veilstone fight against Maylene and before Ash's fight, she watched a girl a little younger than her do a sparring match with Maylene. The Veilstone native was Paul and the girl was Dawn. Before going to sleep, the girl read something in the comments section. *
'I'm an aspiring author. I won't write any stories on there,' the young woman thought as she remembered the name of the website and the story, which she would look at the next day. She did just that and read each word. She noticed that his story was in a different format, but having taken Theater, she knew how to read it. As she read it, she made a mental note not to piss her mentor off. She wanted to tell the author how she felt and created an account. He contacted her soon after.
As time went by, Eileen's family found out she had an account. Her parents were just glad she had found a way to occupy herself after an incident at Viridian Community College. She was the sixth of seventh children with her youngest sibling being adopted. **
Her eldest brother Trent (by 10 years) was happy for a sister he didn't get to spend that much time with. His wife Sabrina was a psychologist in Saffron City and he had moved there shortly after their marriage. ***
Then came her brother Derek, older by 8 years. Derek was slightly indifferent, but told his sister that if any guy were to threaten or harass her, he'd hunt that guy down. She was thankful that his new wife Violet had been helping the young man with his anger. After all, Violet had a sister (who the girl was friends with) named Misty. Misty had quite the temper herself, but she has since changed. ****
Jacob was her favorite older brother. They're 4 years apart. Jacob liked doing yardwork and was trying to start his own business by the time he was 15. Then a trip to Celadon (to buy supplies) and a girl named Erika changed that. It didn't take long for them to be engaged and at the time, they were making wedding plans. Jacob was very happy that his sister decided to come out of her shell. *****
This was where the girl herself fell: she was the youngest of triplets. There was a little over a minute between her and Liana; between her and Evan, 45 seconds. Liana was currently visiting her boyfriend in the Hoenn region, a young man named Brawly. Liana and Brawly both had common interests: fighting (in the form of self-defense, not so much for combat) and water sports. Evan was visiting a girl he liked (named Justina) in the Sevii Islands. Evan and Justina still played Pokémon and both loved Fire-types. [1]
Then, her younger brother. He was two years younger than her and interestingly, a feral child. The boy's name was TJ. Before becoming a feral child, he was being raised by his mother and grandfather. His father was heavily involved in his studies, leaving his wife and son shortly after his son's birth. Tragedy struck his family, leaving him to run away so he wouldn't be put into foster care or become an orphan. Eileen and Jacob knew of the tragedy and of the boy's father. Kanto's legal system (which had a branch in Viridian City) talked it over. Her parents (Alex and Samantha) went to court a few times with the child. As papers were being read (and signed), Jacob and Eileen (because they had found the boy) were with him during his exams. Jacob had mostly stayed with him for his physical and Eileen held his hand when he was receiving shots. Eileen held his hand and spoke soothing words as he had his first eye exam in years. The toughest part had been his first dental exam in years, but Eileen stayed as calm as she could for him, holding his hand when he reached out to her. Papers were signed and by 1:00 that day, Eileen and Jacob were proud to welcome their adopted brother into their family. [2]
TJ was 18 at the time and had heard his sister talking to herself as she formed her account. "Eileen, I'm happy for you," he had said.
On August 24, 2014, Eileen learned that the writer's real first name was David and the next day, she told him her real first name. Neither of them knew what would be in store for them.
(Remainder of 2014)
Eileen and David continued to talk through PMs. They learned that they agreed on a lot of things. They learned that they both have multiple OCs. As an extension on that, they each have at least one OC shipped with an existing character. David has an OC that he paired Max with and Eileen has an OC that she's paired Hugh with. As a matter of fact, They talked about the fandoms that interested them. They talked genres. (3)
(April 2015)
Eileen had turned the big 21 and David wrote her a story. With a small gap between her and David's ages, she thought she'd do the same. She had to remember that he lived in Hearthome City, Sinnoh. She began to stay for 2 month intervals with Maylene, but on David's 21st birthday, he had a small party involving drinks and she would've invited, but through a PM, David had told Eileen that Barry would fine him if he brought a girl with him. Eileen (to David's surprise) was fine with this. [4]
Eileen learned more about David in 2015 and she loved the friendship they had so far. It was sometime later that year (after David's 21st birthday) that Eileen started feeling closer to David despite their distances. She didn't know if David felt the same, though.
