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thegamesofharuhisuzumiya2015-11-11 11:44 am
2bamaster) wrote in thegamesofharuhisuzumiya2015-11-11 11:44 am
Pocket Monsters: The Animation - Prologue
So, I've started a new side project! A translation of a pair of Japanese Pokémon novels. It has its own blog set up over here: pokemonthenovel
To provide a preview of what to expect when you're there, I'm going to share the prologue of the first novel here as well.
It was a certain night.
A faint light shone in the darkness.
Pon...
A faint sound rang through the air.
And so, a certain creature was brought into existence.
Meanwhile, in another location...
Pon...
Pon...
Pon...
More of the creatures spawned one after another.
The creatures shapes and appearance varied wildly.
Among the creatures were quite a few resembling other creatures we were already familiar with.
However, they were different to any other creatures that had ever been in this world.
Like how humans evolved from apes aeons ago, the creatures of this world had their own ancestors.
But these creatures were different.
Suddenly, on that night...
Pon...
Pon...
Pon...
Nowadays, we have an encyclopedia to identify these creatures that suddenly appeared in this world.
The people of the world soon came to identify these creatures as Pocket Monsters.
“Why? How? What brought the Pocket Monsters into our world? To explain this mystery is tantamount to explaining the mystery of mankind's origins.”
An excerpt from “An Introduction to the Research of Portable Beasts” by Professor Samuel Oak of the Celadon University Portable Beast Department...
＜An Explanation for Parents and Guardians＞
When it comes to Pokémon... A picture is worth a thousand words.
If you want to know about Pokémon, interacting with one directly will teach you much more than reading a hundred theses. Which is to say, despite being an old adage, there's no shame in not knowing what is a mystery to all.
To summarise, using words to explain Pocket Monsters to a person who has never seen one before... would be incredibly difficult.
However, this book is a novel, not an encyclopedia, the appearance of Pokémon will be described in the text.
These descriptions are taken from “real creatures other than Pokémon” defined by the 1997 edition of the world famous OED (Oxbridge English Dictionary).
For example,
“A turtle-like Pokémon”, would resemble a turtle...
Described as a type of reptile in the OED. ... The description is of an animal whose body is covered by a hard shell on the front and back with a head, tail and pairs of arms and legs that can be retracted inside the shell. ... This describes the shape... such a Pokémon would take.
“A frog-like Pokémon”, the OED describes a frog as...
An amphibian with few facial features. ... Their larvae are referred to as tadpoles, they live by the waterside in places like rivers or swamps. They frequently make noise in early summer and hibernate during winter. ... Which is the form... that kind of Pokémon would have.
So...
The OED is considered the world's standard for dictionary definitions.
If among the descriptions of turtles, frogs and other things in this novel, you come across an animal you are not familiar with, feel free to look it up in the dictionary. No matter who the publisher of your dictionary is, the definition of most common words won't vary much from the OED, so please rest assured.
***
It's say about once a month?
I have this dream.
The universe lies before my eyes... Countless stars are spread around... Beyond all the thousands of stars... a huge sun rises.
And then at that moment, there's a whoosh and I suddenly hear music echoing through my body.
The sound sounds like it's coming from an organ.
Like the ones you see in photos of foreign churches. The kind of organ that looks like a monster made or iron pipes. It becomes increasingly intense.
That noise... my TV or radio cassette player couldn't replicate it. Though I hear it within my dreams, its something impossible to capture on CD or tape. Yet the sound still exists.
It's electrifying, making the atmosphere tremble, stinging my cheeks a little, the ground and chairs seem to vibrate.
But the problem here, or well, not really a problem... This melody is familiar, I hear it regularly, it's the same music from the game Pokémon... But it really gets me pumped up. When I hear this music... I get this feeling... Here it comes, finally, finally, it's beginning... let's go! ... like that. Y'know what I mean?
Oops... In the soundless world of the written word, it's a little difficult to describe the music in my dream.
Anyway, this awesome whooshing dignified music fills me as the large sun rises.
But the best part is yet to come.
The sun rises and something flies in.
Something... I can't describe it without sounding pretentious.
I've had this dream a countless number of times.
I'm not even sure how many at this point.
I'll just put it simply as possible.
Yes, it's a Pocket Monster. Pokémon for short...
