diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
Edits to 11 and 12 are up
-
Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
Survival Project (PG-13)
- Thread starter diamondpearl876
- Start date
diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
Chapters 13-19 have been edited
diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
Edits made to chapters 20-24. Chapter 24 is now two posts instead of three.
diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
All remaining chapters have been updated with edits. My plan is to start posting the sequel, Phantom Project, sometime before the New Year. Keep an eye out!
Sike Saner
Peace to the Mountain
Heya. This is my second time reading this one (though it's seen some edits since then, so in some respects it's almost like the first time around, isn't it), but my first time replying to it.
I think the strongest point of this story is the character interactions. Sometimes touching, even heartbreaking--Sai and Atis sharing secrets is the example that immediately comes to mind. (Incidentally that made for a hell of a chapter end. "I am always sick"--goddamn. Talk about a wham line.) Sometimes funny--Ezrem's to blame for many of these moments, though Kuiora popped off a few as well. (And so of course, those two play of each other pretty darn nicely at times, especially near the end.) Sometimes... well, indescribable. Actually no, no; there's a word. Enigmatic. A lot of the characters' interactions with Sai, especially early on when so much of his background was still unknown, fall under that category. I think I'd genuinely never read a character like him before, so I could never quite assume what was coming next between him and his gradually growing team, nor did I dare assume his motives.
And while I'm thinking about Sai... his backstory, when it came, was quite the bombshell. By that point it'd begun to be hinted at--at the very least, we knew TR'd been on his case at one point or another--but getting the specifics from Sai himself, when prior to that we'd only been able to experience him in a secondhand way... yeah. Like the instant I saw his name under the chapter header I was like holy ****, is this really happening?.
He's probably my favorite character in this overall, come to think of it. And in a story that's a good 70% or so pokémon pov, and given the fact that I tend to favor said genre, that's saying something. Generally speaking, it's a little harder to get me invested in the human cast members as opposed to the nonhuman cast, and yet here it is. Sai's my favorite character here. Achievement unlocked.
Of course, that's not to say the pokémon were slouches. They were fairly distinct, each with their own foibles and individual outlooks, and a couple of them (hi, Atis; hi, Ezrem) do give Sai a run for the money in the faves department. Ezrem especially, for being a relatively comedic character in spite of having an incredibly dark backstory and legit atrocities to his name--not a combination I see often.
Somewhat related: LaoN becomes a very different beast after having read this, in a good way. I think I've mentioned something to that effect before elsewhere, but yeah. Would definitely recommend readers of either to check out the other if they haven't already.
This has been a fun little trip down memory lane. I'm eager to get into the sequel, as well as to get good and refreshed wrt LaoN.
I think the strongest point of this story is the character interactions. Sometimes touching, even heartbreaking--Sai and Atis sharing secrets is the example that immediately comes to mind. (Incidentally that made for a hell of a chapter end. "I am always sick"--goddamn. Talk about a wham line.) Sometimes funny--Ezrem's to blame for many of these moments, though Kuiora popped off a few as well. (And so of course, those two play of each other pretty darn nicely at times, especially near the end.) Sometimes... well, indescribable. Actually no, no; there's a word. Enigmatic. A lot of the characters' interactions with Sai, especially early on when so much of his background was still unknown, fall under that category. I think I'd genuinely never read a character like him before, so I could never quite assume what was coming next between him and his gradually growing team, nor did I dare assume his motives.
And while I'm thinking about Sai... his backstory, when it came, was quite the bombshell. By that point it'd begun to be hinted at--at the very least, we knew TR'd been on his case at one point or another--but getting the specifics from Sai himself, when prior to that we'd only been able to experience him in a secondhand way... yeah. Like the instant I saw his name under the chapter header I was like holy ****, is this really happening?.
He's probably my favorite character in this overall, come to think of it. And in a story that's a good 70% or so pokémon pov, and given the fact that I tend to favor said genre, that's saying something. Generally speaking, it's a little harder to get me invested in the human cast members as opposed to the nonhuman cast, and yet here it is. Sai's my favorite character here. Achievement unlocked.
Of course, that's not to say the pokémon were slouches. They were fairly distinct, each with their own foibles and individual outlooks, and a couple of them (hi, Atis; hi, Ezrem) do give Sai a run for the money in the faves department. Ezrem especially, for being a relatively comedic character in spite of having an incredibly dark backstory and legit atrocities to his name--not a combination I see often.
