0 - introduction
Welcome to
Writing Process with
Anna and
Groc! We thought it would be fun to put together something of a tutorial on how we chose to approach player vs player battles. If you haven't read
Cat Fight, please do so before reading the rest of this post!
Each section below is its own distinct step in the process. Minor changes over time were not accounted for; this is only to give a general idea of how the post became what it is. This also went very quickly! Groc and I are good at writing with each other by now, and have a good handle on each others' characters. We tend to know what direction we each want to take things, which lends to us not backtracking or rewriting as much. With others, I have already found that sometimes I will say "wait, no, scratch those last three moves. I want to do something differently." which is perfectly alright and also part of the writing process! But that didn't happen much here.
You may note that Ginger's moveset isn't actually accurate. This was written before Casey's gym battle was posted! I anticipated Ginger learning Quick Attack, but not Thunder Punch. In this match, Casey became interested in learning to use Quick Attack to its fullest after Ginger showed she was capable of it. He does request that she use Baby-Doll Eyes at one point, but I had already established that she refuses to use that move in general. So it didn't really matter that I had already replaced it with Thunder Punch. ;P
If Ginger had not learned Quick Attack, I could easily have adjusted this battle to account for that. As for Thunder Punch, well. It'll come up. :)
1 - base premise from lavender doc outline
sapphy didn't get a turn and ginger needs to start properly training! and anna wants to battle!
also Casey and Vera are both mad about being cheated by Beaumont
ginger: Quick Attack • Defense Curl • Baby-Doll Eyes • Pound • Foresight • Endure
sapphy: Icy Wind • Bite • Fake Out • Pay Day • Fury Swipes • Screech
sapphy is faster by a little bit
2 - expanded premise summarized from discord convo
sapphy wasnt wanting to battle as per Extras, a little reluctant until ginger smacks her. sapphy has too much pride to run & fights back but unhappily. vera favors calling only two or three moves and sapphy gets sick of it, starts doing it her own way. meanwhile, ginger is getting frustrated at her own limitations. casey realizes this about the same time as sapphy starts disobeying, also realizes sapphy doesnt really want this fight. casey forfeits. ginger is sullen but not upset like she was with emolga- she feels like casey was right to pull her out this time, as much as she dislikes the idea that it was necessary. vera claims this as a win for herself, (not particularly concerned with sapphy's disobedience?). concerned, but also happy to win. She'll tease casey about it, fluff up her ego a bit, but still have a talk with Sapphy after, not that Sapphy will want to. I notice vera doesnt use her Pokémon to their full potential. She might start to notice, too.
3 - beginning of battle choreography
sapphy starts with fake out & follows up with bite. once quick attack starts being used, vera starts ordering icy wind, not quite understanding how quick attack works. sapphy gets frustrated and screeches, followed up by fury swipes and bite attacks (she goes purrserk)
~~
casey commands frustration but ginger uses quick attack instead and hes like "oh neat new option; frustration was hardly working anyway"
spends a decent amt of time figuring out how to recover from full-body impacts and how to manage sudden speed boost
yes it's gonna be some quick attack spam but im gonna write it good
How this starts depends on how debrief goes, but something something "I have an idea, Casey. Ginger wants to get stronger, and I'd like to see how much stronger Sapphire has gotten. Why don't you and I have a battle? One on one, just a friendly sparring match?"
4 - battle choreographed in real time over Discord DM
anna: like she did against beau, ginger waits for sapphy to move first
Groc: Sapphy starts with Fake Out (which I still don't know how to write), so Ginger won't wait long.
When she flinches, Sapphy will Bite, but Ginger's Quick now, yes?
anna: i think sapphy gets a Bite in and ginger uses Pound/kicks her in the stomach
Groc: Okay. Vera knows Ginger's strong, so she'll fall back to use Pay Day from a distance. Throwing pennies at Ginger.
anna: ginger takes a penny or two but mostly rolls around and bounces to avoid, then casey commands frustration expecting her to bounce high and slam down but she dashes in with Quick Attack instead
Groc: Vera, thinking Ginger can't dodge wind, orders Icy Wind to slow Ginger down.
anna: casey
paid attention in school has ginger dash in again, straight through the wind to slam her whole body into sapphy. but it's hard to spring back from a full-body move and ginger kinda scrambles to right herself
Groc: Another icy wind, because it works
anna: ginger takes that in the face; her fur is getting a little frosty and she Dislikes that. casey tries to get her to use Baby-Doll Eyes bc he knows the rest of sapphy's moves are phsyical. she uses defense curl instead and hes like "fine, whatever, same thing"
Groc: Vera didn't pay attention has Sapphy try fake out again. Sapphy knows it won't work so Screeches instead. Vera: that wasn't fake out...
anna: casey: ok, fine, just quick attack!
ginger this time darts all the way around and hits sapphy from behind. knovks her down and rolls all the way over to pop up in front of her?
