Fic ideas V.2

[DMerle]

I'm mulling about with the idea of a GOT style written fic, with several different perspectives, so far I've established four characters: A budding trainer, a Pokémon Ranger, and a Pokémon hunter that's been hired by Team Rocket.

My problem is I always end up giving up after a few chapters, I just seem to hit this block where writing about the characters feels stale, any ideas on how to help with this?

 

[Mudkip Oshawott Piplup]

I want to write a KrazyShipping or KyoudaiShipping story, but I'm not good when it comes to ideas! There's not many KyoudaiShipping stories, and you can never have too much KrazyShipping, so I decided to do something about it. I always write cliche stories, since I don't know what else to do! By the way, I'm still a kid here so my writing might not be as advanced as the average author. And if any of you guys can come up with an idea with both shippings, that would be amazing!

 

[JX Valentine]

I want to write a KrazyShipping or KyoudaiShipping story, but I'm not good when it comes to ideas! There's not many KyoudaiShipping stories, and you can never have too much KrazyShipping, so I decided to do something about it. I always write cliche stories, since I don't know what else to do! By the way, I'm still a kid here so my writing might not be as advanced as the average author. And if any of you guys can come up with an idea with both shippings, that would be amazing!

Hey there! Not sure if you've already discovered this, but shipping fics actually have their own forum under the Shippers Community. I say this because ... not that many people in the main fic forum ship.

That and the shippers have their own discussion thread as well as threads popping up periodically to help authors develop ideas. While I wouldn't suggest going into the discussion thread and straight-up asking for ideas (It's not usually kosher in a fic community to do that, but shipping communities tend to be a little more lax about that.), it's worth it to hit up those threads and talk about your ships. You never know if by talking about them with fellow shippers, inspiration will suddenly strike. Or someone will say something along the lines of what they wish people would write.

So yeah. Sorry this isn't what you're looking for, but good luck with the shipping forum!

 

[Pika Kong]

I decided to work on my own fic in an alternate universe (and as such very few, if any, of the canon characters are included). I do have a story already planned, but for now I'll just say the concept.
In my setting, Pokemon and Mankind sort of live in two different worlds (psychologically), and do not connect with each other too much unlike in the canon. The world is more like ours in real life, in that Humanity does have connections with some animal species and stuff, but our world doesn't revolve around them too much and some of us pay more attention to our own lives than to animal life. People can and do still compete in Pokemon Battles and keep them as pets, but only certain species are domestic and Battles have been demoted to the rank an ordinary sport instead of a common hobby or career for almost everyone. Specific information of this includes:
[spoil]

• The majority of Pokemon are obtained by their owners from adoption in Pet Shops, though they can also be tamed by feeding them food (applies more to farmers than commoners however). You can also view them at zoos or aquariums.
• It is still possible to capture Pokemon in Poke Balls and battle them in the wild, but it isn't commonly done. Apricorns and other materials are quite uncommon, making Poke Ball production amount decrease significantly and they are generally hard to produce since factories don't have have a lot their ingredients to work with. Poke Balls that do end up being manufactured are quite expensive due to their rarity and sell for a lot more, so only so many people can afford the damn things.
  
  Because of this, most households usually contain no more than 5 Pokemon as pets since they are hard to obtain and as expensive, although the Higher Class rich people can still have a plentiful amount.
  
• In some areas, cities, and towns; Outdoor Pokemon Battling is outlawed and is permitted only inside certain buildings like Boxing Rings, Coliseums, Dojos, etc. In these particular zones, the Law treats Pokemon battling very similar to crimes like Street Fighting, Cockfighting Destruction to Property, or Potential Murders. In a few areas, Pokemon Combat is even outlawed entirely and is considered illegal.
  
  If you and your Rival's Pokemon happen to cause destruction and damage to private and public property a like during your battle, you're paying for it!
  
• Compared to the canon incarnations, Pokemon in this universe are slightly less powerful. Although they still pack a punch, they are a bit more frail and are not invincible: Certain Pokemon are susceptible to bleeding if damaged or cut severely, or if the worst happens and they engage in fights to the death. Some of them also have generally shorter lifespans than in the canon and can only live for so long, so Pokemon deaths are occur more frequently here than in the canon (though death from battle is still uncommon in general), and this is one of the reasons why Pokemon battling is illegal in some places. You might kill someone else's pet, or get your own pet killed!
  
