Squads

[some colour no doubt]

Right, simple one here, what process do you go through when picking pokemon for a character in your fic?
Obviously this mainly applies to your own characters more, but you must go through a process for anime/game characters to some degree as well.

I'm asking because this is often the thing I struggle the most with, and most often takes up most of my time

 

[Gama]

To be honest, I usually pick one or two main ones for the person that compliment their personality in one way or another and then just base the rest off of them (in terms of types). People should have balanced teams and if you want your character to be half intelligent, give them a balanced team.

I know that's not that helpful but that's what I do really.

 

[Der_Neuevenmenschen]

Well.......

Little Cynthia (@ Chapter I: Part III):

-Torterra (because I wanted her to start with a normal starter)
-Lopunny (just a random choice, because she was temporary)
-Riolu/Lucario (Evolves into Lucario)
-Gabite (her signature Poke, this one's a no-brainer)
-Roselia (another part of her team, as an adult)
-Gastrodon (same as Roselia)
* Spiritomb (this one really isn't one of her Pokemon, more like a maleavolent spirit trying to possess her. It's mentioned that it singlehandedly wipes Champion Cynthia I's team, and it can instantly devour people's souls, so I don't think Little Cynthia wanted this thing around.)

Champion Cynthia I (was originally going to be in story, but was edited out because it would have taken me years to do):

-Salamence (Garchomp's polar opposite, or, in some regards, its predecessor, which perfectly matches Cynthia I's theme)
-Venusaur (Torterra's predecessor, in a way)
-Walrein (The antithesis to Little Cynthia's team, which is extremely weak to Ice-types. Before I simply got rid of the battle, Garchomp was going to have had an epic battle with this monstrosity.)
-Blaziken (Yet another one meant to be a serious problem for our heroine, since it would lay the hurt on Lucario and Roserade)
-Gliscor (This thing can put everyone through hell in a Wi-Fi battle)
-Gengar (Where does the bitch let up? A poorly trained critter meant just to taunt whoever thinks they can win quickly with shitloads of status inducing/changing moves)

Little Cyrus (@ Chapter I: Part II):

-Weavile (this one's obvious, it dies and traumatizes the kid, it appears in Cyrus' team later because he clones it.)
-Honchkrow (One of his signature Pokemon)
-Zubat (I'm assuming he caught this one just for teh lulz, but it pops up again as his Crobat, but it's kept as a pet by Dawn)
-Magikarp (Exactly like Zubat, later seen in a fishtank in Sandgem Town)
-Carnivine (Because it's badass!)
-Luxray (He and Cyrus have the exact same hair!)

Older Cyrus (@ Chapter II: Part II (Director's Cut)):

-Weavile (Cloned)
-Honchkrow (From earlier)
-Luxray (From earlier)
-Carnivine (From earlier)
-Drapion (To add a whole new level of badass to Cyrus' team)
-Aggron (Another badass thing for Cyrus to have on him)

Lucas (Towards the end of Chapter II: Part II):

-Torterra (Starter)
-Whiscash (Seen in Hearthrome Church Battle)
-Rapidash (Seen in Hearthrome Church Battle)
-Luxray (Seen in Hearthrome Church Battle)
-Bastiodon (Originally a fossil he dug up offscreen)
-Togekiss (Cynthia's gift to him at Eterna)

Dawn (Towards the middle of Chapter II: Part II):

-Piplup (This is her universal signature Pokemon, it also can be a good Mini-Me-esque character)
-Pachirisu (Another signature Poke of hers, sort of her Mr. Bigglesworth, since she's a female Scott Evil)
-Altaria (A gift from Charon)
-Croagunk (Originally an egg, mentioned to have been given to her by Saturn. I wonder how he got it?)
-Houndour (Found in the wild)

 

[LightningTopaz]

For existing characters, I mix and match what Pokemon they owned

For OCs I pick what has worked for me (although if my main OC Maya Nijiiro makes an appearance, she has the same Sailor Moon theme team I've used since G/S/C)

 

[Drakon]

Hmm. I just choose randomly.

James Elison:
Wukong - male Infernape
Quartzon - female Mudkip
Ferrum - male Skarmory
E-tool - genderless folding shovel that can be used like a battleax


Cynthia:
Garchomp - female

Palkia:
Himself - male

Lugia:
Himself - male

 

[Oblivion]

I make Pokemon who's personalities can compliment and match my character. For instance, with my main antagonist, Zaar, I have...

Raaz: A Spiritomb with an uncanny resemblance personality-wise to himself.

