Creative liberties with your story

[Baby Seals]

I tend to deviate significantly from canon. One of the biggest deviations is the inclusion of non-Pokemon-related culture in the Pokemon world. For example, one of my OCs is a pop singer named Tara-Starr. She almost never sings about Pokemon (though she does own several Staryu and Starmie), preferring to sing songs like the ones that you'd hear on the radio. I also portray Pokestar Studios as having a lot of non-Pokemon-related movies, as well as having different types of movies where entry level can be easy or hard.

Also in my fanfics:
- In Unova and Kalos, the minimum age for a Trainer's license is 13, unlike Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh where it is 10.
- Most kids go to school through 8th grade. Afterwards, school is optional. Colleges exist as well. (College is more expensive in my fics than in real life.)
- Pokemon Centers are bigger than they are in the games.
- Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald take place one year after Red and Blue and two years before Gold, Silver, Crystal, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
- Black and White take place five years after Gold, Silver, Crystal, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
- X and Y takes place two years after Black 2 and White 2.

I'll explain it by using Red as an example. Red is 11 in RB. That means, according to my fics, he is 12 in RSE, 14 in DPPt and GSC, 19 in BW, 21 in B2W2, and 23 in XY.

 

[ShadowDRGN]

Mostly I try to keep things as close to the game canon as possible (Though since my main fic is a parallel timeline, I am able to be a little looser then usual), but one change I did make was giving certain characters the ability to "Break" the 1 mega evolution limit, but only one character is able to do it, and I gave him a clear reason for being able to do it. Other then that, the only other real deviations I've done is make it so that Riolu naturally can learn Aura Sphere (TBH, I always just wave off their inability to use it in the games as a balance thing, since it IS a 90 power special attack that ALSO gets STAB and never misses.), but even then, that's not my own original idea in all honesty.

 

[ShadowDRGN]

I'll agree with Glitchpedia's statement of in-battle instruction. In my fic, I never had the trainers command the Pokemon for every single attack and every single movement, they only instruct the Pokemon when circumstance requires it. IMO that works better because battles go much more smoothly, and can become more unpredictable and more interesting, and easier for me personally to write. The Pokemon in my fic portrayed to have human-equivalent intelligence, hence can think on their own not only during battles, but also under general circumstances. The trainers are there to "train" the Pokemon, but not to control the Pokemon using their voice.

Funny, that sounds a lot like the idea I had for my main character, who is able to "Synch" their consciousness with Pokemon, therefore eliminating most need for verbal commands.

 

[matt0044]

Funny, that sounds a lot like the idea I had for my main character, who is able to "Synch" their consciousness with Pokemon, therefore eliminating most need for verbal commands.

Reminds me of how Anabel was shown in the Anime...

 

[CrystaI]

I'll agree with Glitchpedia's statement of in-battle instruction. In my fic, I never had the trainers command the Pokemon for every single attack and every single movement, they only instruct the Pokemon when circumstance requires it. IMO that works better because battles go much more smoothly, and can become more unpredictable and more interesting, and easier for me personally to write. The Pokemon in my fic portrayed to have human-equivalent intelligence, hence can think on their own not only during battles, but also under general circumstances. The trainers are there to "train" the Pokemon, but not to control the Pokemon using their voice.

Funny, that sounds a lot like the idea I had for my main character, who is able to "Synch" their consciousness with Pokemon, therefore eliminating most need for verbal commands.

Well, the trainer in my fic do not "synchronize" their consciousness with their Pokemon. It is just that Pokemon think on their own and act on their own, where trainers are there to give commands and/or instruction provided that the trainer think the Pokemon do not grasp the circumstance of the battlefield fully, so it is then necessary to support the Pokemon via verbal instructions.

In my fic, the relationship between trainer and Pokemon is more like teacher and apprentice, but not master and pet. The trainer is a teacher/mentor that teaches battle skills to the Pokemon, as a coach that guide the Pokemon during its training section, as an administrative manager that manages the Pokemon's battle schedule, as a strategy advisor that gives comments and advises about certain battle strategies, as a supervisor that monitors and supervises during the time Pokemon participate in the battle, also as a counselor to relieve stresses of the Pokemon from battles.
IMO, with such teacher-apprentice relationship, there could then exist the truly equivalent trustable connection between the trainer and Pokemon. The trainer trust the battling skill of his/her Pokemon, and the Pokemon trust the trainer's instructing ability to lead it to victory.
Though, it is not like there doesn't exist the master-pet relationship in my fic. Such master-pet relationship are seen mostly with amateur and/or unskilled trainers, coordinators and breeders.

