Psycho Monkey's One Shots, Flash Challenges, and Other Shenanigans

[Psycho Monkey]

At the risk of flooding the nascent Writing section of the Creative Corner with all of my works, I'm just going to compile them into one single thread. Included here will be old Flash Challenges which haven't been a thing in five years, random one shots written for fun or with other purposes in mind, and whatever else I damn well please posting. Not that I've actually written anything in three years. >>

That said, what better way to kick this thread off than with the very thing that has kept me from writing!


The Curse of Writer's Block

A lonely writer stared at the blank document on their laptop’s screen. The writer was itching to write something, anything, but the ideas just were not coming. Not even a single paragraph, sentence, or even the tiniest word could be produced. It seemed to be a case of the cursed affliction known as writer’s block, an ailment that seemed to be as persistent as the common cold. The struggle for inspiration was real.

The writer scratched their brow then rubbed the back of their head before standing up and doing stretches. Then they went for a walk to nowhere. Were these the actions of frustration, boredom, procrastination, or was the silliness something to get the blood flowing in a hopeless attempt to generate ideas?

“Maybe I can get inspiration online!” the writer figured. Thus began the internet shenanigans. The writer read various manga, watched various anime, listened to various music, and dicked around on various other sites. By the end of the night the writer was exhausted, eyes wide and bloodshot. At the very least the writer was successful in finding inspiration. Yes, too successful. So many ideas had been poured in their brain that they thought their head would explode!

Romanic comedy? Cop drama? Superhero action? Space opera? Gritty SciFi? Historical tragedy? Medieval fantasy? Suspenseful thriller? A cautionary tale on the folly of humanity? Over the top parody? Some bastardized combination of all of the above!? All of the ideas swirled around the writer’s mind like a large pile of shit that just would not go down no matter how many times the toilet was flushed! Each idea battled for dominance like gladiators in the arena within the writer’s skull. The dreaded writer’s block was clearly gone and forgotten but this supersaturation of ideas that had replaced it was the complete opposite yet just as unproductive! Even though ideas are nothing like blood, the hemorrhaging of thoughts caused the writer to pass out.

That night the writer had the most wonderful dream! It was amazing! The writer woke up feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. They knew exactly what to write about! They would write the details of their dream and it would be the most awesome story ever! Unfortunately, writing awesome stories alone did not pay the bills. The writer had squandered their day off yesterday and today it was back to work!

All day the writer tried to keep thinking of the dream they had last night. They must keep it alive and intact in their head! When the writer returned home, they rushed to their laptop, opened it up, turned it on, and anxiously waited for it to boot up. As soon as everything was ready, the writer splayed their fingers ready to start typing vigorously, but…

“No…” the writer whispered quietly. “No, no, no, nonononononono! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” they wailed in anguish throwing their hands over their face and leaning as far back in their chair as they could without falling over. Over the course of the day details of the dream had faded and blurred. The awesome story was gone. Deleted before it could ever be. It was always the same. When the writer was away from a computer or had little time, the ideas were clear as day. When the writer sat at their laptop with ample time their mind was covered in an impenetrable fog.

Be brave sobbing writer! One day your mind will be clear and the words will flow through you.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

Years ago I took a Creative Writing class. This is the first of three poems I wrote for that class. The center alignment is intentional since it resembles the Nobody sigil.

Just A Nobody​

A heart… if I had a heart
Ripped from my body, tearing me apart
This empty shell used to be somebody,
But now I am just a Nobody

Rejected by both the darkness and light
I’m left teetering on the edge of nothingness tonight
Of all emotion I am devoid
Lost forever roaming this empty void

Love, happiness, joy, pleasure, I feel nothing
Anger, hate, sorrow, despair, I wish I could feel something
Under the sacred moon I yearn
Will my heart ever return?

