Dream Contest

[Tamer Marco]

"A man's work is never finished..." an old coot sighed as he picked up a load of fish that he caught from working, and hauled it into his vintage truck. Slowly, as the sun descended to greet our small world in the morning, he drove off into his small cabin in the wilderness.

The smell of two day old fish filled the normally pine scented forest- the man was the only resident of these woods, and he loved to eat fish. He normally wore nothing but fishing gear, and hardly ate nothing more than fish. Afraid of people calling him a hypocrite(even though there wasn't anyone he knew in particular), he refused to ever have a water Pokemon. Ever. The old coot pulled out a rusted metal pan, and did what he did all by his lonesome every single day. Cook. The old man waited for daybreak, and fell asleep waiting. The next day, old coot with drool on his face, he decided to go to the market. Putting on his fishing gear, he drove his truck into Vermillion City, a place where he longed to get away from for nearly his entire life. Lucky him he had to walk into the city he despised for so long like such a commoner.

When he got into the east side of Vermillion, the best and only place to shop, he was pursued by all the eyes around him. Look, I told you hillbillies existed! two children laughed hysterically. Mommy, why does that old man smell like year old catfish? a boy asked innocently, then tugging his tiny hands on his mothers own. Why did he have to be the one ridiculed? Couldn't an old man just live out his life happily, then die in peace? "Have a nice day..." the cashier muttered to the old man like he wasn't anything, making the old man even more angry. He wanted to do something he longed to do for so long, but it was inevitable that he would die even sooner if he did do that. For no reason, the old man went home faster than he ever did, and locked himself into a fetal position for a while.

One day after, the anger still hadn't left him. He took a shower without soap, and jammed himself into the thing that he called his only clothes. He stormed himself outside, slamming the ancient wood door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. He went to the fishing hole, the place where he usually caught his dinner. That day he met some unlikely vistors- a few people that he loathed. A tall african american, and a pale blonde haired man walked up to the old man. "Hey, there's going to be a fishing contest not to long from now. Winner gets a grande size trophy, and some prize money." "But he couldn't win that," the tall man began. "but the way he catches... maybe he could catch a Mini-Magickarp!" Both men began to poke fun at the poor old man as he narrowed his eyes slightly, and turned to the flyer which they didn't even mention. The old guy snatched the flyer out of the blonde haired persons hand, and began to read.


ATTENTION! ALL FISHERMAN. OUR CENTINEAL FISHING CONTEST WILL BEGIN IN ONE SHORTLY! ALL FISHERMAN ARE ENCOURAGED TO COME. ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL HAVE AN A ALL-PAIED TRIP TO LILLYCOVE CITY. SIGN-UPS ARE DUE BY THE NINTH OF THIS MONTH.

Crushing the flyer in his hands, he narrowed his eyes even more, and said only this: "I'm in."

[Tamer Marco]

The same day, the fisherman headed out to Vermillion. He brought with him as much money as he could, though the trip was free and so was everything else, he had a few days to go until the competition. The old man slowly drove to the Pokemon Center, a place where he started his dream- and his everlasting nightmare. Still riled up, the old man looked very unpleasant. Opening the car door, and stepping outside, the same stares and terrible people looked at him the same way they did at the market. "I've got to do this..." the old man croaked. He stepped into the center.

The mans slight prescence made the city folk uncomfortable. They continued thier work, but for some reason they were in fear. Maybe it was the way his hair and clothes looked, or maybe these people could see the saddening aura around him. He would never know. A Nurse Joy forced a smile at the guy as he thrusted his hands straight onto the table. "Is this the place where you sign-up?" "For what?" Nurse Joy replied politely, keeping her pleasant smile. "For... the fishing contest." Nurse Joys smile grew even wider, as she typed a few things into the computer beside her. "Name please?" she said, her eyes never leaving the computer screen. "Thompson. Jacob Thompson." Then, the nurse toyed with the computer for a few moments, and said, "You're registered! Would you like to stay in a room and use our facillities until three days later?" Jacobs eyes widened. "Its... in three days!?" "Yes." Nurse Joy said, pressing a button on a computer. She then yelled, "Chansey!", and told the egg holding Pokemon to show him to a suite. "Finally. Things are going my way." Jacob thought.

For the rest of the day, all that the old man Jacob had his mind on was what to do when he got to the contest. What would it be like? Would it be just a giant lake, teeming with wild water Pokemon? Or, would it be high-tech, one of those fancy things? Jacob pondered these things for the rest of the day. He thought so much, his head began to scream in pain, and he drifted to sleep only at 2 o' clock, PM.

