POPULAR: Cliches in Pokémon Fanfiction

[namohysip]

the Pokemon will talk for some reason.

While I'm not a fan of Nuzlocke in general, I do at least have a good theory for why this is the case. The point of a Nuzlocke is to have you really care for your Pokemon, hence why it's often a requirement to nickname every one. Giving the Pokemon a means to directly communicate is likely another approach to this for a Nuzlocke fic.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I think it's mostly tradition. The original Pokémon: Hard Mode comic that founded the genre had that gimmick, albeit specifically in the form of making pokémon into characters from Lost, and I think a lot of artists follow suit.

As for another cliche: fics that were clearly written by someone who had a gripe with the games or anime when young and is trying to rebel against whatever restriction frustrated them. For example, protagonists that collect every starter pokémon in a region (as this cannot be done in the games without trading), or evolve their entire team early and often (because for some reason people dislike that Ash fails to do this), or what have you.

Similarly, characters who are singularly excellent at pokémon training and use their pokémon to get what they want without being challenged. Just, you know, completely skipping over all the details that would render this implausible. It's completely daft to have characters in prose fiction be total juggernauts just because it's easy to become overlevelled in the games. Pokémon training would be hard!

Hell, why do trainers in fic so rarely seem to have to do any training, or care of any kind? Grooming, health checkups, teaching moves. We see this stuff in the anime, and it doesn't happen in the games because they're an abstraction. Personally, I'd love to see a departure from the core gameplay of the game series and see more of this sort of thing.

 

[Greninjaman]

Being overpowered is no fun to watch or read. I agree with the getting all the starters though. Of course, if the main character has no companions, then this makes sense.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Hell, why do trainers in fic so rarely seem to have to do any training, or care of any kind? Grooming, health checkups, teaching moves.

I've touched on this in The Long Walk, because I think the slice-of-life style journeyfic ought to have enough room for it:

Spoiler: example

Back in the room, Josh was anxiously examining his roselia seed. Again. “Does this look like a fungal infection to you?” he asked, scrutinising a non-existent discolouration.

That being said, I wish I'd entrenched the idea in the story from the beginning, because there's still a lot of untapped ideas. I don't think it has to completely get in the way of the story, since the idea of the Poké Ball solves a lot of logistical problems. Creative constraints can create plot points as much as inhibit them, from the right point of view

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Have you ever noticed that the most popular Pokémon in creative circles are all canine?

 

[Vengeful Ghost]

Have you ever noticed that the most popular Pokémon in creative circles are all canine?

Or dragons or a starter.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I was going to say humanoids, but then I realised that Gardevoir/Gallade are the only ones that most people like. Funny, considering that they're in the Amorphous egg group and were therefore probably intended to give an uncanny valley effect.

I'm going out of my way to avoid common Pokémon in Moonkind: The Wayward Butterfly. Most of the Pokémon who will play major roles will be early-game Gen 3 and 4 Pokémon, and I'll admit it, nostalgia was a factor in my choices. The main characters are a Beautifly and a Budew, both of which can be found before the second badge in Sinnoh.

EDIT: Over on the subversions thread, @canisaries mentioned giving Pokémon unconventional roles, like a Tangrowth being an archer. Can anyone think of fanfics that do something like this? The only one that comes to mind is a fanfic with a genetically-engineered Sandslash uses her overly-sharp claws to be a pizza chef.

 

[diamondpearl876]

EDIT: Over on the subversions thread, @canisaries mentioned giving Pokémon unconventional roles, like a Tangrowth being an archer. Can anyone think of fanfics that do something like this? The only one that comes to mind is a fanfic with a genetically-engineered Sandslash uses her overly-sharp claws to be a pizza chef.

Ghost Town (complete) makes use of a noivern who helps one of the protagonists be a psychic empath, and The Good Interred (ongoing) makes use of a spiritomb who used to be human and now runs a clinic for ghost-types. Most Pokémon-centric fics I've read also have unconventional roles, like @namohysip's Hands of Creation (ongoing), @Ambyssin's Guiding Light (ongoing), and @Sike Saner's The Worldslayers (ongoing) and Communication (complete).

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@diamondpearl876 I'll have a look at The Good Interred. I've wanted to read about healthcare for fantastic creatures for a while.

As for Moonkind, I don't know if I'm giving my Pokémon characters unconventional roles because I don't even know what their conventional roles are. It's the first fanfic to be tagged with Budew on Archive of Our Own, though I've read fanfics with Roserade in them. All I can say is move over Espeon and Umbreon, I'll be having my own diurnal/nocturnal duo, and the only mammals who'll appear aren't Pokémon.

