POPULAR: Cliches in Pokémon Fanfiction

[Lugion]

To MegaLugion: I was talking more of a literal understanding of the pokemon, as in they can actually translate the pokemon's literal vocalizations verbatim. Emotions and body language I can believe much more, and with the introduction of aura in the pokemon canon I can see it happening, but not literally understanding a pokemon's speech. Unless they pull a meowth and can speak the human languages.

Oh, yes, I totally understand you. I was basically trying to illustrate one particular way it could work. Or at least seemed to.

 

[Thorne_Darkrose]

I like the empathic take on it actually, I mean the whole Aura thing makes sense too. I've read a ton of fics though where the main character just for no reason can understand what pokemon are saying through their vocalizations, and I just got irritated with it because theres not even a reason for it. They just sort of know how, and that sort of no explanation twist just gets on my nerves lol. There are ways I think understanding pokemon can be done and make sense, like reading body language, facial expressions, and even mind to mind contact when it comes to Psychic type pokemon. Just not having a reason at all for understanding pokemon speech just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[kintsugi]

Guys, they understand their pokemon because it demonstrates how awesome of a trainer they're meant to be because destiny!

I think this was mentioned earlier, but I love how ten year-olds go out camping by themselves without so much as a knife or a bar of soap and still arrive at each town looking fah-bu-laassssss and ready to battle.

 

[matt0044]

I've read a ton of fics though where the main character just for no reason can understand what pokemon are saying through their vocalizations, and I just got irritated with it because theres not even a reason for it. They just sort of know how, and that sort of no explanation twist just gets on my nerves lol.

With my BW fic, I actually give this trait to my main character BUT I make into a twist which is revealed later on and since it's based on the Black & White games, I'm sure that you'll neeeeeever see it coming. /sarcasm.

It's not there to make her out to be someone overtly awesome but I guarantee that it's has a purpose.

 

[Drakon]

One other cliche I find moronic is that that when the Human characters fight, they fight clean (no groin shots, spitting into the person's face, eye shots, etc.)

 

[CrystaI]

One other cliche I find moronic is that that when the Human characters fight, they fight clean (no groin shots, spitting into the person's face, eye shots, etc.)

Pokemon battle, especially the battle between trainers is considered to be a kind of sport in the PokeWorld. Where is the sporting spirit if you fight dirtily? BTW, if a trainer does fight dirtily, very obviously he/she will have a great chance of becoming infamous (by real world rumour logic). I don't think a normal sportsman(woman) will risk his/her reputation just for a victory at one time... Unless you as the fic author wanted to do this.

Edit: But dirty fighting can made an exception to the villains, especially the ones like Team Rocket. But not for the hypocrite like Team Plasma.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

One other cliche I find moronic is that that when the Human characters fight, they fight clean (no groin shots, spitting into the person's face, eye shots, etc.)

Not enough violence for you? That in itself can be a cliche if there's way too much and unnecessary violence in a fic if it doesn't contribute to the story.

 

[Red]

There are no cliches, only poorly attempted archetypes. Pokemon has iconic archetypes, and I feel if fans wish to incorporate those into their fan fiction then more power to them. The catch, hehe, is properly taking advantage of those archetypes and twisting them in new, more creative avenues. We're all writing Pokefiction because of our love of this world and its vast characters and stories, so adapting and using those same defined avenues doesn't make you an inherently lesser writer, or a cliche ridden filth. It's taking the freedom and opportunity of fan fiction, and then hiding behind those archetypes where they become cliche and tired because you're too afraid to create your own twist on the formula and be rejected. It's all about diving into those freedoms.

Now, are there archetypes I tire of? Most definitely; The Pocket Monsters speaking, for instance, is a tired example of writers who fail to capitalize on the unique relationship and bond between trainer and monsters, that of one that transcends language barriers.

 

[Almonds]

I like the empathic take on it actually, I mean the whole Aura thing makes sense too. I've read a ton of fics though where the main character just for no reason can understand what pokemon are saying through their vocalizations, and I just got irritated with it because theres not even a reason for it. They just sort of know how, and that sort of no explanation twist just gets on my nerves lol. There are ways I think understanding pokemon can be done and make sense, like reading body language, facial expressions, and even mind to mind contact when it comes to Psychic type pokemon. Just not having a reason at all for understanding pokemon speech just doesn't make sense to me.

It seems everyone loves being N.

Another cliche that annoys me a bit is that if the main character is a young boy, then the traveling partner is always a girl - precisely a Misty clone.

 

[Drakon]

One other cliche I find moronic is that that when the Human characters fight, they fight clean (no groin shots, spitting into the person's face, eye shots, etc.)

Pokemon battle, especially the battle between trainers is considered to be a kind of sport in the PokeWorld. Where is the sporting spirit if you fight dirtily? BTW, if a trainer does fight dirtily, very obviously he/she will have a great chance of becoming infamous (by real world rumour logic). I don't think a normal sportsman(woman) will risk his/her reputation just for a victory at one time... Unless you as the fic author wanted to do this.

Edit: But dirty fighting can made an exception to the villains, especially the ones like Team Rocket. But not for the hypocrite like Team Plasma.

One other cliche I find moronic is that that when the Human characters fight, they fight clean (no groin shots, spitting into the person's face, eye shots, etc.)

Not enough violence for you? That in itself can be a cliche if there's way too much and unnecessary violence in a fic if it doesn't contribute to the story.

This isn't referring to sporting battles. This is referring to street fights like what the Yas and Kas gyms did in the Kanto episode. Hell, they even called it a street fight.

