Tips for writing a Pokemon Fanficition?

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

I want to write a fanfiction, but I would like some tips to help me. Any suggestions?

[Darvan Korematsu 1]

First off what sort of story do you wanna tell? That's a fantastic place to begin. Second of all, think of your themes and worldbuilding. If you got your basics of those down pat then you should be okay.

If you know what and how you wanna write it, come back and I can provide more info.

[Felix~ 240]

Don't do poketalk

Don't make your lead be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

I wanted to do a story involving a fight through all of the regions. My character would be a member of a clan that used to be royalty in the early Unova region. Over time, the clan went underground(literally) and let the citizens of Unova do as they please. The clan has two characters that are cannon and I'm developing a story around their unique pokemon and skills. I was not planning on using poketalk, unless the pokemon has been stated to have telepathy in canon, such as Jirachi and Mewtwo. The problem I'm facing is how to have one character with the same team go through and beat all of the Champions. At some point, my character would become too powerful for a fight with a gym leader to prove challenging.


BTW, what is a Mary Sue/ Gary Stu?

[Sutoratosu 11]

In following what dobby said- Don't do Poketalk unless you have a damn good justification for it, like the pokemon being a psychic type and therefore able to project it's thoughts directly into the mind of another.

Also, a Mary/Gary sue/ Stu. A Sue/Stu is a character who is, in essence, too damn perfect. They are not believable as either characters or actual people, and there is literally no room for them to grow.

For more information, go here and scroll to number 6: http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5403

[Fumble 52]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

Oops, ninja.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

I would have my character eventually get what he wants, but it would be through a lot of problems, and even more work. Like I said in my above post, only telepathic pokemon like Mewtwo and Jirachi would have Pokespeak. Even in the instances where Pokespeak would occur, it would be short and sweet for pokemon like Jirachi and Shaymin, but long a dramatic for an intelligent pokemon like Mewtwo. To be honest, I can't think of too many other pokemon outside of the previously mentioned pokemon that have telepathy. Lugia, Hoopa, and Diancie. I think that's all. Maybe Victini.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[Sutoratosu 11]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

Oops, ninja.

Yeah, I'm a master of Ninjutsu. Let it be known to the reocrd

but yeah, this is like the one time that I suggest not going to Tvtropes for something. I've read their article and they talk more about the origins of Mary Sue, more than they do on what constitutes one. The thread that Aquie made for the roleplay section however explains the basic concept and some of the qualifiers in more easily understandable way

[Raindrop Valkyrie 118]

I'd avoid the royalty angle. How would an entire royal family we never heard about exist within Unova? Even if driven underground, we'd have heard something about a group like that in some capacity in the canon if it existed. Also, personally, I find making a character royalty is a lazy way to try an d make them special and give them access to WAY too many resources without need to explain. A.k.a., A very easy trap with which to fall into writing a Sue.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

Okay. So the royalty thing is a trap. So should I then focus on unique expirences that define the character?

Edited February 6, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[Darvan Korematsu 1]

You'd be surprised at how it could work. Several things can change in between each region. Start small with one or two piddly weak Pokemon and slowly graduate to your powerhouses. Things could change, such as League regulations to prevent overpowered trainers from totally sweeping their League. It's kind of what Ash does every season with the exception to his inexplicable Pikachu's nerf syndrome in each region. Also it doesn't have to be the same team. Your character would have to grow in that time, and most likely Pokemon are gonna die/run away/get abducted/get released for many different reasons.

Your "starter" or "ace" won't have to be on the team in each region. And heck, even the final League could be a culmination of all of your protag's best/favorite Pokemon from prior.

Another key to writing a good story, regardless of genre, is to never get too repetitive. It's boring usually. And people don't usually wanna get bored.

EDIT: If you absolutely wanna go the royalty angle, while still preventing a total Mary Sue, they'd probably have to be severely diluted in the bloodline or maybe a descendent of a disowned or less respected ancestor for some reason. It sets up the first step to the "Hero's Journey" cycle.

[Felix~ 240]

Another key to writing a good story, regardless of genre, is to never get too repetitive. It's boring usually. And people don't usually wanna get bored.

Unless you wanna make a point. Stay away if unexperienced though. A perfect example of badly done repetition is the endless eight of Haruhi suzumiya. Well done repetition I suppose you can look at Higurashi no naku koro ni. Yes, anime but still examples of general writing.

If you get stuck in general look at other works. Learn to write by writing then reading then writing some more, to quote my old english teacher. Apply it to other mediums and you get more ideas.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

The angle I was going to go with in the royalty plot was that his father had faked his death(unbeknownst to the main character) and his mother died I=giving birth to him, leaving his retired champion Grandfather to raise him. The grandfather would also introduce him to the rest of the clan. The protagonist would be an underdog for the first arc, which would be a race against 18 other trainers for the title of Champion in the Unova region, and King/Queen of their clan. However, one problem I couldn't really get around was how to present a clan, but have inbreeding not be a problem.

