The Plot Bunny Thread

[AmayaTakahashi]

Well as it's a fanmade region be sure that it's well established to begin with, and I suppose some backstory on her parents' relationship with Maria and their 'Lunar Beam' as well would be something to establish - as well as why this Team Luna would want to steal it and all.

Would the police be/have been involved in looking as well? It would strike me as odd if nobody reported these disappearances.
I do wonder why the region has such a rule considering I can't think of any obvious reason (after all every other region does not seem to have such a law.

:) Thanks for the help!!!!!! Actually, I guess I didn't make this clear enough ( lol my fault, no one elses. Looking back at it confuses me too.) but Team Luna uses "Lunar Beam" around a certain area after they commit a crime.

The police do get involved, but it's gonna be a power struggle thing like with team Rocket, other than the "Lunar Beam" beacon, they have no proof it was Team Luna. The move is open for circulation WAYYY before Team Luna started using it, but certain rare TM stores and certain Pokemon have the natural ability to learn it (i.e. Lunatone, Clefairy, etc). Also Team Luna's version is slightly altered to where it will be visible for a long time afterwards (As opposed to a few minutes), up to all night.

And as for the law concerning the training, almost everyone in the Morea region has a job concerned with Pokemon. It's kind of a mastery of the subject kind of thing. I might change it to where her father is "making" her train Pokemon for her own safety or something like that.

Thanks again!

Amaya

 

[Hitoshizuku]

Pokemon Battle Royale?

Hey guys, so I've been batting around this rather persistent plot bunny for a while. Though I don't have much confidence in my ability to pull off something this dark, I was thinking of doing a Pokemon fic based loosely on the classic Battle Royale setup. I feel like something similar has probably been done before, maybe even as a RP, but if not, my premise is as follows:

In order the find the "greatest trainer of all," mysterious Legendaries trainer Takuto has extended an open challenge to trainers from all over the world, inviting them to an isolated island to take part in a massive competition. It quickly becomes clear, however, that this isn't your normal tournament (cue sinister music).

I haven't figured out all the rules yet, but this is what I have so far.

• At the start of the competition, each trainer gets one, and only one, PokeBall containing a random "starter" Pokemon (either completely random or perhaps belonging to any of the other trainers in the competition...haven't decided yet).
  
• If a trainer tries to leave the island/enter certain restricted zones, OR if their "starter" Pokemon faints, they automatically die (via the quintessential Battle Royale exploding collars).
  
• The only way to add more Pokemon to your roster, unfortunately, is to kill other trainers and take theirs, though there may be some exceptions.
  
• Trainers also have to survive in the island wilderness, which is filled with wild Pokemon and prone to "natural" disasters.
  
• The competition ends when there is only one trainer left standing (if there isn't a single winner by the end of a certain time period, everyone may automatically die).

I'm also thinking about having a sizable subplot where individuals who didn't enter the competition (possibly headed by Gary Oak…though I can't decide if I'd prefer to have him to compete or not) are trying to figure out who "Takuto" really is and ultimately attempt to save the people on the island.

At any rate, I am thinking to use largely canon anime characters for this, probably several years into the future (one of the protagonists, May's little brother Max, is a beginning trainer at this point). I have a couple ideas for who I might include, but not nearly enough for the loads and loads of characters I'm planning for. So I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on:

• Which characters do you think would be interesting to see as competitors?/What pokemon would be interesting for them to get as their "starter"? (someone's definitely ending up with Magikarp fyi)
  
• What reactions/hidden abilities/personality traits/backstories might emerge from these characters in life and death situations?
  
• What kind of alliances/grudges/goals do you think might come into play?
  
• How might certain characters end up getting killed off/killing others off?
  
  etc.

Whew, okay. Hope no one thinks I'm an ax-crazy creep now. ^^;

 

[Eliminator Jr.]

If you really wanted to spice it up you could give all the trainers different languages so the protagonist can only communicate with a few of the trainers that share his language. Could make things interesting if hand gestures and body language are misinterpreted. However, with languages you've got more room to play around with alliances and deception.