Somewhat related: LaoN becomes a very different beast after having read this, in a good way. I think I've mentioned something to that effect before elsewhere, but yeah. Would definitely recommend readers of either to check out the other if they haven't already.
This has been a fun little trip down memory lane. I'm eager to get into the sequel, as well as to get good and refreshed wrt LaoN.
diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
I suppose so! Though my edits weren't too heavy, just some language polishing and whatnot. Either way, I'm glad you came back to not only read again, but also to comment! It means a lot.
Ya know, I wasn't sure how people were going to react to that scene. The idea initially struck me as a bit... too weird, but it seems that my risk there paid off. Always glad to hear good things about that scene. Thanks!
Ohhh, I'm glad you think so! Those two are probably my favorite to write together, right along with Sai and Atis. And Rennio and Ezrem. And... Okay, I love them all. But yeah.
I'm glad to hear my risk with Sai also paid off in the originality department. It's... tough, getting a character like him right without being too enigmatic or too dramatic.
It happened. Hooray for the rotating first person POV method. 8D
He's probably my favorite character in this overall, come to think of it. And in a story that's a good 70% or so pokémon pov, and given the fact that I tend to favor said genre, that's saying something. Generally speaking, it's a little harder to get me invested in the human cast members as opposed to the nonhuman cast, and yet here it is. Sai's my favorite character here. Achievement unlocked.
Achievement unlocked indeed! And as a secret from me to you (and anyone else who reads this, I guess), he's definitely my favorite, too. <3
Heh. You know, when life gets you down, you've got to just laugh about it. Or so Ezrem thinks. Atis, not so much. Now I kind of want to go write them together in a scene and watch them fight...
Yes, it does become a different beast entirely, doesn't it? Sometimes, I forget what I mentioned here in SP and think of a happy ending for LaON. But sadly, we both know that's not going to happen (though there'll be happy moments, at least?).
This has been a fun little trip down memory lane. I'm eager to get into the sequel, as well as to get good and refreshed wrt LaoN.
Replying to your sequel review next, and I look forward to your thoughts on LaON!
jirachiman876
The King of Kirby
So I was wandering the fic reviewers thread a week or so ago and stumbled across someone talking about the sequel to this and decided I'd give it a read. *glares at his other authors for not giving him new chapters lately*
I was definitely an awesome story.
It was a very neat style to change the perspective chapter to chapter. It made it so much fun to experience similar events through different eyes, along with seeing everyone's image of Sai and how it changed throughout the entirety.
I had my own theories to Sai's interesting behavior. I first went with a little bit of Autism, but soon figured it was something much different. But I really love how you bring about all these different mental illnesses and such through each Pokemon and characters we meet in here. It's really nice to see.
I didn't quite see the Rocket twist coming as fast as some I suppose. (I don't pick up things like that very easily it seems) But it was very nice to get all that explanation near the end. It really helped tie the whole thing together.
The ending to it was very nice too. Helped us get an idea of what life is becoming for the team and how everyone is kind of dealing with all their battles and flaws. It was definitely a needed catharsis.
I did find a couple typos and missing words and such, but I'm sure it's probably from all the edits to the chapters and everything.
I really enjoyed each character. Senori is prolly my favorite out of everyone. Though Atis is definitely a close second.
All in all it was a very fun read. I can't wait to start on story two.
jirachiman out ;385;
I was definitely an awesome story.
It was a very neat style to change the perspective chapter to chapter. It made it so much fun to experience similar events through different eyes, along with seeing everyone's image of Sai and how it changed throughout the entirety.
I had my own theories to Sai's interesting behavior. I first went with a little bit of Autism, but soon figured it was something much different. But I really love how you bring about all these different mental illnesses and such through each Pokemon and characters we meet in here. It's really nice to see.
I didn't quite see the Rocket twist coming as fast as some I suppose. (I don't pick up things like that very easily it seems) But it was very nice to get all that explanation near the end. It really helped tie the whole thing together.
The ending to it was very nice too. Helped us get an idea of what life is becoming for the team and how everyone is kind of dealing with all their battles and flaws. It was definitely a needed catharsis.