It's been ages since I've read a pure Pokémon fanfic that isn't a PMD oneshot.

 

[Juliko]

As for another cliche: fics that were clearly written by someone who had a gripe with the games or anime when young and is trying to rebel against whatever restriction frustrated them. For example, protagonists that collect every starter pokémon in a region (as this cannot be done in the games without trading), or evolve their entire team early and often (because for some reason people dislike that Ash fails to do this), or what have you.

On some level, I can somewhat understand wanting to do things different from the games or anime. The anime tends to have its stupid moments, and many people want to see if they can tackle those moments better. I know several fan fic writers who have done this for their own stories, and have done it really well, though they're not without their missteps. One writer I know of has been writing Pokemon fics for years and has already done his own take on the first four seasons already, which have all been very well received, though not without its flaws. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you read his stuff at your leisure. They're really good! But when done wrong, it can be a recipe for disaster.

Unconventional starters are their own set of cliches, yes. Even Pokemon Special has indulged in this, though to give it credit, every character in Special all have legitimate reasons for getting unconventional starters (Yellow and her Rattata, Gold and his Aipom, Platinum and her Ponyta, and so on). I've gotten in on it a few times, and I at least try to establish legitimate reasons for having it happen, and even then, the characters still receive official starter Pokemon. Unconventional starters can work if they're just treated like any other character, with their own sets of strengths, weaknesses, flaws, personalities, etc. Making them overpowered right off the bat, or just having them be awesome at everything doesn't make for an interesting story or character.

 

[KrspaceT]

On some level, I can somewhat understand wanting to do things different from the games or anime. The anime tends to have its stupid moments, and many people want to see if they can tackle those moments better. I know several fan fic writers who have done this for their own stories, and have done it really well, though they're not without their missteps. One writer I know of has been writing Pokemon fics for years and has already done his own take on the first four seasons already, which have all been very well received, though not without its flaws. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you read his stuff at your leisure. They're really good! But when done wrong, it can be a recipe for disaster.

Unconventional starters are their own set of cliches, yes. Even Pokemon Special has indulged in this, though to give it credit, every character in Special all have legitimate reasons for getting unconventional starters (Yellow and her Rattata, Gold and his Aipom, Platinum and her Ponyta, and so on). I've gotten in on it a few times, and I at least try to establish legitimate reasons for having it happen, and even then, the characters still receive official starter Pokemon. Unconventional starters can work if they're just treated like any other character, with their own sets of strengths, weaknesses, flaws, personalities, etc. Making them overpowered right off the bat, or just having them be awesome at everything doesn't make for an interesting story or character.

I'm just wishing that when they do that to the anime, they don't try to fix Ash by making him do things that are so out of character it comes off like this.

....I mean we might joke about it being OOC to have legit shipping, but I've seen Ash torture living things, I've seen him dismiss Pokemon as boring and stupid (that are not Magikarp, who I think is allowed to get away with that because it is Magikarp), and I am sure I can find worse example if I look.

....It should not be that hard to get a character like Ash right, given he has several different incarnation to try and match. It should also be worrying that so many versions of making him 'better' involve him belittling and torturing things.

 

[Juliko]

....It should not be that hard to get a character like Ash right, given he has several different incarnation to try and match. It should also be worrying that so many versions of making him 'better' involve him belittling and torturing things.

Indeed. Thankfully, the fan fics by that writer I mentioned don't go that route and keep Ash in character while actually giving him genuine development and...((gasp)) HAVING HIM AGE AND GROW UP!!!! WHAT A CONCEPT!!! ((ba-dum tish))

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I read a fanfic once where Ash was 23 and accepted the offer to become a Frontier Brain. And then he became a Pikachu at the beginning of Gen 6.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Unconventional starters are their own set of cliches, yes. Even Pokemon Special has indulged in this, though to give it credit, every character in Special all have legitimate reasons for getting unconventional starters (Yellow and her Rattata, Gold and his Aipom, Platinum and her Ponyta, and so on). I've gotten in on it a few times, and I at least try to establish legitimate reasons for having it happen, and even then, the characters still receive official starter Pokemon.

