Fan Made: Grab a cup of Joeseph, this's gonna be a long one.
I suppose I will start with fanmade Pokemon. When making up your own Pokemon, STOP! Think! Think some more! The first and foremost question you want to ask is how you can make your Pokemon unique and interesting, while still being original, yet not going over the top. Yes, you must think carefully. A good start, as I have found, is to build backstories and specie rituals to build upon the characteristics of their abilities. Basically, it's the stuff you'd find in a game version Pokedex.
I'll give you an example through my creations. I may not be the best, but I know I'm not the worst by far, so basically, if you suck at making Pokemon, this stuff's for you.
Example: In Dust to Deceit, there exists a creature made of poisonous, sugary chocolate. Its name is Fudgie, and its typing is poison. By appearance, you're sweet teeth want to sunder it to shreds! Just looking at it, you see the brown chocolate appeal of a brownie, and a sniff of the air brings that fresh baked brownie scent. Even its eyes look good, being made of whipped cream. No, those fangs in its mouth are yummy pieces of orange, candy corn, even if they are sharp fangs that drip of venom and glucose.
Fudgie lives by releasing its aphrodesiac of an aroma. Even amongst sewers, fudgie's scent is very strong. It hides under the camoflauge of its brownie appearance, and waits for the unfortunate soul to take a bite. When bitten, the foe will find their teeth (if they have any) aching in pain from all the sugar and hot poisons. Even if they do swallow the chunk of Fudgie, it will grow back in due time. When bitten, or attacked, Fudgie's sugar rushes about its body like adrenaline and pumps it up, making it a fierce contender in battle. When evolved by trade, Fudgie becomes Mt.Fudgie, and gains a rock typing. Mt.Fudgie lives much like its earlier form, but uses its thickened skin and large grey hump on its head to look like a rock to avoid enemies or ambush prey.
Well, did you get all that? Good! Don't try to be that complex yet if you're still new at it. As long as YOU know that your new specie is complex, then all is not lost!
Next, we have starters. Starters are more specific and they usually serve a purpose. Starters introduce the reader to a taste of new Pokemon found in the region that you're in. Starters need pizzazz, and many of the rules of any Pokemon you will make, as I state above, should still be followed. Still, you must think carefully, and make them unique. Want an example from my story? No? Well, it's on the house, and get yourself another sconde while you're at it, would you? Oh, and get me one too!
Example: In Kertonmel, the starter Pokemon that are commonly given out are Corvolden, the electrical, one eyed ear of corn. Corvolden is unique in that it has no green on its body. The leafy arms of corn that surround its body are a brownish coloe, much like a dried leaf. Its stem tail ends in a spark plug. Its typing is electric/grass, which is a very unique combo. Corvolden's kernels are charged, and if not neutralized, can cause heart problems, comas, and other sorts of problems. When that's dealt with, feast upon the corn, it's a-maize-ing!
After that, we have the fire starter, Fiyrant. Fiyrant is a bug type army, a.k.a. fire ant. Fiyrant gains its fire type at its first evolution. It also might has swarm instead of blaze. Simple enough, considering that Swarm is to bug, as Blaze is to Fire. Basically, the idea is that Fiyrant creates hot sparks by digging rapidly and creating friction, mixed with the burning acidic bile it produces naturally.
Doing an interesting thing like this is a risk to your readers. Fiyrant is supposed to be a fire starter, but its just a crummy bug, and is quite a ule breaker amongst starters. You can be sure Gamefreaks won't use an idea such as that, but don't let that stop you. We have only one more starter to go.
Aqwerd is the water starter. It is unique in its appearance. It is an amorphous Undine. For those of you who don't know what a Undine is, its an elemental nymph of the water. Aqwerd is thusly Awkward aqua, hence the combined name. Like all things, a clever name is important for your Pokemon. Aqwerd has the appearance of a small, reddish-purple mermaid that hovers about a half an inch off the surface. When Aqwerd evolves, it gains a ghost typing. Why upon evolution? Alright, lets think here. Could you really lose with a ghostly lady traipsing through Newb Forest? You hate the thought too, right? Surely by later, most things have bite, thunder shock or absorb to handle its weaknesses.
Now, Aqwerd serves a few purposes. First, lets remember something about starters, they're more often male than female. You don't have to follow this rule. Its mostly just in place so you don't overbreed starters. Aqwerd however, serves the story's purpose of breeding, namely as a big link between water and indeterminate breeding groups. So, a Genger or Magcargo (freakishly enough) with Hydro Pump? Aqwerd's to blame. Does that Lanturn know Night Shade? Yea, that's the stuff. EGADS! Is that Squirtle using Will-o-wisp? Yup yup! That's the story behind the Aqwerd line. Its mostly female for obvious reasons, but it serves a plothole filling purpose of expanding capabilities.
Well, I hope that didn't sound too much like an advertisment for anything, but the point is clear. You want unique starters that will draw the interest of your audience! They must be unique, for they're likely the first of the new species your reader will see. In my case, it's not the case.
Next, we have legendaries. Let's start with the big triad, or rather, those not so uber legendaries who really are still powerful. In my story, these are the Oni, demonic masks with the goal of destruction. Legendaries are special Pokemon. They are mighty, they rare, and they are earthshattering if needbe. In the case of the Oni, there are five of them, and they all have unique personalities and typings as well to befit them. It is likely that your region is going to have its own legends. Like all your Pokemon, think em over carefully! They are often a powerful force in many a story, so don't neglect, or misuse them.
Now that you've heard a bit about how to make good Pokemon (and don't be afraid to show me your creations either, folks,) its time to make a region. First, take a puzzel piece out of Middle Earth, and cast it into the fires of Mt. Doo... god dang it! Who switched my script on me? Oh, here we go. Find an area on the planet, and set your region there. I picked Mongolia, because I loved the history of the warring conquests of Mongols, and the Huns long before their trek to Rome, back when they would harass China and Russia. As such, there is little water,and deserts, steppes, and tundras.
That reminds me! If you make a region, while keeping it unique, don't make it TOO unique. You want it to be a somewhat believable habitat. If not, your region may be worthy of being called (Mary)Suetopia! You don't want to make Suetopia, because a perfect region gets perfect bombings from imperfect, jealous neighbors.
Even still on this subject, remember the size of the world. If your story considers the only regions in the world to be Kanto, Johto, Oore, and Hoenn, then man should just transport life to the moon. The moon would dwarf your five region planet!
Well, is your region uniquely realistic? Remember, don't make it dull, but if it's too amazing, that's not good either.
Anyway, you probably want to set up gyms now, right?
I would like to volunteer as a tutor. I will help with making Trainer fics. Lets face it, they're a hot topic amongst writers, but not amongst readers. I wish to help bring respect and an idea of 'we mean business' to the world of Original Trainer Fics. Also, of course, I would like to help with Fanmade. I'm willing to guide people through making their fanmade Pokemon, and even giving them ideas, provided that they give me credit for my assistance. Still, I feel that there is a lot of potential out there, but it just isn't expressed right. I wish to fix that.
I can also do drama. When writing drama, remember that angst will likely be a common element. Don't let it envelope the story though.
So, yea, I'll be a Trainer, and Fanmade tutor, if I may. Trust me, I won't bite. In fact, I applaud such a precautious measure as to go for a secon opinion.