(Their first meeting; 2016)
The move was hard, but it was a deal between Alex and Samantha Matthews and Maylene Lillis. Though Eileen was a legal adult, she happened to have Asperger's Syndrome, among other mental struggles. For six months, she'd live in Veilstone with Maylene and her sister. She reminded TJ that they could always talk on the phone and he could come and visit her. (5)
Over time, Eileen had met Candice: Maylene's best friend and an avid 'snow athlete', as TJ described her. Candice did snowboarding and skiing, but she really loved the snow, hence her reason for living in Snowpoint City. (6)
There was one day where Eileen got to meet Volkner: an electrical engineer (and prodigy) from Sunyshore City. Hearthome's well-known figure (Fantina) knew of David and vice versa, but when it came to 'guy time' and his friends Lucas Rowan and Barry Pearl weren't around, David knew that he was welcomed in Sunyshore. When she had met the blond, she was a bit bummed to hear him say that David was trying to type a long chapter and he'd be a while. Ordinarily, she would've waited, but she politely declined and told Volkner that if she wasn't back by a certain time, Maylene would be livid and the dark brunette didn't want to risk it. [7]
Eileen and David had gotten word of a 'convention' of sorts for fanfiction writers. Before the convention, David found himself in an intense conversation (with Barry watching) about his relationship with Eileen. During the conversation, David turned the tables on Lucas. Lucas may have been the grandson of Sinnoh's most respected professor, but he wasn't that good with social skills and hiding feelings. Barry found it a bit more interesting than working in an office with his father, who had been given the nickname of 'Tower Tycoon Palmer'. When David had a clever reply on Lucas' relationship with Dawn, the blue-haired boy's face was redder than a tomato! [8]
When Eileen and David got the confirmation of the convention, Eileen was visiting Kanto and was stunned when she found out that she would be going to Hoenn. Neither of them had yet turned 22 and Eileen messaged David on her fanfiction account of SPELLINGQUEEN67. David's account was Vengeance1994. The two met after the final night of the convention. Due to an unexpected crowding situation, the Lilycove Center ended up with one room left: its occupants were Eileen and David. It was awkward for the both of them in the beginning, but they figured things out and luckily for the both of them, there were two beds in the room.
Then, they started talking about the party overall. It wasn't until David made an indirect (yet seemingly direct) reference to one of Eileen's stories that they realized they were with each other! That was the past, let's get back to the present, shall we?
One night, between 11:45 and midnight, Eileen was on her laptop. 'David and I are on the same time zone,' she thought to herself. She would be sending a message about what she read. Maylene realized she was still up. "Young lady, what do you think you're doing?" Maylene asked as she stood in the doorway, arms folded.
Eileen rolled her eyes. "Maylene, I'm not that much younger than you. You're 24 and I'm 22. Anyway, I went to the writers' convention in Hoenn and ...met the author I've been talking to. The one I've told you about?" she said.
(Meanwhile in Sunyshore)
David was very grateful that Volkner had a house near his gym and an apartment. Volkner had told David that he was still trying to move out of the place. Volkner knocked on the door of David's room. "You may enter if you dare," he said, sitting on his bed, typing at his laptop.
"Just thought I'd check in on you. Everything still a bit tense with the guys?" the dirty blond asked.
David nodded. "Yeah. After I got back from the convention, Kenny got in on the news, courtesy of Lucas. Kenny and Lucas then realized they both had feelings for Dawn and started arguing. Barry wasn't doing anything, so I thought I'd come here."
Volkner nodded. "Did you get to meet that girl you've been talking about?"
David wiped some sweat off of his forehead, the back of his hand barely touching his black hair that had some dandruff in it. His brown eyes were focused on the computer game he was playing. "I did," he said before his laptop made a beeping sound two times. "Ah, I wonder who's messaging me at this hour."
Volkner watched his young friend and thought about his feelings that he had of his friends: Candice (Maylene's best friend) and Maylene. In fact, a few years ago, Volkner had a Pachirisu that he was trading to Maylene in reception for a Rotom. Maylene, however, traded the Pachirisu to Dawn. [9]
David read his message from Eileen. It had said: People ship us, David. They've even got a name for it. We're real-life people and yet, they're treating us like we're not. It's called Sparetimewritershipping because we both write in our spare time. Also, I've really enjoyed getting to know you. Maylene's just teasing me for a bit before I go to bed. School's been hectic, too, so I might not be able to message you for a while.