 

[ShadowDRGN]

Well, the trainer in my fic do not "synchronize" their consciousness with their Pokemon. It is just that Pokemon think on their own and act on their own, where trainers are there to give commands and/or instruction provided that the trainer think the Pokemon do not grasp the circumstance of the battlefield fully, so it is then necessary to support the Pokemon via verbal instructions.

In my fic, the relationship between trainer and Pokemon is more like teacher and apprentice, but not master and pet. The trainer is a teacher/mentor that teaches battle skills to the Pokemon, as a coach that guide the Pokemon during its training section, as an administrative manager that manages the Pokemon's battle schedule, as a strategy advisor that gives comments and advises about certain battle strategies, as a supervisor that monitors and supervises during the time Pokemon participate in the battle, also as a counselor to relieve stresses of the Pokemon from battles.
IMO, with such teacher-apprentice relationship, there could then exist the truly equivalent trustable connection between the trainer and Pokemon. The trainer trust the battling skill of his/her Pokemon, and the Pokemon trust the trainer's instructing ability to lead it to victory.
Though, it is not like there doesn't exist the master-pet relationship in my fic. Such master-pet relationship are seen mostly with amateur and/or unskilled trainers, coordinators and breeders.

Well, that's not what I meant, I just thought it was funny that we both have our own ideas on how to speed up and smooth out the flow of a written battle.

Anyways, I think your idea on how to portray the relationships between a trainer and their Pokemon is great, that said though, have you ever considered that some Pokemon could only be interested in battling rather than social bonding, and would enjoy a master-servant relationship better than an equal one? Consider a Pokemon like Zangoose, or Hydriegon, both of them are violent and competitive by nature, and while in the hands of a good trainer they could be tamed and bonded with, it would be much more likely for them to stay in that mindset, even after being captured. I suggest this because, if a Pokemon is just as intelligent and has just as much freedom as a human, able to act of their own accord rather than just following a trainer's every command, then what's stopping a Pokemon from deciding to regard their trainer as a master, rather than an equal? Something like this could add a lot of depth into a story, and would allow one to further explore the relationships between trainers and Pokemon as a more complex system, rather than one segregated into black and white.

 

[CrystaI]

Well, that's not what I meant, I just thought it was funny that we both have our own ideas on how to speed up and smooth out the flow of a written battle.

Anyways, I think your idea on how to portray the relationships between a trainer and their Pokemon is great, that said though, have you ever considered that some Pokemon could only be interested in battling rather than social bonding, and would enjoy a master-servant relationship better than an equal one? Consider a Pokemon like Zangoose, or Hydriegon, both of them are violent and competitive by nature, and while in the hands of a good trainer they could be tamed and bonded with, it would be much more likely for them to stay in that mindset, even after being captured. I suggest this because, if a Pokemon is just as intelligent and has just as much freedom as a human, able to act of their own accord rather than just following a trainer's every command, then what's stopping a Pokemon from deciding to regard their trainer as a master, rather than an equal? Something like this could add a lot of depth into a story, and would allow one to further explore the relationships between trainers and Pokemon as a more complex system, rather than one segregated into black and white.

Yeah, IMO, the canon (whether it is game, anime, or manga canon) way of portraying Pokemon battle is not smooth and "lively". Hence I alter the relationship portrayal between trainer and Pokemon. Not only that I think it will better for me to write battle scenes, but also such relationship is my personal headcanon. Yeah, the trainer and Pokemon relationship in my fic is extremely complicated.


And speaking of the Pokemon that are only interested in battling, The master-servant relationship may or may not work well. It really depends heavily on the situation. In my currently fic, there is for sure several Pokemons that are just like that where they are extremely violent and competitive. The second main character Leigh (the dark anti-hero type character) in my fic, he possesses an extremely rebellious Hydreigon that just loves to battle, where it always lustfully and instinctively seeking for battle. If Hydreigon didn't participated in any battle for a long period, it will become extremely irritated and will take its anger out even on its own trainer. Because it is close to impossible to tame it, and additionally its style of battling is just too powerful that not only its opponent but the battlefield may also be completely annihilated, Leigh does not tend to use it unless during the extreme critical situation. As a result, because Hydreigon's battle participation rate will then be even lower, its loathe towards its own trainer build up for every time there is a battle it cannot participate in.

