Emergence (Final Update - 28.03.12)

[SuperFireKirby]

3 years and 45 chapters later... its finally completed. And I must say, Emergence is, by far, the best Pokemon fanfic I've ever read. NOW WHERE'S OUR SEQUEL.

nah jk(unless, of course, you want to because then by all means DO EET!)

[Raymondbl]

Maybe you could do a prequel... with a different system, like Yu-Gi-Oh.  Or, you could do a sequel, where a person has both imagination and the power to implement it into the real world, so they would not have to rely on sub-concious feelings to use their powers.  Maybe you could use the Force. 

Of course, you don't have to do any of it.  If you're going to/are already in college, then there will be no time to do it, and you deserve a rest. 

oh and I have a question.  Are the pokemon still with Robert?

[SuperFireKirby]

oh and I have a question.  Are the pokemon still with Robert?

Yes, they are. It never says anything about the Pokemon going back into the game(though it could happen at a later point in time, I suppose).

[spitllama]

I still need to read these.... keep putting it off

[SuperFireKirby]

DO EET NOW!

[Cobraroll]

Wow, feedback! Thanks a lot, guys!

3 years and 45 chapters later... its finally completed. And I must say, Emergence is, by far, the best Pokemon fanfic I've ever read. NOW WHERE'S OUR SEQUEL.

Maybe you could do a prequel [...]
Of course, you don't have to do any of it.  If you're going to/are already in college, then there will be no time to do it, and you deserve a rest. 

I think I've said what I wanted to say with Emergence. The story as I see it is more or less complete (an epilogue clearing up a few details will be posted at a "fitting date"). The bad guys are defeated, the Pokémon are accounted for, and Rob got a future after all. A continuation of the story, or a sequel would not be appropriate, I think.
However, it's not like I stopped loving Pokémon, and I think the concept of the TLA has some potential. Perhaps I'll write some individual short stories from Rob's life in the organization. I can't really imagine how a prequel would work (back before there were Pokémon and the TLA was corrupt and eerie), but loosely tied stories from the same universe... we'll see.

The reason why it has been so long between the last ten or so chapters is because I've been in the military and then went to university. I don't have as much time to write any more. Besides, stuff needs to be grammar checked before I put it up as well, and that is a process that takes time.

[Cobraroll]

Today, it's been three years since the first Emergence chapter was written and posted here. In communion of the anniversary, let me tell you the epilogue to the story. Please excuse the lack of Pokémon.

