POPULAR: Cliches in Pokémon Fanfiction

[Ghostsoul]

On my views of the whole 'Arceus = God' thing, I'm actually rather fond of it, only because it gives another dimension (I meant metaphorical dimension as in perspective, but I guess it's kind of a pun in a way) to work with, and well a lot than can go wrong with Arceus in this kind of setting (mostly in consideration of how much tampering a human can do with these godly powers it's the same with the rest of the creation trio). The consequences can be deadly and I like to explore consequences.

 

[Morningstar]

On my views of the whole 'Arceus = God' thing, I'm actually rather fond of it, only because it gives another dimension (I meant metaphorical dimension as in perspective, but I guess it's kind of a pun in a way) to work with, and well a lot than can go wrong with Arceus in this kind of setting (mostly in consideration of how much tampering a human can do with these godly powers it's the same with the rest of the creation trio). The consequences can be deadly and I like to explore consequences.

In fairness, Arceus is the most likely to resemble a God out of the most of the legendary. (The Tapu fit a different aspect of godhood, mainly being worshiped). But the idea of Legendaries being gods in general does seem ludicrous. But I can also see why they would get this treatment.

1. Uniqueness: Because you can get one per game, people would assume they are unique, (like Gods, but that a different can of worms). Despite the fact that some like Latias are confirmed to be a proper species rather than a single specimen, while others came into existence via theoreticaly repeatable circumstances (Mewtwo and Magearna mainly). As well as there being no confirmation that most Legendary species are actually unique.
2. Abrahamic Influence: As mentioned before in the thread. The idea of Gods being always powerful are rather unfounded. (Though I can't blame the Testaments for this, people seems to be more familiar of the bosses of the Gods then they are of say, the Hesperides or the Nerids). Even in the case of Arceus. While they are the closest one can get to a more Abrahamic god, but still not 100% based on that concept. In fact it is more likely that he would be based on the kind of gods that created the universe or region, but do not rule over it (like say, Izanagi and Izamani for example)
3. Power: You know becuase Gods are better than mortals, more godly 'mons are better than other 'mons. This despite the fact that Some are weaker than other Legendary pokemon (The Tapu and Ultra Beasts > every other Legendary but the following > Mythicals > Box Mascots and Mewtwo > Arceus) ot that there are Pokemon that can match a Mythical Pokemon in power (though rationalized by calling them pseudo-legendaries). Regardless, A set of stats is only a way to tell if a pokemon is Legendary in-game, not in lore.
   
4. All Myths Are True: Or rather the assumption that everything that is said about the Pokemon is true. For which I can point out the lack of arms on Arceus, but I get my point across by asking this. How many times did you look into the backside of a Shedinja and lived to tell the tale? The Pokedex is full of misconceptions and contradictions that makes it unreliable as a source of facts. It should not be surprising that the actual mythologies might not be any different. They are more of the reflections of local folklore and urban legends with the occasional grain of truth then a definitve set of facts about the pokemon.

Now that I got this out of the way, I wonder if the who whole "Ultra Beasts destroyed teh universe" theory was the results of the misconceptions about legenedaries in general.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I also find it boring when everyone in a fantasy world has the same religion. Real religions are open to interpretation, so what if several groups argued over what a legendary could do? Heck, Black and White give/s two conflicting backstories for Kyurem.

Also, did the idea of a legendary pantheon exist before Gen 4? I'm genuinely curious.

Also also, I don't really like Arceus as a concept because its lore basically means it can only appear in the anime once. I honestly thought Gen 4 would be the end of Pokémon when I was younger, because I had no idea where Game Freak could go after making a creation myth for their world.

 

[Ereshkigal]

Gen 2 introduced the pantheon concept, with Lugia and Ho-oh.

And, well, we did learn in Gen 4 that the myths might be wrong...

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Gen 2 introduced the pantheon concept, with Lugia and Ho-oh.

But did people try to tie Mew/two and Celebi into this pantheon?

 

[Ereshkigal]

But did people try to tie Mew/two and Celebi into this pantheon?

Celebi, yes, to a degree. Mewtwo, no, because he was genetically engineered. The idea of adding Mewtwo to the pantheon pretty much came later.

I'm considering having characters in my fanfic discuss Mewtwo as an example of the evolving nature of how humanity views the divine, and why he's not considered divine despite being far more powerful than many other Pokemon who were worshipped in the past.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Celebi, yes, to a degree. Mewtwo, no, because he was genetically engineered. The idea of adding Mewtwo to the pantheon pretty much came later.