I did find a couple typos and missing words and such, but I'm sure it's probably from all the edits to the chapters and everything.
I really enjoyed each character. Senori is prolly my favorite out of everyone. Though Atis is definitely a close second.
All in all it was a very fun read. I can't wait to start on story two.
jirachiman out ;385;
diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
Ohh, I think I know what post you saw. ;P I'm glad you came to check out the fic and liked it! It means a lot that you took the time to go through every chapter and leave comments, too! I honestly have never had Sai having autism cross my mind, but I can definitely see where you got that idea. There's some overlap between bipolar disorder and autism for sure (as it is for most mental disorders, I think) and the inability to socialize is prominent especially in the beginning.
I've actually gotten some complaints that the Team Rocket part didn't have enough hints, so I wouldn't feel too bad if you didn't see it coming. When writing I put most of my focus on Sai's strange mannerisms and how his past affected who he is now rather than the buildup of him having to face his past.
Duly noted on the typos - I've been meaning to go and fix them, though I figured I'd let time pass and see if I wanna do any further edits. Again. Oh boy.
I'll be excited to see what you think of the sequel! Especially if Senori and Atis are your favorites. I guess I'll just say be ready for more emotions.
Marika_CZ
Well-Known Member
Hi, I have just finished Ch3 so I think it is a good time to comment.
Seeing how many chapters there are tho, please take everything I say with a pinch of salt. This is more like first impressions rather than full, serious review.
This one is clearly a character driven story - so it is good I like your characters And quite a colorful bunch they are, even though I only met three of them so far (a troubled lone wolf kid, a worldly sceptical Pokemon and a young naive energetic Pokemon)!
I normally dislike journeyfics; to me they are a cliche genre - unless the author puts some new spin on it or there is some twist to it (which is what you are doing by introducing us to a very unusual trainer and heavily implying there is much going on but we don't know what yet).
Senori is most fleshed out at this early point (although ironically I am not sure if they are male of female) - I like their background and their history with their clan. During the fleshback to what happened with sneasels and Senori's good-bye to their clan, I almost wanted to jump in their defense and punch the clan leader on Sanori's behalf. That is a good sign of course. It felt like something that could have happened, and sometimes it really takes such a small mistake to f*ck up and unintentionally cause harm. And when lives are lost nobody will of course care that "you are sorry," no matter how honest and tortured you are about it. Great job, it was really well written.
Sai is an interesting case (and I mean that before even considering his personality). He is the trainer character who is supposed to journey, catch and train Pokemon and get badges. Normally this is your protagonist. So far it looks like he is a supporting character (this might change later tho) and narrative focuses on his Pokemon instead. I like!
As for Sai's personality, there is not much to go on (yet), but he appears to be troubled guy on the brink of losing his sanity (either that, or he is very, very weird person). Looking forward to learn more about him, what happened and how it is going to shape their journey.
And finally Kuiora, I don't know much about her yet tho. So far she is likable - a young Pokemon who is excited to see the world, has lots of expectations but zero experience.
I also have a couple of nitpicks. Nothing important tbh, just me being confused about couple of points (which may be explained later):
1. Senori seems to know an awful lot about Pokemon journey - more than some humans. Is this intentional? I find it weird that a wild Pokemon (who has spent most of their life on Route 29 no less - might be wrong here tho) knows what a starter means, how to get one or even where to go from New Bark Town (when an actual kid and about-to-become a Pokemon trainer doesn't).
2. Sai was told by someone about training Pokemon and getting badges, yet they didn't explian the concept of a starter Pokemon to him? That seems a bit off, unless there is some sort of twist lurking to be revealed later.
Also I spotted two typos in Ch3:
...and now I feel bad for pointing it out since I am the king of typos myself <insert shame.gif here>
So far very enjoyable read! I will be back with a review after I read more chapters.
EDIT: Ch4-8 review (to avoid double post)
This story is heavily character driven, with plot being sort of in the background (for now at least) so I will be reviewing this by characters rather by chapters.