My lost heart denies me the ability to feel
With every passing day I find it hard to believe this real
Even as I go on pretending to exist
This emptiness inside continues to persist

A creature of nothing lost in a World That Never Was
I wander the city of in between without a cause
Its hollow empty streets echo with somber melodies
They are a lot like me, all they have left are memories

Against my incompleteness I have desperately fought
Wondering if I will ever reach the Alter of Naught
This empty vessel used to be somebody
But now I am just a Nobody
​

 

[Psycho Monkey]

Years ago I took a Creative Writing class. This is the second of three poems I wrote for that class. A tribute to the Hansome Monkey King, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong!

Ode to the Monkey King

I serve no mortal man, but I, Psycho Monkey, solely declare his majesty
the Monkey King as my master for his badassery, cunning audacity,
and overall awesomeness as his loyal vassal.

Sired with many names, Son Goku and Sun Wukong are his most
recognized identities. Golden garbs and a phoenix feathered
cap complete his reflection of royalty.

From modest origins does this great demon lord come, being born out of
chaos and residing in a waterfall cave with others of his kind. Quickly did
Wukong’s powers grow until he became the best of his clan.

Seeking immortality, the intelligent monkey became skilled at magic and martial arts.
Armed with the soaring cloud Kinto-un and the Nyoibo Staff, capable of stretching
to any size, Wukong instituted his dominance over all demons, even dragons.

When eternal life and youth belonged to the monkey, not even the armies of heaven
numbering One Hundred Thousand were a match for Wukong’s overwhelming powers.
In victory the Monkey King’s immense strength increased even further.

With a lethal ego and mischievous mannerisms, Sun Wukong is a foe
that is best not to make. Once again I, Psycho Monkey,
affirm the mighty Monkey King as my master.
​

 

[Psycho Monkey]

Years ago I took a Creative Writing class. This is the third and final of three poems I wrote for that class. It's a haiku in tribute to the final moments of Code Geass. The original anime that is since the movies and OVAs weren't a thing back then.

Zero Requiem

They made it happen
A plan to unite the world
The price paid was high​

 

[Psycho Monkey]

In December 2013 I posted a Pokecharms holiday piece. Much and more of our lore has changed and some of the references are dated but it's still a part of our history.


The Twelve Days of Charmsmas

On the first day of Charmsmas, KoL gave to us a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the second day of Charmsmas, Stel gave to us two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the third day of Charmsmas, the Forums gave to us three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the fourth day of Charmsmas, Pory-Z gave to us four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the fifth day of Charmsmas, Chivalry gave to us five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the sixth day of Charmsmas, Game Freak gave to us six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the seventh day of Charmsmas, Rex gave to us seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the eighth day of Charmsmas, Data gave to us eight Mafia games, seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the ninth day of Charmsmas, Katie gave to us nine pizza boxes, eight Mafia games, seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the tenth day of Charmsmas, Alex gave to us ten years of Charmsing, nine pizza boxes, eight Mafia games, seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the eleventh day of Charmsmas, Crystal gave to us eleven flirts with Stel, ten years of Charmsing, nine pizza boxes, eight Mafia games, seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

On the twelfth day of Charmsmas, Kyubey gave to us twelve-year-old Shiny, eleven flirts with Stel, ten years of Charmsing, nine pizza boxes, eight Mafia games, seven blank stares, six Pokémon Gens, five knights of Dwayna! Four chat room games, three herps to post int, two thrashing armblades and a heaping helping of PINGAS!

 

[Psycho Monkey]

I can't remember if this was a Halloween 2015 Flash Challenge or if it was just something I wrote up for funsies, but here it is. Inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas.


A Letter To Sandy Claws

Dear Sandy Claws,

How have you been old friend? This is your pal Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, writing to you because I am concerned about something. Do you remember all those years ago when I decided to give you a vacation by taking over Christmas myself? I certainly learned my lesson back then about trying to do other people’s holidays myself. But this brings me to the point of this letter. I now feel as if you are encroaching on MY holiday. I thought you and I had come to an understanding and were going to let bygones be bygones. I do not mean to imply that you are trying to take over Halloween Mr. Sandy Claws, but it has been brought to my attention that Christmas decorations, ads, and music have been showing up while people are supposed to be celebrating Halloween. How can they expect to be frightened when everything is so jolly? Instead of spooks hiding in shadows there are reindeer prancing in the snow. Green and red are more prominent than orange and black. Now I will be the first to admit, I like Christmas as much as the next ghoul, but not if it means Halloween gets ignored! I am asking you as a friend and fellow holiday ruler if you could please tone back the Christmas cheer a bit. At least wait until the people in the funny hats and headdresses sacrifice and devour the annual turkey before spreading your magic. That way no holiday gets overshadowed! Well anyway, I know you are a reasonable fellow Sandy so I hope everything works out better next year. You take care of yourself!

