Does everyone hate OT fics?

[Clark]

I really think it's just that at this point, people know what to expect from OT fics. Probably around 90% of all of them seem to follow this basic storyline:

• Trainer gets starter Pokemon from Professor X.
• Trainer leaves hometown and heads off on a journey.
• Trainer catches new Pokemon occasionally.
• Trainer battles gym leaders and perhaps meets another trainer to travel with.

And there, I kind of have to stop, because quite honestly, I'm pretty sure I've only read one OT fic that didn't end abruptly once either constructive critisism came in or it began to seem more and more cliche'd. (That one exceptional fic I read was Dragonfree's The Quest for the Legends, by the way, which was less centered around the topic of a trainer's quest to be a master and more aimed toward a much more thought-out and detailed plot) I even admit to ending my own OT fic, despite all the ideas I had for it, simply because it became boring to write.

But the main point of my answer is that with every new OT fic (and there are ALWAYS new OT fics being made), the genre becomes more and more predicable. On occasion you will come across one that is more unique or has plot twists to separate it from this "stereotype", but as I said before, there's like 90% or more of them that follow the above plotline. There's nothing wrong with OT fics. It's just that after so many, and with them all looking vaguely identical, more experienced authors/reviwers tend to grow bored with them, and easily are led to expect most OT fics to be the same as the previous ones they read.

 

[darkcowboy]

the only thing i hate about OT fics is the appearance of legendaries. -kills all the legendaries-
we see them enough in the games, manga, movies and even the tv show on some rare occasions, but i definately don't want to read about them as well.

 

[Gummy]

the only thing i hate about OT fics is the appearance of legendaries. -kills all the legendaries-
we see them enough in the games, manga, movies and even the tv show on some rare occasions, but i definately don't want to read about them as well.

I think you're talking about "Chosen One" fics. OTs usually just deals with a group of trainers (or a single trainer) traveling around a region, collecting badges, beating the bad team, and winning the Pokemon League. Legendaries come up a few times in the story but usually aren't the bulk of it, like in "Chosen One" fics, whereas the main character is pretty much surrounded by legendary Pokemon.

 

[BakingBluePotatoe]

i love OT fics!

I just hate it when things are either:

Short
Stupid
Clich'd
Horribly-Written


which is several fics...

although, several fics are acctually a pretty good read.

DarkPersian479's "Lurking in the Shadows" for instance: While I don't usually like the Spoiled Rich Girl characters, Lisa makes for a pretty interesting Heroine. And the fact the Meowth is the starter and not something like Charmander, Squirtle, or Treeko... makes for some WONDERFUL origionality. And it's VERY descriptive, and keeps me reading!


