"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. ====== Epilogue (01.11.03) Graduation day... In front of Pokémon Technical on a beautiful late spring day, the 200+ students that were graduating from the Kanto region's most prestigious Pokémon trainers' school, as well as their family and friends, were sitting in rows and rows of folded chairs. The students were seated in alphabetical order from left to right, half sitting on the left side of the stage, and the other half on the right. The guys were wearing blue caps and gowns, while the girls had gray ones on. On stage were about a dozen seats, reserved for Tech's top officials, distinguished guests, program MC's, and the Top 3 students academically in the class. One of them was up at the podium, in the middle of her valedictorian speech. Quite an accomplishment, as she was the school's first ever female valedictorian. This despite that males outnumber females 4 to 1 in their class. Still, Giselle Gravelpot was taking it all in stride, knowing that she had earned the honor fair and square. And no one agreed with that more then her parents and Joe, who were sitting in the first row reserved for family members. "When I came to Pokémon Tech three and a half years ago, I made a promise to myself. I swore that I would not let anything stand in the way of excellence. I took my Pokémon training seriously and never let myself fall behind. I never let anyone block my path for whatever reason, whether out of jealousy or out of admiration. Even in the darkest of times, I focused my sights on my goal and never forgot about it. "Today, I stand before you not as your valedictorian, but as a fellow student. One who has had to suffer through mockery of the school's storied history, frustratingly hard tests, and trials and tribulations of having to live with hundreds of students we all thought we'd never get along with. As we leave Tech behind, remember everything you've learned here! Good trainers learn all the tricks about becoming a Pokémon Master. But only the great trainers actually use those tricks and ensure themselves a realistic shot at being a Master!" Finishing her speech, Giselle flashed a smile as everyone at the ceremony gave her a standing ovation. ====== A few hours later, things were busy on campus as everyone was in the process of moving all of their stuff out of their dorm rooms and heading home, whether it be by car, bike, bus, or foot. But over by the outdoor swimming pool, Giselle had her mind on other things as she sat with her legs dangling over a cement block overlooking the pool. Off in the distance, the sun glowed a bright orange as the sun began to set. "I had a feeling you'd be here." Giselle turned around and saw Joe standing there, dressed in a boys' Pokémon Tech uniform. "Where'd you get that from?" Giselle asked, blinking confusedly. "Wouldn't you have outgrown your old uniform by now?" "One of my old friends let me borrow his temporarily," Joe replied. "So don't get any ideas... I have to return this to him intact." Giselle couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. She then turned back around to face the setting sun again. In seconds, Joe was standing next to her. "It's kinda funny," Joe remarked. "What's kinda funny?" "You. Me. Here. Picking up where we left off when I left Tech three years ago." "Three years and almost three weeks, to be exact." "Always the perfectionist, eh?" Giselle smiled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." The two turned their heads to face each other, with Joe looking down at Giselle. They gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours. Before they knew it, they were holding hands. But when they noticed that, neither of them pulled away. They seemed happier that way. Joe and Giselle then turned towards the setting sun and watched it slowly disappear beyond the horizon. As it did, they both remembered everything that had happened in their lives the past three years. They remained that way for half an hour. Only when the outdoor lights surrounding the pool area turned on and only the top portion of the sun could be seen above the trees did Joe break their peaceful, romantic moment. "I almost forgot," Joe remembered, pulling something out of his pants pocket. Giselle's eyes lit up with genuine adoration as Joe pulled out a wooden Pokéball. Instead of the natural red and white colors though, it had blue and gray... Tech's school colors. It was topped off with a cardboard mini-graduation cap and tassel. The paint wasn't exactly neat or split evenly correctly, the