Groc: Vera tells Sapphy to fall back, but Sapphy uses fury swipes. it misses
anna: casey does an expiriment- quick attack for speed, but end with a pound to concentrate power and maintain balance
ginger makes a valiant attempt to punch sapphy in the teeth
Groc: Vera's mad "fine, you want to stay close? Bite her!" and Sapphy bites Ginger's hand. There are no winners in that exchange.
anna: ginger pulls sapphy in by the teeth to Pound her in the eye with an ear
she's awful
Groc: Sapphy screech right in Ginger's ear
She's nasty when angry
anna: ginger is stunned for half a second; pulls her hand out of sapphy's mouth and body-checks her/quick attack with no momentum
Groc: Sapphy rolls with it, uses fury swipes. Claws everywhere
We lost the trainers at some point.
It went from a friendly spar to a knock down, drag out brawl
anna: oh absolutely lmao
ginger's punching with every appendage she has
casey calls forfiet about now and goes in, picks both of them by the scruff
Groc: Even Vera is wondering if it should stop, but isn't brave enough to step in
But she'll take Sapphy away, wait a moment, then declare herself the winner
anna: casey like ???! hey-- well- i mean. i guess
Groc: Thinking way back to that drawing you made of them angry at each other.
Casey: what do you mean "I win"?!
Vera: you forfeit, I win.
anna: c: it's a
draw
Groc: V: you said to stop, I didn't. You grabbed my Pokémon. I win.
She just turns her back and keeps saying "I win" until he relents
Even sapphy like "...i guess?"
anna: ginger Will hit her given the opportunity...
5 - first pass back and forth writing
Like they did against Beaumont, Casey and Ginger wait, patiently on his part and intensely focused on hers.
Vera scratches Sapphire behind the ears before setting her down to battle. "Do your best, Sapphire. Go get her!" Sapphire casually strolls up to Ginger, stopping just out of reach to sit and lick her paw. She starts grooming her ears, not even looking at the Buneary. Ginger stares coolly while Casey shuffles in place. Vera grins at his discomfort. This may be a friendly match, but it's fun to watch Casey squirm.
Suddenly, Sapphire lunges forward and slaps Ginger in the face with a Fake Out attack! Ginger reels, the impact throwing her just off-balance enough to prevent retaliation. "Bite her, while she's off guard!" Sapphire pounces, aiming for the neck, but only gets a hold of the shoulder as Ginger tumbles to the ground. Casey calls for Pound; Ginger kicks both feet into Sapphire's belly and dislodges teeth from her shoulder. The Buneary scrambles up as Sapphire is tossed back, but a Meowth always lands on her feet.
"Sapphire, keep your distance! Ginger's stronger than she looks." A little backhanded, but a compliment nonetheless. "Keep moving, and use Pay Day." The golden charm atop Sapphire's head glows, and small gold bits spontaneously appear around her. She gathers a handful of the coins to throw at Ginger, eyes wide as she watches her foe's movements. Ginger ducks and weaves, coins occasionally catching her as she starts to choose rolls and bounces to cover distance, her focus entirely on Sapphire while Casey watches the field.
Ginger bounces higher, and Casey falls back to his preferred technique- "Frustration!"- but Ginger doesn't spring high into the air, doesn't use gravity to compound the force of the blow. She springs
forward, accelerating with each touch of her nimble feet to the ground, and slams her entire body into Sapphire, sending both flying back toward Vera. "Oh, that's- hey, that's Quick Attack!"
"That's new…" Vera tries to figure out how to counter that.
It's not as strong as Frustration was, but didn't Casey say Frustration was getting weaker? But it's fast, so maybe… hell with it, I'll just attack. "Sapphire, slow down her attack with Icy Wind!" Sapphire shakes off the hit, exhaling a blast of freezing fog as Ginger stands.