Epilogue: Fifteen years later

It was raining heavily all over the city. Even though it was early in the evening, the sky
was pitch black, and all the street lights were lit as if it had been the middle of the
night. Cascades of water fell on rooftops, roads, sidewalks and cars, gathered in streams and
ran towards the ocean. The large open lot at the central bus stop had become a small lake,
and the 7:20 bus created large rolling waves as it traversed the area. The bus driver ignored
the signs and the timetable telling him to stop at lot 57, instead opting to park as close to
the terminal building as possible. Most of the passengers hurried off, took their bags and
ran for the dry, warm terminal building. However, one passenger took her time before
disembarking. With some difficulty, the young woman gathered her purse and bag, clumsily
draped her coat over her head, and went off the bus. Seeing as she lacked the thumb and index
finger on her right hand, she had some problems carrying everything. Her coat slipped off her
head as soon as she left the bus, and it slid further down as she walked towards the terminal
building. She had only got halfway there before it fell to the ground. Sighing, she bent down
to pick it up. Waves of water washed over her boots as the bus behind her drove off. She was
soaked to the skin already. Her dark hair stuck to her face, the blue sweater was dark with
water, and she had a feeling that her phone would stop working if she didn't get inside soon.
"Please, allow me," a voice suddenly said. She hadn't seen the man earlier, with his black
coat and hat he was perfectly camouflaged against the dark background. He stepped closer so
they were both covered by his umbrella. "Doctor Springflower, I presume," he said.
"Long time no see," Emily replied. "You've grown."
"So have you," Rob said, looking into her eyes. "I can see no trace of the insecure girl who
fainted at the sight of a Yanmega fifteen years ago."
Emily didn't follow up the topic. She handed Rob her soaked jacket and wiped her wet hair
away from her face.
"Where is your car? I need to get away from this terrible rain. The forecast said nothing
about it."
"It's a reunion. Did you expect it to be all sunshine?" Rob said rhetorically.
They walked off through the pools of water. The rain was drumming against the umbrella,
drowning out all sounds. Neither of them said anything, they both kept their eyes looking
straight forward. Rob led them into a nearby parking garage, which was stunningly silent
compared to the outside. Emily decided to break the silence:
"Why did you contact me?"
"The children's department needs a new doctor, and you have all the experience we look for."
"I never sent in a CV. Never gave you my number. I never applied for anything!"
"And yet you accepted the job offer, even though you knew very well who you would work for."
"How much do you know about me, really?"
"More than we know about the average person, since as you know about our existence we had to
compile a file on you. We knew that you took the exams from middle school early, only two
weeks after we last parted. Then you moved to France, completed the medicine studies with top
grades in only four years, before you went to Africa to work as a children's doctor in
troubled areas. You've worked in Ethiopia, Uganda, both Sudans, Somalia, Malawi and Congo,
sometimes in hiding from the government in the country or travelling between war zones. You
lost two fingers when the field clinic was attacked by rebels in Somalia; you tried to
deflect a bullet meant for somebody else. During your travels you've learned to drive trucks
and pilot small planes, got a photography prize for documenting the tragedies of the great
famine in Sudan, and you're fluent in Swahili, French and... German."
"Heinrich", Emily said. "We met during studies. It... didn't work out between us. I didn't
tell him anything, I promise!"
"You didn't tell him anything, we know," Rob said without further explanation.
"What about you? If the rumours are to be believed, you were together with Julia for a
while."
"Rumours, you say? We were quite open about it. But it didn't work well in the long run. We
haven't talked to each other for five years. I've heard she's coaching the Olympic kick boxing
team this year."
"Is that your car?" Emily cut him off. The only car parked on this level was a black sports
model, shining in the dim light. It appeared to be cut straight out of a car advert in a
magazine.
"We could afford higher wages after we cut down on our armed branches," Rob explained. "I
needed something to spend my money on, and ended up with this. Black, of course. I can't help
it. Work-related injury, I guess. Compensations for not being able to consciously take all
decisions any more is one of the reasons why my wage is so high."
"Can't beat the system, I see... So, what do I call you now? Am I allowed to choose my own
Greek letter? Which ones are idle?"
"We quit using that system when the old TLA broke down. Had it still been in use, I'd have
got the name of the first of the former leaders to die."
"Alpha, in other words. The cycle continues..."
They dumped Emily's bag in the trunk, and got into the car. Emily glanced nervously at the
creature lying in the back seat.
"Is that...?"
"Yes, it's a Pokémon. I still keep them around, they're good therapy and some of them are
really good with children. Handy for treating injuries as well." He glanced at her hand. "We
could probably fix those fingers of yours, if you like."
"No thanks. As long as there are children out there who have to live with missing body parts,
I refuse to have mine patched up like that," she replied sternly. "It sickens me that you
mess around with all this when there are so many people who desperately need help out there.
Rob, have you ever seen a child die?"
"Some in the most horrible ways," Rob replied in a low voice. "I've had to put down one once
too. It was the single most horrible event in my life. And don't you believe that all the TLA
does is hunting down people with extraordinary powers and exploiting them for profit. We're
saving people from things nobody else can deal with. Monster outbreaks, ancient curses,
demonic possessions, nightmares gone bad, such nastiness. We do what we can, because we must,
for the good of us all. We have to keep a low profile to protect our secrecy. We don't deal
with 'ordinary' tragedies because our resources and expertise are more needed elsewhere."
"You're speaking quite fondly about the TLA now," Emily cut him off. "And I don't believe the
organization has changed as much as you think. I've talked to dad every now and then, and
I've been quite shocked by what he's telling me."
"Some things can't be changed," Rob explained as they drove through the rainy streets,
heading for the motorway. "The TLA is, after all, a manifestation of the idea of an ominous
secret government agency. We do what we're expected to do. There will always be men in black,
black vans and helicopters and expendable grunts. We will always have to stay hidden. There
will be eerie laboratories where mysterious experiments are conducted on species few humans
have even heard about. We can't change that, it's in our nature. But my job is to make sure
it all happens as humanely as possible. We have our own department responsible for taking
care of children, that's where you will be working. I'm currently working on a bill of rights
for extraterrestrials. Our agents are no longer brainwashed ex-militaries, we hire broadly
and are more restrictive with the obedience modifications now. Two thirds of our employees
live with their families as of today. We have to keep interacting with the outside world, to
remind ourselves who we really work for. I think your employment will be good for Joe too.
It's important to have friends and family to talk with."
"What about your friends and family, then?"
"Mom and dad think I work for the military intelligence, so they don't ask me much about my
job. I still meet Edvard, Matt and Andy from time to time, but it gets longer between each
time. Andy and Greta even have kids now, so he's quite busy. Matt just got married as well,
so I think we won't see each other as often in the future."
"So all in all... your theory isn't working very well for you."
"Oh, it works. What I'm saying is that you will eventually go mad if you don't interact with
somebody outside the organization. If you only meet people at work, in a work setting, you'll
end up... losing it. I... admit that's one of the reasons why you're here. Are you still..."
He hesitated.
"...I've been wondering... why did you leave me in the first place?"
"It's complicated," Emily replied. "I just wanted to live a normal life. You know... Things
were difficult before I met you, and I thought it would change. It did, too. My life became
more eventful after all, but... I got too much, I think. Video game monsters. Government
conspiracies. I didn't know what to believe any more. And the anxiety... While we were
together, I forgot my worries about the future. But as time progressed, I saw you became more
and more like the people you were fighting. It scared me. And when they kidnapped me, I
realized that I would never get a normal life if I kept going like this. If I wanted a
future, I would have to make one myself. And the first step had to be cutting the ties to my
past."
Rob didn't reply, waiting for her to say more.
"But in the end... It didn't work. I've seen too much. Everything I've learned about the
world since I left you tells me that this is impossible." She pointed at the Pokémon in the
back seat without looking at it. "Sometimes, I'm wondering if I've gone mad. There were times
when I dismissed the entire affair as a dream. I almost began doubting your existence. I
think I would have gone completely mad if I hadn't heard from you again."
"It's easier to cope with things when you've heard the rational explanation of them," Rob
said. "Though, it's not always crystal clear what's going on. There are some things we can't
explain. I can try..."
"Also, I missed you," she blurted out.
"I... I admit that I've missed you too. A lot. Do you think..."
"I think there is hope," Emily said and took his hand. The rain eased as the car took off the
motorway and on to a winding forest road.