Pokéball wasn't completely spherical or smoothed out right, and it seemed as if the tassel was too heavy for the cap, but Giselle was loving it as if it were perfect. "Where did you buy this?" Giselle asked, amazed as Joe handed it to her. "I made it," Joe said, smiling proudly. "Figures. No self-respecting craftsman would sell something this tacky." "That took ten hours over two days to make! You don't know how much I put into this to make it perfect!" "I know you did. And I love it!" Joe was taken aback. "You... love it?" "Of course! You made this for me! Little ol' me! I've never had anyone actually put any effort into getting me a gift!" "Well, I figured that giving you chocolates or flowers or a singing telegram weren't for you. Besides, you've probably gotten a lot of that anyway, and I was afraid that you wouldn't accept it if I had given you those." Giselle stood up and smiled. "Still afraid of following everyone else's lead, huh?" "No, it's not that! Honestly, it isn't..." Joe then got a shock when Giselle wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug. "Thank you, thank you Joe! I'm so glad you're so different from everyone else." "And I wouldn't have it any other way, right?" Giselle released her grip on Joe, smiled again, then playfully punched Joe in the shoulder. "Stealing my line doesn't impress me either, Romeo." "Well... I haven't seen you for three years, so I guess I'm going to have to guess what impresses you, right?" Joe then whipped out one of his Pokéballs. "And since we already tried the 'going out' thing before... how about if I beat you in a Pokémon battle?" Giselle put her gift from Joe down and then pulled out one of her Pokéballs. "Maybe," she replied slyly, putting her hands on her hips. "And IF you can beat me." "I feel confident about that!" "You think it's gonna be that easy?" "We'll see." "Let's do this!" Going into their respective poses, well, Giselle's ballerina pose as opposed to none from Joe, they throw their Pokéballs out. With smiles and giggles, the two trainers began their battle, knowing that although they now duel as close friends, one day they'd have to fight for higher stakes. And then they'd really show off their skills. But that day feels light years away, as Giselle and Joe enjoy each other's company as if they had never been apart. ====== Meanwhile, at a Pokémon Center somewhere between Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City, Ash and the gang are conversing with Professor Oak via videophone when the researcher holds up a letter. "By the way Ash, you got this letter from Pokémon Tech," the professor said. Misty gasped in shock. "You're kidding, right? Why would someone from there want to talk to him?" "That's funny... I don't remember knowing anyone from there," Ash said, obviously forgetting about... someone. But the professor quickly clears that up. "The letter is from Tech's adminstrative office. It says that a student named Giselle Gravelpot is inviting you to her graduation." "Wha?" Ash cried in surprise, the name quickly coming back to her. "Giselle?" Misty, however, was fuming at hearing her name again. "Why would SHE invite YOU to her graduation?" She gave Ash the evil eye. "Have you two been doing something behind my back?" "There's nothing, I swear!" Ash replied in defense. "Giselle..." Brock sighed, with hearts in his eyes. "How I yearn to see her again!" "Don't you remember how arrogant she was?" Misty yelled. "All I remember is how well she fits into that school uniform of hers," Brock drooled... before being brought back to reality by Misty pulling on his ear. "I can't understand how you can like a girl like Giselle." "Wait a minute!" Ash shouted excitedly. "If she's graduating, then she must be a much better trainer now! I'm going to go back and challenge her to a battle!" But this time it was Professor Oak's turn to sigh. "Sorry Ash... if only you had called me sooner. The graduation ceremony's today. No way you're getting there before it's over." "But we can sure try!" Ash and Brock shouted simultaneously, for entirely different reasons. "Oh no you don't!" Misty yelled angrily. "Giselle's never going to give you the time of the day," Misty told Brock. "And you've got more Johto gym badges to win, don't you?" As Ash and Brock plead their cases to Misty, to no avail, the camera zooms out and then up to the sunset... the same bright sunset that began and end this tale. ****** Author's Commentary (01.11.03) The purpose of this extra chapter is to give you an insight of what I was thinking during the