The Quest for the Legends

Mark to steele: Vulpix, I guess.

Sandslash to steele: We used to have digging competitions and the like.

Scyther to steele: I like it just fine, aside from the bad memories associated with it. We don't usually have much of a preference in nicknames beyond not wanting them to be insulting.

Alan to maxmaxholly: I think I'm a pretty good trainer already, thanks, and I'm not interested in chasing after my dad's achievements.

Alan: Well, if I'm going to be some sort of a hero, I'm going to be one on my own terms, not just because of my dad. I'm sick and tired of everybody attributing everything I'm proud of to who my father is.

Alan: I'm not angsty! I just don't like it when people expect me to be a duplicate of Dad, that's all.

Mitch: It was odd, but not so much more odd than everything else that had also happened to me, so I didn't think that much of it.

Sparky: But it's an electric blue!

May: *glare*

Alan: Well, I've seen Dad's Noctowl, naturally, and Christopher's Scizor when I was journeying in Ouen, and, um… I think I saw a shiny Swinub once?

Jolteon: I like my color the way it is.

May: Using only Pokémon of one type is kind of stupid; it means anybody can exploit your weaknesses and walk all over you. I'd go the way of Rick and find myself a non-type-based theme that passes the League's restrictions.

Alan: Um… I'm not sure. Maybe Water or Grass-types. Or then again, maybe Fire.

Mark: *draws* It was something like this.

(What, you thought I would draw it? :P)

May: I am not "uncaring"! No, I'm not going around waxing poetic about loving your Pokémon, and I expect them to perform if they're going to be on my team, but why do you people keep talking like I'm some big meanie being mean to them?

Alan: Right now, Route 308.

Leah: That was Lugia. He was one of my first ones and he basically destroyed my team, so…

Alan: She- *abducted by author*

Mark: Um, it's Ash's wife, presumably?

May: What's with you people's interest in his mom? Why do you care? Do you know her or something?

Ash: It was ugly. Pokémon battling shouldn't be that way.

Alan: May should've won. She and her Pokémon battled better the whole time. I can't say I was too surprised when Taylor pulled an ace out of his sleeve, but in my mind, it doesn't really matter who technically won the battle. May was clearly the better trainer, and I'm proud of her.

*ahem* *cough* *pretends it's yesterday* *channels the Spirit of Bad Fanfiction*

Oh, but of course the story is going to be long! First there's the Mark/May/Alan love triangle to explore in detail, with plenty of angst on all sides. Then, though I shouldn't be spoiling this, Taylor will start pining after May too, and that's going to take some resolution. Then, after they've successfully caught all the legendaries and held hands around the Destroyer to make it evaporate, there are a few flash-forward chapters about how their relationship develops and is taken to the next level, if you know what I mean, and don't forget the epilogue where they're married and we get to see the names of their five children (as well as flashbacks to Ash and Misty's wedding, because they're Alan's parents after all).

May isn't in any state to be answering questions right now, but basically, seeing him made her remember that he died, even though she hadn't remembered it before. The same would happen with his parents and anyone else who knew him well; without specifically being reminded of him, they don't give him any real thought and just think "Yeah, he's out on a journey", but if their memories were jolted, they would connect it together. People who didn't know him well just don't make any connection between him and the kid who was killed at all, even if they see him, and need that connection to be evoked specifically, as with the inhabitants of Crater Town. Once that memory-jolt has happened, however, there is nothing left of the memory modification; all it does is file these things away where they aren't looked at.

It's much the same with Alan, though it's not like he actually knows all these details.

Chaletwo: Thing is, there is evidence that somebody was killed. There are records, photos, files. We can't just magically eliminate all that; even if we made everyone forget somebody was killed at all, there would be a great risk of people discovering the evidence, which would immediately bring all those memories back. Worse still, a death is something people remember - a much more extensive memory modification would be needed to completely eliminate that than just to prevent people from recognizing the face of the one who died, and the moment anyone remembered it, it wouldn't just slip away again the way the dead trainers' identities do. There is also evidence that Mark was the one who was killed, of course, but there is less of it and it is more periodical - the only reason those Crater Town people found out at all is that some crazy old woman was reading a two-week-old newspaper at exactly the time Mark came in. Otherwise it would never have happened.

I know who Alan's mom is.

Alan: Um, excited? Not exactly. More like nervous. For both of them.

Alan: Molzapart did most of the work, really. He was pretty alarmed, but he understood how important it was and trusted me, so it wasn't a problem.

Mitch: When my efforts successfully save a life.

May: It's none of my business if he gets caught again.

Alan: Um, I don't know… I like my hair fine the way it is.

Old lady: Don't you know you never ask a lady her age?! Young people these days!