I'm considering having characters in my fanfic discuss Mewtwo as an example of the evolving nature of how humanity views the divine, and why he's not considered divine despite being far more powerful than many other Pokemon who were worshipped in the past.

In the "certain My Little Pony crossover" I mentioned earlier, Arceus "welcomed" Mewtwo, Deoxys, and Genesect into his pantheon. Make of that what you will.

I also recall seeing someone on this site say that they didn't like the idea of a "Poké-pantheon", as they called it, either, not long after Sun and Moon were announced, but I can't remember where it was.

Also, earlier on in this thread was a discussion about species diversity; don't use a Lucario because it's the only Fighting-type you like, use it because its aura abilities could lead to interesting plotlines. I once came up with the Six Pokémon Challenge on another website, where you got six Pokémon from a random generator and had to write about them, in order to encourage diversity in fanfictions. Unfortunately, barely anyone who posted on the thread went on to write anything.
The Riolu/Vulpix pair in Explorers of Sky is so common, I get annoyed whenever it see it...

 

[Ereshkigal]

I've always kinda wondered if, maybe, the concept of a Poke pantheon isn't a modern arrival in the Pokeworld. Maybe a result of globalism, sharing ideas, noticing similarity in concepts, etc.? Arceus, as the creator deity, really does represent a very common deity archetype in mythology. It wouldn't be difficult to classify them all as the same being and just assign the other names as being alternate names or, maybe, regional forms.

I find species diversity nice if you're not focused on the competitive side of things. But there's a reason why you're more likely to see a Lucario than an Unown on the competitive side in the games, and to a certain degree I can see it extending to the stories as well. I think it depends a lot on the focus of your story as to how much diversity you want and whether or not high diversity is a good thing. That is something else I think people have to consider when writing stories.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I've always kinda wondered if, maybe, the concept of a Poke pantheon isn't a modern arrival in the Pokeworld. Maybe a result of globalism, sharing ideas, noticing similarity in concepts, etc.? Arceus, as the creator deity, really does represent a very common deity archetype in mythology. It wouldn't be difficult to classify them all as the same being and just assign the other names as being alternate names or, maybe, regional forms.

That reminds me, I think there's a Roman(?) god that was adopted from Persian mythology?

I also remember seeing someone on another thread mention "lower-case legendary Pokémon", such as Spiritomb or Volcarona, which I find interesting. A creature doesn't have to be super mysterious to be involved in mythology.

I find species diversity nice if you're not focused on the competitive side of things. But there's a reason why you're more likely to see a Lucario than an Unown on the competitive side in the games, and to a certain degree I can see it extending to the stories as well. I think it depends a lot on the focus of your story as to how much diversity you want and whether or not high diversity is a good thing. That is something else I think people have to consider when writing stories.

I think another reason why fanfics are biased towards cute/cool tetrapod-based Pokémon is because while official media tries to tell us that no Pokémon is truly evil, and it's all down to the trainer, the truth is that the franchise runs on What Measure Is a Non-Cute?. For example, main characters in the anime, the most well-known Pokémon medium, only own genderless Pokémon if they're gym leaders, and their game counterparts do, because genderless Pokémon typically aren't very relatable to humans. Staryu and Starmie are basically the only organic "normal" genderless Pokémon, and they don't have identifiable faces.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

*revives thread*

Since I get bothered by mistakes easily... a few pages ago, someone said Sharpedo was the only endangered Pokémon. Actually, Lapras and Mudbray are said to be endangered too.

On-topic, a really annoying cliché is Dark-types being misunderstood emos, because Umbreon, Absol, Darkrai, and Zoroark are apparently the only Dark-types.

 

[Beth Pavell]

If I had more time for snark, I might have written a one-shot about a Dark-type wailing about how misunderstood it is even as it violently carves its way through a formerly peaceful village.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

If I had more time for snark, I might have written a one-shot about a Dark-type wailing about how misunderstood it is even as it violently carves its way through a formerly peaceful village.

I'd like to see a story with a darkness-themed character who isn't a recluse or emo, and none of the other characters are bothered by them at all. If you can't find a story containing something you'd like to see, write it yourself!