And BREAKINGBEN's stories often have several twists and turns, making his stories quite an interesting read. His chapters may not be quite is long as DP's (Though, the heavy description in DP's writing could be the cause of this), but they're just as eye-catching!



~~~~~

My story as well will have several different Twists and turns along the way (though, I won't tell you any :p)

 

[BladedScizor]

I personally think that a big part of what makes an OT fic good is the writer's ability to find a niche where they can stand out, whether the plot is predictable or not. I have a couple examples here of some of my favorite stories.

Lurking in the Shadows: Lisa's Ultimate Challenge by DarkPersian479: It has a kinda cliche plot, with the evil team and all, but the unique characters really sets it apart from other fics. The main character, the friends she meets, and even her enemies(or maybe it's especially her enemies) tend to have distinct, almost off-the-wall personalities, which also results in fairly unique situations and conversations.

Never in the Wrong Time or Wrong Place by Griff: This fic deviates from the standard path of journey fics several times, and the journey itself tends to take a backseat to the relationships and character development of the main character and his Pokemon.

Burning Spirit by Banov: This one would be awesome just for the sheer simplicity of it, but the unexpected situations and well-executed character development helps it even more. One man set on defeating a particular tough Gym Leader for the sake of impressing a lovely lady friend, that's it.


As for my own story, I'm told that my description and fighting scenes are particularly good, which will hopefully show more as I continue posting it here. I'm also fairly proud of the character development, particularly that given to the main character's Pokemon.

 

[Enperuto]

I think you're talking about "Chosen One" fics. OTs usually just deals with a group of trainers (or a single trainer) traveling around a region, collecting badges, beating the bad team, and winning the Pokemon League. Legendaries come up a few times in the story but usually aren't the bulk of it, like in "Chosen One" fics, whereas the main character is pretty much surrounded by legendary Pokemon.

Except most trainer/OT also make the trainer a chosen one. Because how can't someone get 8 badges and then not be compelled to save the universe from doom.

I think why people stray from canon characters is because a large portion of fandom doesn't like the anime, and most don't read the manga. Besides that, game characters are rather 2 dimensional (he he...) and most of them don't develop back story. The only people that really use canon characters are shippers.... maybe that's the cause of inpopularity?

Really, there is a lack of good science fiction and fantasy, I think. I've found a few - Jax wrote a couple - but there's no big section anywhere or site with tons of sf.

As far as OT goes, most people have seen lots of battles and they won't be alluring anymore to hear the same old thing. Thus, you might want to focus more on character driven story, especially the trainer - pokemon and trainer - trainer interactions.

 

[JX Valentine]

I think why people stray from canon characters is because a large portion of fandom doesn't like the anime,

I hesitate to make this generalization, actually. Even with the cast changes, the anime is still immensely popular, and a number of people I know are quick to say they think the anime's actually getting better from the rut it was in a few seasons ago.

Besides that, game characters are rather 2 dimensional (he he...) and most of them don't develop back story.

That's the point, though. Because the games don't really give them much in the way of characterization, they're far more flexible than more developed characters in other fandoms. It's up to us to decide who they are, based on what little information we have of them.

For example, let's take Wes. Throughout Colosseum, you're given the following details about Wes:

1. He was once a member of Team Snagem.
2. He decided to defect for reasons never explicitly stated, destroying the Snagem base in the process.
3. He never says a word but escorts Rui because she insists on following him. (For that matter, he doesn't bother to protest her clingy nature, but he doesn't show affection towards her, either.)

Other than that, we're given nothing, not even much of a personality. Whenever I wanted to write about him, I had to build him up, based on those few details I knew. This means not only figuring out whether he's just a hero with messed up ethics, if he wants to go straight, or if he just intends on being a criminal and is only doing things that ultimately benefits him. This also means figuring out how he would react to people and various situations and maybe building up a little history as well. Was I successful? Maybe.

Point is, yes, it's hard to figure out how to handle a canon character, but it's not at all impossible just because canon didn't give you anything. Yes, you just have to put in a bit of extra work, but you have the rudimentary foundations at least. So, it's slightly easier than just working with a completely original character because while you might have to build up the character a little and figure them out, for an original character, you start with absolutely nothing.

The only people that really use canon characters are shippers.... maybe that's the cause of inpopularity?

*raises hand* Not a shipper.

On the other hand, I wouldn't say that my CC-centered fics are particularly popular (except for that one monstrosity on FFNet whose name I don't think I'll repeat), but I don't think they're ignored, either. And they're certainly not entirely shippy.

Really, there is a lack of good science fiction and fantasy, I think. I've found a few - Jax wrote a couple - but there's no big section anywhere or site with tons of sf.

Thanks. And I agree. With fantasy, that tends to mingle with the entire Chosen One/Mystic Quest storyline by giving trainers special powers or Pokemon so they can ride off to Mordor to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, but science fiction and fantasy that doesn't rip off every other plotline everyone else has ever done? Yeah, I'd like to see more of this.

 

