Making Original Trainer Fics

[RaZoR LeAf]

I know how it goes, Trainer Fics are one of the most unoriginal and overdone fics that exist. But there are some that have that wow factor, and make you want to read them. I'm eager to get into writing my trainer fic (Generation Omega), but I'm still searching for that factor that will make it interesting to read, aside from it's main plot difference, and not just another trainer fic.

What I have so far includes (and i'm trying to avoid spoilers):

• Irregular Gym order
• Unique and unseen attacks
• New battling style, conditions, etc
• No 'Team Something'

I'm worried this just seems like something different to do, but not something that will keep people reading. I'm worried that people will read it and think "Oh yeah so he's got a ground type using an electric attack that's stupid" and leave it at that, without staying around to find out why it has that kind of attack.

Anyone care to shed some light on the mystery of a successful Trainer fic, or share some wisdom?

 

[xXSaberXx]

D: HM.

Good trainer fics.........

Well honestly, mine was never as planned out as detailedly (MADE UP WORD LOL) as yours from the begining. I found though, as I continued to write, that it was easier to go along and add things as I went. D: So I really don't know what I've done EXACTLY in my fic....but yeah.


THINGS TO ADD/KEEP IN MIND:

1. Detailed character feelings/interactions with people/pokemon/themselves.

I'm sure you already are going to do this, but keep in mind that there is a certain level to which it can be done and then a certain level where it just gets boring. I would try and go for somewhere in between, bordering on the level where it can be done. Then, simply whip out a can of whoop ***** and have a nifty description.

2. Pokebots=No.

You know this too.

3. Interesting plot.

No matter what you spice it up with, it will always be the same GYM LEAUGE LOL. Think of what happens BEYOND that.

hope I helped.

 

[PDL]

one thing to remember when trying to be original in an original trainer fic is to...

STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM WHAT'S BEEN DONE IN THE ANIME'S PLOT!

most terrible trainer fics begin with the trainer waking up late and missing out on the usual starters and getting some kind of special pokemon.

also, don't even think about using canon characters from the anime, especially if they happened to be related to your main character

game characters are a possiblity if your trainer fic takes place in an established region rather then one you created yourself.

 

[RaZoR LeAf]

Well the only Anime character as such I have is gary Oak, taking over from Professor oak, but the characters are also related in the game, and gary is the optional name there too (Blue doesn't sound at all realistic) but since he's only in it for a bit, I don't see that as much of a problem. I do hope to mock the anime later on. I'm hoping that the Gym League will only be part of the story, and that some time into the fic, it'll go in a totally different direction.

Also what are pokebots? I've heard the term, but i'm not 100% sure of what it's refering to exactly.

 

[PDL]

Also what are pokebots? I've heard the term, but i'm not 100% sure of what it's refering to exactly.

pokemon with no personality whatsoever, all they do it get called out by the main character, use an attack and get recalled back into the ball. All without any sort of hint to personality or character... Just like a robot, they're merely convienient tools for the trainer.

 

[RaZoR LeAf]

Oh, well there's no chance of that happening, atleast 2 pokemon have ADHD and one is mute.

 

[Guitar dude bill]

Well......
I was just so happening to be thinking of making an original trainer fic, which I'm gonna start writing since I can't write my current one. And my plans were

-Finds pokemon from sea
-Leads a normal life before going on it
-Gets fascinated by pokeball
-Pretends he's gonna get one from somewhere else and stores pokeball in bag
-Goes to a beggining trainer tournament
-Discovers the gym challenges
-Defeats Roxanne
-Finds Brawly isn't in gym

Find some reason why Brawly isn't there and twist the plot to something. I haven't revealed my full plan. But it's similar.

 

[The Big Al]

Well, I'm working on kind of an experiment with my latest fan fic. Instead of journeying, the trainers live together in buildings and travel short distances. I've been working of the on the people and in my nexter couple of chapters I hope to work on the personalties of the Pokemon. (They haven't had much chance to show personalty.) So you're not the only one trying to make a better trainer fic.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Well, my main fic is a Trainer Fic ('course...it has no gym battles XP), and I've seen lot's of 'em done right. Usually gyms are best to avoid, but they can be pulled off, it all just depends on the main plotline, which I'm assuming is not gonna be the journey itself. Actually Trainer Fics, IMO, are among the best genre with some of the best works, it's just that they get stereotyped with all the n00b Journey Fics. Then again, even Journey Fics can work out, so long as the main plotline is unique.

~Chibi~;249;<?>;rukario;

 

[Pinecone Tortoise]

Y'know, I think it's part of writing pokefics that every author wants to write a trainer fic at some point or other. And naw, I'm no exception. ^^;; The trick, IMO, is to have something that makes your story different and unique and fascinating. Perhaps because I lack originality, I try to get that 'special quality' in my fics by making it as 'realistic' as I can. Here's a few of the more 'realistic' elements you might wanna consider for your story.

