~First Place Winner of the Clever Quill Contest!~

The Ballad of Silver Stone by professor-blue

Genre: Pokémon Poem

Chapter Length: 1 part, Complete.

Update Schedule: N/A

Summary: "Tell me, dear Meloetta, of a tale of a ghost,
With whom at once the whole world was engrossed;
Tell me of the child who onc with Team Rocket did fight,
His victory the ver reason for his plight;
Oh, sing to me of the great of his power,
Before he vanished within the hour;
Explain to me of the great search,
To find his mountaintop perch:
Oh yes there is something any hero would dread,
And that is an epic battle with Red!"

(Summary is from the book's summary)

I'm so thrilled that Professor-Blue has agreed to do an interview about this wonderful Pokémon Poem.

JunieWeathers: One of the neat things about your entry was that it was a poem. This is something I've never seen in Pokéfic. What inspired you to write a Pokemon-based Poem?

Professor-Blue: So I saw someone who attempted to begin one about the kingdom of Rota from the anime but never finished and always wanted to do one since. To be honest I thought it was really cool since I know the style from having read parts of the Odyssey while I was in middle school. So I figured I'd go take a look at the Odyssey and attempt it. I recognized that I wouldn't be able to do a full book, but at the very least I could write something that was kind of like that with an epic event, which of course, is a something like the battle between Crystal and Red.

Junie: That's really interesting. I guess that kind of links into my next question being that you took inspiration from the Odyssey and the kingdom of Rota, but was there any poet that also gave you inspiration for this poem?

Blue: I mean, I don't know the name of the poet but I feel kind of like The Night Before Christmas kind of influenced my writing it, because some of the non-pokefic people who read it said it sounded a lot like that.

Junie: You know, now that you say that, I can definitely see the similarities between the two. That's really neat. What was your favorite part about writing The Ballad of Silver Stone?

Blue: I'd probably say trying to take into consideration the rhyme scheme and keeping its origins from The Odyssey. So the original Odyssey was written in such a form that every pair of lines rhymes. Trying to write a battle where all the lines rhymes is extremely difficult so it was definitely kind of a puzzle to try to figure out how to rhyme things like moves and rearrange the lines so that you could still read but it would follow the format. Also, the consideration of small details as well, like for example the first few lines where I mention Meloetta. This was supposed to be kind of a reference to the fact that in the Odyssey at the very beginning they ask the muses for inspiration to tell the tale of Odysseus. In fact, much of the tale of Red was kind of supposed to try to mirror the idea that Red was kind of stranded atop Mt. Silver and would need to find a way home through battle.

Junie: That's amazing and really neat! Now, I know that you've written poems before writing this. How does this Pokémon Poem differ from the poems you've written in the past?

Blue: So typically my other poems are a lot more free form and about nature. I tend not to use rhyme schemes when I write normal poetry unless the words come to me in the form of a rhyme. I also try to use natural imagery when I write poems normally to explain a concept of what's going on in my life. This poem was different because it tells a story instead of trying to illicit a feeling.

Junie: You did a really nice job with those rhymes, so it's cool that this differed from your other poems in that aspect. Is there anything you'd like to share about your poem?

Blue: I think just want to say that it was really cool to write in this style. Typically I find that battles are pretty boring to read and write, but this kind style of gave it life to me so I could kind of put myself in Crystal's shoes and really enjoy the imagery of a Pokémon battle.

Junie: That's exactly how I felt when reading your story as I usually feel the same way about battle scenes! Well, thank you again for letting me interview you for the Clever Quill. If you want to read more about this, then check out Professor-Blue's The Ballad of Silver Stone. I can assure you that you won't regret it.