"Oh brother," David said and Volkner was still in thought. He typed up his reply and closed his laptop.
(Back to Veilstone)
Eileen read her message on her phone, thankful that she was now alone in her room. The icon for a new message from David Nimbus came up. Eileen smiled. 'That's very interesting that people ship us when they haven't even met us. You are a kickass girl and any guy would be lucky to have you. Good luck with school and maybe we can chat around Thanksgiving? It's up to you, my sweet queen Eileen.' Eileen yawned before turning off her phone and the light. She'd send him a reply, if she had time. Maybe she'd email him the next day.
For those who know both young adults, they knew that the two had their bad days every now and then. As of late, Eileen and David had a lot on their minds and both weren't sure what steps they'd take next.
(November 2016)
Eileen and David chatted around Thanksgiving. If asked the question, "What's your favorite thing about your friend?" When that tone was used (occasionally in a teasing tone), both couldn't pin it down to one thing. If they had to pick, though, David's favorite thing about Eileen would be her creativity. Eileen's favorite thing about David would be his honesty.
(December 2016)
Eileen was wrapping up her fall semester of her junior year in college and had only talked to David once or twice. She promised herself that she'd talk to him after Christmas.
...but what neither young adult knew was what would happen between early December and the end of December. Neither of them were psychic, after all.
What they are: two young adult authors who have lives outside of fanfiction. Two friends that were now only separated by cities instead of their home region. Two friends that would soon have their friendship (or relationship if you asked some of their friends) tested.
That is not a cliffhanger, I promise. This is actually a precursor/prequel of sorts to a collaboration I will soon be starting with PokemonOtaku0909 …let me do the rundown and I'll talk about that at the A/N. That okay?
(*) PokéTube is a parody of YouTube and remember: Pokémon without Pokémon. It wasn't that hard to make those changes. Also, Eileen and Ash being friends is a reference to His Distance. I cannot claim ownership to PokéTube because I'm not the first person to parody it.
(**) I made up Viridian Community College. Ergo, I own it.
(***) I know that there are people in real life who have the job title of psychic. Do I know anyone personally? Nope! So, I took in her manga history (Pokéspe and The Electric Tale of Pikachu) into play, threw her games persona (gens 1 and 2) in and added her anime persona. So, that's how I made my choice of her career. This would likely be the case for any Pokémon without Pokémon stories in the future.
(****) Yep. I kept Derek's personality the same. Protective and a bit… overkill, on occasions. Yes, that can be seen as an HD spoiler. That's all I'm saying.
(*****) I rarely write my OCs showing favoritism… for personal reasons. I try to make it seem like the two characters [in this instance, Jacob and Eileen] are closer to each other than they are their other siblings. Plus, if you were to ask Eileen [HD, that is] which brother gets on her nerves the least, she'd tell you Jacob who is closely trailed by TJ!
(1) Part one of this: I think it's nice that Brawly is a Fighting-type gym leader. Makes things easier. I don't see him starting fights, but that's not saying he might have at one point or another. Part two of this: Pokémon is a game in this. Lucas, Dawn, Barry, Volkner, Maylene and Candice all say that the Pokémon characters of the same names share their names. Anyway, Evan and Justina. The latter has only gotten a few appearances through PM, but that will change. You'll learn in due time, my readers.
(2) Not sure what a feral child is? Two answers. One: have you ever heard of Tarzan? Two: do you remember Sapphire Birch from Pokéspe? Growing up [well, in the case of the latter, pretty much after she and Ruby were attacked that day] in the wild is pretty much what it means. I've seen shows about it happening in real life. Feral children may not even know their own language, having resorted to making grunts, noises and maybe something that sounds like gibberish. One thing I saw about a couple of feral children [a boy and a girl; they were young and that's all I can remember] was this couple who was unable to have children of their own and had fostered several times before becoming eligible to adopt children. The feral children "lived" [stayed the most/where they're most often seen] not too far away from them. Animal control wasn't called or anything. The parents-to-be took calm approaches, one at a time with the woman going with the girl and the man going for the boy. Having not felt other human contact for an unknown time period, the children were confused. However, they realized they were safe. They were a bit dirty, but other than that, they were just young children. So, once the adoption process was through, the kids had health exams in three areas/specialties/whatever you want to call this: doctor, dentist, eye doctor. They still exhibited the human behavior of squirming at the offices [how many kids do you know {or do you even remember} like {or don't mind/aren't fazed/don't care} being in a place like that?], but they were given a clean bill of health and new names. I can't remember what they were, but that's the story I remember from long ago. Part two of this: *sighs* I tried not to spoil who TJ is for those who haven't figured it out yet, but if you're reading this and HD, you may be able to solve TJ's identity. …but will I tell you the truth? Maybe, maybe not. Part two of this: so, also I tried not to spoil too much for HD, but I think I did better in this aspect. All the stuff I said [in regards to the legal system] is true.