About the Magikarp thing - if you've got multiple points of view, you could get the trainer with the Magikarp to spend the first half of the contest trying to hide from the other players, and you could include encounters where he is almost found out by other trainers (that is until he gets Gyarados and goes crazy). But yeah, I'd like to see the Magikarp guy play it smart rather than just going "oh damn, I've got a Magikarp, now I'm going to lose".

But yeah, this reminds me a lot of a book called Contest by Matthew Reilly, where basically all the intelligent races of the universe every however many years have a massive contest where one member of each race is placed inside a maze and have to be the last one standing. This time they decide to include humans as a joke (because basically humans aren't anywhere near as advanced) and the maze is the New York State Library. But yeah, the story basically follows the main guy around as he tries to protect his daughter at the same time and it's really interesting.

Good luck writing it anyway, it sounds like it'll be a ripper.

 

[Will94]

:) Thanks for the help!!!!!! Actually, I guess I didn't make this clear enough ( lol my fault, no one elses. Looking back at it confuses me too.) but Team Luna uses "Lunar Beam" around a certain area after they commit a crime.

The police do get involved, but it's gonna be a power struggle thing like with team Rocket, other than the "Lunar Beam" beacon, they have no proof it was Team Luna. The move is open for circulation WAYYY before Team Luna started using it, but certain rare TM stores and certain Pokemon have the natural ability to learn it (i.e. Lunatone, Clefairy, etc). Also Team Luna's version is slightly altered to where it will be visible for a long time afterwards (As opposed to a few minutes), up to all night.

And as for the law concerning the training, almost everyone in the Morea region has a job concerned with Pokemon. It's kind of a mastery of the subject kind of thing. I might change it to where her father is "making" her train Pokemon for her own safety or something like that.

Thanks again!

Amaya

Does the Lunar Beam idea have anything to do with the Dark Mark from Harry Potter? If not, then ignore me!! XD

 

[bobandbill]

@ Hitoshizuku - merged your thread with the Plot Bunny thread as asking for opinions on ideas and whatnot comes under this. =p

Anyways it is an interesting idea - you'd need to set up Takuto some as to why he'd want to set up such a challenge/trap in the first place though, certainly (unless you want to keep it all in the dark), and how he'd monitor everyone and all too (I imagine 'collars' would not necessarily be enough... and what happens to said collar if removed, or if they're on a Pokemon too and they evolve?

What reactions/hidden abilities/personality traits/backstories might emerge from these characters in life and death situations?

The Pokemon world seems quite against the killing of trainers by nature, so I imagine hardly anyone would find themselves enjoying it or for the whole challenge thing. =p (After all, Pokemon only ever 'faint' in battles to boot). As for training the new Pokemon, I'd think maybe recalling past experiences might come in handy and could be something to refer to if you wish?

Overall does sound promising!

 

[Hitoshizuku]

@ Eliminator Jr.
The language idea sounds pretty cool! Not sure if I've seen different languages used in the anime at all, but maybe even a secret code or some sort might be useful?

Yes, the Magikarp guy is definitely putting up a fight! (in the original "Battle Royale" movie, I think the winning characters initially got "useless" weapons, e.g. a pot lid and binoculars while other people were getting axes and guns) But yes, there should definitely be trainers that will be playing it smart rather than all out offensively; I'm thinking another guy is going to have an Abra that only knows Teleport. So many possibilities...

Ooh, thanks for the book rec. That sounds really interesting. Have you heard of the "Hunger Games" at all, by any chance?

@ bobandbill
Oops, sorry about putting this the wrong place! ^^; I did see other plot idea type threads in the main Writer's Lounge section, though (e.g. "Flying Girl Rainbow Wing," "Unknown writing story," "Lilly's Story," etc.), and I'm a bit confused about how mine was different from those. In general, how should I determine where to post this kind of stuff in the future?