• They are however stronger in one area: Pokemon in this universe are capable of more than 4 moves, or at least the Main Protagonist in my story attempts to prove this on his journey. In The Games are limited to only 4 moves at a time, and it doesn't seem to different in the Anime Show (besides the "Spin" Move that Dawn/Hikari taught her Pokemon and Pikachu too). It sounds kinda odd to me, its hard to say why.
  
• Most people in this universe pay more attention to their own lives than to the Animal Kingdom/Pokemon World, mstly treating them like Ordinary Animals instead of Supernatural Beings (except Legendary Pokemon, who are worshiped as gods by some). As such, Pokemon aren't as popular in the media and don't get as much attention. They still play a part in the universe, but the world doesn't revolve itself around them, unlike in the games where it seems like everyone pursues a career in Pokemon Battling (or anything Pokemon Related) jobs and almost every single person talks about them.
  
• The people who do own Pokemon though, don['t rally use them for soldiers. Instead, they are used for other things such as Pets, Livestock, Zoo Animals, Service and Working Animals, etc. People still share a bond with them, but the whole world has yet to take them seriously as Potent soldiers or Companions.
  
• Even the gym leaders don't battle as often and are sometimes booked on certain days, mainly because they have their own lives to get to instead of just challenging a bunch of people all day long. If a trainer wishes to take a leader on and enter the heat of battle, he has to arrange this fight by contacting them via phone calls, email, etc. In addition, all Leaders are treated as equal in terms of skill and experience, and they can all be challenged in any order. In the games, some Leaders are just stronger than others and the player starts with the weaker ones and progresses to the stronger ones as they were. I just wonder: What does this mean for the people who weren't born in Pallet Town and live so far away from Brock, but closer to someone stronger like Sabrina? Would they have to take a plane or bus ride just to get to Pewter City before just taking on someone else. I just noticed that in the games, and I personally find it kinda odd.
  
• Because Pokemon are less commonly associated with humans, they generally have a harder time adapting to their new homes and take a slower time to start obeying their masters. The two worlds between mankind and Pokes have too thick of a line between each other for most to become fast friends.

In a nutshell, the relationship between Pokemon and Mankind is a little distant and they keep a significantly smaller involvement with one another and don't take each other too seriously, at least not for now. One boy named Jordan who had just gotten his first Pokemon, is one of the few people who have enough Poke Balls and resources still able to catch his own Pokemon. He has never really owned a Pokemon before and ignored them in his life up until this point. He had bought a raffle ticket for a free, rare mystery prize Pokemon (revealed to be a Froakie) along with a set of 20 Balls; but he didn't think he stood a chance and didn't expect to win, and only entered because everyone else did. To his surpirise, he did win, and his new friend was revealed to be a Froakie. He didn't know what to do with his new friend at first, but after spending some time with it he finally knew what he wished to do with Pokemon after it saved his life in a battle: Capture more of these intriguing creatures and form a Superhero Team with them (something he had always wanted to do, but never could) and fight crime with it for two reasons:

1. For justice.
2. For the action. To him, crime fighting sounds like fun! Or is it..

The problem is, he has no experience in Pokemon Battling and doesn't get along to well with his Froakie; so the road to becoming a superhero might prove difficult unless he can find a mentor with experience in both worlds, which will be very hard to do since Battling is really unpopular with almost everyone else. Despite being fairly new to the world of Pokemon He intends to not only fight crime, but also convince the world to get more involved with Pokemon and that there is more to these creatures than being mere pets and animals, and that they could change the world forever, they certainly changed his; in just one day I might add.Unfortunately, he might be spreading the word about this too much, since bad guys also recognize his intent and realize that Pokemon could be used for destruction as well.. although that's kinda what he wants to happen.[/spoiler]

Spoiler: The Characters and Story itself

I'll get to this later [/spoil]

Try it! Tell me what ya think!

 

[GingerDixie]

So...it's just the normal Pokemon world? I don't usually see training Pokemon in the common verse as the standard job anyhow. The economy still has to support itself, you know, and it wouldn't be feasible to do that on the backs of kids raising god-monsters from their pockets. It's just the main focus of the games and the anime, because how else would kids be interested in putting all their time and effort into raising a bunch of badass monsters with superpowers? Also, there's plenty of reason to assume Pokemon fighting wouldn't be legal in all places of the normal Pokemon world, and paying for damage done to structures due to your Pokemon is common sense.