It was a flame Pokémon spewing scorching fire, Charizard. A great flame burnt at the end of its thick tail. It is the evolved form of the Lizard Pokémon, Charmander, despite that both Pokémon are able to breathe fire, Charmander could be used as a cigarette lighter, while Charizard is on a different level entirely.
Flying on its great wings like kiwhiing, the flames it spews are hot enough to melt boulders larger than the bronze statue in the town plaza in an instant.
The Charizard, seemingly having been born from the sun mere moments ago, spews flames like gawhoosh as it flies towards me.
I'm not afraid. It doesn't burn. This is a dream after all.
... On top of that, this Charizard... is my Charizard. When would I ever get a Charizard? It doesn't matter. It's my dream...
My Charizard flies past above my head and I look behind myself to see it flying towards a blue planet.
A blue planet in this universe, yeah, it's obviously the Earth we live on.
Charizard plunges into the atmosphere and flames envelop its whole body as it descends.
As it descends, it could land in Amerika, Engliss or even Parie, but of course, it's going to land in Tohkyo City... The capital city of the country I live in. Tohkyo Tower and the Harimaku Exhibition Center are there, since this is my dream, Charizard flies where it's convenient for me.
Because it has descended upon Tohkyo City, Charizard doesn't rampage like a giant monster.
Instead it continues its descent towards the Shifuya district of Tohkyo City.
Its destination is beyond Shifuya's Park Road, the Yoyoki National Stadium.
Most likely, it's heading for the opening ceremony of the Pokélympics, an international event held once every four years.
The Tohkyo Dome is nice too, but a roofless arena where it can fly through the blue skies suits Charizard better.
Every seat in the national stadium is filled, of course.
The audience see Charizard in the sky and begin to cheer.
“Charizard!”
“Charizard!!”
“Charizard!!!”
They call Charizard's name.
Charizard lands inside the stadium near the sacred flame's platform and folds its wings, the competitors on the field of the opening ceremony bow their heads. Charizard looks at the flame's platform and spews fire to light it.
The flame flares and soars... That's right, my Charizard is the final torch runner in the Pokélympics.
Loud cheers beyond the capabilities of Dolby Digital ring out.
Balanced on their swirly tails, a band made of Seadra play a trumpet fanfare with their bugle-like mouths.
The competitors oath begins.
And the one delivering the pledge with all their might, is obviously... me...
“The oath!”
I shout at the very top of my lungs. 92 phons.
“We Pokémon Trainers, in the spirit of the Pokémon League, swear to fight fair and square...”
I'm not sure if the spirit of the Pokémon League is even an actual thing or not, but this is a dream, so just let it slide.
Being a dream, this next part I say after the spirit of the Pokémon League... is the most important part.
“... Pokélympics. Pokémon Trainer representative... Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!”
Pallet Town... is my hometown.
Ash Ketchum... That's my name.
The moment I hear that name is the moment I wake up.
***
What is a Pokémon Trainer?
The basic dictionary on Ash's computer defines it as the following.
“Trainers officially licensed by the Pokémon League to raise Pokémon for battle. There are various rules and methods regarding becoming a Pokémon Trainer, but the usual method is to capture wild Pokémon in Monster Balls and raise them into strong Pokémon. In recent years, trading Pokémon between trainers has become commonplace.
To be considered successful as a professional Pokémon Trainer, you must compete in regional tournaments, which to qualify for involves challenging regional Pokémon Gyms and gathering at least 8 badges as proof of your victories.
To learn more about Pokémon training, it's more effective to go on a journey aiming to become a Pokémon Trainer than to read reference books.
Experience is the best teacher... That is the secret to understanding Pokémon.”
Now, the definition of Pokémon is...
“Abbreviation of Pocket Monsters.”
And the definition of Pocket Monsters is...
“Portable Beasts... (Also, Miniature Portable Beasts) Creatures that can be captured in capsules when their stamina is depleted. Often belonging to Pokémon Trainers. When raised to become stronger can evolve into a different species of portable beast. Come in all shapes and sizes. Can be raised in various methods. To learn more about them, it is more effective to become a Pokémon Trainer than to read reference material. Experience is the best teacher. That is the secret to understanding Pokémon.”
