Well, ignore what I said about LotE Bonus #2 being about Torch and Rose. That one's been moved up to #3. Instead, we have Aspirations, which explores Slick's origins as a Pokemon trainer. This isn't quite what I had in mind for LotE Bonus. I wanted the Bonus stories to connect directly to LotE, with anything else being its own story (CaR, aRiE, ShadPath, etc). But hey, there's always rewrites, right? teehee "Aspirations" is more or less a retool of a much older story, titled "First Beginnings." The changes are so drastic that it almost doesn't feel like the same story. Now I'm kinda tired of holding onto every single story that I wrote six years ago, so instead, I'll just talk about the changes here. You may wish to read Aspirations before clicking "Read More", as the rest of this post contains spoilers :P Let's start with the similarities: Starting his Pokemon journey, Slick sets out from Viridian City and struggles to bond with Rush. Slick's leg is savaged by a Rattata. Later, in Viridian Forest, Slick meets his rival, Mark, for the first time. Pretty basic stuff.
A few simple changes to reflect continuity alterations since 2010: Slick still goes by Aurton, his given name; Slick left home at age 13 rather than age 10; Slick wanted a Mudkip because he admired Brendan. The rest is flipped from the original. Rather Rush being angry and Slick thinking Rush is afraid, Rush is afraid of Slick while Slick thinks Rush is angry. This was to make Slick oversensitive rather than insensitive. The ending of Slick's battle with Mark is also reversed. In "First Beginnings", Slick defeated Mark, who turned out to be an incompetent trainer, but Rush got fed up with Slick's confidence. In "Aspirations", Mark is competent, but his arrogance is much nastier. Slick's humiliating defeat is like the first pebble in a stream; it will subtly shape his growth as a trainer while deteriorating his ability to bond with other humans. But more importantly, this defeat brings Rush and Slick closer. (Looking back, I think I subconciously took a cue from Inside Out.) And the core of the Exile Series was originally meant to be the bond between a human and a Pokemon.
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SparkleafSparkleaf has been writing fanfiction since 2009. He also enjoys anime, manga, and visual novels. CategoriesArchives
April 2021
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