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Legendaries in fics?

Luckmage

Boulder Trainer
...Yeah. Will it be considered overkill if I add a few legendaries in a fic? Oh, and they won't belong to any trainer. Or anything. xD Or personally, what do you think? (Eh, your own opinions)

And they have their own personalities, not just: Attack evil humans, attack any human that kind of thing. Yeah. -_-''
 
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R

Rodian

Guest
Legendaries are good. I just wouldn't overdo it and show them all at once...some are supposed to only be fiction (in the eyes of people on Hoenn, Kanto, Johto and Orre, of course.) And personality is good. That old 'omgkilleverythinginsightrar' thing is pretty old.
 

Tale

Well-Known Member
Use legendaries however you want, what everything depends on is the plot and the way you write it. Legendaries are often used in plots, and are very often used as the plot in some way or another.

Dont let the word cliche, or uber put you off.
 

Avenger Angel

Warrior of Heaven
They're okay in moderation. As long as their presence in a fic is understandable and justified, then its fine. Like in the movies, the legendaries have stories behind them. If you're going to put them in your fic, make sure they have their own story too. But if they appear randomly when the really have no reason to be there, that's not good. Heck, that's not good even with normal Pokemon.

It all depends on the use and reasoning behind their placement. But they can be very effective to plotlines if used correctly and realistically.
 

Zerodius

Eternally hating D/P
Well... Legendaries are like every single character ; you can twist them as much as you want... but get too far or break the big no-nos and you may turn readers off.

My point of view on Legendaries goes as such:

There are two types of Legendaries: the "fake" ones and the actual Legendaries. The fakes do are of the Legendaries' species but do not have the powers, intelligence, or anything like that... although their power level is still, most of the time, vastly over average. Although they are still uber rare, capture of those is acceptable... but considering their rarity and power, only exceptionnal trainers should get them in their teams. Some species (Ho-oh, Mewtwo, and Jirachi comes to mind) have no "fakes" ; totally unique Legendaries.

Then, there's the actual Legendaries. Unlike the fakes, there is only one of them and they are living gods and if not, pretty close to it. They usually have a ridiculously high level power, immortality (or the ability to self-revive), incredible intelligence and knowledge, all that type of stuff. Unlike the fakes, having those being caught is a definitive no-no unless you can find a REALLY good reason (basically, it takes an entire army of Elite trainers to take one down, not just one. Also, the "anti-element net" trick is a very cheap excuse, by the way... especially considering their power... so stay away from that one).

As a general rule, fake Legendaries are like regular Pokemon but more powerful and much more rare. The real Legendaries are mostly good... except for Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Groudon. The first is the Pokemon World's ultimate villain if you follow canon and don't create a new arch-villain while the two others are souless beasts bent on each others' destruction (again, if you follow canon). If you wish to use evil Legendaries or a good Mewtwo/Kyogre/Groudon, make sure to give good reasons (Mewtwo is easier to make good ; Mewtwo became good for a short while after the movie Mewtwo's Return, as he got over his phobia of humans but before he came to a decision regarding the world. Kyogre/Groudon are trickier since they're supposed to be raging beasts).

One thing that is tricky with the Legendaries is gender ; the anime and manga canon have failed in a spectacular way to fix that issue from the games and as such, we end up with a genderless Mew that can give birth (WTF?!?) and other mishaps like those. You could keep them genderless... but if you do, be sure that the Legendaries are not developed relationship-wise to avoid problems.

Another issue: Legendary death. Killing a fake is not a problem... but remember that the actual Legendaries are linked to the very elements of the Pokemon World ; killing them off is usually a good way to cause an end of the world situation unless the self-revival case apply. The only notable exception is Mewtwo ; he is not linked to any element by canon... but killing Mewtwo is something you shouldn't do usually ; Mewtwo is the strongest Pokemon (read: he's a freakin' living god that can nuke entire cities by snapping his fingers.). Unless you kill him early in the timeline (back when his power didn't exceed Mew's) or have him be killed by the other Legendaries uniting or something like that, his death probably won't make any sense.

One final thing: personalities. The personalities for most of them are pretty loose and there are no guidelines for the fake Legendaries... but some of the actual Legendaries have set personalities. Mew is playful and innocent ; you'll have a hard time turning her/it into a blood-thirsty monster. Evil as he may be, Mewtwo is not a maniac ; he's cold, logical, merciless, not psychopatic so making him run around ripping off heads will be frowned upon. Learn about the default personalities so that you may respect/break them more easily.