Korzan: A Honchkrow that means fucking business. Tick that thing off, and you're going to be deader than dead.

Omega: An Absol that's the intellect of the group, this guy isn't the one warning people of disasters, he's the one who helps making them.

Zaron: A Sharpedo with a "kill first, ask questions later" kind of attitude.

Bloodhound: A Houndoom who acts as his bodyguard, and is more feral than you could believe.

Raphael: A Weavile with a really, really dark and evil sense of humor. And it likes to play pranks. The kinds of pranks that murder people.


All Dark-types, of course.

 

[Captain GIROG]

Most that I wrote in for Field Research are my favorites/brokémon, though occasionally I have a completely random Pokémon thrown in there. One or two are important for plot development. For instance-

Justin:
Whismur/Loudred/Exploud- It was a bro in Sapphire version.
Zubat/Golbat/Crobat- Bro in Red version.
Slowpoke/Slowking- Bro for Crystal version.

Ken:
Ralts/Kirlia/Gallade- I don't know how swords for arms could NOT be badass. Also important for Ken's character development.
Cacnea/Cacturne- I find sapient carnivorous cactus scarecrows awesome.

Caitie:
Growlithe/Arcanine (Deceased)- Important foreshadowing, but never actually seen in the story.
Vulpix/Ninetales- No real point other than to give Caitie a starter.
Cubone/Marowak- Godlike attack with a thick club makes Marowak a badass in red. Or brown.
Scyther/Scizor- Another awesome one.



Some of the gym leaders/E4 have teams based on a certain idea. One that I've mentioned in the story is Katrina Magdaline's normal-type team (Porygon-Z, Kecleon, Blissey, Ditto, Smeargle, Lopunny), which consists of Pokémon that can be used for spying, along with Blissey and Lopunny. Blissey because it's over-the-top adorable, and Lopunny because Magdaline is the editor (and a reporter) for a gossip magazine. See what I did there? Lopunny? Magazine? It's a Playboy reference.

Another example (from the Elite Four) is Barnabas, who along with using only the dark type, uses Pokémon that are either omens or have bad reputations. Absol, Houndoom, Sableye, Honchkrow, Drapion and Shiftry are for ironic effect- the "evil" Pokémon all have good alignments to parallel their so-cursed-not-even-death-can-take-him lawful good trainer.

The last example I'll give is for my favorite, yet rarely seen, character: Danny "Danny Edvinson" Edvinson. Though it's never seen (hmm...) in the story, his team is Metagross, Wobbuffet, Dunsparce, Shuckle, Slaking and Chatot. Metagross because this image seems like something Danny "Danny Edvinson" Edvinson would do, Wobbuffet because it's piss annoying to battle, Dunsparce because paraflinch makes people rage, Shuckle because withdraw+rest+substitute, Chatot because Chatot, and a FEAR Ratatta because he's just badass like that.
Don't you think that team is worthy of a character who is aware of me?

 

[Kantomasta]

i have a few that i use regulury, the few that change the plot, and a few that my charecters dont use much. though for my new fic, i use pokemon that are in red and blue.

 

[The Dude]

This is part of what's bogged me down in writing, unfortunately. But the best thing is to think about the traits, emotional and behavior-wise, of your character, and pick the Pokemon that on some aesthetic level gel with the character.

Like, if your character has something of a temper, angry Pokemon such as Tauros, Primeape, Drapion, or Tyranitar might be right for them, though Tyranitar I would only really use if your character is a REALLY, REALLY forceful personality.
Or if your character is something of an underdog, always the target of a bully or the butt of a joke, give them novelty Pokemon.
Also, think at least a little bit about plot. Planning on having an enormously powerful villain who seems unstoppable? Sneak the eventual wrench in the plan in early, by giving a character a surprising and odd Pokemon that just happens to do the one thing that could lead to the villain's downfall.
Don't just arbitrarily assign your characters Pokemon. Each Pokemon should have a least a little of an arc, either a gradual rise to power, overcoming a major obstacle, or learning to trust their new master. Or something else, if you can think of it.
Don't be afraid to go with offbeat choices.

 

[betagold]

I try to give my oc's pokemon that can be used in imaginative ways, or to solve problems, or just that are really cool to write.

 

[Joshawott]

With the characters' in Bright World, for the starters, I took their stock personalities, and gave them to the trainer with the opposite personality. As for the other Pokémon; I'm still planning all of that, however, with the personalities of the Rocket admins in RS, I based their personalities primarily on their opinions, such as gait, and expression, so I'll probably do the same with the Pokémon and match them on similar or opposing personalities.