Happy Halloween!!

Sincerely,
Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King


PS. Could you ask Mrs. Claws to send us the recipe for her Christmas fruitcake? They are to die for so Sally wanted to try her hand at making some. I’m sure hers will taste just as dreadful as your wife’s.


PPS. I have told Lock, Shock, and Barrel not to TP your house this year. They know what kind of punishment awaits them if they do.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

This short story features a certain duo of Trainers as they prepare for a new adventure in a new land. This was originally posted before the release of Sun and Moon and takes place before the events of the game.


When Past and Present Collide

A young man with spiky orange hair wearing a black T-shirt and brown pants sat in a comfy chair staring forlornly up at the ceiling of the break room of the Viridian Gym with a cup of water in his right hand. Another victory. Another boring victory. The Gym Leader sighed and lowered his head. Trainers these days were just so weak. No. They weren’t even worth calling Trainers. They were a bunch of snot nosed kids throwing out so-called “top tier” Pokémon and expecting to win a badge. Sorry but no. Those little punks couldn’t hold a candle to Blue. They weren’t worthy of the Earth Badge.

“Man, I could really use a decent battle for a change.” the Gym Leader mumbled to himself. He could count on one hand the number of Trainers that could actually give him a thrilling battle at his best. Only three. There was that Trainer from Unova who defeated him in the World Tournament hosted in Driftveil City a few years ago, the Trainer from Johto who was the first challenger to win the Earth Badge from Blue after his appointment as Gym Leader, and of course his longtime friend turned rival, Red. Red. The one Trainer Blue just couldn’t beat no matter how hard he tried. It infuriated him to no end but was also the reason he admired and respected Red so much.

“I wonder what he’s up to these days.” Blue mused. He chugged the rest of his drink, got up from his seat, and stretched. No use sitting around all day. The Pokémon League might not like it, hell, they might even get on his case about it, but Blue didn’t care. He was going to find Red and they were going to go on vacation somewhere!
------------

After asking around for a bit Blue determined that Red had once again retreated to his favorite training ground, the peak of Mt. Silver. Blue trudged through the snow wearing a black parka and green gloves for warmth as he made the climb up the mountain slope. There in the distance he saw a man the same age as him with brown hair sticking out from under a red hat with a white brim wearing a pair of jeans, a red jacket with white sleeves, and black gloves. He was sitting in the snow playing what looked like a game of tic-tac-toe with his Pikachu, a yellow mouse Pokémon with two brown stripes on its back, long black tipped ears, a lightning bolt shaped tail, and red cheeks. Since Red was facing away, it was Pikachu who noticed Blue approaching first. Seeing his Pokémon perk up, Red turned around to see what had caught its attention.

“Sup loser!” greeted Blue cheerfully. Red gave a silent wave without a change to his stoic expression or even getting up from his seat. “Don’t I even get a ‘Hello’ from you?” chastised Blue indignantly.

“…” Red waved his hand side to side.

“Ugh. Well I’m glad to see the isolation hasn’t dulled your vocabulary.” Blue groaned putting his hands on his hips. Or at least the limited vocabulary he had. Red was known as a man of few words who let his abilities as a Pokémon Trainer speak for him. “Anyway, you must be pretty tired of the cold up here. What would you say to a change of scenery? Someplace warmer perhaps?” he suggested slyly.