 

[Sunset Star]

@Pika Kong: Sounds like an interesting concept, but what are all of the randomly capitalized words for? There's also some broken BBcode in your post... /picky
As for the actual story, rather than nitpicking... the above poster raised an interesting point about paying for damage. Destroying buildings and stuff could be considered an offense in your fic... just a suggestion.

EDIT: I feel like writing a fanfic about a wild shiny Pokémon who doesn't like being shiny because humans pay too much attention to them. I've had that idea for a while ago. Also, I want to write a fanfic with an Eeveelution character whose defining trait isn't them simply being an Eeveelution, if that made any sense.

 

[edgehead011]

would you guys be interested in a story where serena somehow merges with yetval and the only one who could save is ash?

 

[GalladeofSpades]

I've had an idea for a PMD fic using important points and characters from the French Revolution. Of course, there will be some changes so it won't be that predictable to anyone with general history knowledge and because I'm too lazy to research every single fact about the revolution , but what I'd like to know is, does this sound like it's possible? Has this been done before? Would it be better to stick to the original timeline, or should I mix it up a bit, keeping the main events intact?

I'm not sure if I explained myself well. If you need any clarifications, just ask.

 

[Kitt Geekazaru]

I've had an idea for a PMD fic using important points and characters from the French Revolution. Of course, there will be some changes so it won't be that predictable to anyone with general history knowledge and because I'm too lazy to research every single fact about the revolution , but what I'd like to know is, does this sound like it's possible? Has this been done before? Would it be better to stick to the original timeline, or should I mix it up a bit, keeping the main events intact?

I'm not sure if I explained myself well. If you need any clarifications, just ask.

Well, some people have compared the history of Kalos, most notably Parfum Palace, as similar to French History and the Revolution. So maybe one of the character's could be AZ/Eternal Floette, in the past getting ready to unleash the ultimate weapon (Yveltal) and you must find Xerneas to help save the lives of the pokemon?

 

[はるひ]

would you guys be interested in a story where serena somehow merges with yetval and the only one who could save is ash?

Does it go beyond "I ship Ash and Serena so Ash is the chosen one by default"?

 

[Pika Kong]

@ Sunset Star

@Pika Kong: Sounds like an interesting concept, but what are all of the randomly capitalized words for? There's also some broken BBcode in your post... /picky

Interesting concept you say? Thanks. Yeah I just have a habit of doing that in my sentences a lot. I just tend to capitalize big words that I feel are important, I do it all the time when I type and I think its because its my way of highlighting big words.

As for the actual story, rather than nitpicking... the above poster raised an interesting point about paying for damage. Destroying buildings and stuff could be considered an offense in your fic... just a suggestion.

Uh, may I ask how? Generally, I misunderstand people a lot when it comes to writing and I often find myself confused on what they're talking about. I don't really get how destruction of building could be considered an offense, I don't know what you mean when you put it like that. For now, I'm assuming you mean that fines for destruction are just common sense and wouldn't be any different than the canon story, like that other guy was saying.

I feel like writing a fanfic about a wild shiny Pokémon who doesn't like being shiny because humans pay too much attention to them. I've had that idea for a while ago. Also, I want to write a fanfic with an Eeveelution character whose defining trait isn't them simply being an Eeveelution, if that made any sense.

Due to my inability to understand other writers, I'm not a great critic at all but here goes. Keep in mind that its just my thoughts and I am more than likely unreliable, you're probably better off with someone other than me:

First things first: The Shiny Wild Pokemon idea. Personally I think that's a great idea since I love the vibe I see from reading that: Someone who is special, but dislikes being special because everyone's got their eyes on him/her and he/she wants his/her privacy. That sounds like a cool character to me, and I'd be interested to see how that fic would end. However, there is one thing that makes me a little iffy: Though the ending could probably be interesting, a story like that sounds like the ending would be best if it came fast. Your idea is cool and all, but it also sounds a little straightforward and simplistic, and it seems kinda limited in the amount of stories you can tell about it. The other vibe I'm seeing from it is that most of the story would involve your shiny Pokemon repeatedly trying to evade the many humans that capture it until it does caught, remove its shininess, or find a place where it can evade permanently... although the 2nd fate probably wouldn't save it from still being captured, just decrease its chances of getting caught. Unless you have other stuff planned for it that I don't know about, My perspective is that a story like that would be interesting, but it sounds like it would get repetitive if its told too much, and I don't really see a lot of other stuff you can do with it. A story like this sounds like a very short story that's 3 chapters long at most.