(3) Look up "Bad Dude Bounty Hunters" and you'll learn what I'm talking about with the Max pairing. Look up "Just Kiss Already!" and you'll learn what I'm talking about with the Hugh pairing. That's that.
(4) Part one of this bit: yes, in real life, David and I aren't that far apart in age. Part two: to anyone who doesn't think that guys still do that, trust me. They do. I just added in Barry threatening to fine David for the fun of his [Barry's] character.
(5) So, Asperger's Syndrome isn't easy to live with. I would know because well, Eileen is based off of me. HD Eileen, to be more specific. Yes, I'm legally an adult [hey, a hint to how old I am!] and still live with my parents. I believe I've said this on my profile, but I'll gladly say it here as well: rent isn't cheap, job or no job.
(6) I head canon Candice saying that she'd do that stuff if asked. That's all I'm saying.
(7) Part one: I think it's implied [subtly] in the anime that Volkner is an engineer. I head canon him being a prodigy. Part two: Fantina is a model and a clothes designer. Part three: David is from Hearthome City.
(8) Part one: Professor Rowan is a college professor. Part two: I actually knew of a businessman that was called the Tower Tycoon. I know that some of you are probably putting Palmer at the bottom of the list for businessmen, but it's AU and anything is possible.
(9) While I primarily ship CurtainShipping (Reggie/Maylene), note that that's an anime ship. Yeah. I mostly support SenirasuShipping (Volkner/Candice) because they're pictured next to each other in the manga: Volkner with his Electivire and Candice with her Froslass. I also support FirecrackerShipping (Volkner/Maylene) because I feel like those two would actually work as a couple. …what? I don't name the ships, I just read/support them. Let me rephrase that: I don't name every ship. Part two of this: yeah, minus the Rotom bit [Volkner has one in the games], I pretty much got the concept from Pokéspe. Volkner has a Pachirisu. He decides to give the Pachirisu to Maylene. Maylene gives the Pachirisu to Platinum and I don't think Volkner found out until she came to Sunyshore for her Beacon Badge.
A/N: For those of you reading "Why Should I?" well one, thank you for staying with the story or looking at it if you're new. Two, I only have one more chapter to tweak, but I'll do that after I write chapter 5. Yeah, that's seriously the next thing on my to-do list. Anyway, whether you're reading the story or not, suicide affects a lot of people. Some of those who commit it can be young children (do you really want me to go on a spiel on how bad bullying and child abuse are? Mostly the former, but still, consider it before you ask), middle and high schoolers, college students, adults and most importantly: veterans. If memory serves (and that number may have changed), 22 veterans commit suicide each day in the United States. Whether they're veterans of Vietnam or Afghanistan, veterans commit suicide. This is mostly because they suffer from PTSD and have gotten: no (or very minimal) support from family, no (or very minimal) proper treatment and no (or very minimal) respect from those whom they fought for.
On a lighter note, David and I have fun writing our one-shots and sharing story ideas and just exchanging conversation in general. David, you're an awesome (and a few more adjectives that I don't want to add because I want to try and wrap this up) dude and thank you for properly introducing me to fanfiction. We are trying to sort out the finer details of our story (which is going on David's profile as opposed to mine. The reason for that is simply because "Rising Hunters" is on my profile and it's a crossover sequel to David's best story "Bad Dude Bounty Hunters") before we post it. It'll be up before summer, I hope. I'm not making promises for either of us.
Well, that's everything.
As always, R and R, f and f (if you want), vote and ask. Ciao.
-Legal
PS I have stated this multiple times, but I will state it again: I head canon that Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh are on the same time zone. Unova is one hour ahead of those regions and two hours ahead of Alola. Kalos is two hours ahead of the first four, one hour ahead of Unova and three hours ahead of Alola.