“… …”

“I figured you’d say that. Things at the Gym have slowed down a bit so I was going to head to Alola for a while. Gramps has a cousin who lives over there studying some of the regional variants or whatever. I’ve heard there isn’t a Pokémon League in Alola so it’ll be pretty boring if there aren’t any strong Trainers there. I was hoping you’d come along to keep me sharp.” invited Blue. There was no way he was going to openly admit he wanted Red to come along just for company. Red turned back to his tic-tac-toe game and, upon noticing he lost to Pikachu, held out a red and white sphere the size of a baseball. In a flash of red light his Pokémon was returned to its Pokéball. Red then stood up and faced Blue.

“…” he said with a nod.

“Fantastic!” his rival laughed. The two Trainers then returned home to Pallet Town to pack for their trip.
--------------

Blue stood outside of Red’s house wearing a pair of green shorts, green tennis shoes, a black shirt, a pair of sunglasses, and a grey travel bag slung over his shoulder. He tapped his foot grumbling in frustration. They needed to go already! Their boat left from Vermillion City in a few hours. Finally all of Blue’s patience ran out.

“Red!” he shouted as he burst into the house. Red was sitting at his kitchen table wearing jeans, red tennis shoes, a white shirt with red sleeves and a red 96 written on it, and his trademarked hat. Red looked up at his rival with ramen noodles hanging from his mouth and gave him a silent wave. “Don’t you “Hi” me! We have to go!” yelled Blue impatiently.

“Go? But you boys just came home.” Red’s mom said disappointedly as she walked into the room. “Oh well. You’re both all grown up so I guess it can’t be helped.” she said with a sigh. Red slurped up the rest of his ramen, drank the broth from the bowl, then got up from the table.

“Finally! Now let’s get out of here.” demanded Blue. Red picked up a yellow travel bag and slung it over his shoulder before giving a quiet farewell to his mother.

“Have fun you two.” she said waving them off.

“Smell ya later!” Blue called back haughtily earning him a slap upside the head from Red. “Ow! Hey! What was that for?” he demanded.

“… … …” Red shook his head disapprovingly yet maintained his stoic expression.

“I say that to everyone! Your mom is no exception!” he said dismissively. Red shrugged silently conceding that much was true about his rival. Blue then got a wide cocky grin. “Alright Alola, here we come! You better be ready for us!”

 

[Psycho Monkey]

When Mahina moved to the Alola Region from her native home in Kanto, she never dreamed that she would not only become a Trainer her first night in her new home but that after only a few short months she would rise to become Alola's first Champion. Now after crossing the treacherous Poni Gauntlet she stands at the gate to the Battle Tree where her latest trial awaits. This was a Flash Challenge in 2017 and can be considered a loose part 2 to the previous story.


Of Champions and Legends

The Alola Region was known as a paradise for its tropical climate and untamed natural beauty. The natives communed with nature rather than trying to urbanize and bend nature to their will giving the region a very relaxed and laidback feel to locals and tourists alike. Of the four islands, Poni Island was the most wild with very little in the way of human settlements. Due to this, Poni Island was the site where many powerful Trainers went for training their Pokémon. This was especially true at the Battle Tree, a sacred battle ground beneath the tallest tree in Alola where the toughest Trainers in the region competed against one another in a test of strength.

Standing at the entrance of the Battle Tree was an eleven-year-old girl with shoulder length wavy black hair dressed in a black t-shirt, black jean shorts, black knee socks, and red hiking shoes with a bag that looked like a watermelon slice slung over her shoulder. She stared at the magnificent carved stone pillars covered in vines and moss with a glimmer of awe and wanderlust in her green eyes. If only the gates had been colored with red, yellow, pink, and purple stripes they would have reminded her of the Trial Gates from her recently completes Island Challenge, the rite of passage that allowed her to come here in the first place. Or rather it was the trials that paved the way for her to become Alola’s first Pokémon League Champion.

In previous years kids would take the trials and battle the four Kahunas in succession to complete their Island Challenge but that all changed this year. Prof. Kukui had been trying for years to create an official Pokémon League in Alola that could rival the leagues of other regions like Kanto where he had first gotten the inspiration to form one. It was only in the past month that his dream finally became a reality with the completion of the Alola League and the crowning of Mahina as its first Champion after grueling battles with the newly assembled Elite Four and Kukui himself.