course of writing this fanfic. I do cover numerous points from the fanfic itself, so if you have yet to read it, then please go and do so... no need to go and spoil everything. ====== [Introduction] Ah, Giselle. One of the first characters that would earn the reputation of 'trainer of the day that Ash learns a lesson from.' Or in this case, 'trainer of the day whom is taught a lesson by Ash.' If you can remember all the way back to the anime's ninth, yes, NINTH episode, "The School of Hard Knocks," then you can recall the only appearance of Giselle and Joe (and the rest of the Tech students). Of course, that doesn't include the brief cameo the duo made in an issue of the manga, but that's going off-topic. Anyway, Joe was the timid young boy who was smart enough to know all the answers, but not willing to give them for fear of having been pushed harder by his peers. On the other hand, Giselle was the cream of the crop, with brains, beauty, and an attitude to match. Everyone in the beginners' level represented trainers with two gym badges, and Giselle was at the top, with skills reminiscent of a three-badge trainer. Giselle is known among Pokémon fanatics for two reasons. One, the more well-known reason, her snobbish, stuck-up, know-it-all attitude that has distinguished her as an A-grade bitch (pardon my language). And the lesser known but probably more significant one being that Giselle's the only girl, at least as far as I can remember, that BOTH Ash and Brock blushed upon first seeing her face. That's even rarer for Ash, who has only blushed for two other women in his life besides Giselle. His mother, for you-know-what, and obviously, Misty. Off-topic again. Sorry about that... Anyway, in case you don't remember the episode, let me give you a brief synopsis. Ash and the gang were traveling through a fog bank when they decided to stop for some tea. They come across a group of boys quizzing Joe, who is running on a treadmill while they quiz him on Pokémon facts. Ash stands up for Joe, but the boys decide that fighting him is uncivilized and they depart. It's then that the gang finds out that they are on the grounds of Pokémon Technical, a school for rich kids. Joe goes on to explain the history of the school, why the other guys were picking on him, and why he's so afraid to answer the questions they gave him. That leads to the infamous moment where he shows them a picture of the student in charge of their class. The picture of Giselle. You know, the one where Ash and Brock go ga-ga over her and Misty, jealous for either showing up Giselle or for Ash liking another girl, we can't tell, marching towards the school to confront Giselle. They get a free tour of the school, when Misty challenges Joe to a battle after seeing a simulator in which a Weepinbell easily beats a Starmie. Which is true, by the type advantage rules of the game. Misty, of course, thinks it's totally wrong, and proves it by easily having her Starmie beat Joe's Weepinbell. Giselle then comes in and shows off that 'attitude' that immediately turns Ash and Brock off. She then handily defeats Misty's Starmie using a Graveler, sending it flying through a window and into the outdoor pool. After they go outside to check on Starmie, Giselle offers Misty a chance at a rematch, since they are by a pool, which would benefit Misty's Pokémon more. But when Misty decides to reject Giselle's offer, Ash steps in. Giselle begins to mock Ash for having a Pikachu, and an untamed one at that. Eventually, Ash gets tired of Giselle making fun of him, and he tries to prove that his Pikachu can beat her Cubone. Strong words coming from someone who got beat by AJ, a freelance trainer who's just as good, if not better than Giselle, just before coming here. Anyway, back on topic again, Giselle's Cubone easily diverts any electric attack that Ash's Pikachu throws at it. Which is expected, since electric types have a disadvantage against ground types. But then, and here's the surprising point, Pikachu begins to use non-electric attacks. Which, for some reason, aren't covered in any Pokémon textbook that Giselle's ever read. Unless they learn that later, but that's another story. But at this point, Pikachu gains the upper hand and eventually, the mouse Pokémon sends Cubone sprawling to the ground. And in tears, no less. After the battle, Giselle reflects on her loss, quoting "There are some things that you can't learn in a textbook. And that's a good lesson." Joe then states that he's returning home to start from scratch. But before he leaves, he asks Giselle