Unless.... Shiny Pokemon in your fic have more differences than regular Pokes instead of just color, such as having magical powers, connections to other worlds (like heaven!), or some other quirk. That would keep it interesting for me at least, making them different from the games' shinies would add a little more suspense. Other than that, I think your story idea could potentially be great, just a short-lived story that doesn't last too long. But then again I'm a terrible critic anyway so there's more likely than not, something I'm oblivious to and I'm being ignorant.

The eveelution idea.. That depends on what the defining trait about it actually is. I don't really know enough about that one to have an opinion.

 

[Kitt Geekazaru]

First things first: The Shiny Wild Pokemon idea. Personally I think that's a great idea since I love the vibe I see from reading that: Someone who is special, but dislikes being special because everyone's got their eyes on him/her and he/she wants his/her privacy. That sounds like a cool character to me, and I'd be interested to see how that fic would end. However, there is one thing that makes me a little iffy: Though the ending could probably be interesting, a story like that sounds like the ending would be best if it came fast. Your idea is cool and all, but it also sounds a little straightforward and simplistic, and it seems kinda limited in the amount of stories you can tell about it. The other vibe I'm seeing from it is that most of the story would involve your shiny Pokemon repeatedly trying to evade the many humans that capture it until it does caught, remove its shininess, or find a place where it can evade permanently... although the 2nd fate probably wouldn't save it from still being captured, just decrease its chances of getting caught. Unless you have other stuff planned for it that I don't know about, My perspective is that a story like that would be interesting, but it sounds like it would get repetitive if its told too much, and I don't really see a lot of other stuff you can do with it. A story like this sounds like a very short story that's 3 chapters long at most.

Unless.... Shiny Pokemon in your fic have more differences than regular Pokes instead of just color, such as having magical powers, connections to other worlds (like heaven!), or some other quirk. That would keep it interesting for me at least, making them different from the games' shinies would add a little more suspense. Other than that, I think your story idea could potentially be great, just a short-lived story that doesn't last too long. But then again I'm a terrible critic anyway so there's more likely than not, something I'm oblivious to and I'm being ignorant.

I think that the shiny pokemon would make a great side character. Their time of focus would have to be short, as Pika Kong mentioned, but as a side character it could pop up once a few chapters and keep it interesting. Having privileges for being shiny... I wouldn't read that. I am against that idea for some reason.

 

[JX Valentine]

I've had an idea for a PMD fic using important points and characters from the French Revolution. Of course, there will be some changes so it won't be that predictable to anyone with general history knowledge and because I'm too lazy to research every single fact about the revolution , but what I'd like to know is, does this sound like it's possible?

I'm a bit antsy about this idea because of the strikeout humor there. Because while, yeah, Kalos does have shades of French history to it, the thing is that the point of XY isn't to be a historical fiction. By contrast, this fic is, so historical accuracy is part of the point. Sure, you might want to just capture the aesthetic or general feel of the period, but the general feel of the period is often tied into what was going on—the politics, the culture, the main figures, and so forth. (Incidentally, side nitpick, but please call historical figures figures and not characters. Characters implies that you're talking about fictional people, but the people of the revolution were very much real.) So if you go in blind and too lazy to do research on points you might not think are important, you might end up messing up the feel that you're aiming for with either anachronisms (read: things that belong to other time periods) or straight-up errors. It'd be a lot like taking that joke that every Canadian has a moose and rides to school on snowmobiles and using that as the basis of a serious fanfic set in modern-day Canada.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is someone's history. I'm not sure if you're actually from France, and I'm certainly not sure how seriously the French take the revolution (as in, I'm not sure if they take it just as seriously as Americans take their revolution). But the point is, that's really another thing to be careful about because there's a chance that someone might not be completely okay with a historically inaccurate portrayal of an important part of their history and culture. (Granted, that didn't stop the Les Mis fandom, but shh.)