With a deep breath and a wide smile on her face, Mahina entered the Battle Tree ready for any challenge that awaited her. After everything her and her team had been through since that fateful night when she met the Guardian Diety of Melemele Island, Tapu Koko, for the first time, she knew that there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish if they worked together.

Mahina barely took one step into the Battle Tree before she was approached by two men. The one on the left had spiky orange hair and grey eyes wearing green shorts, green tennis shoes, a black shirt and sunglasses sitting on top of his head. The other on the right had grey eyes, brown hair mostly hidden under a red hat with a white brim and a white Pokéball half on the front wearing jeans, red tennis shoes and a white shirt with red sleeves and a red 96 written on it. Upon seeing the two figures Mahina’s face lit up with a huge grin.

“Omigod, omigod, omigod, omigodomigodomigodomigod!!! You’re Red and Blue!” she squeed practically jumping with excitement with her fists clenched tight and her knees and elbows bent.

“Well look at that Red! Our reputation precedes us even out here in Alola.” said the one on the left, Blue, proudly to his partner.

“… …” Red placed his right hand under his chin and tilted his head.

“I’m… I’m actually from Kanto…” Mahina giggled sheepishly not wanted to burst Blue’s bubble but also not wanting there to be a misunderstanding. “My mom and I moved out here six months ago. But you both are my childhood heroes and the reason I wanted to become a Trainer in the first place! Omigod! I’m actually talking to Red and Blue!” she fangirled.

Red and Blue shot each other a glance. It wasn’t the first time they had a tween swooning over them. It was the price they paid for fame. While Red would never say it out loud, Blue was certain that was one of the reasons he frequently exiled himself to secluded areas. Blue then smirked at the girl standing before him.

“We know who you are too Mahina.” he said to her earning a surprised gasp as her green eyes grew wide with astonishment. “Don’t look so surprised. Did you really think we wouldn’t have heard about Alola’s first champion? Especially one as young as you.” Blue then turned his attention to Red. “How about that? She’s eleven, the same age we were when we became Champions!”

“…” Red gave his rival a confused look.

“Hey! I was Champion! Just because you ousted me doesn’t mean I wasn’t!” shouted Blue indignantly.

“Red and Blue know who I am!” Mahina beamed with that revelation finally sinking in. “Can I have your autographs!” she requested exuberantly. For that Blue gave her an annoyed look.

“Just what kind of Trainer are you, asking for an autograph?” he questioned. “See, when I meet strong Trainers the first thing I ask for is a battle. It would be an insult to me, my Pokémon, the other Trainer, and their Pokémon if I don’t. In fact, I’m curious to see just how strong Alola’s first Champion really is.” he challenged with a wide grin.

“… …” Red nodded in agreement.

“You mean I get to battle one of the two most powerful Trainers in the world!?” squeed Mahina at the prospect of facing one of her childhood heroes in a Pokémon battle.

“That’s right! So who will it be; me or Red?” asked Blue intently.

Mahina buried her blushing face in her hands. How could she choose? Blue was the Viridian City Gym Leader so she could always battle Red now and challenge Blue at the Gym another time. But it was Blue who directly issued the challenge so it would be rude to turn down his request. She also had that seed of doubt in the back of her mind that she would even be able to defeat them since they were pretty much on a pedestal to her. During her journey she battled Hau, Totem Pokémon, Trial Captains, Kahunas, Team Skull, Ultra Beasts, Lusamine, Nebby, Kukui, and even the Tapu. All of these were challenges and trials to overcome which made Mahina the Trainer, no, the Champion she was today. But Red and Blue were no ordinary Trainers. They were not just Champions of Kanto. They were Legends. Getting to battle them was as terrifying as it was thrilling. Those were the same emotions Mahina had felt over the course of her journey so it was only fitting that it would all culminate in this encounter right here, right now. Win or lose this was not a battle she could run away from and frankly it was one she didn’t want to run from. Just having the opportunity to battle one of her heroes was well worth everything her and her Pokémon had worked for. The fact that they were the ones issuing the challenge meant they were serious about this battle and that they recognized the same talent in her that everyone else always praised her for. Win or lose, this would be one epic battle that Mahina would always remember fondly.