Waking up was harder than falling asleep. It was six o' clock when he woke up, and he was starving. He thought about making some fish, but he wasn't in his cabin anymore. He had to eat what the offered. He thought about eating something different, anyway. Walking through the halls, he met up with a Chansey. "Take me to some food." he muttered, not even looking at the sweet Pokemon. Bouncing up and down, trying to be the best Chansey it could be, it dashed off, leaving its client behind. "Hey, wait up!" Jacob yelled, following the thing. The entire Pokemon Center was a maze! Go one way, there's another way to go right. It was madness! He was to old for this. The Chansey stopped, and barely, he did too, putting the breaks on his shoe's. This place was like food heaven! A salad bar for Vegitarians! A meat center, and condiment center. They even had a snack center, and a Senior citizen buffet bar! Jacob wasn't a citizen of Vermillion City, or Kanto at all, but he sure looked like one, and began to pig out. Roast beef... salad... wine... paradise. He couldn't even contain himself when a Blissey came out, and handed everyone Chocolate pie. Like he thought earlier, everything was going his way. Two men walked to the table where Jacob was sitting, and sat down disgusted. They were the men that put him up to this thing in the first place. "Did you join?" the pale blonde haired boy asked. "Yeah, but he's going to lose." the taller one laughed, and pressed him to walk. They would be facing each other, and would do whatever it takes to win.

[Tamer Marco]

That night, the old man wouldn't, and couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of how to get back at them, how to stop being ridiculed for what he looked like, and how he lived. Those questions could be answered in time, but for now all he could do was think about them. Did you join? Yeah, but he's probably going to lose. Those words were making Jacob determined- he had to win. Not for himself, but for his honor. Yeah, he's probably going to lose. He needed a walk.

Jacob jogged impaitently around the maze of the Pokemon Center, passing by many rooms filled with sick Pokemon and the doctors that took care of them. It was ten o' clock at night, most people would be asleep in thier beds, but Jacob wasn't like most people. He had an abnormal bitterness in his heart, when it shouldn't of been there at all. Walking through that hall for that time awakened a few repressed memories, that shouldn't of been repressed. They should of been acknolowleged, and he needed help. The sun began to do its nightly routine, and Jacob began to remember the sun setting over forty years ago.

An average little boy bursted through a door with blue paint peeling from the sides, as if it had been eaten. He wore an plain white T-Shirt, with shorts slightly too small for him. Nightfall reared his ugly head, bringing an intense cold in the middle of fall. Tracking leaves and mud onto the rags the boy called a carpet, the boy with a bright smile on his face said proudly, "I got first place in my art fair! My drawing was picked first out of the whole School District!", his voice booming through the tiny home. A very fat man turned his head to him. " Was there prize money?" the fat guy grumbled, taking a sip of beer in his hand. His beer belly was poked out, and it looked like his entire personality was based on apathy. "No, but look! I won!" the boy shrilled, holding up his drawing to the poorly lit ceiling. "Ugh. When I was your age, I had a job. Everything I earned went straight to my mother- we had bills to pay." he said, turning his glance away from him to the television in front of him. "Go to your room..." the man said, not even taking his eyes off the television. He couldn't go to the prizewinners reception, but that was okay. He didn't expect anything anyway.


Another scene. Same people, other than one woman wearing a very skimpy dress. She had the same look of apathy as the pot belly man himself. "Where does she get off, dropping her kid off with us?! I don't want him!" The fat man mumbled, "We have custody over him now. It's in her damn will." The boy looked over a pale, deceased woman inside a coffin. She looked as peaceful and young as possible, but she was dead. Silently, the little boy began to cry. Jacob didn't realize he stood in the hallway of that Pokemon Center all that time. All of it.

[Tamer Marco]

God dammit. Why did a stupid contest, some former friends mocking him, and a city that he ran away from cause this dying old man so much fear, so much hatered? Bursting out with tears would be what any normal person would do, but Jacob would tough it out. Why, he could get beaten, and get the shame of defeat. He could drop out right now, and save the misery. But- he would never do it. A sickening headache, and a chill in his spine were left in his mortal and decaying body only until one day from the contest.

The final day before this contest began, he saw a lot more of his opponents. They wouldn't say anything to each other, trying to keep the peace finally. They'd maybe pass each other by. They wanted badly to say something blasphemous, all three of them. Yet... they didn't have the hearts to do it on thier final day. Jacob decided, since he felt a litttle better, and those creeps were off his back, he would do a little practicing on fishing. Jacob placed on his musty Fisherman outfit, and hopped into the truck. He was out of the city in less than five minutes, and was passing by all of nature's serene grace. The trees. The air, not polluted by human factories. All the Pokemon, from Squirtles and such in lakes, to the wild Sentret that roamed the dark forests. So... peaceful. As the car stopped, so did the exhaust from the car. Finally, Jacob was out that wretched city he used to call home, and out in the wild with his beautiful lake where he belonged. He made way to it, with his Old Rod. He placed a shiny item onto the hook, and sent the line down under. It took a few moments, but a heavy tug was on the pole. Jacob reeling in his catch had a look of disapointment on his face. It was a baby Magickarp. He forgot. The lake he lived by was filled only with Magickarps, and it was only an Old Rod that could catch them. He felt like an idiot.

[to be edited..]