Well, all in all, that's it for now. I hope this helped.
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
There is one fiction I am thinking about that will include a legendary that will have its own personality also. As long as the legendaries has a purpose for your story and not just come out randomly then you should be fine. The truth, I believed legendaries are hard to write because of the pressure of some readers thinking you might overdue the legendaries. Read a few fanfictions that have legendaries in it and see how the legendaries are used. Also, you can go check your story and see how you did your legendaries. If you are not too happy with the way you had written your legendaries then change you legendaries' character and see if the story flows better with the change.
 

Selestius

*~ Toxin Refinery ~*
Having legendary Pokémon in your Fan-Fiction is acceptable, but like you made certain to us clearly, it is not to be owned by any trainer at all, which is also a plus, because having a trainer owning a legendary Pokémon is just like saying, "I want to have a Gary-Stu who owns all of the powerful Pokémon, so I do not need to make the trainers train their Pokémon!! Ha!!"

So, have the legendaries, as many as you want if you'd like, so long as they are not possessed by any trainer at all.
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
The way I see it, Legendaries are just fine as long as they aren't A) used to overkill levels and B) have an actual purpose to the story. At first, the Lugia Rich caught in Enigma Shadow was caught the normal way, but I thought about this and realized it wouldn't work. So I came up with Lugia almost being a fifth main human character; it has a score to settle and allows Rich to use it for exacting such revenge.
 

Saffire Persian

Now you see me...
Personally, I believe having Legendaries in 'fics is perfectly acceptable - granted that you actually have a very good reason to have them there. Somehow, they'd have to fit into the plot -- and no, just because you want your main character to have a Legendary on his/her team just because doesn't cut it.

You have to keep in mind that Legendaries are Legendaries for a reason; they aren't 'tame' creatures who will bow to a humans will just because they get captured in a Pokéball or whatnot.

^_^ Just use Legendaries tastefully, and you'll be just fine.
 
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Mewdio

Banned
Legendarys make your fics cool, and some trainers do have them.
 

Zerodius

Eternally hating D/P
Mewdio, you need to get your act together: trainers owning Legendaries = BAD, BIG NO-NO!!!

The awful Articuno mistake in the anime and the (too many to count) horrible mishaps of the games shouldn't be repeated ; owning Legendaries make strictly no sense, storyline-wise, most of the time... you have to get some MIGHTY good reasons for having one on a trainer's team!

Also, Legendaries does not make a fic cool. Using Legendaries correctly make that fic cool.
 

Astinus

Well-Known Member
Yeah, really, what Zerodius said.

I only use one as a plot device to have my character realize that there are the true gods in the Pokémon world. That's it. And it's only one Legendary.

I learned the hard way by reviewers that no Legendary Pokémon would be very VERY willing to submit themselves to someone else's will, especially a human, as it is in my fics.

So, really, it all depends on how you wish to use them in your fic.
 

Psychic

Really and truly
Legendaries...there's always some kind of controversy about their use in fics. Many threads have questioned them in the past, and some very interesting topics have been brought up. I suggest you do a search to find out about it. Also, have a look at Advise for Aspiring Authors- they briefly talk about Legendaries and their uses.


Anyways, I personally love Legendaries, and I have nothing against using them in fics. HOWEVER they need to be used right; for instance, Legendaries aren't any ordinary Pokémon: they're gods, or at least god-like, and are extremely powerful and wise. They have magical qualities, one of the reasons they have lived so long, perhaps they even witnessed the birth of the Earth. They are looked up to by human and Pokémon alike, and can be a source of inspiration, which they can also strike fear into the hearts of many.
Also, Mew, the Mother of the world and perhaps even the universe and Ho-Oh, guradian of life are, in my opinion, the greatest Legendaries above all others. You need to remember that they are above even the rest of the Legendaries, and are revered and respected by all, maybe even prayed to by some humans.

None of the Legendaries can be caught by ANY trainer, no matter how strong or experienced- the Legendaries could easily refuse to obey a simple human, and could escape from any Pokéball. Of course, they would never allow themselves to be caught in the first place, which is a very important rule you must NEVER forget in fic writing.

And generally, Legendaries won't just appear before characters. They won't let just anyone see them, unless for good reason. So for example, if you go swimming near the Whirl Islands, you won't see Lugia, no matter how hard you look. Unless there is some sort of huge plot reolving around Lugia, it will not make any sort of appearance. These god-like creatures will much rather keep to themselves, and have no reason to make human contact.
The canon massed up too many times to count when they let their characters meet up and even help Legendaries. These creatures don't need the help of humans- they're definitely strong enough to take care of themselves!



So to wrap up, if you're going to have Legendaries in your fic, it should be directly related to the plot. They shouldn't make any other sort of appearance otherwise, unless it is in some kind of book a character reads. And remember- no matter how strong a trainer, they still won't have a Legendary Pokémon!