Still blushing hard at the flattery of getting the chance to battle one of these Legends, Mahina raised her arm and pointed towards the one she wanted to battle.

“I chose you!” she called confidently.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

This was written on my tenth Charms anniversary almost five years ago. Much has changed in the intermittent years, but this is how things were when I first wrote the memoir.


A Decade In Retrospect

December 2007 seems so long ago now. Back then I was a spry 18-year-old finishing his first semester of college. I don’t remember how it happened anymore, but somehow I stumbled upon a Pokémon fansite going by the name of Pokécharms. Immediately the Pokémon Role Plays caught my attention and I became intrigued as to what this crazy yet proud community could offer me. I don’t quite recall how long I lurked on the site, a few days maybe. I read a number of the RPs looking for any that interested me and to get a feel of what would be expected of me if I did. I read the rules too. No one needed to tell me to, it was just the sensible thing to do. Who wouldn’t want to know what they were getting into?

To be honest I was hesitant at first. The rules were quite daunting and required a hell of a lot more compared to other online RPs I had joined in the past. It didn’t help that a lot of the ones I looked at had StellarWind Elsydeon and former mods Sem and Yoshimitsu berating n00bs for breaking rules and handing out warnings like candy. Kind of like how things are now. I guess somethings never change. As I continued to lurk, read, and learn, I saw just how much better quality RPs were when the rules were followed.

Then finally, on December 19, I made up my mind to officially join Pokécharms after seeing an RP that had really piqued my interest. In hindsight however, the RP probably wasn’t all that special as I remember nothing about it. Not the plot nor my fellow players. It was also clearly so forgettable that the archives didn’t even bother remembering it. Seriously, I looked. In any case, the RP suffered the same fate as most of the RPs on this board. People got bored and it died. So I went looking for the next RP. And the next. Eventually I too got bored and wandered off.

I poked my head in from time to time just to see what was new but I didn’t stick around long. That is until the summer of 2008 when I returned to stay for good. I was drawn in by an RP that I remember very well called The Festival of Stars. The plot, a tournament taking part during a large street festival, was crafted by a fine gentleman by the name of Kalseng, or Kal as we called him. Even though it died like the rest, it was in this RP that I actually began making my first friends on Charms, Kal, Cody, and Chibi, all of whom have long since vanished from here, consumed by the existence we call life.

It was also around this time that I began to branch out to explore other aspects of the forums instead of limiting myself exclusively to doing RPs. The Forum Games were my first targets as a way to socialize and get to know the other denizens of the community like our friendly neighborhood football aka Shiny Lyni or Shiny Eevee as he went by back then. It wasn’t long after that that I turned my attention to the Artist Gallery and Written Works sections, now combined into the Archives, where I truly got to experience the creative side of Charms from engaging fanfics written by Carmen Lopez and Sem, detailed sprites made by Shiny and Jeydis, or spectacular pictures drawn by StellarWind and Dwayna DragonFire. It was all so beautiful. It was inspiring. I wanted to get in on the action myself. But not yet.

By December I was both surprised to have survived my first year and at how many people I had acquainted with. I was on almost every day checking on RPs I was in or looking for new ones, posting in games, checking out the updated chapters or artworks, and posting in the other boards like Small Talk and Pokémon Talk. I also wanted to investigate the Pokécharms chatroom but couldn’t. My computer, or I guess I should say my parents’ desktop, wasn’t equipped to handle it and we didn’t have Wi-Fi at the time so I had no internet on my laptop if I wasn’t at school. Well, not unless I went outside to be close enough to my neighbor’s house to steal theirs. No way in hell was I going outside in winter though.