Could the Destroyer drain power from inside a pokeball?

Only if it had a physical anchor to the outside world that the power could be channeled through.

And who is Ash's wife?

You people just won't give this up, will you?

Erm… I'm trying to avoid just plain-out asking who Alan's mother is, but… isn't it possible she's not one of Ash's traveling companions from the anime? Or even someone who appears in it?

Anything is possible.

Fixed the typo.

May's Dad: How did your Meganium die?

May's dad: It… it was an accident. We were in a battle against this Typhlosion, and we were desperate to win, and… it's painful to remember.

Mark: What sparked your interest for legendary Pokémon? Also, how have your opinions on legendaries changed during your journey?

Mark: I dunno. I've just always found them pretty fascinating.

Sandslash: Have you ever had interest in taking part in a Pokéathlon or any other kind of event?

Sandslash: Maybe. I've never tried it before.

Gyarados: Do you prefer to be in your Pokéball or out of it, in the water.

Gyarados: I'd rather be out of it, but being in the ball isn't bad. It's just… stasis, where you feel fine but you can't do anything.

Gyarados (Again): Why did you eat those kids? They could have saved you!
Mew: Who was the last Destroyer?

Gyarados: I ate them because I was hungry and they were too temptingly close.

Mew: Who was the last Destroyer?

Mew: …I do not know. The Destroyer has always been a mystery.

May: Do you, in any way, blame yourself for Taylor's… (Passing? Moving on? Trip to Kindly Old Man Simmons's Farm? Sentence to the Great Metaphorical Illegal Cloning Facility in the sky?)death?

May: …

Alan: Do you, in any way, blame May for Taylor's Untimely passing to Kindly Old Man Simmons's Great Metaphorical Illegal Cloning Facility in the Sky?

Alan: Well, right now I don't even really know what happened.

Chaletwo: What was the Dragon who survived supposed to do then?

Chaletwo: I didn't think it that far at the time. As I keep saying, young and stupid.

Mitch and Sparky:Have you ever had the misfortune of a HUMAN dying in front of you and you couldn't do a thing about it?

Mitch: All too often. Poisons claim many lives even after the victims are taken to me.

Sparky: I was there when my mother died. It always sits with you; it's a very surreal experience.

Mitch and Sparky (again): If you were told that your town would be starved by earthquakes and pestilence assuming you don't give up your Gym and Pokémon to some random ten year old who was completely unqualified for the job, would you do it?

Mitch: Depends on who was telling me that and why.

Sparky: I think I'd assume they were playing a practical joke until proven otherwise.

Ms. Grodski: Were you glad when Mark left on his Pokémon Journey?

Mrs. Grodski: I'm glad to be rid of him, but I can't say I'm glad his parents let him on the journey. When will he learn if they just give in to him?

Molzapart: What evidence do you have to prove that you're not the Destroyer, hmm?

Molzapart: Evidence? Why would I be trying to stop the War if I were the Destroyer? That theory is nonsense from the ground up.

Chaletwo: Same as above.

Chaletwo: What? That's ridiculous. I'm trying to stop the War. I'm not the one that needs to present evidence here. When you produce baseless conjecture like that, the burden of proof is on you.

Mew: Same as above.

Mew. …I suppose there is no such evidence. But I am not the Destroyer.

Nurse Joy: When you see an injured / dead Pokemon, does it make you feel worse than seeing an injured / dead human?

Nurse Joy of Stormy Town: Well, I suppose there is a sense of responsibility when there's a Pokémon, since keeping them healthy is my job, but injured or dead humans are no laughing matter either.

Sparky: What's the weirdest thing anyone's ever ordered at your restaurant. Besides, of course, a Scyther ordering a bowl of beer.

Sparky: Usually people just order things off the menu, so I can't say there has been anything particularly weird, can I?


Phew.

The Talking Cheese, for future reference, yes, that was way too many questions, but I answered them anyway because I felt like it. Please don't ask so many questions again, and don't just ask a boatload of questions because you're bored; I have better things to do with my time than sitting here answering questions if you don't actually care about the answer.

Would you consider making a spin-off about Alan's journey to catch Rainteicune?

I actually answered almost that exact question a while ago.

What was it that you weren't expecting to happen in chapter 55? I'm guessing it was Alan's ragequitting (which was awesome :P), but if it was, what was supposed to happen in the first place?

Nothing. They were just supposed to decide they needed way more training to be able to do this, maybe talk a little about where they're going, and then the chapter would be over. But then Alan suddenly stood up and left and I thought, "Hey, why not?"

Also, what are Dragoreen's and Preciure's types? I looked in chapter 2 but unless I missed it, it's not stated outright.

They're both plain Dragon/Flying.