~Psychic
 

Negrek

Lost but Seeking
Legendaries are a rather touchy subject around here, something that I don't really understand. People claim that they are too often poorly portrayed and are incredibly overused. If that's the case, I'd like to request that we have similar threads wondering whether it would be appropriate to have a story involving a young girl about to begin on a pokemon journey--after all, there are so many 'fics in which such a character becomes a Mary-Sue! Such things are so hard to handle. People just shouldn't write them at all! Or better yet, they must write them in a certain way--you're not allowed to have a character that's particularly bright or pretty or talented, because OMG, that's so totally a Mary-Sue! No one could possibly write a 'fic with such a character that wasn't horrible!

The same goes for legendaries. I encourage to use them however you want, provided that they have some relevance to the story. There's no reason not to have your character capture a legendary--provided that it fits with your canonical views. Obviously, some people here do not believe that this is possible. This is not fact, however--it is only their opinion. There is no canonical evidence that legendaries cannot be caught; indeed, quite the contrary. If you believe as such, it's perfectly fine to not let legendaries be captured in your own story, but if you want them to be, then do so. There's no one who can tell you that it's wrong, as long as it makes sense in the story and you show the consequences of this action.

Remember, too, that there's no rule that says that legends are indeed so highly revered as fanfiction authors often portray them. There is no real indication that they are gods, or even that people worship them as gods. They are shown respect, true, and are believed to be extremely powerful, but if you don't want to make them so almighty, there is no reason to do so. Many authors simply portray them as incredibly rare creatures, so rare that there's believed to be only one and stronger than most normal pokemon, but otherwise nothing particularly special. This angle would make it easier to work with a legend, obviously, but only if you subscribe to the idea.

If you want to work with legendaries, then I encourage you to do so, provided that you do so well. Anything is a viable premise; all that makes or breaks a story is sophistication of writing. I wouldn't let anyone discourage you from using legends in a story if you believe that you are ready to handle them. You are the author of the story, and you must do what you think is best for it. If you think that including a legend is necessary, then do so. Otherwise, do not. Handle them how you please, but write well and consider carefully your views as you do so in order that your story makes sense and portrays them as you please.

To the rest of you: WTF is with going on about how canon misrepresents legendaries? Canon is canon. It is the way things are. Period. If you don't like it, tough. Come up with your own interpretation. Yes, canon shows that people can befriend legendaries. And guess what? Then it must be so. You cannot shoot someone down for following canon, provided that they handle it in a mature and well-thought-out manner. You did not create pokemon. You have no right to dictate how legendaries are portrayed canonically. Don't go all Harmonian on me, plz.

So in short... write what you wish to write, and write it well.
 

Chibi Pika

Stay positive
Go for it, dude. ^^ Legendaries rock, and most of the best and most epic fics involve Legendaries. It's all just based on how you handle 'em, and contrary to popular belief, handling Legendaries is not very hard.

Anyway, you've already said they all have a unique personality and don't belong to any one person, so you seem to know what you're doing, even though a lot of people don't. Heck, I don't even think I do. But I honestly have a scene in my fic that satirizes fics with bad Legendary handling. XP

Just start with a couple sightings in the beginning. Not without reason of course--don't just have the story be starting out and then all of a sudden, "OMGZ, there's Suicune!!!!!111" You could tie in the Legendaries' guardian role into the plotline, I find that works nicely.

A lot of people already covered some good concepts. For instance, I for one do not see the Legendaries as gods. They are insanely powerful, yes, but an uberifically-trained normal Pokemon could hold their own against certain ones...for a litttle while... They are feared and revered by Pokemon, and somewhat resented by humans for being the only thing left superior to them. Those are just my views though, and my fic delves a bit more into that manipulation of human nature.

Addititonally, I see no reason why Legendaries are uncapturable. Weaken them down insanely, prevent them from just leaving, manage to touch them with a Master Ball, and they're caught. But for the most part, only an evil team would have the technology to accomplish that. And no matter how close they are, a Legendary just plain would not submit to a human. It'd have to be controlled, which again, is an evil team trait. In my fic a character [SPOIL]uses some evil team technology to capture a weakened Legendary, but then freaks out and opens the ball immediately. The Legendary then is about to kill that character, but then they are convinced not to do so.[/SPOIL]

And as many people have said, they have to be integral to the plot.

Oh yeh, and "Chosen" fics...I don't know if yours was gonna be one, but I'll go off on these anyway.

I'll be honest. I've only seen two, maybe three of these that have worked (and one is my own). You reeeeaaally gotta know what you're doing. I don't even think mine is all that great *shot by LC readers.* And try to stay away from fate. Make the kid prove themself, not just be destined.