But assuming that you're kidding and/or that you've at least done some research on the major points (enough to understand the politics behind the revolution, the timeline, and who the major players were), I have to say that historical fiction isn't something normally tackled in the fandom. That isn't to say it's a bad thing. It's simply to say it'd be interesting. However, all reservations about the historical accuracy aside, I'm really curious about the fact that this is a PMD fic. How exactly are you going to insert humans into the PMD universe when one of the main plot points of PMD is that humans don't exist (anymore)?

I don't know. In all, while I'm all for people tackling genres that aren't often touched in the Pokémon fandom, I don't think these two will mesh well, sorry to say. Not unless you bring up specifics on how it'll be done and clarify how much research you're putting into it.

 

[Pika Kong]

@ JX, I'd like to address just one thing in ur response to him

I'm a bit antsy about this idea

Wouldn't a better word be Iffy or Doubtful?
Antsy Definition: Restless, Fidgety, Nervous

Kind of a bad word choice in a situation like this

 

[JX Valentine]

Wouldn't a better word be Iffy or Doubtful?

Antsy Definition: Restless, Fidgety, Nervous

No.

See also: Merriam-Webster, second definition.

Also, I'd really hate to be hostile, but it's rather bad form to correct someone's grammar in a non-lit post unless the person's point is about grammar. I mean, first off, it's rather off-topic and kinda disrespectful to the topic starter. (For example, we're right now detracting attention from Gallade and anyone else who needs help developing ideas.) Second, people who correct someone else's grammar in a non-fic post usually do it to embarrass the person they're correcting, but in the process, they tend to make enough mistakes to ... well. You probably get the idea. In this case, if you're really going to correct me on word usage, I could point out your random capitalization, the fact that you're using "ur," or the lack of punctuation in your post, and all of these points almost dampen the effect of what you were trying to do. That said, considering the fact that my post was about whether or not Gallade's idea would work and considering the fact that what I had to say could be understood regardless of whether or not I had used antsy correctly (which, as we've just established thanks to Merriam-Webster, I had), the point concerning my word choice is a rather moot one. However, the point concerning your grammar may or may not be in this particular discussion, depending on how much you'll insist on trying to correct my grammar publicly outside of my fics.

Again, sorry to be a mite on the aggressive side, but lots of hilarious folks out there have tried to do exactly what you've done as a passive-aggressive way of telling me they don't particularly care for me. If you want to correct me, go right ahead, but please at least do your research before trying. That and, of course, bring it up through an appropriate medium. *motions to her fanfic and VM wall*

Edit: Assuming that you brought this up because of what I said concerning your reviewer guide, all I can say is that there is a distinct difference between fic posts and discussion posts. Fic posts are meant to be read like actual books, which means they're meant to be similar in quality to actual books. Discussion posts, meanwhile, are not necessarily meant to be either. Therefore, fics are open for concrit; discussion posts are not. (Again, unless the subject is grammar, and sometimes not even then.) Either way, at the very least, you'll probably not want to use "ur" or other chatspeak when talking about other people's grammar. Sure, it's shorthand, but you also don't want to come across as a hypocrite, right?

 

[Sunset Star]

@Pika Kong: Eh, even though that would most likely be really short, I'm not good at long fics. DX My pre-PMD2 fic has basically died and I'm concerned about the future of an unwritten LOZ fanfic of mine.

 

[GalladeofSpades]

Well, some people have compared the history of Kalos, most notably Parfum Palace, as similar to French History and the Revolution. So maybe one of the character's could be AZ/Eternal Floette, in the past getting ready to unleash the ultimate weapon (Yveltal) and you must find Xerneas to help save the lives of the pokemon?

Actually, since I had this idea way before XY, I was thinking about the story following the traditional route of the French revolution, and the main character would, just like every other PMD, would be an amnesiac human turned Pokémon.