All that time indoors, especially during winter break gave me time to think. To plan. By the turn of the new year it was ready. On January 8, 2009 I posted my own fic, The Rise of Team Neos. While I had hoped people would read the story and like it, I was unprepared at just how popular it became seemingly overnight. To get an idea of its influence, one of our members, Sir Red, joined Charms just so he could comment on RoTN to tell me how amazing he thought it was. Little did I know at the time that this would end up becoming my life’s work. During 2009 I posted the first 25 chapters only for the next 25 to come out sporadically over the following eight years and I’m only half way done! For those of you who haven’t read, I won’t spoil the plot here so go check it out yourself if you’re curious. Shameless plug I know.

In the spring and summer of 2009 it was finally warm enough that I could take my laptop outside, connect to the neighbor’s Wi-Fi, and join the Chat at last. Many were glad to see me finally appear so they could hold an active conversation with me. I quickly found myself bombarded with questions, particularly from Shiny and Carmen. I also became familiar with some of our memes that I didn’t understand before such as rocket lawn chairs, 222 being Sem’s unlucky number, Shiny being a football and forever 12, and the Charms Family Tree which is far, far too elaborate to go into here.

That December, shortly before my second anniversary on the site, I graduated community college with my Associates degree which meant in January I would be transferring to a larger university. With that change in scenery came on-campus housing with free Wi-Fi meaning I could hangout on the forums and on chat with impunity. Those were great times. I had fully established myself in the community, made awesome friends, and was having all kinds of fun. I thought nothing was going to change. And then it all vanished in an instant. I came home in May and found out we had gotten Fios meaning I could get internet on my laptop without mooching on the neighbors. I tried it out, got on Pokécharms, and nothing. The site was gone. No notice about maintenance. Nothing. It was like Charms never even existed at all. I had no idea what was going on. Then one day instinct told me to check back. I did only to find a bare-bones skeleton of a forum, a shadow of what it once was. If I’m remembering this correctly, there was a malfunction when transferring servers which caused everything to be lost. Doctor Oak and Teapot had to build a brand new site but it was up to us regulars to rebuild the community. We even made an RP where we played as our online personas reacting to the desolation of our community, looking for survivors, and doing what our real selves were trying to do; recreate Pokécharms anew. Obviously we succeeded. That event is remembered in our history as the Fallout of 2010. Eventually an archive of Pre-Fallout was recovered and posted for posterity.

One of the new features to come out of the Fallout was the Discussion Boards for RPs so that we could properly plan them and recruit members to reduce ooc nonsense in the RP or people posting once or twice and then leaving. One of our first experiments was a Digimon RP that got way out of hand day one. Over a dozen participants signed up and a dozen more were on a waiting list as people dropped in and out. I remember my character being in a scuffle with someone else who dropped out midbattle so I got the dubious pleasure of killing off their partner Digimon. It was well within character for my OC but that’s how bad things were. Eventually the whole RP collapsed under its own weight. This is why most of us older regulars impose a five to six player limit.

Around this time Pokémon Battle RPs also became very popular, especially with me for some reason. I started two with two different people because the battle would die and then they’d want to start a new one only for that one to die too. However, I managed to find myself two dedicated partners to battle and surprise, surprise, we actually finished them! The first one was with Rex where his OC Isaac faced off against my OC Brian. In the end it was Isaac who won the battle. Not only was that my first complete RP, but it was one of the few RPs, if not the first, to be completed on Pokécharms. My second finished battle was with Tailon where Brian prevailed in a narrow victory over Tailon’s Dean. So far these remain the only RPs I’ve seen through to the end.

Over the next few years I managed to find my way into the Charms Family Tree, first and foremost by being Sir Red’s father by way of being the reason he exists here. Then Red started adopting offspring left and right making Tailon, Karu, Shiny, Tonibytes, and Cloveria my grandoffspring. Karu however has been excommunicated from the Monkey Family for burning down the house. I also became a knight of honor to Lady Dwayna and senpai to my latter three grandkids. Don’t ask. I already explained how the tree was convoluted.