That's a basic dictionary for you... It's basic, but the definitions are somewhat vague. In order to further understand Pokémon... Perhaps we should follow Ash on his quest to become a Pokémon Trainer.
pokemonthenovelTo provide a preview of what to expect when you're there, I'm going to share the prologue of the first novel here as well.
It was a certain night.
A faint light shone in the darkness.
Pon...
A faint sound rang through the air.
And so, a certain creature was brought into existence.
Meanwhile, in another location...
Pon...
Pon...
Pon...
More of the creatures spawned one after another.
The creatures shapes and appearance varied wildly.
Among the creatures were quite a few resembling other creatures we were already familiar with.
However, they were different to any other creatures that had ever been in this world.
Like how humans evolved from apes aeons ago, the creatures of this world had their own ancestors.
But these creatures were different.
Suddenly, on that night...
Pon...
Pon...
Pon...
Nowadays, we have an encyclopedia to identify these creatures that suddenly appeared in this world.
The people of the world soon came to identify these creatures as Pocket Monsters.
“Why? How? What brought the Pocket Monsters into our world? To explain this mystery is tantamount to explaining the mystery of mankind's origins.”
An excerpt from “An Introduction to the Research of Portable Beasts” by Professor Samuel Oak of the Celadon University Portable Beast Department...
＜An Explanation for Parents and Guardians＞
When it comes to Pokémon... A picture is worth a thousand words.
If you want to know about Pokémon, interacting with one directly will teach you much more than reading a hundred theses. Which is to say, despite being an old adage, there's no shame in not knowing what is a mystery to all.
To summarise, using words to explain Pocket Monsters to a person who has never seen one before... would be incredibly difficult.
However, this book is a novel, not an encyclopedia, the appearance of Pokémon will be described in the text.
These descriptions are taken from “real creatures other than Pokémon” defined by the 1997 edition of the world famous OED (Oxbridge English Dictionary).
For example,
“A turtle-like Pokémon”, would resemble a turtle...
Described as a type of reptile in the OED. ... The description is of an animal whose body is covered by a hard shell on the front and back with a head, tail and pairs of arms and legs that can be retracted inside the shell. ... This describes the shape... such a Pokémon would take.
“A frog-like Pokémon”, the OED describes a frog as...
An amphibian with few facial features. ... Their larvae are referred to as tadpoles, they live by the waterside in places like rivers or swamps. They frequently make noise in early summer and hibernate during winter. ... Which is the form... that kind of Pokémon would have.
So...
The OED is considered the world's standard for dictionary definitions.
If among the descriptions of turtles, frogs and other things in this novel, you come across an animal you are not familiar with, feel free to look it up in the dictionary. No matter who the publisher of your dictionary is, the definition of most common words won't vary much from the OED, so please rest assured.
***
It's say about once a month?
I have this dream.
The universe lies before my eyes... Countless stars are spread around... Beyond all the thousands of stars... a huge sun rises.
And then at that moment, there's a whoosh and I suddenly hear music echoing through my body.
The sound sounds like it's coming from an organ.
Like the ones you see in photos of foreign churches. The kind of organ that looks like a monster made or iron pipes. It becomes increasingly intense.
That noise... my TV or radio cassette player couldn't replicate it. Though I hear it within my dreams, its something impossible to capture on CD or tape. Yet the sound still exists.
It's electrifying, making the atmosphere tremble, stinging my cheeks a little, the ground and chairs seem to vibrate.
But the problem here, or well, not really a problem... This melody is familiar, I hear it regularly, it's the same music from the game Pokémon... But it really gets me pumped up. When I hear this music... I get this feeling... Here it comes, finally, finally, it's beginning... let's go! ... like that. Y'know what I mean?
Oops... In the soundless world of the written word, it's a little difficult to describe the music in my dream.
Anyway, this awesome whooshing dignified music fills me as the large sun rises.
But the best part is yet to come.
The sun rises and something flies in.
Something... I can't describe it without sounding pretentious.
I've had this dream a countless number of times.
I'm not even sure how many at this point.
I'll just put it simply as possible.
Yes, it's a Pocket Monster. Pokémon for short...
