Speargun

Speargun: the Untold Story of Cyrus is a fan work chronicling Cyrus's Start of Darkness. It is written by User:Sith Droideka 2, otherwise known as Sith Droideka on FF.net and Bulbagarden. It can be found here^{[dead link]}.

It has been nominated for several awards (though none have been won) in the Bulbagarden Fanfiction Awards. Despite this, it seems rather obscure.

The basic plot is the tale of how Cyrus becomes an Omnicidal Maniac. Along the way, he deals with Team Rocket's invasion, five Rocket commanders out to get him, a mysterious politician, and his family falling apart.

Tropes used in Speargun include:

Aeris and Bob: Balthasar and Fred
Angst? What Angst?: Archie doesn't show too many signs of being deeply affected by the destruction of his home village.
Annoying Younger Sibling: Archer
Big Bad: Commander Buran
Blind Idiot Translation: Handsome speaks like this
Chekhov's Gun: The titular speargun
The Chessmaster: the Prime Minister
Colonel Kilgore: General Titan
Complete Monster:
- Sputnik had no problem with executing hundreds of peaceful protesters for getting on his nerves during his speech, orders parts of Celestic Town destroyed, and pretends that his killings came from a disease.
- Mir decided to hold Eternal and Fantina hostage, prepared to use an entire team of trained-to-kill pokémon to kill one boy, and murdered over a dozen people who didn't agree with his views and had the courage to attack him while he was drinking his morning coffee, even though they didn't really do anything and were clearly egged on to attack by him.
Cool Old Guy: Solari Akagi (Cyrus' grandfather) and Agent Dynamo
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Dr. Sceptile is a subversion. He seems corrupt at first glance due to his dealing with the Prime Minister, but in actuality he runs his company at a loss (in one area) to provide for refugees.
Crapsack World: Sinnoh is not a nice place to live.
Creepy Child: Cyrus
- As noted by the beta reader, Cyrus is about 12 but talks like an adult since he never had any friends growing up, only scientists and machines
Darker and Edgier: in spades
Dark Is Not Evil: So far Siber the Sneasel and Templar the Absol are the only members of Cyrus' team, and both of them are Dark-type.
Depraved Kids' Show Host: Buddy the Torterra, Mir's main pokémon, was once a kid's show host. He is actually a subversion, however.
Dishing Out Dirt: Pericles the Larvitar's specialty
Doomed Hometown: Archie and Maxie's home village on the slopes of Sootopolis Volcano
Downer Ending: It's the story of Cy rus! What do you expect?
Fantasy Gun Control: According to Solari this used to exist in the past, up until the Great Gym War. The Prime Minister also declared the Vielstone legend to no longer apply in an early chapter.
Five-Bad Band: The Team Rocket commanders
- Big Bad: Buran
- The Dragon: Soyuz
- The Evil Genius: Mir
- The Brute: Sputnik
- The Dark Chick: Handsome
Follow the Leader: of [[Better Than Canon Rival's Story, although somewhat accidentally since the author didn't actually read Rival's Story until Chapter XII had been finished.
Free-Range Children: Justified and averted. Justified because law and order have broken down with Team Rocket's invasion, but averted in that very few children or teenagers have been seen traveling.
Freudian Excuse: Cyrus's childhood was not a happy one.
Government in Exile: Supposedly, but the Prime Minister seems to be running everything by himself from Sinnoh
Great Offscreen War: The Great Gym War was at first, but now its story is being told in a companion story. The Rocket War outside of Sinnoh may count too, though.
Incredibly Lame Pun: Agent Dynamo makes these all the time
Interesting Situation Duel:
- Fred and Balthasar battle against Mag mortar in an abandoned mall. They win and evolve.
- Between Mir and Handsome against Cyrus and Balthasar and Fred in a study beneath the Eterna Gym, with bookcases, a rainstorm, and a balcony.
Katanas Are Just Better: Mir tries to kill Cyrus with an old katana
Kill It with Fire: Magmortar
Kill It with Ice: Siber
Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better: despite elemental beams, portable black-hole generators, and pokémon with more power than the average African military, guns are still seen as a viable military alternative to pokémon
Luke, I Am Your Father: Soyuz, although Cyrus doesn't know that yet...
The Mafia: Team Rocket, with shades of the Empire.
Memetic Badass: Shard the Charizard
Military Brat: Saturn Titan
Moral Event Horizon: Sputnik's murder of several hundred peaceful protesters
Mr. Exposition: Carl, father of Junior the shorts kid
My Master, Right or Wrong: Balthasar, Fred, and Magmortar to the Prime Minister
108: Lady Spiritomb
Our Ghosts Are Different: according to Archie Eternal has some ghostly powers, sort of like how there are psychic humans
President Evil: The Prime Minister
Private Military Contractors: The Prime Minister hired some Russian ones
Pungeon Master: Agent Dynamo
Small Name, Big Ego: the author, obviously. He, by himself, created this page and is the only one to update it.
The Smart Guy: Pericles the Larvitar
Stealth Expert: Dusknoir
The Stoic: Cyrus is already something like this, and is increasingly finding emotions bizarre and useless
The Strategist: Mir is Team Rocket's Sinnoh Branch strategist.
Theme Naming: Guess what Buran, Soyuz, Sputnik, and Mir are named after?
Those Two Guys: Balthasar and Fred
War Is Hell