 

[Beth Pavell]

Reminds me of how in the Silmarillion, the night is a peaceful time until Melkor (Later named Morgoth) taints it with the evil things he has made. I forget whether this happens with the Elves (Since the Sun hadn't been made when they awoke in Arda), but certainly the Men come to associate the night with evil. And, now I think of it, in Wintersmith Summer makes a point of saying "Fear me as much as the Wintersmith". I suppose the elemental forces of the world can be what you make of them

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Reminds me of how in the Silmarillion, the night is a peaceful time until Melkor (Later named Morgoth) taints it with the evil things he has made. I forget whether this happens with the Elves (Since the Sun hadn't been made when they awoke in Arda), but certainly the Men come to associate the night with evil. And, now I think of it, in Wintersmith Summer makes a point of saying "Fear me as much as the Wintersmith". I suppose the elemental forces of the world can be what you make of them

I kind of got annoyed with Dark and Brooding™ characters when I read Wings of Fire, because of course the night-themed race is the mysterious one, and of course the main character who's a member of said race in inherently grumpy.

 

[Ereshkigal]

*revives thread*

Since I get bothered by mistakes easily... a few pages ago, someone said Sharpedo was the only endangered Pokémon. Actually, Lapras and Mudbray are said to be endangered too.

On-topic, a really annoying cliché is Dark-types being misunderstood emos, because Umbreon, Absol, Darkrai, and Zoroark are apparently the only Dark-types.

Lapras isn't endangered. The Sun and Moon pokedex entries for Lapras hint that conservation efforts resulted in the opposite problem: It's now overpopulated.

Umbreon never struck me as an emo Pokemon, and I've always imagined Houndour and Poochyena as being happy creatures.

If I had more time for snark, I might have written a one-shot about a Dark-type wailing about how misunderstood it is even as it violently carves its way through a formerly peaceful village.

Do eet!

I kind of got annoyed with Dark and Brooding™ characters when I read Wings of Fire, because of course the night-themed race is the mysterious one, and of course the main character who's a member of said race in inherently grumpy.

I admit I do dark and brooding characters, but even then I don't do emo goth or severe depression-levels of brooding like many do.

A lot of the media depictions of depression and brooding annoy me greatly. They like to exaggerate to the point the characters become comedy routines, and then fanfic authors emulate what they see.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I'd like to see a story with a darkness-themed character who isn't a recluse or emo, and none of the other characters are bothered by them at all

Slowly kinda working on that, to a degree. I wouldn't say that people are bothered by her, though there is a bit of a running joke where people pick on her for her choice in clothing.

 

[Morningstar]

Lapras isn't endangered. The Sun and Moon pokedex entries for Lapras hint that conservation efforts resulted in the opposite problem: It's now overpopulated.

Umbreon never struck me as an emo Pokemon, and I've always imagined Houndour and Poochyena as being happy creatures.

I think its becuase of their aestethics. Umbrion looks more stoic comapred to the other Eeveelutions, which combined with the jet black fur lends itself to emo depictions.

The Houndoom line is either Hellhound or Hell's Angels influenced, as we all know how that tends to attract edgy folk. Even without those the Red and Black color scheme (shared by two other pokemon lines, Zoroa and Litten which also has Houndoom's typing in later evolutions. as well as Shadow the original Edgehog) would still be a magnet for these kind of depictions.

I;m not sure why though. Maybe it came from the 90s (Cloud Strife, the Dark Age of Comics, and I'm pretty sure Shadow's debut in Sonic Adventure Two was in development), maybe it was a case of romanticizing dark characters, maybe it came with a wave of cynicism that caused people to turn away form more peppy or traditionally heroic characters.

BTW How common are "World Tour" fics? (as in fics where the protagonists travels the regions)

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I'm currently entertaining the idea of a one shot about a Poochyena who protects his homeland on a regular basis.

 

[AetherX]

BTW How common are "World Tour" fics? (as in fics where the protagonists travels the regions)

I'm assuming you're referring to journey fics where they do Kanto, then Johto, then Hoenn and so on (or in whatever order you want). I think they're a pretty common idea, but they often don't work out so much in execution. The ones I've seen fall into one of two categories: either the writer goes so fast because there's so much content to cover that they forget to actually tell a good story, or they give up halfway through the first region.

 

[Beth Pavell]

The average journey fic is in itself a huge undertaking - I've been writing The Long Walk since 2013 and I'm roughly a third of the way through. Aether's been at Unpredictable since 2010. I wouldn't dare take on a story like that spanning multiple regions. Even if time weren't a consideration, how do you, realistically, keep a story going that long?

I think I'd want to consider first what the point is of going round the regions. If it's mostly to showcase the regions and have fun doing setting, it seems to me that an anthology of short stories would be a better way to approach that