if he can keep her picture. Of course, she agrees, as she states that she keeps pictures of all her friends. Joe is ecstatic to have Giselle as a friend, especially as beautiful as she is. Ash and the gang go on their way, but not before Ash wonders out loud why he and Misty can't be like Joe and Giselle. "Simple. Because HE doesn't owe HER a bike." One of the most famous quotes of the Ash & Misty fandom. Or actually, the only one signifying a Joe & Giselle fandom. And that leads us to... ====== [Idea Central] For the first year and a half of my career as a fanfiction writer, I only wrote fanfics for "Pokémon." Though there are reasons why I kept out of some fandoms that long and never released stuff from two other fandoms that are now past their age... but once again, another story. I'm probably best known during that time for my fanfic, the "Adventures Series." Back in the prime of its series, towards the end of the first season, the idea to bring Giselle into the series came up. Misty was traveling on her way to Viridian and passing through her hometown. And Tech was near Cerulean, so why not? I couldn't recall anyone who I knew back then that considered the Misty-Giselle rivalry as riveting as the Ash-Gary one was at the time. So, I thought "Why not? It might be a good idea." Before that point, I hadn't thought much of Giselle. But from that point, she became a staple in the series and a character that began to grow on me. One that only recently, within the last year, made it to my list of favorite one-shot characters. She's second only to... well, you'll find the answer to that later on. From "Adventures Series" to "Nine Months" to "Roomies: Girls' Edition," I've helped Giselle rise from obscurity to nostalgia factor. Well, somewhat... other than reality series fics, but I rarely see any on Giselle in the normal Pokémon fandom. (By the way, I don't have time to talk about the fics individually, but you can ask me about it through e-mail or chat whenever. Oh, and for the record, "Nine Months" was only released on the Pokémon Fanfiction Mailing List. It's never been posted at Fanfiction.net.) Actually, I've never EVER read a Joe & Giselle fanfic. A couple of Giselle being paired up with Gary, because they've got matching arrogant attitudes, but no Joe & Giselle. Am I the only person who actually saw something between the two Techies? So, I went into this wanting to a story that eventually evolved into a Joe & Giselle romance fanfic... that would make it a JAGRN, wouldn't it? But I also came upon the idea of leading Giselle through her final weeks at Pokémon Tech, leading up to her graduation as class valedictorian. I ended up combining the ideas and adding filler material to take care of the gaps of time. Probably did too much filler, as I ended up cutting a whole lot more of the romance part of the fanfic than I wanted to, but you guys have loved this fanfic anyway. Perhaps a rewrite with bonus footage showing itself eventually? Maybe... ====== Now, to clear up any misconceptions and/or mistakes over the course of the story, as well as note where stuff was changed or skipped, here are the individual notes for each of the chapters. [Prologue] 1) To tie in with the aforementioned Misty-Giselle rivalry established in the "Adventures Series," Giselle is the same age as Misty. At the beginning of Ash and the gang's journey, I put Misty and Giselle's age at 12. At the beginning of this story, they are now both 15. Also, the age is established upon the note that this fanfic is independent of any previous work and is instead based directly off the anime series. [Chapter 1] 2) Giselle's given last name, Gravelpot, was one I established in the "Adventures Series." The origin of the name comes from the fact that she uses ground types normally. 3) Creating a supporting cast was a big part of this fanfic, and this is one of the two main characters. Angela was designed to be Giselle's best friend at Pokémon Tech... one of the few female ones she had. Angela was given the role as her building's resident manager, which is an homage to the fact that I was a resident assistant myself for the past year and a half. 4) You know, I thought it was appropriate that some of the Tech students had Gold/Silver Pokémon. So, I gave Giselle a Swinub and Joshua a Larvitar. 