Casey grins, which Vera thinks is unwarranted in this situation. "Do it again!"
A second full-body hit, straight through the chilly wind, sends both Pokémon stumbling. Ginger scrambles to right herself, unable to follow up quickly enough with the Pound Casey calls for.
Vera sees that as proof her idea worked, so she also calls for a repeat performance. Sapphy breathes more chill air directly into Ginger's face. Ginger grimaces as frost crawls along her fur, and scowls at Casey's suggestion of Baby-Doll eyes. Rather, she braces herself, powering her defense in preparation for Sapphire's next hit. "Fine, same thing," Casey allows.
"Getting nervous, Casey?" Vera taunts, starting to enjoy this. "Sapphire, can you fake her out again?" Sapphire shoots her Trainer a glare, clearly not willing to try, and instead Screeches in Ginger's face. The shrill noise makes Vera and Ginger wince in tandem. "Okay, you could have just said 'no'..."
"Fine, none of that- just Quick Attack!"
Ginger puts her fancy footwork to use and darts away and around, all the way behind Sapphire to slam into her from behind, bowling her over and rolling across her back with the momentum to pop up in front of her once more. Sapphire slowly picks herself back up, hackles raised as she glares daggers at Ginger. "Sapphire, get back, use another Icy Wind!"
Sapphire lets out a shrill battle cry as she lunges at Ginger, furiously swiping and slashing with her claws. Ginger jumps backward with each swipe, making her way to Casey's side of the field. "Right- Ginger, listen-" Vera can't hear what he says next, not that she's listening. "Fine! If you want to stay close, then Bite!"
Ginger darts in again, bouncing with each accelerated step, but instead of ending in a tackle she puts power behind a little fist aimed straight at Sapphire's mouth. Sapphire closes the distance, catching the punch in her teeth. The impact drives her back a step, but she maintains a hold on Ginger. Ginger uses this to her advantage, pulling the cat in by the mouth to drive a spring-loaded ear directly into her eye. Sapphire screeches in pain and rage, a shrill scream right in the rabbit's ear. Ginger reels for half a second but has the presence of mind to pull her hand out of Sapphire's mouth and body-checks her; a Quick Attack with no momentum, a Quick Attack that Vera did
not hear Casey order.
Sapphy staggers under the attack, but flies into a rage, clawing Ginger in the arm, the chest, and the side of her face. Ginger's punching with ears and fists, wherever she can get a hit in. Neither Pokémon seem to hear their trainers' commands anymore, not above the flying fur and snarls and growls. Casey gives up first, bellowing out "
Forfeit!" as he jumps into the fray, quick hands yanking the girls up by the scruffs of their necks and holding them as far apart as his arms will allow, both still reaching to hit the other despite the distance.
Vera rushes in to grab Sapphire, who protests the entire time. Rather than risk her claws and teeth, Vera returns Sapphire to her PokéBall. The ball shakes in her hand, but she holds it tight until it settles. "Well, that was intense." She sighs, "You okay, Casey?"
"Uh, yeah," he says, somewhat distracted by Ginger attempting to kick him in the arm. He drops her onto his shoulder, where she settles herself with zero regard for his comfort. "Neither of them got me."
"Oh, good." Vera smiles at him. "Looks like I win, then."
"What?" Ginger stills, hard stare levelled at Vera.
"I win." Vera brushes her hair back behind her ear. Honestly, it should be obvious. "You said you forfeit, so I win."
Casey frowns. "Neither of them were listening, though."
Vera also frowns. There's no reason to argue, and she knows it, but she can't back down now. "Yes, but you called it. You even grabbed my Pokémon. If this were official, I'm pretty sure that would disqualify you. So I win." She turns her back, unwilling to argue the point any further.
Casey huffs at her back. "Whatever. Next time I'm gonna win
indisputably."
6 - minor edits to final post
After that first pass of writing, we were pretty happy with most of it. However, we did write this battle well before we even knew what
Jordan was going to do at the gym, let alone what Bruno was going to do or how
5-12: Aftermath was going to play out. So most of the adjustments we made were to fall more in line with the mood of those three installments.
Thanks for reading! I hope this method will be useful for some, or at least an interesting insight into the writing process!