Haha, yes, Takuto is most definitely in the dark. He doesn't have much backstory in the anime, so I'm going to be taking free reign with that (evil smile). As for the collars, they explode if you try to take them off, and they have some sort of audio/tracking monitor system that I will have to look more into. ^^; Not sure how I'm gonna handle Pokemon evolving, though. Uh...magic! (haha)

Yeah, I don't think anyone in the happy G-rated world that is the Pokemon anime would take well to this at all, not without some serious trauma (which is part of the reason I feel this idea would be difficult to pull off well -_-). I guess one of the points of the original "Battle Royale" was that ordinary high schoolers could become killers under the pressure of life and death situations, so I'm looking for ways to make the Pokemon chars crack as well...hope that doesn't make me sound too evil. ^^;

 

[bobandbill]

Oops, sorry about putting this the wrong place! ^^; I did see other plot idea type threads in the main Writer's Lounge section, though (e.g. "Flying Girl Rainbow Wing," "Unknown writing story," "Lilly's Story," etc.), and I'm a bit confused about how mine was different from those. In general, how should I determine where to post this kind of stuff in the future?

No problem. And I guess they never got merged, is all, or didn't quite fit. I guess though if you want advice or thoughts, etc on a plot idea it'd go here, and if it's say a preview of a fic (along with possible snippet of fic) or just a question in general to do with fics in some way then it can have its own thread.

Haha, yes, Takuto is most definitely in the dark. He doesn't have much backstory in the anime, so I'm going to be taking free reign with that (evil smile). As for the collars, they explode if you try to take them off, and they have some sort of audio/tracking monitor system that I will have to look more into. ^^; Not sure how I'm gonna handle Pokemon evolving, though. Uh...magic! (haha)

Hmm - maybe using a Pokemon to track them would be something to consider? Seeing Takuto has canonically a couple of legendaries as well that could possibly come in useful for that (including a Psychic type)...

 

[AmayaTakahashi]

Does the Lunar Beam idea have anything to do with the Dark Mark from Harry Potter? If not, then ignore me!! XD

Eh, I didn't realise it was like that until after I typed my first post. Initially, no, but I guess in a way it is! lol

XD

Amaya

 

[Canine]

I have a new idea that I got a few days ago. It's based off the seven deadly sins. Most of the same stuff stays the same, but there are a few differences.

Plot Idea
This story takes place 30 years after Ash's journey. After finishing his Unova/Isshu journey, he disappeared, leading some to think he was dead. Since then, a few new regions has been discovered, each with its own lifestyle. This story takes place on one of these new regions, Kochi.

Due to its isolation from the rest of the regions, Kochi has a unique lifestyle. It isn't very high-tech and the region still lives off it's history and superstitions. Kochi is also home to the Deadly Sins Pokemon; the story goes...before humans walked this earth, the Deadly Sins Pokemon was seven pokemon that tried to overthrow Arceus, but they failed. Arceus took their souls away and hid their bodies so they can never be found. But its only a story, right?

These pokemon (or their souls at least) is awakened, and they decide to do what they attempted before they were destroyed, overthrow Arceus and take control of the pokemon world. Each pokemon represents something different: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

It's up to trainers from around the regions to save the world from these pokemons. Will they succeed or fail miserably?
End Plot

I don't know, I don't think the seven deadly sins have been done before. It'll be interesting to see how I can work this out. What do you guys think?

 

[Astinus]

Well, my first question is what does Ash have to do with it? Normally when Ash is mentioned as being disappeared, the fic has either the plot or subplot of trying to find him. I know that you're just setting up the timeline for your fic, but if Ash isn't really a part of your fic, then why mention him?

I haven't seen the seven deadly sins done in Pokemon fanfiction, but even if it was, you'll be writing an entirely different story compared to others who have done it before, so don't really worry too much about that.

It'll be interesting to see why trainers from all over the world need to come to Kochi to save it. I'm not sure if you already have characters and where they're from set in your mind, so can't really comment much on the characters.

Are you going to have a lot of fakemon in your story? Since Kochi is separated that much from the rest of the world that they're behind in technology and other things, I'd figure that they'd not have much of the same Pokemon as other regions. Kind of like how Unova is.

I love stories dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, so I'd like to know more about this and what you have planned.

 

[Canine]

Well, my first question is what does Ash have to do with it? Normally when Ash is mentioned as being disappeared, the fic has either the plot or subplot of trying to find him. I know that you're just setting up the timeline for your fic, but if Ash isn't really a part of your fic, then why mention him?

I haven't seen the seven deadly sins done in Pokemon fanfiction, but even if it was, you'll be writing an entirely different story compared to others who have done it before, so don't really worry too much about that.