5) Leave it to Jasmine, the Olivine City gym leader, to screw up my writing again! In Whitney's fanfic, I gave her the wrong personality. Here, it's because of her Steelix's use of a sandstorm attack indoors that screws up this battle scene, when Joshua's Larvitar employs the same move. Then again, Jasmine's Steelix may be powerful enough to control it, but there are doubts about Joshua's skill. So I guess it balances it out. Lucky girl... [Chapter 2] 6) I remember someone asking whether Professor Laramie was related to the same Lara Laramie of the famous Laramie Ranch. I don't remember if I answered that question, so I'll reply to it now with one word. No. 7) I don't remember if this was intentional or not, but does anyone think J.B. resembles a character from a rival anime? How about J.P. from "Digimon Frontier?" Take that as you will... 8) And speaking of familiar characters, remember the Astounding Mandy from the anime episode "Round One - Begin!" He was Ash's first opponent in the Pokémon League tournament, and a self-centered one at that. His addition to this fanfic was as a filler role only, and was not part of the original story plot. [Chapter 3] 9) [Added in the revision] "Too slow! Your opponent will attack you five times before you hit the ground." This quote pays homage to a similar quote stated by Principal Skinner's grandmother from "The Simpsons." In the episode where Homer enlists the local mafia to help get rid of the competition so Marge's pretzel business can thrive, the four women making up her competition appear with their own Japanese mafia. The actual quote from Agnes Skinner is: "They'll hit you five times before you hit the ground!" 10) The Pokémon Giselle presents to the Astounding Mandy are Golem (evolved from her Graveler), Marowak (evolved from her Cubone), and Electrode. The reason for her having an Electrode stems back to the "Adventures Series," where her constant use of Golem, Graveler, and Electrode let some to believe that Giselle has a fetish for Pokémon that explode. Don't ask me where I got that idea from... it's funny now that I think of it. I'd add further proof, but that's in a story that was never released and probably won't see the light of the day. [Chapter 4] 11) Joe's last name also originates from the "Adventures Series," but if I remember right, I gave it first in "Nine Months." His given last name is Jameson. 12) Originally, Joshua and William were to team-up using a Butterfree AND a Bulbasaur to put Giselle to sleep. But they would get caught by the janitor Ronaldo in the stairwell, not down in the janitorial storage room. 13) [Scene Reinserted in the Revision] There was a short scene depicting Joshua and William visiting the dean's office and subsequently being sent home with their parents. A scene cut due to time constraints... and the first of many to come. [Chapter 5] 14) In the chapter before this, the residence hall that Angela and Giselle live in was called Cascade Hall by Ronaldo. But here in the hospital ward, Angela named it as North Hall. Technically by location, that's perfectly fine, seeing as it is the northern most building on campus. 15) I'm amazed that no one caught this error, even myself, especially after the previous note. I noted that Angela and Giselle were heading back to West Hall. Even though I mentioned in the previous scene that they lived in North Hall. Where was my mind when I wrote this chapter anyway? Hmm... okay correct myself twice, as I mentioned West Hall AGAIN in the scene after Giselle told Ronaldo to "Get a life." I must've really been out of it that day... 16) I did intend to have Giselle develop some romantic feelings for Ronaldo. But as you saw, they never got much time to come about because of Ronaldo's sudden departure and later return as a Team Rocket agent. [Chapter 6] 17) Probably the biggest cut in the fanfic here. I originally planned to allow Joe and Giselle to tell their stories about what's been going on the past three years. But originally, I had planned it to happen in Chapter 4 or 5, but I go to this scene in Chapter 6. That was way too late as I already had to set up for the finale, so this big chunk got left on the cutting room floor. I had some neat ideas for this too. 18) Another West Hall mistake. Me thinks maybe it was supposed to be West Hall and not North Hall. But no one will ever know, 'cause I don't quite remember myself. 