New Regions

For all those who write (or plan to write) fics about fan-made regions other than the ones in the game/anime/manga, state why here.

For me, I like to use a fan-made region to escape the restrictions placed on the other ones. For example, if you were writing a fic about Kanto, it'd be pretty weird if the main character were to suddenly catch a Poochyena. Also, I've seen fics where reviews bash the writer because they put Pokemon in the wrong area. For example, having your main character catch a Machop in the Viridian Forest. I like to think that I'm in complete control of my fic and make sure the effects from external forces are minimal.

The reason why I write with fan regions can completely be explained with the phrase "I do it when I have to."

To be specific, I'll offer an example in the form of one fanfic I'm working on involving an amnesiac waking up in a foreign region. Now, I know it has to be foreign because first off, I don't want the amnesiac to be able to look around and go, "Hey! This all seems familiar!" Secondly, it's meant to confuse said amnesiac even further and establish conflicts because:

1. The dominant language of the region isn't the same as that of Kanto, Johto, and other "based on Japan" regions. Hence, language barrier and amusing things to do with said language barrier. (Luckily, it only lasts for the first half of the story, but it still produces some beautiful stuff while the amnesiac attempts to learn the language.)
2. Culture clash. Literally.

So, long story short, the story wouldn't have the same sort of feel if I just plopped the character back in a canon region.

Otherwise, it may have something to do with other elements, like the theme or feel of a story not fitting with any of the canon regions. For example, I'm also working on a steampunk Old West RPG (which, okay, isn't fanfiction but can be the same idea anyway since a lot's going into the region creation), so that sort of thing just doesn't fit with any of the canon regions except maybe Orre (which is too underpopulated for the idea to work).

In other words, it's not so much that I want complete control over what goes on in my fanfics as it does the fact that the regions canon offers don't allow the story to work, mostly because the Japanese flavor of most of the locations directly conflict with the ideas I want to execute. (Which might be considered the same thing. I guess what I'm trying to say is I have no problem with using canon regions if I want to, but in some cases, I'm forced to create other regions for the absolute necessities of the storyline. As in, if I used canon regions instead, I wouldn't have a story.)

I like new regions because you can do more with them. You can insert all sorts of mythology, get creative with your own Gyms, have interesting natural environments... it's just a great outlet for my kind of creativity, I suppose.

Made up regions don't offer the same familiarity with the same old, same old that canon regions do, but I usually use both together. (Of course, this from the guy who is so ADD when he writes that he can't get a story beyond a single chapter before losing interest. 0_o)

But I do agree with Dragonfree and Jax. Culture changes and mythology are great fun to add to regions (although I'd say that in at least one canon region, mythology is suitably vague enough to be manipulated. *Cough* Kanto *Cough*)

I'm using my fake region of Ronac for the setting of my upcoming fics Week 23 and Feral Legacies as well as some made up locations in my MD fic Biohazard basically for the reasons other people stated. The old regions/locales get boring and new ones add to the interest in the fics because they're unfamiliar, except to the one that created them. Also, mythologies and folklore tend to be different. I mean, there sure as heck isn't a legendary demon hound possessing the power to reawaken lost emotions/memories of fear, greed, and aggression or urban legends about a Pokemon that comes back from the dead as its evolved form anywhere else in the Pokemon world.

meh... I choose to be lazy when it comes to coming up with my locations and just plop everyone in an existing region. All things considered, there's really not much point to making up a new region just so you can have your own eight gyms of particular typings you wanted, because when all's said and done, they're just gonna be defeated one way or another (as it stands, people are already getting sick of how repetitive the gym storyline is in the games), and their typings mean little more than training or spotlight on certain Pokemon owned by the protagonist that'd be used against a leader for an advantage/challenge (and such spotlight or development could easily be compensated in a scenario outside of a gym). Besides, if you wanted to use an original locale, the anime shows us time and time again that you can very easily just stick one in between a couple random towns. Mind you, I'm not completely advising against original gym-based regions... after all, some people do get a kick out of reading others' game journals (or dramatized re-tellings of), and some writers would feel the need to spice up the usual rosters of Gym Leaders we've gotten from the four generations thus far. But if you wanted something more story-driven, while still taking place in the Pokemon world, and the gym quest is rather played down compared to the rest of the plot, you may wanna consider what I said, because in the end, it's really not that essential that your setting be 100% original.

Now, if your story were to focus on something completely different, one where an original world might be necessary and the presence of the Pokemon themselves (and maybe some other elements) is strictly the only thing giving your story a "fanfiction" status, then you should go all-out with creating your own locales suitable to whatever you have in mind. Out of the stories I have planned, I've got a scenario somewhat like Mystery Dungeon (in the sense that Pokemon run their own society and humans barely seem to exist), and in another story, I'm planning to involve some dimension-hopping. As you can guess, with such storylines, it is absolutely crucial that I form my own worlds different from the official ones.

Yeah, I'm more of an original region kind of guy. As has already been mentioned, there's a lot to be said for getting to create your own customs, traditions, and environment, but for me the most important reason is canon evasion. I stopped watching the anime years ago and I've only read part of the manga so I'm horribly behind on what is supposed to have happened in the existing regions and I'd be in an even greater spot of trouble when it comes to trying to keep the important core characters acting like themselves, not to mention that I'd be facing a huge can of worms in explaining why none of the countless prominent trainer people wouldn't interfere with certain events I have in mind. For me it's just a lot easier to instead set the fic in some remote, off-the-world-map region where all those bothersome core characters hold no jurisdiction.

Besides, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh are all too high-profile for what I have in mind; I want an obscure little backwater to play around with, but I also want more room than a single town could provide. :3