And even in a non-Chosen fic, you could have the main character get in over their head. Have them find out something about the Legendaries that they're not supposed to know, and so they have to get involved with the legends or else be killed. A real strong reason would be needed here, though.

You could also have the Legendary get ticked off at the main character. That's always fun ^^ Again, a very strong reason why the Legendary doesn't kill them is needed. You can have them want to kill them, though XP

~Chibi~;249;<?>;rukario;
 

Dragonfree

Just me
It doesn't matter how you interpret the legendaries. Interpret them however you like. Just be consistent in your interpretation. If you interpret them as gods, then you can't do and make some random inexperienced trainer catch one and have it obey. If you interpret them as simply rare, powerful Pokémon, just treat them like rare, powerful Pokémon. If you interpret them as something in-between, just keep them there. Make sense, basically.
 

PDL

disenchanted
another issue is what sort of legendary you happen to be using in your fic. While legendaries are very strong for pokemon, they're not all supposed to be all-powerful god-like beings. Nor should it actually be the only one of it's kind in the world.

it appears that there are in fact, several "teirs" to which legendary is stronger then which...

Legendary trios happen to be the most "common" legendaries. Common as in that there may be more then one, but still very powerful and not easily controlled by human beings.

IMO, I think it's perfectly fine for your human character to come across one and maybe help it in some way.

the Lati@s happen to be special cases, since they happen to be the only legendaries that have genders assigned to them. I think they actually are "normal" non-legendary pokemon that are so secretive and so rare that they're considered legendaries by humans when infact they are as strong as Dragonite, Tyranitar and other pokemon that take ages to train.

then you have the really strong "true" legendaries, the ones usually found at the end of the game at lvl 70. These pokemon are the ones that are supposed to be in fact, one of a kind. However, even with the amount of power they have, they're still not as all-powerful as they're made out to be in some fics.

lastly, there are the fairy legendaries like Mew. These pokemon are supposed to be so secretive that few people actually know about them. They can't be caught like normal pokemon, but it's still possible to befriend them. They also happen to be the legendaries most likely to be put into mortal peril in the wrong hands, as seen in the many pokemon movies.

but this is just opinion, use your own judgement on how powerful you should make legendaries
 
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ShadowCloud62

Child at Heart
Meh, personally I wouldn't use a Legendary unless I had a good plot in hand. You can use Legendaries, as long as they aren't owned by a trainer, and they're not involved in the cliche, "ZOMG I'm gunna destroi all teh humans!!!!!!!111111111".
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
I suppose you can use Legendaries in your fic.

I agree with those who said you can't have a Trainer capture every single one in the world and then (I added this it looks like) suddenly becomes power hungry and tries to take over the world. (Mewtwo: Hey! That's my job *******! Trainer: Forget you! *blows up world*) Doesn't work.

You can, if you wish, have the Legendaries in their natural habitat and can (I think this is allowed) try to stop some evil villian disrupting the world if *coughAshcough* can't do it. (Or some other Trainer.) [SPOIL]Like in my fic, I have a Mew (with her mother) live a human life-style in the middle of a war, so she's an Outsider. Notice how I have her mother in it. Means she's still young. This (sort-of I guess you can say) makes sense seeing as little Mew here is still learning, so she still has her mother. Yet she and her neighbors and "friends" are in danger from Team Rocket.[/SPOIL]

So... Yeah. Go for it. Legendaries make the fic more interesting as long as you DON'T OVER DO IT. If they're genderless, don't make them fall in love. If they have genders, be careful with it. Can't just suddenly go "And such-and-such got married and had a hybrid of kids, thus creating a new specie, the end". That makes the ratings drop. YOU NEED TO BE SPECIFIC!

Ask permission (or questions) to see if you can have Legendaries go "OMG! We love each other! Let's get married and mate!". [SPOIL]I'm very sure Zerodius got permission for his fic.[/SPOIL] Otherwise... stay away from it. And have some sort of evil villian in it. (Guess it'd be good if Ash turned evil.) Otherwise, this isn't going to fly. Or have a Legendary go berserk. Just whatever goes with the rules and doesn't break the fourth wall.

Hoped I helped a bit. Well good luck! (Remember the advices from the people here or your fic will plummet.)

~~~~~~~~~~~
♥Kutie Pie♥ Please be kind to midgets!
 

El hariyamer

Order of the Green
I go with most people. Most Legendaries wouldn't go with humans unless they had a very good reason to. eg. Evil team, young and powerless, etc.

Qne quick question for my next fic: What of their attitude to normal, trainerless pokemon? Wild pokemon that spot them and go over for a chat or something?
 
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