19) Here's the first major change. Before Ronaldo left, there was supposed to be a set of scenes where we're introduced to Ronaldo's younger sister, a beginner level trainer who is a student at the school. Giselle saves her from a bunch of guys who are picking on her. The two develop a fast friendship, but things are complicated when she introduces her to her older brother, Ronaldo. It was then that time was going to be given to allow Ronaldo and Giselle's relationship to grow before his departure. Because of the amount of extra pages it would require, I decided not to give Ronaldo a sister. [Chapter 7] 20) Big cut here as well. You know, now that I think of it, I ended up leaving out most of the romantic stuff from this fanfic? Though this cut was intentional, I may also flesh the 'Joe and Giselle's day out' scene if I do end up rewriting this fanfic in the future. 21) Alright... me REALLY thinks it's supposed to be West Hall and not North Hall... [Chapter 8] 22) Through the use of a physics equation known as the conservation of momentum, you can calculate the momentum of both Pokémon. The Pidgey has more momentum than the Fearow, so the Fearow takes the brunt of the hit and falls. The correct answer is B. (Note: If anyone wants me to explain how I exactly arrived at that, let me know and I'll show you.) 23) In an emergency situation, your resources may be limited. Finding other people to help assist you may be easy or hard depending on the time of day, and thus cannot be completely depended on in any and all cases. That eliminates choices B and D. Choice C can also be eliminated because it depends on whether you have a Thunder Stone handy or not. As for Choice A, you've got your own Pikachu's power to worry about. If it's too weak, it can't make up the power difference. If it's too strong, it may end up blowing the generator. In most cases, Choice A would be correct. But since we don't know the Pikachu's exact strength, the best bet would be to go with Choice E. In most power outage situations, main power can be restored quickly if the Pokémon Center is in or around a city, so the Pikachu would not have to keep the backup generator running for long. So Choice E is the correct answer. 24) [Added in the revision] "I don't see how it's possible to tell a Voltorb from a Jigglypuff, seen from above!" The second half of Angela's quote is taken right from the test instructor of the episode entitled "The Ultimate Test" (Episode 51 of the anime series). 25) The answer here is Choice E, Bitter Berry. Although Choice A, Miracle Berry, can also heal a confused Pokémon, the question asked for the one that can do it exclusively. Miracle Berries heal any and all status anomalies, not just confusion. [Chapter 9] 26) Even though I dropped the idea of Ronaldo having a sister and having the two of them team up as new Team Rocket members sent to recruit Giselle, Ronaldo remains involved in the scheme in the final version. A random Rocket rookie is added to the mix, as well as Domino. Domino is one in the same, the blonde-haired female Rocket from "Mewtwo Returns." She was a last minute addition... not originally part of the plot. But she still fits the role that was supposed to be Ronaldo's sister's, right? 27) Following on the notion that Giselle has her own 'groupies,' whether she approves of it or not, I decided to have a little fun and have them stand up for Giselle. Only to fail miserably against Domino, of course. 28) Another idea that was scrapped when Domino entered the picture was a 2-on-2 battle. Giselle and Joe were originally supposed to battle Ronaldo and her sister. Couldn't do that with Domino, seeing as she has no Pokémon herself. [Epilogue] 29) Over the course of this fanfic, I've somehow managed to give Giselle her own catch phrase. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Weird, huh? 30) [Scene Reinserted in the Revision] Cut from the final version... a small scene, only a few lines long, detailing how Ash got word of Giselle's graduation, and Misty's and Brock's reactions to it. ****** And with that, "Before I Turn This Tassel" finally comes to an end. It's been a great fanfic to write, and hopefully for you guys, a great fanfic to read. If you'd like to see another fanfic starring Giselle, or Joe and Giselle, drop me a line and let me know! Coming in March 2003 is the third fanfic of a planned six in the "Pokémon Girls" series. It stars my favorite one-shot character (though technically she's a two-shot character), Duplica Imite! Entitled "Ditto That, Ditto!," it's my take on Duplica's rags-to-near-riches story. It won't be fully biographical, as instead of her whole life I'll be focusing on her life between her two meetings with Ash and the gang. From a down-on-her-luck girl wondering what's wrong with her Ditto, to the traveling performer we all know and love, catch Duplica as she faces her own tests of being a preteen and surviving without parents. With that, I say adieu! Goodbye for now, folks!