It was a flame Pokémon spewing scorching fire, Charizard. A great flame burnt at the end of its thick tail. It is the evolved form of the Lizard Pokémon, Charmander, despite that both Pokémon are able to breathe fire, Charmander could be used as a cigarette lighter, while Charizard is on a different level entirely.
Flying on its great wings like kiwhiing, the flames it spews are hot enough to melt boulders larger than the bronze statue in the town plaza in an instant.
The Charizard, seemingly having been born from the sun mere moments ago, spews flames like gawhoosh as it flies towards me.
I'm not afraid. It doesn't burn. This is a dream after all.
... On top of that, this Charizard... is my Charizard. When would I ever get a Charizard? It doesn't matter. It's my dream...
My Charizard flies past above my head and I look behind myself to see it flying towards a blue planet.
A blue planet in this universe, yeah, it's obviously the Earth we live on.
Charizard plunges into the atmosphere and flames envelop its whole body as it descends.
As it descends, it could land in Amerika, Engliss or even Parie, but of course, it's going to land in Tohkyo City... The capital city of the country I live in. Tohkyo Tower and the Harimaku Exhibition Center are there, since this is my dream, Charizard flies where it's convenient for me.
Because it has descended upon Tohkyo City, Charizard doesn't rampage like a giant monster.
Instead it continues its descent towards the Shifuya district of Tohkyo City.
Its destination is beyond Shifuya's Park Road, the Yoyoki National Stadium.
Most likely, it's heading for the opening ceremony of the Pokélympics, an international event held once every four years.
The Tohkyo Dome is nice too, but a roofless arena where it can fly through the blue skies suits Charizard better.
Every seat in the national stadium is filled, of course.
The audience see Charizard in the sky and begin to cheer.
“Charizard!”
“Charizard!!”
“Charizard!!!”
They call Charizard's name.
Charizard lands inside the stadium near the sacred flame's platform and folds its wings, the competitors on the field of the opening ceremony bow their heads. Charizard looks at the flame's platform and spews fire to light it.
The flame flares and soars... That's right, my Charizard is the final torch runner in the Pokélympics.
Loud cheers beyond the capabilities of Dolby Digital ring out.
Balanced on their swirly tails, a band made of Seadra play a trumpet fanfare with their bugle-like mouths.
The competitors oath begins.
And the one delivering the pledge with all their might, is obviously... me...
“The oath!”
I shout at the very top of my lungs. 92 phons.
“We Pokémon Trainers, in the spirit of the Pokémon League, swear to fight fair and square...”
I'm not sure if the spirit of the Pokémon League is even an actual thing or not, but this is a dream, so just let it slide.
Being a dream, this next part I say after the spirit of the Pokémon League... is the most important part.
“... Pokélympics. Pokémon Trainer representative... Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!”
Pallet Town... is my hometown.
Ash Ketchum... That's my name.
The moment I hear that name is the moment I wake up.
***
What is a Pokémon Trainer?
The basic dictionary on Ash's computer defines it as the following.
“Trainers officially licensed by the Pokémon League to raise Pokémon for battle. There are various rules and methods regarding becoming a Pokémon Trainer, but the usual method is to capture wild Pokémon in Monster Balls and raise them into strong Pokémon. In recent years, trading Pokémon between trainers has become commonplace.
To be considered successful as a professional Pokémon Trainer, you must compete in regional tournaments, which to qualify for involves challenging regional Pokémon Gyms and gathering at least 8 badges as proof of your victories.
To learn more about Pokémon training, it's more effective to go on a journey aiming to become a Pokémon Trainer than to read reference books.
Experience is the best teacher... That is the secret to understanding Pokémon.”
Now, the definition of Pokémon is...
“Abbreviation of Pocket Monsters.”
And the definition of Pocket Monsters is...
“Portable Beasts... (Also, Miniature Portable Beasts) Creatures that can be captured in capsules when their stamina is depleted. Often belonging to Pokémon Trainers. When raised to become stronger can evolve into a different species of portable beast. Come in all shapes and sizes. Can be raised in various methods. To learn more about them, it is more effective to become a Pokémon Trainer than to read reference material. Experience is the best teacher. That is the secret to understanding Pokémon.”
That's a basic dictionary for you... It's basic, but the definitions are somewhat vague. In order to further understand Pokémon... Perhaps we should follow Ash on his quest to become a Pokémon Trainer.