It'll be interesting to see why trainers from all over the world need to come to Kochi to save it. I'm not sure if you already have characters and where they're from set in your mind, so can't really comment much on the characters.

Are you going to have a lot of fakemon in your story? Since Kochi is separated that much from the rest of the world that they're behind in technology and other things, I'd figure that they'd not have much of the same Pokemon as other regions. Kind of like how Unova is.

I love stories dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, so I'd like to know more about this and what you have planned.

I don't think I'll add Ash or any anime characters. I was just setting up the timeline, I don't think I'll mention any of them in the fic.

I was just making sure I wasn't "ripping off" anyone. I didn't think the Seven Deadly Sins have been done, but I was just checking.

I have a few characters made, but only the main characters (or most of the main characters). I'm still trying to figure out how the other regions will play into the story.

I want to have fakemon in this story, but it depends if I can figure out the names of them. I'm really bad at thinking of names for pokemon.

I've been obsessed with the Seven Deadly Sins lately, and I got this idea across the weekend.

 

[Bay]

I'll have to go with Astinus on the mentioning Ash part. When you mention him, then that means you're going to have your story set in anime canon, which is quite different from game canon. You can still have your story set long after Ash's journey at Isshu/Unova is finished, but if Ash won't be referenced or be featured, it's best not to mentioned Ash's disappearance.

Other than that, very interesting premise. Don't think I seen the deadly sins being used in Pokemon, so it's would be very interesting how that will play out. If you can't think of some fakemon for the deadly sins, you can maybe still have some of the legendaries be them. I mean, if going by anime canon, the Orange Islands have their own myths of Lugia different from the people of Johto, so it's possible.

 

[Giratina ♀]

Indeed. Perhaps when we learn the English names of the Unova (ugh) protagonists, you can use them as a baseline... or just remove that part entirely and just state that it happens in the far future. Either one would work just as good as Ash Ketchum, and in my experience, the less tethering you do to one timeline, the better. At least the game canon is a little more open.

I don't believe I've ever seen the Deadly Sins as physical Pokémon before. (Admittedly I have assigned a Deadly Sin to each of my fake Gym Leaders, which is why I can't use "in fanfic", but that was just for fun and I don't intend to mention that in the story itself. So yeah. XD) It would certainly be fun to watch - for me, at least, who finds that sort of thing very interesting. c:

 

[Spinor]

I don't want to give out to much, but I have a sort of story I want to see I can exercise.

It all started with Dragons, Iris (Pokemon Anime), and Relatives. From there, I spun out a conflict between two sisters related to Iris fighting each other for a sort of power as Dragon Warriors. I subdivided the action into 4 parts, an introduction, Iris's story, a journey to find hidden objects, and the final conflict.

The names of the sisters I believe would be Veronica and Haemona. Them and Iris descend from an ancient civilization/specie of human called The People of the Dragons. After some legends which I'm still working on, Veronica and Haemona will conflict. Iris will also play an important role here. I think it'd probably be sort of violent.

Anyways, I'm not new to writing, it's just time management that I need to adjust. But I feel like I can probably develop enough from this.

 

[Bay]

I don't want to give out to much, but I have a sort of story I want to see I can exercise.

It all started with Dragons, Iris (Pokemon Anime), and Relatives. From there, I spun out a conflict between two sisters related to Iris fighting each other for a sort of power as Dragon Warriors. I subdivided the action into 4 parts, an introduction, Iris's story, a journey to find hidden objects, and the final conflict.

The names of the sisters I believe would be Veronica and Haemona. Them and Iris descend from an ancient civilization/specie of human called The People of the Dragons. After some legends which I'm still working on, Veronica and Haemona will conflict. Iris will also play an important role here. I think it'd probably be sort of violent.

Anyways, I'm not new to writing, it's just time management that I need to adjust. But I feel like I can probably develop enough from this.

Real quick, when you say "two sisters related to Iris," you mean those sisters are Iris' cousins, or the three of them are siblings? Just want to make sure.

Anyways, this sounds interesting. Am curious though what does the title Dragon Warrior means and also what the hidden objects have to do with the plot. Perhaps those objects needed to be found in order to be a Dragon Warrior?