Leigh's Hydreigon has a very abnormal relationship between its owner. Although Leigh thought that he is the absolute master of Hydreigon, but on the opposite Hydreigon never for once consider itself to be Leigh's servant nor subordinate nor a pet, and of course not his friend or anything. Deep inside Hydreigon's heart, Leigh is nothing but a tool just to fulfill its personal instinctive battle desire. Hydreigon doesn't need to depend on Leigh, and could leave at anytime if it wants to. Rather Leigh need to depend on Hydreigon's power when he battles the powerful opponents I planned to feature in some future chapters. Yeah, in this specific case, you don't truly know who is the master and who is the subordinate.

And in some future chapters that I had planned already, I planned to have Hydreigon agreed to listen to Leigh's command by making them on the equal ground. BUT!, it is not Hydreigon being tamed by Leigh, but rather Leigh become morally corrupted such that he becomes indifferent towards Hydreigon's violence, and hence he is no more hesitate to send out Hydreigon in any sort of battles.
Leigh and Hydreigon does form a trustable bond after that future chapter I had planned, but it is just that such bond is not the favourable well-disposed bond by generic meaning, rather it is more like the give-and-take agreement between the demon. Well, in my personal viewpoint Leigh's Hydreigon is certainly a pokemonification of demon, so the only way to make it become obedient is to enter into a "testament" with it.

And just a little spoiler. It is then Atsusi's (the protagonist of my fic) job to stop Leigh when he had become the enemy......

 

[Silverwynde]

In a Black journey fic I was playing about with, N wasn't able to hear the voices of inorganic Pokemon. In other words, he was deaf to the cries of the Golett in the Dragonspiral Tower when Team Plasma broke in. He also didn't consider them "true" Pokemon as he believed that humans couldn't create Pokemon at all. N was also a bit more egotistical in this fic; he had a bit of a swelled head as everyone kept saying he was a king and the true hero of Unova.

In other words, he was kind of a jerk. But he did change as the story progressed.

 

[matt0044]

In other words, he was kind of a jerk. But he did change as the story progressed.

N IS a jerk but mainly because he was brought up to think that he was chosen to bring Unova into a new age of peace where Pokemon and people stay apart for their own good. From such a young age, he was made to think that he knew the "true horrors of Pokemon Trainers that everyone else was ignorant to" and was the one born to change that. As such, he can be condescending to those who go against his ideology (perhaps even to erase any doubt in his mind).

 

[Islasfoods]

Pokemon think on their own and act own their own. They do not want any trainer.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

Creative liberties? Where do I start?

Okay, for a start, I guess I could mention that my story is set in my own universe. And there are no humans. That's quite a notable one.

This originated, weirdly, from conkeldurr's pokedex entry. It said that conkeldurr taught humans how to make concrete originally, which made me wonder if pokemon even need humans for a sophisticated world. I put on my proverbial philosophical hat and answered 'no'. In fact, I believe the world would be very similar.

What do humans actually provide that pokemon can't do? There are pokemon with hands who could write, and make things. Fighting types are much stronger than us, and would make better builders. There are pokemon cleverer than we are (although generally for the purposes of the story, intelligence is generalised, so more intelligent pokemon are brought down and less intelligent ones are raised up, to an extent at least; I felt it was necessary for a sophisticated society). So that results in a society not too different to a human one.

The setting I settled on for the actual story is more of a fantasy-esque thing, which is also a notable creative liberty. I thought this would fit better with things like pokemon moves, which are not unlike the sort of magic you'd find in a normal fantasy story. The actual 'moves' used in the story, by the way, are more like 'references' of sorts to the ingame moves, rather than being the exact same thing (and there are a lot of other actions which don't fit moves at all). This opens up possibilities for pokemon learning moves which they couldn't normally learn, for example, one of my characters is a vaporeon who works as a ritualist, which gives him access to lots of ghost-esque powers, for example, he uses a spell similar to shadow ball a lot, almost as his personal signature. A lot of moves like this are based more on someone's training and skills than their species.