So first - a new character, and one that catually reminds me of my high school days. Ch4 was a very unique read in that regard. I am refering to Atis‘ personality. He is very shy, lacks confidence, and yet when under pressure his inner strength shines through. There is also feeling of not being satisfied with his current life and wanting to do something more – which is used as a motivation to join Sai later on. So I might be biased here but I really like him
Kuiora is more fleshed out by now. She is a strange case – I strongly dislike people with that personality IRL, but it is fun to just read about the fictional version. She reminds me of this extrovert hyperactive kid from elementary school, who needs to prove to the world they are THE BEST! At math, at swimming, at dancing, at solving riddles... Hey! Why are rolling your eyes rn? Don’t you see how GREAT they are? You should give them your full attention, you! Heh heh.
Later, Kuiora takes this to the extreme by picking fights with everything that moves (Atis, gym Pokemon, offscreen wild Pokemon, Sai and even some folks/mons in Pokemon center iirc?) and of course going to the gym on her own in Ch8 – so very brave, as well as stupid and irresponsible. Which is of course perfectly in-character. I legit wonder what are you doing with her here – will her aggressive attitude play role later on, or is she going to undertake an arc that will change her into a different person? Or something else? I guess I will see later, eh?
Her evolution felt a bit forced and convenient to me. She wanted to prove her point, and she did! And right in front of her trainer as well as numerous witnesses! So lucky! I know you did a lot to justify it tho; all those mentiones of training day and night off screen, being most active of Sai’s Pokemon, etc. It still felt a bit odd. Maybe it is because she basically trained herself. Sai didn’t even used her in battle iirc (well maybe during the weeks in the cave incident)? So it kinda brings the question why does Kuiora even need a trainer (or any Pokemon in this universe for that matter), if they can do everything themselves? (This is more a conon setting problem than yours to be fair. Plot of gen5 even admits this by questioning why should Pokemon even be captured by humans)
Then again this might be done on purpose to play a role later in the story.
Speaking of Sai being punched in the face by Kuiora – he is the most enigmatic one of this cast. Pretty sure this is intentional, because him being the only one whose origin isn’t revealed and barely touched on makes it the main driving question/hook right now. Just what is this guy’s deal, why is he doing this and what happened to him? You want to know so your read more. Well that and some lovely and funny interaction between these characters
He seems to suffer from mood swings and emotional/anger issues (poor Atis), he doesn’t know how to treat other people (the girl who invited him to dinner) or Pokemon (the cave incident with Senori) very well. He seems to have good intentions tho, hejust doesn’t give good first impressions. And sometimes he randomly does something that really makes no sense, even if common sense was the only thing required (catching Magikarps, buying three phones at once). I wonder if he escaped from mental institution, or if he was confined/held prisoner or maybe cut off from civilisation/company of people for some time to be in this mental state.
I am definitely curious as to where you take it!
Speaking of the cave where ceiling keeps collapsing every now and then... uh why is that place not sealed off for public? Why are children allowed there to be potentially randomly killed? O__o
I get you needed exciting adventurous place for dramatic moment with Senori (and consequently an argument/confrontaion for Sai with another trainer) but that seemed a bit much. Especially since they have spend three weeks there? No water/food and chunks of rock falling on your head? For three weeks? Boy, Johto kids are made of iron!
(I loved the exchange between Sai and the other boy tho. Sai kinda deserved to be called out on his attitude and needed a bit of food for thought)
On a side note (and this is really minor thing) I have been imagining Sai as a hobo until his first visit and a shower in Pokemon center (and buying a backpack and new clothes soon after ). I mean, he has been out in the wild, having just one outfit and sleeping outside for days... I can only imagine how he looked (and smelled) when prof. Elm greeted him and gave away Kuiora. Amazingly open minded and tolerant of you, professor!
I have much less to say about Senori this time around. His origins in early chapters were pretty tense and angsty (for a good reason), so compared to that the current events are nothing special. He really does feel like he is moving on with his life, embracing his new „clan“ – he is most knowledgable of the group, most emotionally balanced, often serves as a mediator in the conflict or uneasy situations. In the Slowpoke Well, he resolved the potentially weird/tense situation like a brilliant diplomat or a politician („We will figure out what to do with those Magikarps later“ – which dismisses any other questions and turns potential „Why“ into a pointless query ...as well as helps moving on). I still wonder what makes him so special to Sai tho – looking forward to finding out why!
In general, I really like how diverse your cast is personality-wise and how you manage to make them sound natural and in-character (that is pretty challenging task when switching POV around). Great work dp!