1. Money. It doesn't grown on trees and if your trainer runs out (for whatever reason - squandered on pokedex upgrades/items/accessories, lost in battles, etc.) what will they do to get more? how much money people have to spend affects their lives and probably the style of training (ie, more or less items, less well groomed pokemon, etc, etc)

2. What sort of pokemon get added to the team and why.

3. How will your character cope with the violence of battles? How will her pokemon? Got any pacifists there?

4. What sort of relationship do each of your trainer's pokemon have with their human? What emotional/psychological balances are there in the team? What disrupts these lines of tension?

5. How does travelling really work? I mean, tents by the roadside? Try to make it to little rest houses each day? Just sleep wherever there's a spot? Free pokecentre accomodation? Stay with relatives/friends in different cities?

Meh, these are just a few of the issues I reckon need to be considered to write a 'realistic' trainer journey. Hope this helps! Have fun and good luck!

Piney.
;204;;324;

 

[Yamato-san]

5. How does travelling really work? I mean, tents by the roadside? Try to make it to little rest houses each day? Just sleep wherever there's a spot? Free pokecentre accomodation? Stay with relatives/friends in different cities?

You do have to remember that several things in the anime and other canon sources are actually based on Japanese life, so while they don't make too much sense to us, they make perfect sense from a Japanese perspective. As I mentioned in another thread, Pokemon Centers are free because Japanese medical care's free to the public. On the subject of relatives, you'd have to consider that families aren't usually widely spread apart in Japan. Several elders live with their children's families, for instance. Also, the average families consist of up to only two children. Families can be spread out, of course, but seem less likely than in America and other English-speaking countries (especially considering the baby-boom that occured in America a few decades ago).

For that matter, let me tell you about use of culture. In spite of the fact that the game regions are based off of Japan, they are still fictional places in the end. People can and do use that to their advantage and adapt the areas to fit Western lifestyles (there's also the fact that in the English version canon, quite a few aspects were Westernized). But if you are making the setting seem Japanese, for god's sake, do your homework. It's been a while since I said this, but I've seen stories that try to seem Japanese, but fail horribly because the setting seems highly American, just like any other fic, and the characters just seem like otaku, packing manga in their backpacks and using words like "kawaii" in their sentences.

 

[Pinecone Tortoise]

You do have to remember that several things in the anime and other canon sources are actually based on Japanese life, so while they don't make too much sense to us, they make perfect sense from a Japanese perspective. As I mentioned in another thread, Pokemon Centers are free because Japanese medical care's free to the public. On the subject of relatives, you'd have to consider that families aren't usually widely spread apart in Japan. Several elders live with their children's families, for instance. Also, the average families consist of up to only two children. Families can be spread out, of course, but seem less likely than in America and other English-speaking countries (especially considering the baby-boom that occured in America a few decades ago).

For that matter, let me tell you about use of culture. In spite of the fact that the game regions are based off of Japan, they are still fictional places in the end. People can and do use that to their advantage and adapt the areas to fit Western lifestyles (there's also the fact that in the English version canon, quite a few aspects were Westernized). But if you are making the setting seem Japanese, for god's sake, do your homework. It's been a while since I said this, but I've seen stories that try to seem Japanese, but fail horribly because the setting seems highly American, just like any other fic, and the characters just seem like otaku, packing manga in their backpacks and using words like "kawaii" in their sentences.

Yah, as Yamato-san noted so clearly, I'm not exactly brushed up on Japanese culture. The culture in my stories is 'loosely canonical' at best. So if you're trying to stay true to the origins of the anime/manga, you might wanna disregard my post. Otherwise, I hope you can put it to good use. Good luck and have fun!

Piney.
;204;;324;

 

[Keleri]

The hardest thing about writing a trainer 'fic is that, frankly, reading about someone going out and catching pokémon and winning badges is pretty boring. We've all played the games and we all know what it's like. So, obviously, you have to diversify--but it's hard to do without making your trainer seem 'too special'. Generally it's a good idea not to have them catch a bunch of OMG!speshul!rare!powerful pokémon that obey them right off the bat.

It's also usually a bad idea to make up lots of special rules or bend the canon in an attempt to make it different; generally this simply has the effect of making your character more OMG!speshul. Every step you take towards making your character special and different and someone to whom the canon doesn't apply is a step towards a Mary Sue, which is fine if you're writing for yourself, but most of the time your more astute readers will find this rather grating.

I would much rather see a character struggle and grow and develop while they ride the emotional rollercoaster that is pokémon training (will I win, will I lose, am I strong enough, am I falling behind, do I have enough money to eat, do my pokémon respect me, I can't get them to listen, the pokémon center's full--where will I sleep, how is my mom doing, what if my pokémon get stolen, I'm alone in a strange town with no company but a disobedient bird and a rat, I want to go home... etc. etc.) than to see someone catch rare pokémon with no effort, sweep through the gyms and take on criminal organizations like they're just guys in funny clothes, no big deal...

People have mentioned pokébots, which is a good tip, but I think it's important to mention that pokémon are not little humans. They feel the same emotions, yes, but they do not necessarily share the same values or belief system--unless they've been surrounded by human culture since childhood.