This brings me onto another point, which is that ghosts are not treated as 'regular' pokemon like in the games and stuff. They're more like incorporeal, other-worldly spirits, something not uncommon in fantasy. Accomplished magicians (often, but not necessarily psychic or dark types) can train to summon ghosts into the material world from the 'void' (if you have a better/more original name, please tell me) where they normally dwell, and make the spirits perform tasks for them. Maelstrom, the aforementioned vaporeon, is quite good at this.

Other than ghosts, types are largely not paid much attention to. Instead, I focus on what something's body is actually like. A victreebel would still be weak to fire because its a plant, but leafeon which is a fox would be able to take fire much more effectively (if still not well) because only part of its body is plantlike. Similarly, there's no reason why an espeon could resist being punched substantially better than an umbreon, since they have very similar body structures and all.

Hmmm, well that's quite a lot of creative liberties, but it's by no means a complete list. If I really started thinking about this, it may only be the tip of the iceberg. Oh, and if anyone has questions or issues with what might not work, and stuff, it might be handy for you to bring that up. So, yeah, I'd probably appreciate it. Anyway, this post is long enough, so I may just stop rambling now.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Right, I almost forgot. I incorporate glitches into the world by making them "extradimensional phenomena". Creatures with such attributes are only referred to as Pokémon in an unofficial capacity—respectable researchers refuse to catalog them alongside "real" Pokémon. That being said, experiments have been conducted and specimens were named, though the files containing those names, as well as other information, were corrupted by the entities' very presence, resulting in unpronounceable gibberish in most cases, and so they tend to be referred to only by their numbers, which were physically written down upon their arrival in our dimension.

The most curious of these is Specimen 000, found to be the most stable in our dimension, though unable to remain manifested for long without some sort of anchor. Studies on this matter are ongoing.

Somewhat unrelated, although I mainly use the game universe's timeline and, to some extent, logic, I do incorporate locations from the other media and make liberal use of the Burst technique from Pokémon RéBURST.

 

[Baby Seals]

There are many other deviations from canon and other creative liberties. Stuff I included:
- The human population is much higher than it apparently is in the actual games, though lower than the real world. My fanfics estimate it to be about 4-4.5 billion people.
- Animals exist in the Pokemon world in significant numbers, though they are generally not as highly regarded as Pokemon. Pokemon eat them frequently.
- Unova's culture has just as many differences from American culture as it does similarities. For example, clothing styles are somewhat different - sometimes they can be more in line with Europe (I've depicted a number of male characters from Unova wearing European-style swimwear instead of American-style). Foreign media is also more popular in Unova than in America. People in Unova (and Kalos) also tend to marry earlier than in real-life America (and France). Fast food also is nowhere near as popular, though it does exist. Soccer is also a lot more popular there than in America (though Unovans are often mocked for calling the sport soccer - in Kalos they call it football). Unovans also don't work as many hours as Americans do and get more vacations.
- Unova is just one region that is part of a larger country. Kalos is as well. (Notice how Kalos doesn't have southern France? That's supposed to be the other component of the country that Kalos belongs to.)
- Real-world religions such as Christianity and Islam exist in the Pokemon world. I don't try to Pokemon-ize them since I don't want to offend people.
- Real historical people are occasionally mentioned. Charles Perrault has been mentioned in my Pokemon X and Y fanfic. Hilbert also briefly mentioned Adolf Hitler in one of my older fics.
- Real celebrities are mentioned. Kim Kardashian has been mentioned in two fanfics. I've also mentioned Mel Gibson, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Keke Palmer, Paris Hilton, Madonna, Elton John, Ellie Goulding, Wang Chung, Evgeni Plushenko, Johnny Weir, and Jerry Lewis in fanfics. (Jerry Lewis was mentioned in a Kalos fic as a reference to his alleged popularity in France.)
- TONS of real-world products are mentioned. I can't even list a few I've used...
- Characters' heights are different. Calem is considerably taller than he is in the games - he is taller than Viola, Valerie, Olympia, Malva, and Drasna, unlike in the games.
- The Parfum Palace is much bigger in my fanfics than it is in the games. It is approximately the size of the real Palace of Versailles. Many other large buildings are even larger in my fanfics than in the games.
- Kalos has a sizable aristocracy, though their titles are mostly just for show nowadays.
- Ancient and medieval cultures in the Pokemon world had better technology than the real ancient world and medieval world. There are pre-modern buildings over 1,500 feet in height - over three times as tall as the tallest real-life pre-modern buildings. There were also a lot more historical interactions from cultures on different continents than in the real world.
- Lysandre died in the collapse of the Team Flare HQ. (Unless they make a sequel with Lysandre alive, I'm sticking to this.)
- Lost continents existed at numerous times in the Pokemon world history.
- I have used the concept of magic before - I portray it as something related to Fairy-type Pokemon (like psychic powers are to Psychic-type Pokemon).