 

[Spinor]

Real quick, when you say "two sisters related to Iris," you mean those sisters are Iris' cousins, or the three of them are siblings? Just want to make sure.

Anyways, this sounds interesting. Am curious though what does the title Dragon Warrior means and also what the hidden objects have to do with the plot. Perhaps those objects needed to be found in order to be a Dragon Warrior?

I want to say cousins, but I decided to set up the family tree for Iris to be a sort of 2nd Aunt.

That might be the case~ I'm developing each story sub-plot and events bit by bit.

Also, would it be a good tactic to write out many chapters to wait for review and release, or is it better to remain classical and review/release after you finish writing each chapter?

 

[Neiko Star]

Anybody have any suggestions about my idea?

 

[Giratina ♀]

Advance, I've heard of a certain fanficiton writer putting her entire story onto paper, rewriting it, and then posting the chapters, and it turned out to be a fantastic read. But not everyone can even do that (I've tried and failed). Writing a bunch is good because you can go back and edit inconsistencies, but one at a time is better for those of us who really can't stand big documents, or keeping content from the readers. It depends on what you feel like doing.

Neiko Star, could you perhaps quote your idea? It would be much easier to rate if we don't need to sift through pages. c:

 

[bobandbill]

Indeed - there are advantages and disadvantages to either posting as you write something or writing it all before getting to posting. If the former, having some idea as to how the rest of the story will pan out may be useful so you avoid potential plotholes and whatnot, , but if you (or a reviewer) points out a problem that would mean some re-writing if you have the whole thing done already than you may need to do more work to fix that overall. But really, one should go with what feels best for them, I suppose - I've seen both ways work well, and work not-so-well. *shrugs*

Also here be Neiko Star's idea from...back in September:

I'm a big fan of fantasy and magic, but I can't write them to save my life. >.< The major problem is that it's hard for me to plot my stories out. I have a couple of ideas, but I really don't know what to do with them. I hardly have enough to write a story, but it seems like I'm just too lazy to take the time to plot the whole thing out. I mean, most of my 'idea's are actually just concepts, and I actually have no idea what the main plot or characters are. I don't expect to get a substantial plot out of this, but I'd appreciate it if somebody just gave me a few pointers or recommendations.

Idea #1: The Book of Spells contains spells and incantations. There are 100 pages, and ten spells per page. The Book of Summons contains the list of supernatural creatures you have signed contracts with. You can sign up to 500 contracts. Then there's a third book, a book used to store magical items and such, though I haven't come up with a name for it yet. Each mage starting out will get one spell, one contract and one item. The first space on the first page of every Book is framed with fancy gold curves. That's where they go. The first spell is nearly always unique to the user. The first contract you sign is different than others, because it's a blood contract, so the beast is bound to you for life. Every time you master a spell, it becomes engraved in your Book of Spells. The Books are written in an ancient rune language (haven't found a name yet). Each mage has their own Frequency (not sure about this name either) of Resonance. Resonance is when you pulse your magic through something, and Frequency is like fingerprints of your magic, unique to a single person. The person's Frequency is inscribed in runes on the cover of the Books. Only the user's Frequency can unlock the Books. The Books are white and colourless when you receive them. When you unlock them for the first time, it takes a huge burst of magic. If you manage to unlock them, they'll get their own colour, depending on the branch and type of your magic. It is the goal of each mage to complete their Books. Everybody has their Books, as they are part of one's soul, but not everyone can unlock them. That means only those with a powerful and pure Resonance can become mages. That's pretty much all I have right now.

Ugh, I have to sleep now, I'll post the rest of my ideas tomorrow morning...

On first glance - what are the actual purposes of contracts - I feel that could be further established for instance, and what sort of creatures (beyond 'supernatural' as mentioned) does one make contracts with as well? Is there any reason for the 10 spells per page, 500 contracts, etc limits mentioned here as well? (For instance is thre anything stoppoing one for using a different book, or fitting more, or indeed less than 10 spells on each page? And as you said you'd be 'the rest of your ideas later, so you might as well do that too I suppose, in case some clarifies some of those questions. =p

 

[Prometheus]

The book off summons seems fantastic.