September 2013 marked yet another page to the history books with the move to the current server allowing for the introduction of profiles, trophies, status updates, and the Creative Corner. My first entry to the Corner would have been RoTN but series support wasn’t a thing yet so I settled with a short story for a character I would be using in an upcoming RP to set up his involvement in the plot. Regrettably, its fate seems to be going the same as all the rest despite our best efforts. But that’s what happens when you’re still on the first act four years later I guess. Regardless, series support eventually appeared on the Corner but at that time I still wasn’t ready to post RoTN. Volume 1 was almost finished so I decided I was going to wait to binge post all 50 chapters at once. Instead I began posting a Let’s Play that I was writing about my Alpha Sapphire playthrough. I had made sure to take careful notes so that I wouldn’t miss anything and would be able to add foreshadowing if necessary. Alas that too is still a work in progress because there just isn’t enough time in a day for me to tackle all of my lofty goals. I mean let’s face it, if it weren’t for Summer Writing Camp 2015 which required 20,000 words to be written for the same story, I probably would still only have the first Entry posted.

The release of XY allowed me to participate in one aspect of the community that I hadn’t yet and that was the multitude of tournaments hosted by KoL and trading with people on the Wi-Fi boards. I figured the dawn of Gen VI was the perfect time to get involved. The first tournament I joined was called Insane Calculation and was the only one that we actually played on our 3DS. The conditions of the tournament were 3-vs-3 Singles where participants were given random parameters by KoL and we had to choose Pokémon who fit those parameters. I lost the second round pretty easily but I had enough fun to want to try again in future tournaments. Every one since however has been on Showdown for the sake of convenience. Otherwise we’d either be breeding new Pokémon for each one or recycling old ones. I’ve also done a number trades both to fulfill the requests of others and occasionally making my own requests for Pokémon I couldn’t get on my own.

The beginning of Gen VI also breathed new life into the forums. During the Gen V era the forums began to stagnate. They just weren’t the bustling hub they were when I first joined or immediately post-Fallout. Members dropped off and new RPs were only posted once a month if that. I checked the forums every day as usual but most of my time was spent on Chat because that’s where everyone was. Then XY came out and boom! We got a ton of new members and the forums were an active place all over again. Then during Pokémon’s 20th anniversary, the RP forums exploded. I am not kidding, I checked. As of this writing there are 34 pages in the Pokémon Role Play section. If you go to the last page you will see RPs from April 2005. Going forward from there, page 24 has the first RPs of 2016. That means pages 1-24 encompass two years worth of RPs while the last ten pages hold a decade’s of RPs. Now go to the Discussion Board for PRPs. It’s 19 pages. The oldest date on the last page is September 2010, as that was the year the Discussion Board was made. By going forward again you’ll see 2016 on page 17. Five years of discussions are only on two pages while seventeen pages belong to the last two years! The same can be said for General RPs and Discussions as well. Like I said, they exploded!

Now how has Charms affected my life? Well for one, I am a hell of a better writer compared to a decade ago. Whether this would have been natural progression as I matured or not is left to debate, but I know for certain I wouldn’t be writing nearly as much as I am now if I hadn’t joined the community. This memoir, for example, wouldn’t exist. My grammar and standard for grammar has also greatly improved to the point that I’ve told all of my real-life friends I will not answer their texts if they write to me in chat speak. I only make exception for my supervisor because the thought of telling off my boss for typing ‘u’ instead of ‘you’ feels a bit awkward. To that I just grin and bear it. I’ve also made countless friends here over the years, more so in fact than I have offline. Some are long gone but many others remain which makes it worthwhile to stay. I can also blame my love of Vocaloids entirely on Shiny and RX. I knew what Vocaloids were and I knew who Hatsune Miku was but that was it. Then RX introduced me to Matryoshka which has since become my favorite song. Shiny also helped further immerse me into the madness so thanks for that. And really that’s all there is to it. I’ve spent an absurd amount of time here already and I have no intention of leaving any time soon. This place is home. So here’s to another ten years my crazy and proud friends!