DISCUSSION: But What If I Don't Wanna Train or Coordinate?

[LightningTopaz]

With so many possibilities for a Pokemon adventure out there, there's bound to be some that don't want to train or coordinate. Have you ever written a character that went on a Pokemon adventure for a different reason besides winning badges or ribbons? What did they ultimately end up doing?

 

[Beth Pavell]

If I ever, in a moment of probable madness, decided to write another journey fic, I'd probably do something with the idea of a Pokémon Watcher. It's a perfectly good excuse to get a character travelling and involved with pokémon, and there's more than enough real-world inspiration to draw on

 

[Greninjaman]

Could also be someone who is looking for a long lost sibling or family member. Or even taking down a crime organization, though I guess you would need to train up Pokemon for that.

 

[Ambyssin]

As a casual sports fan, it might be fun to write a trainer who's looking to pursue one of the sporting events that Pokémon and their trainers do in tandem... like Baccer or Pokébase.

 

[LightningTopaz]

A long time ago, I actually came up with an OC that was a songwriter-storyteller, who went around telling stories to the Gym Leaders. Looking back, this was the prototype for Brock and the Lore Stage/Fantasy Stage in my anime remix series.

I would love to revisit the idea of a storyteller's competition, especially now that soon to be three generations have come out since the original story (my original adventure only went up to Unova)

 

[diamondpearl876]

I made a list of possible League/Pokémon-related jobs a while ago. Most can fit for reasons to travel somehow. I haven't used any myself yet. What I have used is an occupational therapist who has means to travel and assist clients when needed, and characters who want to travel and find information about long lost family members. An upcoming antagonist is also a League strategy consultant for Johto's gym leaders/Elite 4/champion.

• battle referees
• route inspectors. can involve documenting what Pokémon species are endangered or at risk of becoming endangered/extinct.
  
• Pokémon Center inspectors
• gym inspectors
• travel agent, offering advice on transportation/entertainment/lodging to trainers
• historian (similar to BP's watcher idea, with an emphasis on recording and documenting) or archaeologist/paleontologist (especially for fossil Pokémon)
  
• tournament manager
• inventory clerk for Pokémarts/gyms/Pokémon Centers
  
• city/route tour guide
• Pokémon obedience class instructors
• cartographers to map out regions and gym circuitrecommendations
• tournament cheerleaders
• strategy consultants/advisors (watches battles and offers advice/training strategies afterward)
• auctioneer for shiny pokemon/rare pokemon/battle strategy plans/gym leader or champion belongings
• gym leader’s personal attendant (cleans the gym, manages hiring/firing of gym trainers, manages financials, buys food for and takes care of their Pokémon, etc., especially when gym leaders need to travel for a meeting or emergency)
• trainer/pokémon protective services in cases of abuse/neglect
  
• meteorologists to warn traveling trainers of upcoming dangerous or unfavorable weather. I'd personally add a spin on how Pokémon moves can affect the atmosphere and lead to sudden, drastic changes in weather.
  
• importer/exporter of Pokémon and Pokémon Center/Pokémart goods from other regions
  
• people who offer to house visiting foreigners/trainers for a period of a few months
• berry gardener/farmer
• people who create/perform historical Pokémon battle re-enactments
• gym puzzle architect/renovators
• people who decide attack names for league/tournament purposes

 

[lucarioknight56]

I'd almost go with someone as a nature hiker, if I was to write a journey fic. I enjoy going into detail about scenery, and if I was to have a character who traverses various environments and wants to see how they tick ,with their Pokemon being specifically trained to both protect him and help him travel, that would be fun. Especially since said character would likely not have much human interaction save for when he takes a rest stop, so it allows for greater focus on the environment--all of which I like.

 

[Glitchipedia]

I have one character who owns a Porygon-Z for no other initial reason than because she's a computer geek. The rest of her Pokémon are a holdover from her time at a Pokémon specialty college, where she studied technology (like Poké Balls and such) but had to participate in training and coordination classes for full credit. She ends up in a software development job at Silph Company where, among other things, she works on expanding the potential applications for the Porygon technology.

 

[CrystaI]

How about this:
A boy, occupationally he is a trainer, but he has no reason to be a trainer. Indeed he left his home town, but to say that is he is on some kind of "journey", "escape" may be a better word. Escaping from the many people who expected him to become a renowned trainer, escaping from the athletic trainer society, escaping from the fact that he possess supreme talent matchable to the champion. This is a story about a trainer who doesn't want to be a trainer.

 

[Drakon]

Field scientist sounds like a good occupation for a journey fic that doesn't involve pokémon training. It's also a good seed for an adventure fic as they may have to travel to areas where there are dangerous pokémon, hostile locals, rough weather and possibly even heavy pollution.