The end


I hope you enjoyed the tale.

[SlowPokemon]

I sincerely hope you write something 100% original soon or eventually because you have a serious talent for the art of writing. I can't say anything because I'm speechless at the whole scope of things in this story you've written. Well done my friend.

[Raymondbl]

I sincerely hope you write something 100% original soon or eventually because you have a serious talent for the art of writing. I can't say anything because I'm speechless at the whole scope of things in this story you've written. Well done my friend.

This.  I am currently studying your score to try and get better at formatting.  Hopefully I can write something soon.  First stop?  TWG.

[Greg]

Okay, that was BRILLIANT.

You should definitely write more, this story definitely showed your talent for it! I must say, the real meaning of 'TLA' made me laugh. So much. XD

[Cobraroll]

I sincerely hope you write something 100% original soon or eventually because you have a serious talent for the art of writing. I can't say anything because I'm speechless at the whole scope of things in this story you've written. Well done my friend.

I admit, I'm fiddling with something original at the moment, but it will take some time. I want to get it finished before I "publish" anything, to avoid having to retcon everything all the time. Emergence made me realize how hard it is to make everything fit to what's written previously, and remember details. Not to mention fixing mistakes. Next time, I want to make it slightly more coherent.
Probably won't take three years, though.

[Jub3r7]

I'm horribly ashamed of myself for not having started reading it until today.

...First two chapters, I've already fallen in love. 

[Cobraroll]

^Yay! New reader!

When you get to chapter 10 or thereabouts, the "é"s start messing up. I spent a couple of hours trying to fix it some weeks ago, but I didn't get further than that. Perhaps I'll should do another batch soon.

[Raymondbl]

I'm horribly ashamed of myself for not having started reading it until today.

...First two chapters, I've already fallen in love. 

HOW could you have not started reading it until now.

[spitllama]

I haven't yet either. I even offered to proofread the second-to-last chapter without having read the thing.

I'm just lazy and don't like reading xD Of course no animosity towards Cobra's story. I'm sure it's great.