This was my favorite part of your whole spiel.
I laugh every time I read a Fic involving this. Seriously, if the character has THAT much of a problem with Pokemon abuse, then it stands to reason they wouldn't be in a profession where it's legal for them to make their Pokemon fight each other for sport. I'm not saying characters shouldn't be against abuse. I just think if someone's like that, they could go farther than that and actually become an almost original character by being even slightly against Pokemon Battling in general. You don't see that every day.
Glad you liked it. Also glad that the only person with the guts to write a fanfic starring the anime cast as characters in an SPC-like world has taken interest in the guide. XD
Me, I'm not so much against the inconsistency of whining about how awful abuse is as I am the fact that it's basically turned into the standard for establishing a character's
yasashii credentials. (Ooh, ACC knows some E-Japanese! Tremble!) That hatred of abuse doesn't really add anything to the character that the audience hasn't intuitively figured out, and isn't really much of a plot point either. That is, unless it results in Eevee joining the party. (And on that note, why Eevee? It's always Eevee. Apparently there are several thousand trainers in the Pokemon world who almost exclusively abandon their cute, rare, fox-y Pokemon to the rain). It's just overdone and frankly it's pointless unless, as you said, it ties into a character's larger objection to Pokemon battling as a sport. Of course, seeing as Pokemon themselves are more than capable of eviscerating humans six ways from Sunday, I find situations where Pokemon are getting abused highly unbelievable. Even the anime wasn't dumb enough to present Charmander as actively getting beaten- he was portrayed as being extremely naive, enough that he believed every word his trainer said. The same thing, I guess, could be said for Chimchar in the Sinnoh arc. Shinji/Paul doesn't hit him with a stick, he just pushes him extremely hard and finally just decides "Okay, I'm through with you." That's about the closest I think you can logically get to abusing a Pokemon.... unless, of course, you like it when that cute little Eevee suddenly tests out the Bite technique it just learned on your spinal cord.
And on that note, I think it's time for another segment of the guide. SPIN ON! JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK THIS IS?
THE GUIDE, PART VII, THAT'S WHAT! PIERCE THROUGH THE HEAVENS WITH YOUR FANFIC!
Today, we'll be glancing at a fic genre that I've touched on but hardly covered- PMD fics. Now, the reason I've waited this long to introduce PMD cliches is that not only are they less popular than OT fics (but only just), I've also read fewer well-done PMD fics to establish comparisons than I have good OT fics. However, I just bought Explorers of Time, and so I've been granted a little bit of new insight into the PMD world. So, without further ado, I present... THIS!
I Instantly Believe You!
A strange syndrome that persists throughout the Mystery Dungeon universe- yea, even its canon- in which every Pokemon that the main characer meets automatically believe him when he says that he's a human. Come on, seriously folks. Does the 'partner' have to be this gullible? If I had grown up in an environment where Pokemon civilization has apparently replaced human civilization almost entirely and I found a half-conscious Cyndaquil lying on the ground and saying something about being human, I'd be less inclined to swallow his story and more inclined to drag him to the local village healer. Seriously, if your partner character is inclined to believe obvious misinformation this often, I've got a few acres of bottomland I'm selling with his name on 'em. More importantly, however, there's the fact that it's not just the partner character. Every single character that the leading man of the story runs into is completely won over when he says "I'm a human who turned into a Pokemon." Seriously, this isn't a particularly wise move to take in your stories because it essentially turns the whole thing into an Idiot Plot. Besides, having characters disbelieve the lead- even his own partner- can lead to amusing situations. Imagine that the main character makes the mistake of saying he's a human, and throughout the story everyone who knows him is convinced that he's delusional. Seriously, there's a lot of potential for both conflict and humor that's being missed here.
Because Three's Company Too
Referring to that strange tendency that PMD authors have in adding another Pokemon to the partner/main character core team of the PMD universe. This character is often there from the beginning or recruited very early on into the rescue/exploration team, and is a Pokemon not usually available as a potential recruit in the games until the final phases (i.e., another starter or choice of main character Pokemon). Now, I might not have such a problem with this if said character actually added anything to the story. Generally, however, such a character does not and serves only to be an extra witness to the events of the main storyline. Seriously, if you're not going to do anything story-altering with that character, don't put them in. Characters need a purpose to exist, or they might as well not be there.
Now where have I seen this before...?
Apparently, many PMD fic authors think that simply because the Mystery Dungeon games have a slightly more involved plot than the games of the main series, they can get away with essentially copying the game's story word for word and adding nothing to it. The sound you just heard was my patented boring-fic-o-meter exploding. Seriously, what's the point of transcribing the original game if you're adding virtually nothing to the story or characters? (No, for the record, having the main character turn into a Riolu or Larvitar instead of the usual starting Pokemon and adding an unnecessary third wheel to the main party does not a great addition make). Seriously, when every event is basically copy-pasted from the source material all the fic makes me want to do is go back and play the game for myself. Come on, people, is it really that hard to take a new spin on the characters or story?
Dungeon-Crawlin' Fools
You know, the whole "mystery dungeon" aspect of PMD canon is really basically just one big game mechanic. As in, it makes sense for it to be in the games because they're dungeon-crawlers but doesn't necessarily have to make it into the fic. The environments where your characters are exploring/performing rescue work don't necessarily need to be constantly shifting every time they blink and traversable only by using special sets of teleporting stairs (wut). No, seriously,
what? It isn't impossible to write a good PMD fic or oneshot where the mechanic makes the transition from game screen to page, but it's also not exactly the easiest thing to do while maintaining a serious tone in the overall story. Keep that in mind.
Character Diversity- What's That?
Similar to the transcription of plots from PMD games, characters also often make a copy-paste appearance. Common victims include Gengar's gang from the original PMD games as well as Skuntank's group from the newer ones. Even the partner from both games is completely ripped off. Seriously, WTF people. Have you never even thought about the possible characters you could HAVE working together? You could write a fic about, for example:
-A human with a strong sense of duty transformed into a Pokemon and paired with a carefree, excitable partner.
-A main character whose loss of memories impaired his intelligence paired with a super-genius.
-A pair of kleptomaniacs forming a team in order to stay out of trouble.
The possibilities here are endless, people. One of my favorite PMD fics starred a Machop that the main character- a female, kleptomaniac Charmander- nicknamed Loopy due to his apparent mental damage. It was left ambiguous about whether or not Loopy was actually a human, and the fic was never completed, but it was definitely worth reading and if I still had the link for it I'd share it with you.
Well, there ends the guide for today. Until next time, remember: Your pen is the pen that will pierce through the heavens!
(By the way, amusing bit of trivia: the number of characters you're allowed to use for your team name in Explorers of Time is
exactly enough to christen your group "Team Dai-Gurren". The fact that the partner in the Explorers games acts more than a little like Simon just makes everything funnier. XD)