Seeing how many chapters there are tho, please take everything I say with a pinch of salt. This is more like first impressions rather than full, serious review.
This one is clearly a character driven story - so it is good I like your characters
And quite a colorful bunch they are, even though I only met three of them so far (a troubled lone wolf kid, a worldly sceptical Pokemon and a young naive energetic Pokemon)!I normally dislike journeyfics; to me they are a cliche genre - unless the author puts some new spin on it or there is some twist to it (which is what you are doing by introducing us to a very unusual trainer and heavily implying there is much going on but we don't know what yet).
Senori is most fleshed out at this early point (although ironically I am not sure if they are male of female) - I like their background and their history with their clan. During the fleshback to what happened with sneasels and Senori's good-bye to their clan, I almost wanted to jump in their defense and punch the clan leader on Sanori's behalf. That is a good sign of course. It felt like something that could have happened, and sometimes it really takes such a small mistake to f*ck up and unintentionally cause harm. And when lives are lost nobody will of course care that "you are sorry," no matter how honest and tortured you are about it. Great job, it was really well written.
Sai is an interesting case (and I mean that before even considering his personality). He is the trainer character who is supposed to journey, catch and train Pokemon and get badges. Normally this is your protagonist. So far it looks like he is a supporting character (this might change later tho) and narrative focuses on his Pokemon instead. I like!
As for Sai's personality, there is not much to go on (yet), but he appears to be troubled guy on the brink of losing his sanity (either that, or he is very, very weird person). Looking forward to learn more about him, what happened and how it is going to shape their journey.
And finally Kuiora, I don't know much about her yet tho. So far she is likable - a young Pokemon who is excited to see the world, has lots of expectations but zero experience.
I also have a couple of nitpicks. Nothing important tbh, just me being confused about couple of points (which may be explained later):
1. Senori seems to know an awful lot about Pokemon journey - more than some humans. Is this intentional? I find it weird that a wild Pokemon (who has spent most of their life on Route 29 no less - might be wrong here tho) knows what a starter means, how to get one or even where to go from New Bark Town (when an actual kid and about-to-become a Pokemon trainer doesn't).
2. Sai was told by someone about training Pokemon and getting badges, yet they didn't explian the concept of a starter Pokemon to him? That seems a bit off, unless there is some sort of twist lurking to be revealed later.
Also I spotted two typos in Ch3:
So far very enjoyable read! I will be back with a review after I read more chapters.
EDIT: Ch4-8 review (to avoid double post)
This story is heavily character driven, with plot being sort of in the background (for now at least) so I will be reviewing this by characters rather by chapters.
So first - a new character, and one that catually reminds me of my high school days. Ch4 was a very unique read in that regard. I am refering to Atis‘ personality. He is very shy, lacks confidence, and yet when under pressure his inner strength shines through. There is also feeling of not being satisfied with his current life and wanting to do something more – which is used as a motivation to join Sai later on. So I might be biased here but I really like him
Kuiora is more fleshed out by now. She is a strange case – I strongly dislike people with that personality IRL, but it is fun to just read about the fictional version. She reminds me of this extrovert hyperactive kid from elementary school, who needs to prove to the world they are THE BEST! At math, at swimming, at dancing, at solving riddles... Hey! Why are rolling your eyes rn? Don’t you see how GREAT they are? You should give them your full attention, you! Heh heh.
Later, Kuiora takes this to the extreme by picking fights with everything that moves (Atis, gym Pokemon, offscreen wild Pokemon, Sai and even some folks/mons in Pokemon center iirc?) and of course going to the gym on her own in Ch8 – so very brave, as well as stupid and irresponsible. Which is of course perfectly in-character. I legit wonder what are you doing with her here – will her aggressive attitude play role later on, or is she going to undertake an arc that will change her into a different person? Or something else? I guess I will see later, eh?
Her evolution felt a bit forced and convenient to me. She wanted to prove her point, and she did! And right in front of her trainer as well as numerous witnesses! So lucky! I know you did a lot to justify it tho; all those mentiones of training day and night off screen, being most active of Sai’s Pokemon, etc. It still felt a bit odd. Maybe it is because she basically trained herself. Sai didn’t even used her in battle iirc (well maybe during the weeks in the cave incident)? So it kinda brings the question why does Kuiora even need a trainer (or any Pokemon in this universe for that matter), if they can do everything themselves? (This is more a conon setting problem than yours to be fair. Plot of gen5 even admits this by questioning why should Pokemon even be captured by humans)
Then again this might be done on purpose to play a role later in the story.