With Relaunch Sequence, I just used the Pokémon they have in-game; or if it's during their earlier years, pre-evolutions.

 

[Legacy]

Well obv for my fic, many of the characters' pokemon are already predetermined for me. But for my OCs and canon characters' 'new' pokemon, I just sort of choose who will fit the story and the character's personality. Or pokemon I've always wanted character 'x' to have.

 

[Yumega]

I love forming squads and had a great time thinking up Lucas's team in Barry's story. (Yes, its already planned -_-)

For Lucas I picked the Pokémon that I like to think represent Gen IV. Oh and I picked turtwig for his starter simply because its the opposite to chimcahr who i think suits Barry.

As for my coming up fic, Shadow Ball, the main charecter wont really have a huge team of Pokémon though another charecter will...

 

[brickwork]

My characters get:
1: Their Starter
2: Their fisrt capture
3: A mon they have had a bad experience with
4, 5, 6: Random

 

[Kayi Rowling]

Well, for my only published fic with actual Pokemon in it...:

Ariana's party:
Her objective was to beat the Viridian Gym, so her first four members all have some kind of advantage to Ground types.
-Oddish: First time you see her in the games, she has a Gloom (same with the manga, thankfully)

Spoiler

-Weavile: Silver's first Pokemon is a Sneasel, so I tried to explain it through this.
-Shellder: Chapter 5/6 addition. Ariana gives it over to Giovanni, which explains his Cloyster in the manga.
-Murkrow: She has one in the games/manga. A gift from Giovanni in Chapter 6/7.

Giovanni's party:
Will follow the manga canon.
-Beedrill
-Nidorina: His Nidoqueen.
-Nidorino: His Nidoking.
-...etc, LOL.

Sird/Saki's party:
The rules for this one are quite loose...
-Starmie: Has one in the manga.
-Meowth: Her future Persian from the manga.
-Ditto: For the lulz.

Spoiler

-Banette: Has one in the manga. Shows up in Chapter 5.

Petrel's party:
-Koffing (x6 or more): His actual party in the games ("x6") and the manga ("more")



For the fic that will follow "Garnets and Cherries," most choices are random:

Spoiler

-The protagonist has a Zubat (later a Crobat) as first Pokemon because they're quite common everywhere; the rest of the party is composed by an Oddish (later Vileplume), a Paras (later Parasect), a Growlithe (later Arcanine) and a Pidgey (later Pidgeot), and an Eevee (later an Umbreon), a Tentacruel and a Jigglypuff are befriended too.
-The mentor figure had an Onyx and a Geodude; he might have had more than those two, but no plans exist for his expanded party at the moment.
-Two other main characters start off without Pokemon, then the girl acquires a Gastly (later a Haunter) and the boy a Gyarados; the girl had previously beaten a Venomoth to submission, however.
-Lastly, the villain got a Vulpix; this choice is the only one that wasn't random, as the protagonist had a very ugly and traumatizing encounter with one and it just had to be exploited...

 

[Azure Butterfly]

Usually, I take the team from one of my games. Sometimes they'll have Pokemon fitting their personality and battling style, but the ones taken from in game teams seem to have more dynamic interactions.

 

[Zekurom]

I sometimes base them off teams I personally have in the games.

Otherwise, I just do it as the plot requires. There's no limit to the amount of Pokemon a team can have in my stories. You are allowed to have more than six - but nobody does.

 

[AceTrainer14]

When I choose Pokemon, I generally think of the sort of things they'll do later on, and how the Pokemon could be involved in the plot. For Matthew in Galactic, I am giving him Pokemon that would be good for a coordinator to have. And for Kris and Gold, I based their Pokemon around the types to ensure they had one of certain types

 

[Flaze]

For my fic most of my characters already have some Pokemon, but I mostly picked them for their trade in personality and how they combine with the main character

Reggie's Team
Phanpy (Reggie's technical starter,it's the Pokemon that's been with him the most and he can trust him, represents Reggie's trustworthy side)
Pidgey (A very shy flyer, was Reggie's second Pokemon, but it's not really so strong due to its lack of attacks, represents Reggie's shy personality)
Azurill/Marill (A little Pokemon that wants to be more but doesn't have the strenght, represents Reggie's anvicious side.)
Chigon (Reggie's trump card, a playful and rather ditzy Pokemon, represents Reggie's playful side)
Chimchar (an agressive and very unreliable Pokemon, but also very strong willed, represents Reggie's berzerker qualities that give him a personality change when mad)