Pokemon Journeys: Masters 8 Tournament

Author's Note

Thank you so much for 50K reads! This could not be done without your continuous support! I am very grateful to all of you readers.

I really appreciate all your votes and comments. You helped me improve, and you made the story very interactive! Thanks for leaving your electronic footprint in this story.

Back in mid-2022, the Pokemon anime was in one of the all-time highs. Ash was going to challenge those in the Masters 8, and we were basically guessing who would be in the bracket, and how the matches should look like. The fans (we) had a consensus that the Champions were going to be there, and Ash would be there, so it would be Iris, Alder, Tobias, Alain, Kukui, Paul, and even Mustard fighting for the remaining two spots. At least those were some of the more popular predictions.

When the results came, I liked it. Alain was there, and Greninja reappeared a few episodes before announcing the brackets, so most of us wanted to see a flipping rematch between these two, especially between Greninja and Charizard.

I was one of them.

The day the Masters 8 was revealed (May 6, 2022), I hypothesized about how the bracket should look, and then I started writing. For the first time in my life, I decided to commit to a (potentially) very long project.

But that time, I really only wanted to write until Ash vs Alain for Greninja's redemption. I wanted to see a great animation of a battle between these two, so when I wrote it, I expected the animators to be able to create something as exciting as I had written.

I wrote till Ash vs. Alain, published my work, and took a break. Those were the times when Pokemon Journeys created this fabulous hype, bringing so many of you into my story. So yeah, I admit that most of the reads did not come for my writing, or my infinite fourth wall breaking, or the ???? at Chapter 25, but for the relevance to the anime while it was on fire.

And then the craziest thing happened. Alain lost to Leon in the first round. Ash would never have redemption. I think this pissed out a lot of people, including myself, so I kept writing, reimagining how every battle should look like in the anime. This story is the result of my ideal case.

And as for Ash vs Leon, who is going to win? I don't think it mattered anymore. I remember proposing the scenario of Ash and Leon sending out their first pokemon, and then the camera zooms out to reveal a girl (Liko) watching the television. Liko then says, "I want to be a Pokemon Master just like Ash," and then starts her journey. The match itself could be a separate movie, but at least in Journeys, the result of the match was undecided. This way, TPC can allow the fans to write to their hearts' content about the battle, and it does not really affect the next generation of anime.

I still remember for every episode in the semi-finals and the finals, I was sitting in front of the TV watching the stream of the anime when they aired. I wanted to watch the results of the episode live (no subtitles) instead of waiting for the English-translated episodes one day later. Because the Internet was flipping spoiling everything. That was some kind of excitement that I don't think the Pokemon anime could recreate ever again.

Anyways, here we are. About to enter the final battle for the story. But here's the thing...

I decide to put the book on hiatus.

I don't know how long this pause is going to be. I don't know when I will come back. I only know if I started writing and posting again, the notification would do its job.

Again? You may ask.

Yeah...It's a decision that I don't want to but have to make.

I feel lost in life.

I don't have a proper direction of what I what to do and who I want to be at the moment. I also made very little progress on the exam I registered earlier in the year. The part-time job that I am doing is not stable and not something I want to do. I am also starting to lose interest in things that I am good at and enjoy doing...

I am such a mess right now. I need some time to jiggle myself back into the right track, and focus on doing the right things first.

Do you know the feeling when people ask you how you are, and you say you are fine, but you are not really fine, but you just can't get into it, because they would never understand? That Katy Perry meme is so me right now. I have to show my friends and relatives that I am currently doing well, so that they don't worry about me, but I am actually doing very bad.

It's like wearing a mask that has a fake smile but I am crying inside. The smiling person that I see in front of the mirror is not the true me.

I came across the song "Reflection" recently, and I cried when I delved into the lyrics.

If I wear a mask, I can fool the world.
But I cannot fool my heart.

Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
Must I pretend that I'm someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show who I am inside?

Pretending to be fine when I am not - this is what I have been doing for the past few months. I have been hiding my problems for too long. I have been letting people know that I am ok when I am not. I am far from depressed, but I know something is wrong with me mentally.

It's time to change. It's time to fix things. The less important things have to be put to a halt.

But I would like to wrap up this story one day. After all, I have already finished 7 matches. How hard could it be for me to write one more match and some final climaxes? It's doable.

Back in the years, I said I wrote this story because I was upset and disappointed, and I would stop writing when I was satisfied. I want to make this change as well. If I manage to get things right, I'll be back.

Interestingly, I am getting less interested in pokemon like most people I know. Maybe because we have matured, or maybe we get occupied by school or work. Ash leaving the anime and being succeeded by Liko and Roy in Pokemon Horizons may also play a role.

I might also be one of the least knowledgeable pokemon fanfic writers. I never played pokemon games. I only watched XY, Sun and Moon, and then Journeys. First generation Pokemon anime I only managed the first 25 episodes, and I couldn't stand it anymore. So it is a really great surprise that my story has garnered this level of attention. Definitely not something I have expected.

Once again, I would like to thank all of your reads, votes, comments, and support. It means a lot to me. It's not amongst the best of other pokemon stories, it has terrible pacing in some matches, and it lacks a lot of romance content. There is a lot to improve, but I hope you have fun reading my story.

That's all from me. Thanks for listening to my "Ted Talk". I will still come back from time to time. If you have any questions, I will see you in the comment section. Feel free to ask me anything.

Have a good life!

PsychicMagic
June 2024

P.S. This is totally me, not hacked by Red or something.