The Beautifly Effect

Chapter Twenty-Six -- Escalating Conflict

Later that morning on the remote island...

With a flick of his wrist, the radio came to life.

"...news. The conflict over marine rights off the east Zento coast has escalated, with Zento, Tohkoku and Chushu navies deadlocked in a three-way stalemate. Zento scientists have grave concern for the health of the surviving marine Pokémon as the conflict has prevented them from removing the thousands of corpses of dead Pokémon floating on the ocean surface.

"Closer to home, the Johto League has formally decided to suspend all activities and ban all forms of Pokémon battling for sport and recreation. The Indigo League is expected to follow suit.

"We interrupt our regular news bulletin to bring you an urgent report. Olivine City has been attacked. While details are still sketchy, it appears that Hoenn forces have attacked the Johto Navy base and are proceeding north. Johto Army and Air Force have been mobilized. We still have no confirmation of casualties, but they appear to be significant. We'll keep you informed of further updates as they become available.

"Returning to our remaining news--"

It was happening even faster than he had envisaged. He needed to finish his preparations as soon as possible.

A/N Zento was a region invented by Oddish Grove author Oddish, but is quite different in location and geography to the land I envisage here. Tohkoku and Chushu are Japanese for "Eastern Country" and "Central State" respectively.

A/N Zento was a region invented by Oddish Grove author Oddish, but is quite different in location and geography to the land I envisage here. Tohkoku and Chushu are Japanese for "Eastern Country" and "Central State" respectively.

Sorry for slow updates and only a short chapter. Family difficulties are slowing me down, not to mention insomnia. Don't ever suffer from insomnia. It's awful.

An ffnet reviewer praised this story, but stated that Ash's behaviour in the early chapters wasn't true-to-character. It's probably fair to say that Ash's behaviour was not too out far out of character, but some of his actions and decisions were a little forced for the sake of the plot.

The same reviewer commented that Richie was "a candidate for the sainthood". My personal interpretation of Richie is that he is as close to perfect as a character can be. If you observe him closely in the anime, he has all of Ash's strengths but none of Ash's faults. I have found him a challenging character to work with, but enjoyable and rewarding. Being a wonderful person doesn't mean he won't encounter difficulties and challenges in his life, nor in my opinion is it difficult to relate to him. There's plenty more Richie will have to deal with in the next chapter, choices I hope none of us will ever have to make in our lives.