"Before I Turn this Tassel," written by Freedom Fighter

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters associated with the show.  All
names and likenesses are copyrighted by Nintendo, 4Kids Entertainment, and anyone else who
had a hand in creating the show.

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Prologue (09.24.02)


As the sun begins to set over the horizon, a beautiful brunette in a school uniform sits on
a cement block.  Her legs are dangling over the side and just above the swimming pool.  She
smiles heavenly as she reflects on the results of a battle she had just lost.  Yes, she's
happy because she lost.  But the loss ended up teaching her a valuable lesson.

"There are some things that you can't learn in a textbook," she stated out aloud.  "And
that's a good lesson."

All of a sudden, she was joined by one of her classmates.  He stands to her right, also
reflecting on what he had learned on this day.

"I'm going back home with my first Pokémon to start from scratch," he proclaimed.  "I want
to raise my Pokémon the same way Ash does."

The girl then stands up and turns towards the boy.

"I hope we meet in the Pokémon League someday."

"Me too," the boy responded, before pulling a portrait out of his blazer.  "You mind if I
keep your picture with me?"

"Sure.  After all, I do keep pictures of all of my friends."

"You mean you have one of me?" the boy asked in surprise.

"Of course!  We're friends now, aren't we?"


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Exactly three years later...

Inside a dormitory room, a video camera seems to be on and pointed at the window, where the
yellow colored drapes are still closed and keeping most of the morning sunlight from getting
in.  Right next to the window are a wooden desk and a matching chair.  The desk has an open
backpack with a few notebooks and textbooks inside, as well as a Pokéball or two.  A whole
stack of textbooks lies next to the backpack, with the top one open to an article about how
to deal with newly evolved Pokémon that have a change in attitude from their previous form
without destroying the relationship between the Pokémon and its trainer.

The camera turns to show one half of a bed.  The pearl white bedsheets were pulled up
and the sides were tucked properly under the mattress.  The two pillows, one with a
white cover, the other a sky blue one, were fluffed and stacked on top of each other
neatly.  A female school uniform, pressed and ready to wear, lies on top of the bed
before two arms reach in from off-screen and pulls them away.  As the sounds of a
girl putting the uniform on can be heard,the camera turns back slightly to the left,
where it catches a glimpse of the nightstand next to the bed.  On the stand is a small
black halogen lamp with a bendable neck, a pencil, and pages and pages full of notes.
The notes didn't seem to be readable though... most of the words were in a special type
of shorthand that the writer uses.  Probably to keep others from copying off of her
without her permission.

The sounds of the girl putting on her uniform cease, as she now begins to hum a tune of
some sort.  The sound of brushing also fill the air as she fixes her hair.  The camera
then spots a green clock hanging on the wall.  The small hand is on the seven and the big
hand is on the eight.  Suddenly, the camera begins to move again.  It turns to the right
until the face of a teenage girl... a slightly older version of the aforementioned girl
from earlier... appears on the screen.

"Monday, May 20th, 2002, 7:40 a.m.," she tells the camera, reciting today's date and time.
"This is my first entry for my two week study of the members of the Pokémon Technical class
of 2002.  Before we can take final exams and graduate, all students at the expert level are
required to do some type of video research project.  In this project, you will see me, as
well as some of my classmates, attend class lectures and apply our knowledge in Pokémon
battles.

"You'll also watch me this week as I become a teacher's aide for a special week-long class
that the professors are trying out to see if they should offer it for all students beginning
in the fall.  It's a class that introduces students to the tactics of non-Tech trainers and
how to beat them.  Or at least try to.  I was chosen as the aide after I led a small group
of classmates on a research trip to the Indigo Plateau the last few summers to watch the
Pokémon League tournaments in person.  Naturally, I learned the most out of the experiences,
which has made me a much better trainer.

"But none of this probably would've happened if not for the actions of one boy and his
Pikachu three years ago.  Ash Ketchum, a petty young boy who I made fun of for how weak
he was and for the fact that he had a Pikachu, of all Pokémon, to start with.  But despite
the fact that I obviously was more skilled and should've won that battle, he won by simply
having his Pikachu do a few moves that one couldn't find in a textbook.  Before that, I
thought that Pikachu were good for performing electric attacks and nothing more.  That loss
taught me that you shouldn't always rely on textbooks to direct your Pokémon to victory.
Sometimes you need your instincts to help out.  And a little luck helps too, although I'm
the type of person who doesn't need it.

"Ash also proved to me that friends should be assisting each other, not trying to keep
them down.  And it seems that I had been doing that a lot more than I thought.  So I eased
up and became friendlier with my classmates.  Whenever they needed help, I was the first
person that they turned to.  Unfortunately, a few of the guys once in awhile would try to
get a bit too friendly with me.  Needless to say, those are the few times my old side
comes out to teach them a lesson.

"But Ash isn't the only guy that changed my life.  There's also Joe, the young boy who after
watching that same battle, decided to return home, start from scratch, and try training his
Bellsprout from there.  We became good friends in that short period of time, but I haven't
seen him since.  And I haven't seen him at any of the recent tournaments.  I hope he's okay.
I would love to see him again.

"Oh?  You want to know who I am?  Silly... if you don't know my name by now, you don't
belong here.  I'm the top student at Pokémon Technical, the world's most elite school for
young trainers.  I can't help if I'm possessed with beauty and brains, but who wouldn't
want to have both?  People think I'm a star.

"But I'm just Giselle!"


End Prologue


Okay, raise your hand if you didn't figure out that was Giselle before she said her name.
Sorry to sound like her, but you don't belong here!  Giselle's a one-shot character from
the Pokémon series.  One of the first, I might add.  So if you haven't watched the series
from the very early episodes, you're going to have trouble identifying with her.  So stop
now and save yourself the trouble.

And don't miss the first chapter, coming Monday, October 7th!  'Til then, folks!