I'm a bit antsy about this idea because of the strikeout humor there. Because while, yeah, Kalos does have shades of French history to it, the thing is that the point of XY isn't to be a historical fiction. By contrast, this fic is, so historical accuracy is part of the point. Sure, you might want to just capture the aesthetic or general feel of the period, but the general feel of the period is often tied into what was going on—the politics, the culture, the main figures, and so forth. (Incidentally, side nitpick, but please call historical figures figures and not characters. Characters implies that you're talking about fictional people, but the people of the revolution were very much real.) So if you go in blind and too lazy to do research on points you might not think are important, you might end up messing up the feel that you're aiming for with either anachronisms (read: things that belong to other time periods) or straight-up errors. It'd be a lot like taking that joke that every Canadian has a moose and rides to school on snowmobiles and using that as the basis of a serious fanfic set in modern-day Canada.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is someone's history. I'm not sure if you're actually from France, and I'm certainly not sure how seriously the French take the revolution (as in, I'm not sure if they take it just as seriously as Americans take their revolution). But the point is, that's really another thing to be careful about because there's a chance that someone might not be completely okay with a historically inaccurate portrayal of an important part of their history and culture. (Granted, that didn't stop the Les Mis fandom, but shh.)

But assuming that you're kidding and/or that you've at least done some research on the major points (enough to understand the politics behind the revolution, the timeline, and who the major players were), I have to say that historical fiction isn't something normally tackled in the fandom. That isn't to say it's a bad thing. It's simply to say it'd be interesting. However, all reservations about the historical accuracy aside, I'm really curious about the fact that this is a PMD fic. How exactly are you going to insert humans into the PMD universe when one of the main plot points of PMD is that humans don't exist (anymore)?

I don't know. In all, while I'm all for people tackling genres that aren't often touched in the Pokémon fandom, I don't think these two will mesh well, sorry to say. Not unless you bring up specifics on how it'll be done and clarify how much research you're putting into it.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to put things in perspectives that I've never thought of before. I realize that I might not have thought this one through.

Moving on, of course the strikethrough part was a joke. Besides having a basic timeline of the Revolution from this last school year, I plan to look more into it, especially the lesser known periods, meaning, the part up to Marie Antoinette's execution and the rule of Robespierre, which I think are really well known, won't be part of my research if I go forward with this idea. (Though, if I find it lacking I'll research it a bit more.)

By the way, thanks for reminding me that it was figures. I couldn't remember, and all I could remember was characters because, well, the word story was in my head. Sorry about that, to anyone I might've offended.

Also, subtle (or not so subtle when I think about it) distortions to real life events have been done countless times before, iirc. The Assassin's Creed series is a great example of this, from what I've heard. Though I am a bit afraid of insulting someone's culture now if I do go forward with this... (To whoever is from France, I assure you, I will make Robespierre a villain if I do this. If I know something about French culture (and I really hope this isn't wrong), is that you hate the Terror period and that it was horrible and frightful)

Finally, I had this idea way before XY (though back then it had undertones of Classical Mythology. It still kinda has one, but I'm trying to change that), so no connections to Kalos... maybe. It gave me an idea. Anyway, I just thought of the traditional way of putting a human in the Pokémon world: amnesiac humans turned Pokémon. Though, one of them is a Phantump, so maybe I would play a little with it's dex entry.

If you do need more clarification, just feel free to ask. I'm always open to suggestions and I love seeing your point of view. It makes me think.

 

[JX Valentine]

Finally getting a chance to respond! Sorry about that!

Moving on, of course the strikethrough part was a joke. Besides having a basic timeline of the Revolution from this last school year, I plan to look more into it, especially the lesser known periods, meaning, the part up to Marie Antoinette's execution and the rule of Robespierre, which I think are really well known, won't be part of my research if I go forward with this idea. (Though, if I find it lacking I'll research it a bit more.)

Awesome. In that case, why, yes, I would like to see more historical Pokémon fic.

By the way, thanks for reminding me that it was figures. I couldn't remember, and all I could remember was characters because, well, the word story was in my head. Sorry about that, to anyone I might've offended.

No prob. XD Happens to the best of us.

Also, subtle (or not so subtle when I think about it) distortions to real life events have been done countless times before, iirc. The Assassin's Creed series is a great example of this, from what I've heard.

True, but it's usually done after a lot of research. What makes things like Assassin's Creed (or, really, any other fictional work set in a historical time period, particularly those that mess with historical facts and figures) interesting is the attention to detail things like that put forth. A lot of work goes into capturing the spirit of the time period, so historical fiction frequently acts more like an AU than its own thing. And by "AU," I mean "what-if scenario in which something has changed, and the rest of the work partly revolves around the question of how things end up being different because of that change." Either that or the "same timeline from a different perspective" variety. So while historical fiction does take its liberties, you can usually see where and why at the same time, and it's usually pretty clear that the liberties are being taken not because the writer didn't do their homework but instead because it's necessary for the storyline to take those measures.