 

[The Dude]

To be workable at all as an internally consistent story, you kind of have to deviate from canon when writing a Pokemon fic. There are many things that make no sense. First, PokeDex entries really have to be recast as total bullshit. Because they're so mindblowingly impossible even by Pokemon world standards. Then, if you insist on still having ten year olds running around as Pokemon trainers, you need to explain why this is even possible, why it's considered safe, why parents would let their kids do it. You probably need your own headcanon of what the deal is with PC Storage and Poke Balls. You need to figure out how hold items work, if you're including them at all. Will you just have an elite four and champion, or a tournament, or, my personal favorite, both?
I have a massive crazy canon for the Pokemon World of my story, that takes some things from the games, the show, the comics, and then a lot from various fiction I like. I intend to keep the events of the games as semi-canon, though they don't happen in my stories precisely as depicted there. Though, those events will be sort of offscreen in the background of my stories, because ultimately they're not super-important. Which, yes, is a strange statement, but I promise someday it'll make sense.
Also, I like the designs and basic personas of some of the Gym Leaders/Elite Four, and I feel it's not too much of a challenge to flesh them out. As of now, Volkner and Jasmine play an important role in Lamb to the Slaughter, and Lance, Karen, Cynthia, Roxanne, Norman, Steven, and Clair are definitely plot-relevant to further stories.
I will be taking massive liberties with legendaries. I have to say, THERE IS ONLY ONE OF EACH, EFF YOU ANIME. stupid stupid stupid.

 

[matt0044]

Wasn't the Ten Year Old Trainer thing only exclusive to the Anime?

 

[The Dude]

I sure hope so. But I can see the game protagonists up until Black/White as 10. But Hilbert/Hilda and Rosa/whatshisface are definitely not 10, more like 13.
can't remember off the top of my head what the deal with Special was.

 

[Elric von Bek]

Legendaries earn their status as legends by being the few of their species that venture outside their natural habitat. These habitats are far too dangerous for human exploration. Hence old cultures decided that these Pokémon are legendary in that they are the only ones of their kind seen in lands hospitable to humans.

Pokémon attack other Pokémon and humans in order to shed excess energy. Energy tolerance varies by Pokémon species. Scientists discovered how to capture the released energy, and eventually engineered the first Technical Machines.

 

[Drakon]

I also make the cities and towns much larger than depicted in the games. They're on par with what's shown in the anime.

 

[matt0044]

I make Technical Machines and Hidden Machines rare in my fic. You know, to make sure I'm not relying so much on Macguffins. They're given out by Gym Leaders and even the Elite Four as victory prizes.

Cheren and Bianca are Team Plasma grunts who frequently clash with Hilda.

Some side characters like Fennel are dropped.

 

[TrainerRyan]

Not sure if it's a liberty or just expanding of an idea, but here's mine

In R/B Chapter 3, the Heroes faced off against a Poacher. When writing it, it made be think about the Morality of catching Pokemon, and seeing that Pokemon is set in a Fantasy World then concepts of morality must be differant then in our world. However, catching Pokemon from the wild is ok in that world, but the anime protrays poachers as doing wrong, so what makes them differant from a Trainer? True in the Anime they are doing it for the money and you can make the arugment that they are doing it for the wrong reasons, but there should be something more to it. Then I looked at Real World Poachers, and the fact they are Killing Animals for Fur (Among other things) to sell in the black market, so I used that for that story's Villian.
While on Subject, seeing that all Pokemon cleary have a degree of sentience, it makes Poachers killing them for money way more evil then what RL Poachers do