DISCUSSION: Journey Fic Discussion

[Beth Pavell]

The journey, at least, would provide plenty of opportunities for finding different species of pokémon, and probably running into plenty of other trainers to practice against. When it comes to building teams and skills, both are going to be useful to encounter on a regular basis.

That being said, I think there's scope for different methods of doing the travelling itself. I really don't see how the pokémon world as it is depicted in the canon media could function without well-developed infrastructure for travelling. There's scope for, for example, trainers using the train or something to city-hop, making excursions into the countryside in search of particular species.

 

[diamondpearl876]

On the topic of trainer maturity, I was shown an article a while ago explaining the reasoning behind children traveling alone in Japan, whether to school or faraway places, without phones to call in case of an emergency. Basically, children in Japan learn from a young age that there's definitely someone around who will be willing to help you if you need it, no matter where you are, and adults are always on the lookout for the safety of children, even children they have absolutely no connection to. This is definitely not a concept explored much over here in the States, so I found it interesting for anyone else who wants to check it out.

 

[AceTrainer14]

That being said, I think there's scope for different methods of doing the travelling itself. I really don't see how the pokémon world as it is depicted in the canon media could function without well-developed infrastructure for travelling. There's scope for, for example, trainers using the train or something to city-hop, making excursions into the countryside in search of particular species.

One thing I love about Unova is that it actively shows that there are cars and bridges and all these things that a country would actually need to survive. I think one reason why previous games didn't really depict that is that it probably takes a lot to animate cars racing by in the background in that way, but it was a nice touch that showed the bigger world at hand. I'm thinking of a Unova-set one shot at the moment that would involve public transport significantly.

@diamondpearl876: Cool story! That actually explains quite a lot. In my world, there is essentially an 'agreement' between humans and Pokemon that they can travel without Pokemon attacking them unless humans enter their territory (ie long grass), but really this makes more sense

 

[Misfit Angel]

This is definitely not a concept explored much over here in the States, so I found it interesting for anyone else who wants to check it out.

Yep, every adult here in the US has been an insatiable pedophile since the 1980s and children should not be left unattended for more than five minutes.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Yep, every adult here in the US has been an insatiable pedophile since the 1980s and children should not be left unattended for more than five minutes.

You know, this made me realise just how practically non-existent this type of topic is in Pokemon fics. I personally have never seen a story involving a child being kidnapped or anything by a non-team member villain. Not that anyone would really want to, but it does show an avenue for antagonist that is largely untapped.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Dark fics tend to focus too much on what I suppose you could call the dystopian genre, for my liking. I don't think I've seen much in the way of stories that look at a dark side to the pokémon world without going down the "crapsack world" route, where everything is awful. If I ever did write that "Law and Order: Saffron City" (Apologies for couching this in terms of me and my ideas, but it's the best way to illustrate my point), I'd focus on the grey areas where things could go either way

 

[AceTrainer14]

As I said in the cliches thread the other day, I think there can be too much of a focus on labels when it comes to Pokemon fiction. I think that a journey fic can touch on some of these darker elements - a conspiracy or crime would make for an interesting motivation to go on a journey/enter into a tournament. It would not be something that hasn't been touched by multiple movies in the past. And with this current example, the idea of perverts out there in the Pokemon world, if handled delicately and with care, could make for a very interesting piece of work.

 

[diamondpearl876]

Agreed. A typical journey or slice-of-life fic can have dark elements to it without veering into dark fic category, since we do use that label here for awards. I view it as less dark and more realistic. You can twist literally any topic into something sad or awful in some way, even the most mundane of topics.

 

[CrystaI]

To be fair, this adjective of "dark" is also quite a misused label for anything less lighthearted more serious more hyperrealistic.
Sure, reality is not always sunshine and rainbow, but that doesn't mean it is then on the extreme end of being a dystopia.
Why can't there be a middle ground between being a dreamful utopia and being catastrophic dystopia, where that is what we called "Reality"?

 

[AceTrainer14]

Why can't there be a middle ground between being a dreamful utopia and being catastrophic dystopia, where that is what we called "Reality"?

I think you'll find that's what slice of life fics are, plus generally most journey fics tend to highlight highs and lows within the context of the Pokemon world.

 

[Ghostsoul]

To be fair, this adjective of "dark" is also quite a misused label for anything less lighthearted more serious more hyperrealistic.
Sure, reality is not always sunshine and rainbow, but that doesn't mean it is then on the extreme end of being a dystopia.
Why can't there be a middle ground between being a dreamful utopia and being catastrophic dystopia, where that is what we called "Reality"?

Generally, Journey Fics which aim to be reminiscent of Pokemon's style in anyway, whether is be the anime, or the games (normally it's the anime) would be rather optimistic or utopian, since Pokemon tends to be light-hearted in general, with the protagonist generally being able to handle what they are faced with.

 

[Champion Bayleef]

I can enjoy a good journey fic, but I like it when it has something unorthodox, like:

- Being set in the anime universe, instead of the games.

