So there I was, cleaning out my bedroom and finally unpacking boxes that I hadn’t touched since I moved into my very own house 2 years ago.
I dug deep looking at the various electronics I stuffed in there, collecting dust somehow despite being in an enclosed box. I went through each one- a broken Gameboy Advance, my N64 which I only ever owned a single game for, 3 Sega genesis consoles for some reason… and then I found my trust ole Nintendo DS Lite.
I cleaned it up the best I could with some Windex and then tried to power it on. To my utter shock, the little device lit up and made that iconic “ding da ding” sound. I couldn’t help but smile as the memories of firing this thing up multiple times a day came flooding back to me.
I noticed that there was a game called “Browser” loaded in and it took me a second to remember what this was. Then it hit me- I had purchased a game cartridge that would allow the DS to browse the internet. Something that’s so trivial today was groundbreaking to me back in the day, and I had saved up birthday money to buy this so I could sneak under the covers and continue surfing the web long after my parents told me to turn out the lights.
I loaded up the browser and immediately went to my bookmarks to see what shenanigans I was up to. There wasn’t much I saved- the login page to Neopets, a walkthrough for Halo 3, an unofficial list of where the Pokémon movies fell in between each episode… and then there was one at the bottom. A bookmark titled “Fate and Destiny…” Although the rest was cut off, I instantly knew what this was.
If before memories were flooding back, I was now experiencing a recollection hurricane. Back when I was in 7th grade, I was an introvert to the extreme. Essentially a recluse, I didn’t have many people I’d call a friend and would spend the majority of my free time just playing video games or browsing the internet. I felt incredibly lonely but I found solace in Pokémon of all things. Maybe I was finding comfort reliving my early childhood, or maybe it was just that there was a lot of Pokémon content at the time between the games, cards, movies, and show. Whatever the reason, I became a full on Pokémon but all over again.
Eventually I wore myself out playing Diamond for countless hours and was all caught up with the show. That’s when I discovered that “fanfic” was a thing, and I was introduced to a huge world of Pokémon stories that I never knew existed.
I was ecstatic and was determined to find one that I liked. I read through a few but they were either quick 5 minute reads or failed to capture my attention. Then I stumbled upon FaDoF.
I was hooked. I couldn’t stop scrolling and reading. I remember staying up way past my bed time trying to cram in as many chapters as I could. When I finally went to bed, I remember being so antsy the next day for school to end just so I could continue reading. I didn’t feel like I was reading an official Pokémon story- I was reading something *better*.
When I finally caught up I believe you were on chapter 25 or so. I remember being so impatient. I would check the forum every single day for the next chapter to drop and when it finally did, I would drop everything I was doing and binge it.
Eventually, we got to chapter 30. After finishing it, I was SO anxious for the finale. How would it end? Would Ash and Misty finally get together? Did you have a twist up your sleeve? For probably months I checked daily to see if you had any updates, I’m embarrassed to say. Eventually, my daily checks turned into weekly checks, which turned into monthly checks, and then one day, I forgot about FaDoF. I think the last time I checked for the latest chapter was 2012.
Now, 10 years later, here I am, feeling like a kid again. I am a little sad to see that chapter 31 never did release. It looks like your last update was 8 years ago, and it may be safe to say that the last (2 now) chapters will never see the light of day. You’ve probably grown so much, like I have. You’re probably off doing great things, writing great works, or perhaps just living a simple life and doing what you need to do to get by.
But you know what? That’s okay if this story ends here. Regardless of where you ended up, I can’t thank you enough. Believe it or not, you are a huge part of the reason I’m where I’m at today. You see, when I fell in love with your story and writing style, I became fascinated with these high quality fanfic writing pieces. I sought out more across a variety of franchises. And when I ran out of content I enjoyed, I started writing my own. Little by little, I got better at it, until I realized this is what I wanted to do as a career. Today, I am a full time writer. And as I approach 30, I now have my very own house, lovely wife, and friends I can share my writing with.
Is this all cringey? Probably, but it’s true. Thank you for making the dorky, acne-riddled pre-teen fall in love with writing and inspiring him to become what he is today.
God, it’s so weird to think about how much time has passed since I first discovered this story. So many life events have come and gone… and a pandemic? Holy cow, how things have changed.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for creative writing. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I truly hope you’re doing well, and maybe someday you’ll remember the presence you once had on this little fan site and see this comment. Although we don’t truly know each other, I owe a lot to you and this little love story. I suppose you could say that finding this fanfic was my fate, and perhaps my destiny, friend.
I can proudly say that I made this account simply to comment here that I, along with your whole fandom, will be waiting for the final chapter and the day you come back!