Unoriginality 1: An Original Trainer Story

Exciting

Serena stood atop the plateau of Mt. Firefall, struggling to keep her balance as the rock shuddered and bucked under her feet, chunks falling off the edges to crash downward as the Team Shadow admin standing before her cackled madly with glee, looking barely aware of his crumbling surroundings or even the impossible tear that had opened in the sky itself above as the huge machine behind him crackled with power. Two massive, deformed pokemon resembling houndoom advanced on her, fire bursting from their mouths with each breath and eyes glittering with malevolence. Her hand went to pull a pokeball off her belt. She was down to three still capable of fighting, and two were injured, but she had no other options. If she was stopped before she could bring a halt to Team Shadow's mad plan, the world was doomed. As the first houndeath leaped for her with a snarl she tossed Storm's pokeball forward, praying her starter would be able to win somehow despite the monstrous opponents they faced.

But what you're undoubtedly asking yourself right now is, how did this happen? I don't mean what's happening in the scene itself, or how Serena came to be involved in Team Shadow's plot, or what they were trying to do, I mean, of course, how Serena became a trainer, what she ate for breakfast that morning and who she talked to waiting at the lab, the exact way she happened to pick her starter pokemon, that sort of thing.

And so, scene established, we return to the beginning of the story.

Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Serena's closed eyes and causing her to murmur sleepily. She blinked her eyes slowly, started to go back to sleep, then remembered what day it was.

Today she would get her first pokemon!

Serena jumped out of bed and raced downstairs.

"Slow down, Serena," her mother chided. "You've still got several hours before it's time to head over to the professor's lab.

"Right, right," Serena said. "What's for breakfast, then?"

"Bacon and eggs. Just wait a few more minutes for me to finish frying them." Her mother turned back to the stove.

Serena sat down on one of the wooden chairs by the table, tapping her hand idly on the table as she waited. She wondered what pokemon she'd choose. And what if it didn't like her, or didn't obey? Oh, she hoped she wouldn't run into those kinds of problems.

"Here you go," her mother said, setting a plate of scrambled eggs and three strips of bacon in front of her. She picked up her fork and began eating.

Hm? Oh, we should reach the Team Shadow plot around chapter thirty, and catch up to the above scene around chapter forty...maybe fifty, we wouldn't want to rush through the part where she goes on a sidetrip to take part in a week-long American Idol-esque singing contest. Because the story would be so boring if we skipped over all the exciting parts like those.