[Astinus]

Except most trainer/OT also make the trainer a chosen one. Because how can't someone get 8 badges and then not be compelled to save the universe from doom.

Kinda like how in my other two favorite fandoms, the characters that save the world also have to go to school. *nods sagely* It's just a matter of balancing life.

I think why people stray from canon characters is because a large portion of fandom doesn't like the anime, and most don't read the manga.

:|

Besides that, game characters are rather 2 dimensional (he he...) and most of them don't develop back story.

But that's part of the fun with writing about them. Either the game characters or the character-of-the-day(cotd) from the anime. You can delve into their mind further than what their creators did and give them a history that they didn't have before.

Heck, let me give an example that'll implode your mind. I have been, and will be, writing fanfics about Harrison from the anime. He really doesn't have all that much in terms of history or personality. But somehow he endeared himself to me, and I gave him a past, a present, and a future in my fics. That's the fun I have as an author: learning about my characters by writing about them.

The only people that really use canon characters are shippers.... maybe that's the cause of inpopularity?

Don't ship in the Pokemon fandom. Besides, I'm not really sure what you're implying. Are you saying that people just don't like shipping? Or that shipping fics tend to be of horrible quality? Because I know of some damn good shipping fanfics.

 

[Sydian]

The only people that really use canon characters are shippers.... maybe that's the cause of inpopularity?

The reason there's use of canon characters for ships is so that readers who like the ship can read it, of course, and really, not many people want to read a shipping story on people they've never heard of, do they? And would you really want to make up characters just to make up a shipping? It just doesn't seem right, ergo, yes, we mainly use canon characters.

And I have no shame in doing so.

I think why people stray from canon characters is because a large portion of fandom doesn't like the anime, and most don't read the manga.

I agree with Astinus: :|

I think you might want to take a stroll around the manga section and the anime section of the forum. There's plenty of people in the fandom that watch the anime/read the manga, including myself.

Don't ship in the Pokemon fandom. Besides, I'm not really sure what you're implying. Are you saying that people just don't like shipping? Or that shipping fics tend to be of horrible quality? Because I know of some damn good shipping fanfics.

To add onto this, excluding what I've stated above, if you are implying this, I'd like you to take a lovely stroll into the Pokemon Special Fan Club. Half of our topics have to do with shipping. And also, take a peek at the Shipping Community at Serebii Forums. Lots and lots of threads for general dicussion on many, many ships.

And I also know plenty of good shipping fan fics. That's what compelled me to write, thank you. And no, it's not Just A Brother. I've come to...blecharehdufda dislike my fic. Anyway, take a look at Oni Flygon's stories. Most, if not all, of those are shipping. They're fantastic.

 

[Baa.Baa.Blacksheep]

I personally don't like OT stories. Well, I don't mind OT stories, but only if they have some cannon characters. I like to see how people interpret the cannon characters, myself. Of course, most of the fanfics that I read are shipping fanfics, so that may also have something to do with it...I greatly dislike when people put cannon characters with OTs.

But, this is all my opinion. :3

 

[emeraldslay]

I really enjoy O.T. fics that're written well. It's possibly my favorite genre when it's done correctly - however, I've found a lot of them to follow the same formula, which can get tiresome after some time.

 

[burningfoot]

There are very few good OT fics. I've written some that I refuse to publish because I've ended up including all the same old rubbish lots of people do. The best OT fics I think are ones that do something different to the normal ones or follow the normal rules of the genre but have the main character not enjoying the cliches and turn it into a complete piss take of the genre. So I don't hate OTs I just think people need to keep the O in OTs. lol.

 

[Sunnybeam]

There are very few good OT fics. I've written some that I refuse to publish because I've ended up including all the same old rubbish lots of people do. The best OT fics I think are ones that do something different to the normal ones or follow the normal rules of the genre but have the main character not enjoying the cliches and turn it into a complete piss take of the genre. So I don't hate OTs I just think people need to keep the O in OTs. lol.

Bold = TRUTH.

OT fanfictions can be good. VERY good. Anyone looking for an astoundingly good OT fic, go to FFnet and search for Vision of Darkness: The Sinnoh League by Bubblebeam.

On the other hand, they can be bad...VERY bad. And sadly, we see more of this than the former. I don't know if everyone has seen this, but I have noticed that nearly everyone entertains the notion of an OT fic at some point. (Including myself, and MAN IT SUCKED. >_<) What happens - or at least, this is what I've seen - is that the middling or...noobish...writers think, "Yeah! It's great! I'll write it!" while the more advanced writers hold back, running the plot, characters and concepts through that harsh cycle of revision. And when I say harsh, I'm talking about the revision that spurs authors to rewrite their fics. Which I have done.

What comes out is either a VERY good OT fic, or something that isn't really an OT fic anymore.

The OTs I've read...VoD:TSL is the only one I've ever kept an interest in. The problem with most is that not only is the plot repetitive, but the characters fail to grab your interest long enough for the plot to become un-repetitive. Sometimes it takes a while for a character's personality tobe fully developed, but OT fics can't risk that delay. They have to establish characters from the start, or else have the most kick-butt plot on this planet and others.