For well-written historical fiction, anyway. The other variety (the type of fiction in which things are fudged just because the research side of things could've been better) does exist, and you usually can tell that it does because the world-building isn't as great as it can be. Either that, or the historical inaccuracies are just kinda obvious to people who know what to look for (read: probably your readers).

'Course, there's also the other variety of so-so historical fiction, wherein the story sticks so closely to its research that it ends up reading like a slightly dramatized textbook, so in short, writing historical fic is definitely a balancing act. Writers end up having to figure out where that balance between taking liberties and staying true to history actually is for their particular story, but the first step is definitely doing one's homework first and figuring out from there what should stay and what should go. Or doing cursory research into what would be most relevant. (Unfortunately, as boring as politics can be, all of them are relevant to the revolution.)

Which brings up the other point!

Though I am a bit afraid of insulting someone's culture now if I do go forward with this...

Aww, sorry about the discouragement on my part there. What I meant to say was if you do your homework and work hard at putting together your story, it might be doable. But one of the other bigger issues to contend with is whether or not the readers will know if you forget something rather important.

Putting it another way, think about the American Revolution (assuming you're American). You've probably spent a good chunk of your early life learning about the revolution. You probably know the battles, some of the generals, what led to the war—you get the idea. So let's say someone from another country tries to write a fic about the American Revolution, but they don't know that much about it. If you sat down to read that fic, only to find that the story says the entire war was just over tea, you'd probably notice, right? And you'd also probably notice if the fic said John Adams was a general, right? You might not be offended, but you'd know. And if you know, then that might affect the way you read that fic—as in, it might keep you from taking it seriously, even if it's trying to be serious.

That's what you'll want to avoid with a fic about someone else's history, in other words. In quite a few cases, sure, definitely, you'd not want to offend anyone by portraying their culture and history incorrectly. (There are some cases where doing that would be considered racist.) But in general, including in this case, you'll also want to be careful because mistakes might be noticeable.

So! End of the story is, I didn't mean to scare you, and I'm so sorry about that. D: But if it helps, you can probably get by without too much worry. Buuuuut it does require some homework-doing on your part. I'd also check with the French to see what's considered absolute common knowledge for them and make sure you keep that part in mind too when you sit down to write.

Finally, I had this idea way before XY (though back then it had undertones of Classical Mythology. It still kinda has one, but I'm trying to change that), so no connections to Kalos... maybe. It gave me an idea. Anyway, I just thought of the traditional way of putting a human in the Pokémon world: amnesiac humans turned Pokémon. Though, one of them is a Phantump, so maybe I would play a little with it's dex entry.

If you do need more clarification, just feel free to ask. I'm always open to suggestions and I love seeing your point of view. It makes me think.

Hmm. I am still a bit curious because I'm trying to envision which world this is. So right now, I'm thinking this might be one of three scenarios:

1. The story takes place in the human-inhabited Pokémon world, so you're talking about the actual French Revolution (according to their world, I mean), but a single human was turned into a Pokémon.

2. This is a Pokémon-inhabited world (i.e., the PMD universe), so you'd have things like a Pikachu Marie Antoinette and so forth.

3. It's both (in that it's a single universe), and a Pokémon with ties to the French Revolution has stumbled into a PMD timeline in which the revolution has already happened a long, long time ago, back when humans were still around.

The first and third might be interesting to read about because you'd be doing a lot of world-building or history-exploring, and that just sounds fascinating. (That and it'd suck if some dude had to deal with the revolution and being turned into a Pokémon, and that sounds hilarious.) The second ... I don't know. It might come off as a bit of a gimmick for the same reason no one does Romeo and Juliet-but-with-Pokémon adaptations anymore: because things just seemed forced. Like, those two elements were two separate things, but overlaying one with the other (i.e., saying, "It's this, but with Pokémon") tends to take the easy route of getting that crossover to work, whereas establishing explanations and finding ways to take the two incompatible things and piece them together so that they're still separate but also fit together (if that even makes sense) tends to make for stronger fic with more expansive worlds. That and it'd probably be difficult to take the French Revolution seriously if a bunch of Pikachu stood in for half the royal court, y'know?

