Thoughts on going over/under the carry limit (of six) in fanfics

[Greninjaman]

I have seen comments in different places that talk about how some fanfics go over the carry limit of six, while some go under (like 3 or 4). Is it really better to have a smaller team for fanfics or larger teams, or stick to the team of six like in the games? How does one manage a team of six or more?

 

[Viridian Beedrill]

More than six seems like quite a lot to manage, but I guess if there's a reason for it in the story...


Dealing with large teams: For large groups of characters, I try to give them distinctive personalities and maybe some built-in dynamics with other characters (this one is best friends with that one, or something like that). Then I try to use that as a guideline for how they react and interact in response to the story events. I'd probably have to do the same thing with a team of six Pokémon. I haven't actually tried that yet, though, probably because none of the fanfics I've started have battle as the main focus and/or feature problems where normal battling isn't the solution. In some ways, maybe that's my way of getting around managing a team of six?

Dealing with/explaining small teams: One advantage of Pokémon compared to other large groups of characters is that you can put the ones that aren't immediately relevant to the plot in their Pokeballs. There also could be reasons a Trainer wouldn't have all their Pokémon all the time, the same way not every member of a family goes on every errand. I have one in-progress fic where the main character only took half his team because he was only going on a short trip and didn't expect any trouble (he ends up running into A LOT of trouble).

 

[mastermind lissi]

My fics end up being more people focused than Pokemon, and an issue I have is giving the Pokémon ”screen time”. I’d Personally rather have the characters have a bit less than six, unless it’s needed fir the story.

 

[Poke Dragon]

I'd rather be under the 6 Pokemon limit rather than over it, especially since I'm dealing with two main characters and not one, it's so much easier to develop stories with a smaller team of Pokemon while keeping them under a single chapter. While I do tease what will happen next at the end of each chapter, I prefer not to split into parts, thus my preference for smaller Pokemon teams in my fanfic. And this isn't even taking opposing Pokemon into account, which only adds more to write.

 

[Greninjaman]

I can see the pros and cons of both sides of the spectrum.

Smaller teams allow for more character development than a full team of six (or more than that).

 

[Catz]

Basically all I was gonna say has been covered, so to not sound like a broken record, I’m just gonna summarize things and say that 3-4 mons per team is the optimal size in my opinion. It limits variety a little, but makes handling things around the team itself a lot easier.

 

[Cavespider_17]

It depends on context. I think if you have a trainer who can manage more pokémon it is great.

What is your region's laws on carry limit? Using a personal example, in my region it is handled via permits. Up to 3 is legal without a permit, and any pokémon beyond that requires a permit per pokémon carried. The maximum allowed is 8, although to do so is considered to be very rare. Most adults carry 3 pokémon or 4 pokémon.
What is the technical level you feel comfortable running a sequence through? I have written a sequence including 24 trainer/pokémon pairings which was an absolute nightmare to manage. I am glad I did it for the experience, but would I willingly do it again without a major purpose such as a finale/end of arc? No absolutely not, it was horrific to write.

In short: Smaller teams are better for short paced action sequences, however, I think larger teams are more important and better for more significant events. A lot depends on the logicstics and lore of the region you are writing for.

 

[Greninjaman]

Could also do a league where the challenges are only allowed to have three Pokémon on hand (to create a greater bond between Pokémon and trainer in addition to having shorter battles). They can catch more Pokémon, they just can only use three Pokémon. That at least would be a good justification for a smaller team.

 

[Greninjaman]

Sorry for the double post.
One thing that I just remembered regarding the topic of small teams vs larger ones: fewer evolutions in small teams, than larger ones.
If you have a full team of six, that is 18 Pokémon (assuming they all can evolve twice).
If you have a team of three, that's 9 Pokémon (assuming they all can evolve twice).