Shadow Pokemon

[TylerPhoenix]

So, guys, I'll say this straight away - Shadow Pokemon are my favourite type out there. Since I first played Coloseum and XD I have been enthralled by them. The idea is imaginative, and their unique spin on Pokemon kept me happy at a time where I didn't enjoy Pokemon much - I am NOT a fan of Hoenn, despite enjoying many of it's Pokemon.

I've always wanted to do a Fan-Fic based around Shadow Pokemon, but wonder whether it'd be better to do it in a canon region or a fake region - I don't want to do it in Orre however. My concern with a Shadow Pokemon fan-fic being in a canon region would be that I would still want to have it as a regular story. You know, gyms, rivals and so on. And I also wouldn't want Shadow Pokemon to be the only bad source - the team who have them couldn't be the only bad team.

Do you think it would be a better idea to run a story with Shadow Pokemon as one in a Canon Region, using Cipher or a new team, or in a fan-created region with either team? I want to work on this badly, but can't start properly until i know what;d work well, and how I could incorporate it into working.

 

[Sid87]

I would recommend you read at least bits of the story Morpher01 just finished, Struggle For Power:

http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?567967-Struggle-for-Power-(PG-13)

He used Shadow Pokemon in his story in a canonical region (Unova) with a canonical villain organization (Team Rocket), as well as other villains that weren't based around the Shadow Pokemon. It was my first real exposure to Shadow Pokemon, and it was a pretty decent story that I enjoyed. But maybe it could inspire you to make the decisions for your story.

That's really all I have. As I said, I'm not super well-versed in Shadow Pokemon, but I did think maybe that story could help you decide what works and what you might want to do.

 

[bobandbill]

So, guys, I'll say this straight away - Shadow Pokemon are my favourite type out there. Since I first played Coloseum and XD I have been enthralled by them. The idea is imaginative, and their unique spin on Pokemon kept me happy at a time where I didn't enjoy Pokemon much - I am NOT a fan of Hoenn, despite enjoying many of it's Pokemon.

Yay for Shadow Pokemon is all I can say!

I've always wanted to do a Fan-Fic based around Shadow Pokemon, but wonder whether it'd be better to do it in a canon region or a fake region - I don't want to do it in Orre however. My concern with a Shadow Pokemon fan-fic being in a canon region would be that I would still want to have it as a regular story. You know, gyms, rivals and so on. And I also wouldn't want Shadow Pokemon to be the only bad source - the team who have them couldn't be the only bad team.

Do you think it would be a better idea to run a story with Shadow Pokemon as one in a Canon Region, using Cipher or a new team, or in a fan-created region with either team? I want to work on this badly, but can't start properly until i know what;d work well, and how I could incorporate it into working.

It could work either way, imo. The only main thing/s to consider is firstly who is the bad team, and where/why are they operation. (And why are they operating _there_ too?). Is it an old Cipher member (e.g. Eldes) or someone just reusing the name? If it's a new team then why are they using Cipher's plan? As for regions; Orre is where the previous two attempts happened so you could argue it both makes sense to have it there (that's where a bunch of Cipher is still based ala shadow factory, some still-not-happy-and-currently-jailed members, it's sorta set up as a region far from others...) and elsewhere (if they failed twice in Orre maybe another place is not a bad idea for a third go, even with less pros than before. Plus Orre has a pretty poor law and order system while other regions seem arguably more competent with that, but it depends how you view that).

Oh, and if you do a bit of searching a fic by Gardevoir Girl had a Shadow Pokemon fic in Sinnoh a while back which was pretty decent and worth checking out too for ideas, etc (note it is not finished).

 

[Crystal]

Well, I had a fic idea once in the past for my previous fic (though this fic was never finished and never published) which also has Shadow Pokemon used in regions other than Orre, where the idea was based on the technicians worked once in Cipher copied the documents related to the technology of closing the Pokemon's heart. When the prior evil team had wiped out, the two technician took the technologies and create Shadow Pokemon on their own, and now they had established their own evil team in other regions and creating chaos.

Though, I didn't adopt this fic idea after planning and reviewing for several times. Maybe you can try adopt this idea if you would like to.

 

[Moonlight Amaryllis]

There's nothing wrong with using Shadow Pokemon in a fanfiction. It doesn't have to take place in Orre. My own fic included Shadow Mightyena, a whole pack, and the story takes place in Unova. You just have to point out that they came from Orre at one point. Then your free to put them in whatever region you please. Perhaps an Orre black market sells Shadow Pokemon to criminals, and Team Rocket bring some to Kanto. Or Team Galactic can try to use Shadow Pokemon in their perfect world and set out to Orre. Or a Cipher agent releases a pack of Shadow Pokemon in Jhoto to wipe out the Elite Four and Champion; whatever suits your needs, and if you want a fictional team...maybe they took out Cipher and became the new Cipher, Team Shadow, or they created their own method of Pokemon corruption to use Shadow Pokemon for their own goal, which is to get revenge on someone, or rule the world as the all regional Champions. Just some ideas .

 

[Kaiserin]

There's nothing wrong with using Shadow Pokemon in a fanfiction. It doesn't have to take place in Orre. My own fic included Shadow Mightyena, a whole pack, and the story takes place in Unova. You just have to point out that they came from Orre at one point. Then your free to put them in whatever region you please. Perhaps an Orre black market sells Shadow Pokemon to criminals, and Team Rocket bring some to Kanto. Or Team Galactic can try to use Shadow Pokemon in their perfect world and set out to Orre. Or a Cipher agent releases a pack of Shadow Pokemon in Jhoto to wipe out the Elite Four and Champion; whatever suits your needs, and if you want a fictional team...maybe they took out Cipher and became the new Cipher, Team Shadow, or they created their own method of Pokemon corruption to use Shadow Pokemon for their own goal, which is to get revenge on someone, or rule the world as the all regional Champions. Just some ideas .

Well, I'd like to point out that between Colosseum and XD, it seemed to be assumed that Shadow Pokemon had completely vanished from Orre for a while because Wes purified them all. Since Shadow Pokemon added an extra moral dilemma to the usual evil team plans, I'm not sure how well giving them to Team Galactic would work, especially considering Cyrus' motives and the reason his goal is what it is in the first place -- he's more of a sociopath than a heartless *******. That seems more like Ghetsis' domain, anyway.

Also, remember that all Shadow Pokemon were distributed to trainers to keep the operation low-key and prevent them from running around in the wild, where, at the time, they couldn't survive anyway.

It's definitely possible, but like a jigsaw puzzle, you can't just force two pieces together and expect them to be a perfect fit. You'd have to tinker with the whys and hows behind Shadow Pokemon reappearing, and in a different region no less. It doesn't have to be elaborate or drawn-out, but rhyme and reason is the backbone of any good fic.

 

[TylerPhoenix]

Wow, the response to thisis great - guys, you've reinforced my belief here, and made some very strong suggestions - The idea of having Cipher re-appear is good, but I can see them forming under a new name if they locate to a new region - a fresh start. Obviously, there will be a lot to tinker with and tweak, and a way to ensure they'd be in a new region. This could all potentially work if I put the effort in, which I assure I will, and all of your ideas are coming across as excellent in my eyes

So, I'm thinking of setting it in Hoenn, a region I've never been fond of thanks to the massive amounts of water (I don't like many water-types at all). It's the region I could see it working in best, despite my not being fond of it.

 

[Ace Kenshader]

I say go for it dude. Shadow pokemon are very intriguing plot points to explore.