I actually dislike conventional starter pokémon being considered somehow essential. Most trainers in every version of the franchise don't have starter pokémon, so it's evidently not that common! Furthermore, the premise that the regional professor gives out starters to literally everyone, by appointment, that are always from a selection of three pokémon (which are always grass/fire/water, three-evo lines with abilities like blaze), and that the recipients be ten years old is just so weak and I wish people wouldn't be attached to it. Ash doesn't get one, anyway! The protagonist of the anime for 22 years got a pikachu for his starter.

Besides, just think it through. In the anime, Oak gives out starters early in the morning. If all regional trainers receive a pokémon from him, why does this take place in a small town, early in the morning? If he gives out pokémon to everyone turning ten years old, he should have a healthy supply, but he doesn't even have enough starters for the trainers on that particular day. And so on.

Besides, isn't it so much more interesting for people to obtain their first pokémon in all sorts of different ways? Catching a feral pokémon while playing outside, for example. Inheriting an older family pokémon, or their offspring. Winning one at a fair. Fishing for one. Hell, even buying one. Or simply being gifted one by someone besides the regional professor (a trope I've long grown frustrated with).

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Maybe people are worried that their protagonists would come across as Mary Sues if they got an unconventional starter?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

If they got a legendary or something as a starter, maybe. Why would getting a budew for example, or a tyrogue, or a fletchling, make a character Sue-ish? I'm being rhetorical of course, an unconventional starter is completely irrelevant to judging a character as a Mary Sue.

"Mary Sue" is a widely misused and misunderstood term. Some people think it means "powerful and special character," while others seem to think it means "woman who's good at things." It's been widely used as a pejorative term against plenty of characters who aren't Sues at all, and so has beome tainted such that I no longer feel comfortable using it in most contexts.

A Mary Sue is a character who is more advertisement than content, who warps the narrative around themselves, and who the author demands we approve of and like regardless of our taste or their personal qualities. This is most obvious in extremely powerful and special characters.

For example, a Starfleet ensign who becomes the youngest captain of all time, saved the human race as a child, is part angel, part Q, part vulcan, part borg, has eyes that change colour based on mood, and everyone likes and admires no matter what. However, that character isn't a Sue because of those things, those things are only symptoms. They're a Sue because we never see them earn any of their accolades, we never see them overcome any meaningful character failings, they don't make sense within the rules of the established canon, they aren't subject to the same limitations as other characters, and they never meet anyone who dislikes them who isn't a horrible person or villain. Surely the youngest Starfleet captain ever would have some bitter rivals, or some crew who don't think she's had enough life experience, or who think her command style doesn't suit them?

In fact, a Sue needn't be powerful or special at all! A Sue can be widely-despised by other characters and have a dead-boring background, even lack any talents whatsoever. But the narrative of a Sue will assume that she's sympathetic no matter what. She can't have wrong opinions, or fail at anything that matters, or be subject to realistic character progression. She's an idea, the idea of a poor precious innocent waif who you MUST feel sorry for! Even if she's pathetic, even if she's unintentionally manipulative.

Really, "Mary Sue" is a bad metric for character quality. We oughtn't to use the term when we could discuss meaningful, specific problems, such as "your character picks up talents in a way that contradicts the established rules of the setting" or "your character is treated with adoration by characters who've been established to be slow to like people" or "your characters doesn't have any meaningful weaknesses to overcome or require help with."

Also, everybody please write more interesting pokémon than the ones everyone gets to pick in the games. Lillipup, chinchou, fomantis, nidoran, grubbin, croagunk, anything underused and underappreciated. Please. I'm begging you.

 

[BackSet]

I've seen him dismiss Pokemon as boring and stupid (that are not Magikarp, who I think is allowed to get away with that because it is Magikarp),

Okay, new fanfic idea, Ash dismisses all Pokemon but Magikarp as stupid and boring. What dp you think?

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@unrepentantAuthor Good point. A lot of TV Tropes' Mary Sue guide is about superficial things (like the colour purple), and the owner of Springhole wrote an article (I can't find it now) that was intended as a replacement for her Mary Sue litmus test.

 

[Beth Pavell]

In part this swings back round to tired clichés again. I've lost count of the number of journeyfics that have had 'non-standard' (The canon status of that is disputable, even in the anime) starters, which have turned out to be a Riolu or a Ralts. It's hard to want to stick around to see whether anything interesting is done with them when you've seen it so many times before.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

This reminds me, I've read a fanfic where the protagonist got his starter (in a flashback) on an island full of Psychic-type Pokémon off the coast of Hoenn. His starter was a Ralts.