- Has an existing character that isn't a game/anime main character, like a Gym Leader or Elite Four member. It could shed some light on them when they haven't been fully fleshed out in the games and/or anime. For example, I really like this fanfic about Lance I read years ago: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4216269/1/The-Story-of-a-Legend

- Set in a different time, whether it's more than 100-200 years ago or just 5-10 years ago or even in the future, making some Gym Leaders younger or older or having some other Gym Leaders when a certain Gym Leader would be too young or old to be a Gym Leader. Think about a young Pryce, an old Sabrina, or Flannery's grandfather still being in charge.

- Having a group of characters, instead of just one, like in the anime. Maybe even two characters who travel as a couple, if written well.

 

[CrystaI]

Can those points really be counted as "unorthodox"? From what I see in FF.net, the amount of animeverse journey fic is no less than gameverse journey fic. The stories of side characters instead of main characters are...... unfortunately not the most popular, yet the amount is significant, though most of the time it is not long story. The most popular side characters to be used as protagonist in Pokemon fanfic are... Champions. Unfortunately not Gym Leader nor E4 (Though of course excluding Misty and Brock and Iris and Cilan and Clement despite they are technically Gym Leaders). Having a group of at least 3 characters is just so common done to death in a lot of journey fics written by newbie writers, where this had just become a structural cliche should be avoid at all cost if it is not needed.

I guess the only thing that can really counted as "unorthodox" is set in a different time, especially not just a few years back-and-forth from the main series canon, but I mean in an era that is not contemporary to nowadays modern world. Such as 100 years ago where Burnt Tower is still intact not yet destroyed by some fire/war, or further into thousands of years ago to the point of pokeball is not even developed yet.

 

[Champion Bayleef]

Sorry, when I wrote that post, and when I thought about a run-of-the-mill journey fic, I thought about a game protagonist (or even worse, a glorified self-insertion of the author) going through a region exactly like in the games, usually on their own.

But you're right, unorthodox was not the right word, since some of these things aren't that rare.

 

[Greninjaman]

What about Traveling Companions? If you add those to your story, then you would have to focus on their goals in addition to the main character's goal. If you didn't have traveling companions, then you would only have one person to worry about.

 

[diamondpearl876]

What about Traveling Companions? If you add those to your story, then you would have to focus on their goals in addition to the main character's goal. If you didn't have traveling companions, then you would only have one person to worry about.

I've seen fics with no traveling companions (and no sentient Pokémon to worry about, either) work just fine. Those tend to be really introspective pieces, though, and they still meet people along the way - just not long enough to deem them as a main character where you have to worry about their goals and stuff, too. That said, adding traveling companions easily can offer more diversity to your character cast and, in some cases, make the journey more challenging for the main character if they don't get along or have differing beliefs, etc.

 

[Greninjaman]

I've seen fics with no traveling companions (and no sentient Pokémon to worry about, either) work just fine. Those tend to be really introspective pieces, though, and they still meet people along the way - just not long enough to deem them as a main character where you have to worry about their goals and stuff, too. That said, adding traveling companions easily can offer more diversity to your character cast and, in some cases, make the journey more challenging for the main character if they don't get along or have differing beliefs, etc.

Yeah that is true. Traveling Companions certainly offer diversity, but it also means you have their goal(s) and Pokemon to worry about.

When it comes to goals, you could always just have the companion(s) have a goal that doesn't involve Pokemon, like finding a long lost sibling/family member. With that kind of goal, you don't need to worry about a team, especially when you are traveling with someone who's goal is taking on the (insert name of region) League.

 

[diamondpearl876]

Yeah that is true. Traveling Companions certainly offer diversity, but it also means you have their goal(s) and Pokemon to worry about.

When it comes to goals, you could always just have the companion(s) have a goal that doesn't involve Pokemon, like finding a long lost sibling/family member. With that kind of goal, you don't need to worry about a team, especially when you are traveling with someone who's goal is taking on the (insert name of region) League.

Yeah, finding a long lost sibling is a goal I have for two characters in a fic right now, actually, and although they'll still have Pokémon, the entire story is told from multiple Pokémon POVs, and I wanted more humans in the mix, so that was one way to go about it. Buttttttt even then, the actual task of finding a long lost sibling has become so complex that I think sticking to Pokémon POVs might've been easier at this point. Oh, well. I like a challenge or two.

 

[Greninjaman]

Yeah, finding a long lost sibling is a goal I have for two characters in a fic right now, actually, and although they'll still have Pokémon, the entire story is told from multiple Pokémon POVs, and I wanted more humans in the mix, so that was one way to go about it. Buttttttt even then, the actual task of finding a long lost sibling has become so complex that I think sticking to Pokémon POVs might've been easier at this point. Oh, well. I like a challenge or two.

It’s the same with contests. Do you really need a full team for that? The games have you entering one Pokemon. The only time you need a full team is when you are doing something that involves Pokémon battling.

 

[diamondpearl876]

It’s the same with contests. Do you really need a full team for that? The games have you entering one Pokemon. The only time you need a full team is when you are doing something that involves Pokémon battling.

Sometimes not even with battling. Trainers could focus more on just 3-4 teammates because it's more "manageable," but yeah, I'm sure Leagues/tournaments/the like might require a full team.