EDIT: When I say "not be a problem" I mean not happen.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[Commander 876]

I suppose the best bit of advice is just to start somewhere. I mean I could go on about not using Mary-sues or the whole Poke-talk thing, but that's a really, really small part of writing and you're not going to have fun worrying about every little thing. Mary-sue was something I couldn't wrap my head around for a long time because it felt like people were contradicting each other with what it was. Even to this day, I still don't know what it is. Generally, I just say try to make your characters more realistic and give them flaws instead of focusing on how to make them the most amazing person ever. Realism really does help with a story...even in a fantasy world.

Poke-talk is an interesting thing as nuzlockes break this rule, but for good reason. I mean it gets boring seeing page after page of a proganist really not socializing or bonding with their Pokemon...especially in a world where they can lose them forever so giving them more humanistic traits really does help with those emotional moments of when a buddy dies and when the protagonists knows its their fault. Being the only one able to talk to Pokemon usually is frowned upon as it makes them the special one as well as the whole being rich thing.

My advice is not to worry about all that as odd as it may seem (yes, it is important, but drowning yourself with all your faults doesn't lead you anywhere). If you always want to better yourself, you'll get to the point where you can distinguish what works for you and improve on that as well as your weaker areas. You don't simply become Da Vinci in a day.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

I guess Im not really looking at this advice as "faults" but as constructive critism. I want to write something that will be popluar, so knowing what people want is a key in how my story will play out. Another thing that I have to think about is whether or not to describe the pokemon. Im sure that the majority of poeple who would read my fanfic would know what pokemon Im talking about, but still.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[FeralGator 0]

I guess Im not really looking at this advice as "faults" but as constructive critism. I want to write something that will be popluar, so knowing what people want is a key in how my story will play out. Another thing that I have to think about is whether or not to describe the pokemon. Im sure that the majority of poeple who would read my fanfic would know what pokemon Im talking about, but still.

I never set that as a goal for any fanfic I write. Focus first on the fic pleasing you. Don't focus on its popularity, as it won't always go how you envision it. It's also not often a fanfic gets to be very popular when you're writing very early on (like your first tim or so). So for the moment, try to focus not on a fic that will be popular, but a fic that you yourself can be proud of.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

I see. Thank you for the advice.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[Raindrop Valkyrie 118]

I guess Im not really looking at this advice as "faults" but as constructive critism. I want to write something that will be popluar, so knowing what people want is a key in how my story will play out. Another thing that I have to think about is whether or not to describe the pokemon. Im sure that the majority of poeple who would read my fanfic would know what pokemon Im talking about, but still.

One shouldn't write with a goal of others enjoyment being a priority. At least that should not trump you own want to write a piece. If you end up writing something others love but you depise you forever be shackled to it. It will in turn be a really soulless piece. Never have the goal of being popular. That goal is not in your control. If you are beholden to that which you can't control... Well, let us just say rarely does it end well. Popularity is more or less random, it is a chaotic element you can't and should not attempt to control. So, focus on writing what you want. Why do you want to write? NEVER write for anyone, but you. At least if it not like comission work or something. Focus on goals that are in your control, and writing what you want to. These are two very important points to understand.

[Yami no Tenshi 0]

Wow. I never really thought of writing for others like that. I will definetly keep your suggestions in mind. I will write the story that I want to write.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Yami no Tenshi

[Code: PIRULUK 5]

Hi~

I'd first like to agree with Commander on the topic of Pokespeech. While I do discourage it in my guide, there are instances where it can, in fact, be used to better develop your Pokemon partners as characters. A good example would be https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4871317/1/Pedestal (Pedestal, by Digital Skitty). In this example, the author justified Poketalk by the introduction of technology which allowed for it, technology available to anyone willing to pay for it.

As for your intended premise as below,

The angle I was going to go with in the royalty plot was that his father had faked his death(unbeknownst to the main character) and his mother died I=giving birth to him, leaving his retired champion Grandfather to raise him. The grandfather would also introduce him to the rest of the clan. The protagonist would be an underdog for the first arc, which would be a race against 18 other trainers for the title of Champion in the Unova region, and King/Queen of their clan. However, one problem I couldn't really get around was how to present a clan, but have inbreeding not be a problem.

EDIT: When I say "not be a problem" I mean not happen.

The first thing I picked up: If they're an underground royal family attempting to avoid attention, why is his grandfather a Champion? Additionally, why would his father fake his death, and what is your MC's motivation for attaining the title of Champion? If their clan is an underground one with no power, why would the title of King/Queen even matter?

Also, you should not worry about inbreeding; it was a common practice among nobility. In fact, it was encouraged, to preserve the purity of the noble bloodline. Can't have some commoner wench's blood flowing around in the thick sea of noble crimson now, can we?

When it comes to fanfiction, you generally have 2 objectives. a) telling a story that you want told, and paying homage to the original work. Whether or not the fic ends up popular or not should be a non-factor. You should write what you want to write, how you want to write it. Writing should always be done first and foremost for it's own sake; it's highly unadvisable to write for the purpose of attaining recognition or affirmation