In other words, if you're taking the history of the human-inhabited Pokémon world and connecting it to a separate PMD world or if you're just taking some elements of the PMD universe and throwing them into the human-based French Revolution, that might be interesting. If you're recasting the French Revolution with Pokémon, that might be harder to swallow.

So! Definitely interested in hearing more about how these two worlds will mesh together, but with the explanations you've just given us, it does sound rather intriguing.

 

[Shurtugal]

Are there any good stories about Mega-Evolution? I'd like to see (or maybe write) a story with one of the center focuses being mega evolution. Imagine: could mega evolution work in an Pokemon-only setting? The anime says they need a strong bond for it to work, but could other Pokemon work?

Also, how does it know which Pokemon you mega evolved? (Since only once per battle?) Perhaps it works depending on how many trainer stone (or w/e they're called) you have, so you could mevolve two Pokemon if you had two; or, maybe the energies can sense it (but then, would it interfere with the opponent's mega evolution? Clearly not, right?)

Bonds is an interesting thing in Pokemon. It'd be cool to see maybe a Dark and Edgier version of this, where a trainer can't mega evolve his Pokemon because he was too harsh on it when it started losing, and the bond slowly starts to break, maybe even causing de-mega evolution in mid-battle. The end result has a lot of possible conclusions, too. (Replaces MC pokemon for another one that can mevolve, pokemon commits suicide, pokemon turns on trainer, etc.)

That said, some lighter hearted stories seem interesting too: it's the ultimate Deus Ex Machina, but perhaps there are some twists you could pull -- how far away does the Trainer / Bonded Pokemon Partner have to be for mega evolution to occur? It can surprise a reader if a Pokemon mega evolves while the stone's counterpart is all the way across the globe! Perhaps a Pokemon starts out like Charizard did for Ash and gains respect towards the end to achieve mega evolution.

I may write a story in the future, but since this is an idea sharing thread, I'd love it if someone else explored this new depth to Pokemon more in the fandom, too.

 

[Kitt Geekazaru]

Are there any good stories about Mega-Evolution? I'd like to see (or maybe write) a story with one of the center focuses being mega evolution. Imagine: could mega evolution work in an Pokemon-only setting? The anime says they need a strong bond for it to work, but could other Pokemon work?

As shown in the Genesect movie, humans are not required to Mega Evolve. Mewtwo had no bonds with any humans at all, yet could Mega Evolve.

Also, how does it know which Pokemon you mega evolved? (Since only once per battle?) Perhaps it works depending on how many trainer stone (or w/e they're called) you have, so you could mevolve two Pokemon if you had two; or, maybe the energies can sense it (but then, would it interfere with the opponent's mega evolution? Clearly not, right?)

I think what you mean by that is if you have two pokemon out at the same time that could Mega Evolve, like if Ash sent out his Charizard and Sceptile in a double battle, both with their Mega Stones. I have no idea, but I think it would be the one with the better bond. Maybe it Mega Evolves faster or something, so it finishes first, causing the other pokemon's Mega Evolution to be interrupted.

Bonds is an interesting thing in Pokemon. It'd be cool to see maybe a Dark and Edgier version of this, where a trainer can't mega evolve his Pokemon because he was too harsh on it when it started losing, and the bond slowly starts to break, maybe even causing de-mega evolution in mid-battle. The end result has a lot of possible conclusions, too. (Replaces MC pokemon for another one that can mevolve, pokemon commits suicide, pokemon turns on trainer, etc.)

It would be interesting to see a story like this. I think that it would be the main character's rival that had these problems, as if they used to have a Mega Gardevoir but as the Gardevoir was mistreated it was replaced with a Mega Gengar.

That said, some lighter hearted stories seem interesting too: it's the ultimate Deus Ex Machina, but perhaps there are some twists you could pull -- how far away does the Trainer / Bonded Pokemon Partner have to be for mega evolution to occur? It can surprise a reader if a Pokemon mega evolves while the stone's counterpart is all the way across the globe! Perhaps a Pokemon starts out like Charizard did for Ash and gains respect towards the end to achieve mega evolution.

I may write a story in the future, but since this is an idea sharing thread, I'd love it if someone else explored this new depth to Pokemon more in the fandom, too.

Far away Mega Evolution? I don't see why not. Take note that during the first few chapters a background for the characters should be set: How they met their pokemon, how they got the Mega Stone, how they created a powerful bond, etc., then go into the specifics of Mega Evolution.