And yes, many of my stories do feature a lot of violence in them but honestly, I'm writing war stories.

And fighting dirty is something that pretty much all my characters do -- be they hero or be they villain.

 

[Sweet Veil]

It annoys me to a heavy degree that everyone decides to have their MC have a popular/rare Pokemon like Haxorus, Lucario, Garchomp, Eevee, just because. And of course they evolve quickly and easily, which makes little sense, starters are likely given to MCs because they're easy to control and pose little threat to a new trainer. The fact some trainers just are given the likes of Garchomp makes little to no sense considering a massive, large Dragon Shark would be hard to control without prior experience or use correctly and most likely wouldn't be obedient to someone so green.

 

[Misty Calls Masquerain]

Losing at a gym, training, and winning in the rematch.

 

[matt0044]

Losing at a gym, training, and winning in the rematch.

Isn't that how it'd naturally go? Plus, if said training is pretty significant to the character's development as a trainer and person, then I'd like it.

 

[Misty Calls Masquerain]

Yeah but it's still overdone.

-Ash is betrayed by friends, runs away, comes back more powerful than ever!

 

[Sweet Veil]

Losing at a gym, training, and winning in the rematch.

I have never come across that in any fic. ever, I literally haven't. I don't see anything wrong with it, if it's a badge-collecting fic. badges and gyms are going to be an integral part of the character's improvement since they're like benchmark test that showcase how far the trainer and their Pokemon have come.

Yeah but it's still overdone.

-Ash is betrayed by friends, runs away, comes back more powerful than ever!

I think most Ash fics/Ash carbon fics are terrible and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

 

[Misty Calls Masquerain]

I like some of the Ash fics I read, just not the Smart/Powerful/*Badass* Ash stories.

 

[SquishyFace]

This is probably just a cliche that only I use, but some other people probably do it to. In all of my PMD fanfictions, the two main characters are always a female Zoroark and a male Lucario who seem like obvious love interests at first and they grow to just be a badass tag-team (in some of my stories they're blood-related, so the romance part isn't even there). I want to use other Pokemon sometimes...

... but I can't...

 

[umbreon1824]

I have seen a few things that were written as clichés but really aren't.

1) Some people are saying its odd to just 'get a pokemon'. No special deed required. But really, just because its used, dosent mean its bad. You make it seem like its dumb that nothing has to be done to get a pokemon, but lets look back to the show. Ash got a pokemon with out any special task required. So did Dawn, as did Serena and May. I don't think its really cliché, its just what naturally happens.

2) Eevee. I have read one story with a captured Eevee. Only one. I tend to wonder if people think its cliché because everyone says it is. But honestly, I rarely read a story with Eevee. And I don't think anything is wrong with using/catching an Eevee.

Okay, sorry about my rant.
I have a cliché. I see in almost every story that the MC starts their journey late, always when their like 15. You know why they have 'suddenly decided' to go on a journey? Their parents force them to. Yes, all the time. A kid 'hates' pokemon and their forced to go on a journey. The first pokemon they receive, they are in love with and all hatred is gone, just like that.

 

[Elric von Bek]

Actually Morty from Ecruteak Gym is a Ghost Trainer and he was not only courteous, but was pretty chill actually, and as for the dirty fighting, I think he actually fought pretty fairly.

I agree.

Fantina and Shauntal were also pretty nice. Karen is a bit sardonic, but she's not the bitch that the manga portrays her as.

Some of the "normal" Gym Leaders were kind of nasty too. Clair, a Dragon-type user, was not that nice. Not to mention Whitney, a Normal-type user, who cries when you beat her.

As for other cliches:

42. All the bishounen characters are portrayed as gay.
43. The main character has abusive guardians - often ripped off of something like Cinderella or Harry Potter.

Yeah, I mostly meant Grimsley and Agatha were the only two that showed any signs of actually being difficult to get along with/fight while everyone else was no worse than most other trainers. Probably should have been a bit clearer there.

But moving forward: Don't forget that lots of trainers run away because their caretakers forbid them from FOLLOWING THEIR DREAMS~

There's nothing inherently wrong with this, so long as the writer has the caretaker give a plausible explanation. It's sort of like the kid who wants to go to art school, only to have his/her parents encourage the kid to pursue an education that offers more opportunities.

Ash's Charizard was rebellious for the longest. Would it be a cliché if a young trainer let lose a Charizard during a fit of anger toward an individual, only to have that Charizard seriously injure said individual? It would be used as a humbling experience for the young trainer, perhaps giving the trainer an ingrained fear of fire Pokémon. I know Ash's Charizard didn't cause much damage, and was comic relief, but the precedent is there for a disobedient Charizard....

 

[ShadowDRGN]

This is probably just a cliche that only I use, but some other people probably do it to. In all of my PMD fanfictions, the two main characters are always a female Zoroark and a male Lucario who seem like obvious love interests at first and they grow to just be a badass tag-team (in some of my stories they're blood-related, so the romance part isn't even there). I want to use other Pokemon sometimes...

... but I can't...

In my PMD Fic (Which is probably turning out to the the Duke Nukem Forever of fanfics considering how many times I've had to scrap it due to being extremely lacking in confidence.), a Riolu is the protagonist and has a love interest with another of it's kind, and a Zoroark is the antagonist. In addition, about 2 other Riolu (One related, one not) are present in the story and so is the female Riolu's father, a Lucario. It's definitely a bit of overuse, but due to each character's respective backgrounds, it's impossible to change (Not to mention that this was conceived way before Gen V, when Lucario wasn't as contested as it is now.)