 

[Juliko]

I haven't gotten around to it just yet, but in a future MarJour sequel I plan to write, I plan to have two characters who, while they're still trainers, become a fashion designer and a Pokemon fossil researcher. The former knows what she wants to do from the beginning, and the latter only develops her new dream after experiencing what it's like to work with prehistoric Pokemon first hand during her journey.

 

[Deleted member 72389]

They can become a Superhero.

To answer seriously though, they can become a researcher or Pokemon breeder or maybe they can do some job totally unrelated to Pokemon.
Technically they can also do Showcases, but I think those would be too similar to Contests.

There are also other Pokemon related jobs like Pokemon Watcher, Pokemon Photographer etc. Or they can become a Pokemon news reporter who covers only Pokemon related news.

There are also the classic jobs of Joys and Jennys.

Or someone who just wants to write a book on Pokemon and is hence travelling all over the world learning about different Pokemon.
The possibilities are endless.

 

[jasonwolf]

about 90% of my characters are rangers though they're based on the ones you see in the main games. I like writing stories around these professional trainers who help make the world safe for all those ten-year-olds without parental supervision.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

You don't even necessarily have to have a character go on a 'pokémon adventure', honestly. Take any story about any kind of narrative and Just Add Pokémon (not like, in the background. In a way that actually matters and affects how things work and what possibilities exist for characters.) to make it a pokémon story. There's so much untapped wealth of fanfic, even after a couple decades and change, that it astonishes me!

 

[Beth Pavell]

Part of the problem there is that authors often get accused of writing original fiction with a Pokémon veneer if they don't follow the usual plots. I got this response on Kanto: There and Back Again, not on these forums, because the introductions don't obsess over pokémon

 

[Nitro Indigo]

There's so much untapped wealth of fanfic

Please can you give me some examples? I'm interested.

Though it did remind me of a comment on a certain crossover that said there was so much more potential for its 'verse than the forbidden romance angle most stories go for (which is my least favourite part). I sometimes tap into that potential, currently in the form of an anthology of oneshots. If something changes the whole world, think about how it would affect EVERYONE.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Please can you give me some examples? I'm interested.

1. Literally any classic narrative, but pokémon exist and the human characters have these intelligent, powerful, mysterious companion animals. How would our stories and lives be different with pokémon, assuming we aren't necessarily also obsessed with combat sports? Let's write and read about those non-trainer characters, for once. Specifically, a story about a woman in the police service who gets promoted to obscurity by a malicious chief commissioner but nevertheless uncovers a criminal conspiracy in her new rural precinct with the help of her pokémon partner.
2. Just some really lovely and cute slice of life stuff about living alongside pokémon. Never mind plot, I just want cute shit about pokémon in a domestic setting. Specifically, a story about a pastry chef with a small shop whose pokémon help her with the job, and they get into occasional misadventures and tame town drama from time to time. Low stakes. Heartwarming.
3. Historical pokémon world: how did pokémon and humans interact before the advent of capture devices? Were they more dangerous, more feared? Or more respected, harder to earn the trust of? Specifically, the story of a farm boy in the feudal era of his country who's the only human bold and curious enough to befriend the local pack of mightyena who keep harassing the village's livestock, and how once he does, they protect him from other humans who would harm him.

That's enough for this morning. You get the idea!

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Historical pokémon world: how did pokémon and humans interact before the advent of capture devices? Were they more dangerous, more feared?

One of my first thoughts upon playing Monster Hunter Stories was: I wonder if this is what the Pokémon world was like in medieval times?

Spoiler: For context...

Monster Hunter Stories is Capcom's attempt to get a slice of the Pokémon/Yo-Kai Watch pie. In it, people called Riders tame monsters and live in secluded communities. There's a part where you go to a city in part of the world dominated by Hunters, and everyone is scared of your monster.

 

[Glitchipedia]

According to Sinnoh mythology, humans and Pokémon lived in harmony even in ancient times. It was from this harmony that the occurrence of random encounters in the wild originated—Pokémon pledged to be ready to aid humans at a moment's notice. There came a time, however, when a young hunter threatened that harmony by slaughtering Pokémon just for fun. He stopped only when warned that his actions could have dire consequences for the entire human race, as Pokémon would exact vengeance in full.

It wouldn't be hard to expand on myths and legends of this kind.

 

[Juliko]

1. Just some really lovely and cute slice of life stuff about living alongside pokémon. Never mind plot, I just want cute shit about pokémon in a domestic setting. Specifically, a story about a pastry chef with a small shop whose pokémon help her with the job, and they get into occasional misadventures and tame town drama from time to time. Low stakes. Heartwarming.

I'd totally write a story like this if I had the inspiration for it.