POPULAR: Cliches in Pokémon Fanfiction

[Nitro Indigo]

It'll be part of my Mon Nexus Multiverse, and it's inspired by The League of Sweetie Belles, a My Little Pony fanfic about a bunch of alternate versions of the same character who travel to various fanfic universes. The next Mon Nexus thing I'm planning to write is a double battle between Dr. Sasaya from Temtem and Professor Kukui, but I could slip a reference into the League of Reds in there somewhere.

Speaking of SpaceBattles, most of the Pokémon fanfic thread consists of arguing about how to use Ash in fanfics.

 

[BackSet]

I was taking a stroll through Fanfiction.Net, looking for fics that looked interesting and preferably weren't salt fics and it seems the preferred ship there these days is AshxSerena.

 

[Daren]

I was taking a stroll through Fanfiction.Net, looking for fics that looked interesting and preferably weren't salt fics and it seems the preferred ship there these days is AshxSerena.

Yeah, that seems to have replaced Ash and Misty as the main anime ship. Being (one sided) canon in a franchise without many romances will do that.

 

[BackSet]

Still really not sure where they were supposed to be going with that. Obviously they couldn't get together because before Journeys the Pokemon anime tended to avoid continuity references beyond Kanto nostalgia and that one time they brought Dawn and Cynthia back in Unova but also they kissed at the end of the Kalos arc (look, it's the page image for Kissing Discretion Shot so I'm gonna assume they kissed until proven otherwise) which I'm very confused as to why that happened.

 

[Cresselia92]

I’d say that the fact that Serena’s infatuation for Ash is blatant and even referenced in merchandise definitely adds fuel to that fire. Also, there was an info somewhere from an interview that says that Ash and Serena are destined to go together, but alas status quo is the main obstacle.

But hey! This is where fanfic writers/shippers will do the job that the anime staff can’t do!

 

[Dorothy]

Yeah, that seems to have replaced Ash and Misty as the main anime ship. Being (one sided) canon in a franchise without many romances will do that.

That, and the aging out of a lot of older fans who kept the AAML torch lit. I'd say my generation of fans is the last one for whom PokeShipping was a Big Deal.

 

[BackSet]

Pokemon is the worst because it moves so fast it makes people who aren't old feel old and start talking about "my generation" and "back in the day."

 

[Daren]

Also, there was an info somewhere from an interview that says that Ash and Serena are destined to go together, but alas status quo is the main obstacle.

Although it does need to be noted that Yajima isn't the director anymore and a later one might decide to state he ends up with someone else (or the director of the final season could theoretically decide who he marries or even that he never does).
That's one big caveat of a series where the major decision makers can change over time; something set up or intended from earlier can get retconned or ignored much easily than something like a novel or a more creator driven show.
The G/S ball vanishing, for instance, or how uneven Ash's growth as a character is.

That, and the aging out of a lot of older fans who kept the AAML torch lit. I'd say my generation of fans is the last one for whom PokeShipping was a Big Deal.

Yeah, that's probably a major part of it, since the ships whose characters remain prominent were able to stay alive (though that's mostly Rocketshipping these days).

 

[BackSet]

final season

You're hilarious.

 

[Vengeful Ghost]

Whenever a fic treats legendaries as gods, we are always forced to accept it at face value. There’s no mystery to the whole religious aspect which makes it a lot less interesting. These legendaries gather in a council in the Hall of Origin and say they’re gods. We are just supposed to accept that. We’re also supposed to accept that everyone prays to the same god by using Arceus in a find and replace situation. There is no religious diversity in these worlds. None.

 

[BackSet]

Yes, that would be how Suspension of Disbelief works.

I mean, I get your point but the way you wrote it kind of ignores the fundamental aspect of fiction that you usually are supposed to accept the world the author has created (or stolen in the case of fanfiction). You can not like it or think it's dumb or cliche (which it is) but you still have to accept it.

 

[Beth Pavell]

@BackSet We can do without the snide answers.

 

[Sushi The Enby]

Anyway, more clichès:

When, in a Pokepasta, the characters know your name despite there being no way that they could.

 

[Serverus Snope]

Anyway, more clichès:

When, in a Pokepasta, the characters know your name despite there being no way that they could.

It's a common way to unsettle the viewer in general. A little trope called The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You. Goes all the way back to The Great Train Robbery from 1903.

...I dunno. Maybe they read your computer files or something. It kind of has to be explained in a way that makes sense.

 

[Greninjaman]

Anyway, more clichès:

When, in a Pokepasta, the characters know your name despite there being no way that they could.

Perhaps they have heard of you, they just opt not to tell how?

 

[Sushi The Enby]

It's a common way to unsettle the viewer in general. A little trope called The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You. Goes all the way back to The Great Train Robbery from 1903.

...I dunno. Maybe they read your computer files or something. It kind of has to be explained in a way that makes sense.

It should, but it never is. And most of the time the Pokepastas are in an actual console, so...

 

[Serverus Snope]

I remember the discourse about how certain species of Pokemon are "overused" and "if your MC has this, they're a bad character."

Is there an opposite version of that? Have people ever read a Pokemon fanfic and lost interest because the species in it were unfamiliar to them? In other words, "Where's the Eevee? What the hell is a Roggenrola?"

 

[Sushi The Enby]

I've done that one time, I think the main character had a Tranquill. I straight up forgot that Pokemon existed before reading it and thought it was some sort of weird Fakemon.

I remember the discourse about how certain species of Pokemon are "overused" and "if your MC has this, they're a bad character."

Is there an opposite version of that? Have people ever read a Pokemon fanfic and lost interest because the species in it were unfamiliar to them? In other words, "Where's the Eevee? What the hell is a Roggenrola?"

 

[Nitro Indigo]

The arguing has subsided now, but I've noticed that a lot of Pokémon fanfic ideas on SpaceBattles still have to include Ash, even when he's not the protagonist. Maybe these stick out to me more because I'm not interested in the anime.

 

[RK9]

The arguing has subsided now, but I've noticed that a lot of Pokémon fanfic ideas on SpaceBattles still have to include Ash, even when he's not the protagonist. Maybe these stick out to me more because I'm not interested in the anime.

Probably because he's a well-known and popular name. Using those type of characters is an 'easy trick' for people to draw attention to their fic and 'compensate' for their flaws in writing. (Not for all of them though, but it can be a factor.)