I like to see touches of realism in 'fic, especially in a trainer one: you've got a kid traveling around out on their own, and how many miniature crises do you have when you're safe going to school? Things shouldn't be all sunshine and flowers -all- the time. Research, ask if you're not sure on something. Google+Wikipedia=OTP.

And... yeah, others have brought up good points, etc. etc. I stop rambling now.

 

[Guitar dude bill]

Like everyone else said. It needs to have more plot to it than just 'OMG, TRAINER PWNS ROXANNE AND GETS BADGE, FINDS TEAM AQUA/MAGMA TRYING TO EXPAND THE SEA/LANDMASS AND HE'S GOTTA STOP THEM, KEEPS PWNING UNTIL HE GETS TO LEAGUE HQ AND HE'S DEFEATED TEAM AQUA/MAGMA'
Maybe you could make it seem like that first, but then twist it into something bigger. IF you're gonna contain team magma/aqua/rocket, you should NOT make their plans to increase the landmass/sea or get money. And give reasons why he got that pokemon. You also need an original way to obtain it, not prof. birch or parents. If you're trying a journey fic, give it more plot that beat the gyms. The character might want all the badges, so he defeats one, and then something happens to change his mind. If you're going to do ANY gym battle scenes, you MUST pull them off well.

 

[The Big Al]

Also, you don't have to stick to the game regions. I'm writing about Royal Oak Michigan in mine. That's the joy of Pokemon fics. Because it's a Pokemon world, you can make it what you like. So perhaps you should leave the regions we know make a setting of your very own.

Another thing I'd like to mention are cars. In my fic, [SPOIL](infact in the chapter I'm currently writing this is discussed in detail)[/SPOIL] car are a trainers best friend. You're not going to get from Royal Oak to Flint on foot in any short amount of time. Yet a car can get you there in an hour. So that's another to take into consideration.

 

[Klaus]

Well, when I started mine. I kinda made it a game plot and then a learned that's not well liked unless it's a parady! So, I decided to start with somethind i'd never done before. I used the personalities that I thought they should have . For example, Kris and Taylor go out on their journey because their mothers forced them too and soon they learn their was a reason the mothers wanted to get them out of the house. I can't really say anything cause I don't want to spoil it but. I try and put a little bit more background into it.

Such as if there was a question unanswered I answer with a answer that seems as if it would make sence. And I like to make my character's a bit more realistic. Like, Taylor being a germ freak and a semi-hippy and I also like playing with established characters from the game such as Elm for instant making him the kind of man he is so, really, all you have to do venture off the road, add more mystery to it and it should be fine. Just avoid the whole " OMG he woke up late and now he gets a Mareep that won't obey him and they venture out and get attacked my a fearce flock of fearow and then they see a legendary..." just stay away from that.

Hope that helped.

As always, be kind to the mime. ;122;

 

[Willow's Tara]

Well I started on a trainer fic awhile ago when the character just finished her fifth badge, but then something happens that (I can't spoil it if it comes on here someday) makes the character find her friends and stop whatever it is. Provide a twiat, they can already be in a middle of a battle, or after they finished whatever badge get them to do something else and leave the gym battles behind for awhile.

 

[The Muffin Man]

1. Chances are your brilliant or unique idea isn't. No, it's not unusual for your character to suddenly decide to go to another gym first.

2. Don't give the main character Eevee. Especially not a special(i.e stronger, winged, different colored, etc.) Eevee. And if you do wanna give them an Eevee, have it evolve. There are too many damn trainer fics where Eevee doesn't evolve. That's not original. And it gets old fast.

3. Gym Leaders see a dozen people like you a day at the least. Don't have the Leader see something special in you. Maybe they can find your character attractive and flirt a bit(Misty does in RBY) but make sure it's just harmless flirting.

4. Incompetant trainers are far overdone. As are bumbling following running-gags like Jessie and James.

 

[RaZoR LeAf]

1. True it's not, but that's not the orignal part of the fic, it's just a little something extra.

2. I hate eevee. Only one of my characters is getting an Eeveelutio, but I doubt very much I will be showing it's prevo form.

3. OK That's a good point I'll note that down. Certainly nothing on the anime level of "oh you cheated" or "oh you saved my precious pokeon have a gum badge for nothing"

4. Can't have incompetant trainers, the history means they stay in school till 16 if they want to be a trainer.

 

[Negrek]

4. Can't have incompetant trainers, the history means they stay in school till 16 if they want to be a trainer.

*chokes on breakfast cereal*

What?! Sixteen?! Canonically, trainers start at ten. Changing the canonical age is another enormous no-no, and often incredibly pointless to boot.

Why do you want to do that? If you're going to, you need to have serious backing for it, especially if you want to have your 'fic set in an extant region. And when I say serious backing, it's got to be a reason better than "Cuz it's too dangerous and we must save the chilluns!"

So, yeah, starting late is a bad, bad idea. It can be done, but rarely, rarely, rarely well.