Blank Pages


From Rebirpedia, the Pokémon Rebirth encyclopaedia.

 

Blank Pages is a comic "episode" of Pokémon Rebirth which runs parallel to the canon episode "Training Daze". It began production on February 2nd 2009 and ended production on March 30th 2009. It exists in a sketch draft state, and may or may not be cleaned up in future.

 

Synopsis


When Rhenton Skechitt's plan to bribe himself up the Team Rocket rank ladder seriously backfires, he finds himself cast amongst the ranks of an entirely different crowd without a clue as to who he is or how he got there. And with other Team Rocket Elites after the precious information locked away in Rhenton's mind, things are about to get a lot worse before they get better.

What you don't know can't hurt you...right?

Wrong.

 

 

Overview


 

 

Spoiler Warning - Major plot details may follow

 

Team Rocket Elite operative Rhenton Skechitt returns from a scouting mission -alongside overseeing trainees and sampling the contents of the cafeteria kitchen- to deliver his report on Holon to his superior, Sergeant Viper. Holon are developing a secret project and Rhenton has uncovered the whereabouts of their hideout, but he's not willing to give up the vital information without a promotion in exchange.

Next morning, Rhenton is busy grumbling to himself about the incompetence of other operatives when fellow Elite Vilina DaNasty shows up out of nowhere, claiming to have some insight into the new means to improve other operatives' performance. Rhenton shows skepticism, but goes to see if she speaks the truth, and encounters the P.R.O.C.U. Enthralled, Rhenton does not notice the sneak attack upon him by Mindwipe, Vilina's Drowzee, until it is too late.

Head scientist Eris Radwell and her associates hear lab alarms and rush in from the break room to find Rhenton jammed underneath the P.R.O.C.U and getting his brain fried in the process. The technicians struggle to shut down the reprogramming machine but seemingly in vain. Rhenton's body enters a state of suspension mimicking death, resulting in his burial. Pokémon Watchers
Garrett Kinsley and Max Warren are the first to discover Rhenton has not passed away, and the latter ends up rescuing him with her Natu.

Upon waking, Rhenton no longer remembers anything about himself bar his own name. His personality also seems to be something of a clear slate - any vestiges of anger, nastiness or cynicism have vanished, leaving a cheerful, literal, somewhat dopey form in its wake. Max and Garrett take Rhenton back to the Pokemon Watcher Guildhall in the hopes that
Jasmine Coda will know what to do with him.

Jasmine studies Rhenton and is shocked at what she sees. She insists Rhenton stays at the guildhall to recover before any further action is taken.

Following introductions to the other guildhall residents, Rhenton's awkward behaviours attract the attention of
Macon Skechitt, who promptly reveals the newcomer is his brother. Highly skeptical, Macon believes Rhenton's amnesia to be a clever plot to gain the guild members' trusts. He is further humiliated by Rhenton's ability to draw photo-realistic Pokémon while on a field trip.

Back at the Guild, Max confronts Macon, demanding to know why he is acting so cold towards his brother. Macon divulges more information about Rhenton's unsociable, tormenting and sadistic personality and its effects on his childhood. Max insists that Rhenton's personality isn't the same as it was, and Macon reluctantly agrees to give Rhenton another chance, inviting him out for some brother time.

Macon attempts to get Rhenton to catch a new pokemon to be his Watcher partner, but this fails miserably. Still thinking that Rhenton's obscure, over-literal clumsiness is a ploy to further torment him, Macon leaves Rhenton behind and storms back to the Pokémon Watcher's Guildhall. Max goes out to bring Rhenton out from the rain, and is followed back by the Azurill Macon was trying to teach his brother to catch.

The following night, Rhenton's true personality resurfaces for the first time since he was forced into the P.R.O.C.U. Cursing Vilina and vowing to not let his guard down again, Rhenton rouses the Azurill who was sleeping under a bundle of clothes. The sight of the Azurill, whose memory is unfamiliar to Rhenton's true personality, ends up forcing his newer personality back to the surface.

This sliding between personalities occurs again during a trip to Arbor Forest, where it attracts the attention of two Rocket grunts, who check his grave site and are horrified to find the coffin empty. Then Macon witnesses the shift back to true personality for himself, mistaking it as proof that Rhenton was just pretending to be oblivious. However, when Rhenton sees his Rocket burial outfit, his true personality retreats in distress.

Macon is finally convinced that Rhenton has a medical issue for his behaviour, and decides to name the gentler personality in order to make things less confusing. No sooner has some sort of reconciliation happened, than Rhenton is kidnapped by the very Team Rocket grunts that discovered he was still alive earlier.

Rhenton is taken to the labs where Mindwipe psychically forces his true personality back in control. Sergeant Viper demands Rhenton to give him the information he had been holding back as bribery for a promotion. When Rhenton refuses on the grounds that he still doesn't have his promotion, Viper explains that his death -albeit false- had rendered the arrangement between them void. Super Elite status and the Holon Lab infiltration mission had been passed on to Vilina.

Despite his hopeless condition, Rhenton still refuses to give the information, so Sargeant Viper orders it to be psychically extracted by Mindwipe. They manage to get a scrap of data out that pinpoints the location of Holon Labs, then throw Rhenton into a holding bay for unknown future experimentation.

With a touch of ingenuity, Rhenton manages to escape, before returning to the Johto Pokémon Watcher's Guild in a stolen TR helicopter and persuading the occupants to help him stop Vilina. While Macon is initially disgruntled, hearing of Rhenton's change of heart about his path in life manages to convince him to an extent, and he agrees to assist.

Arriving at Holon Labs just a moment too late, the Pokémon Watchers witness one of the scientists inflict the results of the laboratory's research on himself, turning into a freakish mutant. Vilina is forced to join forces with the Pokémon Watchers in order to take the scientist out, however, once this task is completed and she realises the data has been destroyed in the battle, she turns on Rhenton instead.

While Macon manages to save his brother by forcing Vilina and Mindwipe into a garbage disposal chute, the effects of the Drowzee's psychic powers have taken its toll on Rhenton, who uses the last of his strength to apologize to Macon for being a lousy brother.

From that moment on, only Rhenton's alternate personality holds any presence.

 

 

Major Events


  • The "birth" of Tracey Skechitt as everyone knows him.

  • The formation of the PokéRus compound.

 

 

Spoilers End

 

 

 

 

Debuts


  • Rhenton Skechitt
  • Vilina DaNasty
  • Garrett Kinsley
  • Max Warren
  • Jasmine Coda
  • Steven Ekton
  • Paisley Myrth
  • Macon Skechitt
  • Neo Wallson (Flashback only)
  • Paulie Lyons (Flashback only)
  • Itan Askey (Flashback only)
  • Linea Skechitt (Flashback only)
  • Jerry Nerrek

 

Characters


 

Trivia


"Blank Pages" began life as a standalone fan fiction primarily written for comedy and intended for posting on "Pokemon Digimon United" (now defunct). It was spawned from the notion that Tracey showed little personality during his appearances in the Orange Islands season, which led to a joke of the rest of his personality having been sucked out of him. This led to the concept of a personality reprogramming machine created by Team Rocket having malfunctioned, while one of its more sullen operatives happened to be in the 'driving seat', and the wacky results that ensued.