Speaking of Sai being punched in the face by Kuiora – he is the most enigmatic one of this cast. Pretty sure this is intentional, because him being the only one whose origin isn’t revealed and barely touched on makes it the main driving question/hook right now. Just what is this guy’s deal, why is he doing this and what happened to him? You want to know so your read more. Well that and some lovely and funny interaction between these characters
He seems to suffer from mood swings and emotional/anger issues (poor Atis), he doesn’t know how to treat other people (the girl who invited him to dinner) or Pokemon (the cave incident with Senori) very well. He seems to have good intentions tho, hejust doesn’t give good first impressions. And sometimes he randomly does something that really makes no sense, even if common sense was the only thing required (catching Magikarps, buying three phones at once). I wonder if he escaped from mental institution, or if he was confined/held prisoner or maybe cut off from civilisation/company of people for some time to be in this mental state.
I am definitely curious as to where you take it!
Speaking of the cave where ceiling keeps collapsing every now and then... uh why is that place not sealed off for public? Why are children allowed there to be potentially randomly killed? O__o
I get you needed exciting adventurous place for dramatic moment with Senori (and consequently an argument/confrontaion for Sai with another trainer) but that seemed a bit much. Especially since they have spend three weeks there? No water/food and chunks of rock falling on your head? For three weeks? Boy, Johto kids are made of iron!
(I loved the exchange between Sai and the other boy tho. Sai kinda deserved to be called out on his attitude and needed a bit of food for thought)
On a side note (and this is really minor thing) I have been imagining Sai as a hobo until his first visit and a shower in Pokemon center (and buying a backpack and new clothes soon after ). I mean, he has been out in the wild, having just one outfit and sleeping outside for days... I can only imagine how he looked (and smelled) when prof. Elm greeted him and gave away Kuiora. Amazingly open minded and tolerant of you, professor!
I have much less to say about Senori this time around. His origins in early chapters were pretty tense and angsty (for a good reason), so compared to that the current events are nothing special. He really does feel like he is moving on with his life, embracing his new „clan“ – he is most knowledgable of the group, most emotionally balanced, often serves as a mediator in the conflict or uneasy situations. In the Slowpoke Well, he resolved the potentially weird/tense situation like a brilliant diplomat or a politician („We will figure out what to do with those Magikarps later“ – which dismisses any other questions and turns potential „Why“ into a pointless query ...as well as helps moving on). I still wonder what makes him so special to Sai tho – looking forward to finding out why!
In general, I really like how diverse your cast is personality-wise and how you manage to make them sound natural and in-character (that is pretty challenging task when switching POV around). Great work dp!
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Virgil134
PMD Writer
Hey there! It took me a bit, but here’s finally the review I promised you! Since covering it chapter by chapter is a little hard when reviewing the whole fic at once, I figured the best way to go about this is by talking about the aspects that make up most stories. I hope you will find it useful and fun to read!
Characters
So I’ll start off by talking about the fic’s most prominent aspect, which is the cast. Survival Project features a variety of characters who all stand out in their own way. Sai is probably the one that’s the most unique. He was interesting to follow and I certainly didn’t expect his odd behavior to be because of Team Rocket. Mental illness ain’t fun, but his mother certainly didn’t help with that either. I do like how the weird things he did seemed random throughout the story, but all make so much sense once you get to the end. Overall I think that Sai is a great main character and having the story center around him through the eyes of his Pokémon made for a fun story. Much more than centering around any “normal” trainer could have been.
As for the human supporting characters, although we’ve seen some minor characters throughout the story that I think were alright, the two that stood out to me the most were Marty and Sasha. Marty is someone who seems unlikable at first, since even if he has a point about Sai not treating his Pokémon all that well, being super adamant about getting Sai’s Pokémon removed after losing a battle won’t get him any sympathy points. He does however get some after the whole situation with his dad is revealed at the Goldenrod Pokémon fan club. Hearing that explained a lot about his character and I even felt bad for him when one of his own Pokémon wanted to leave him for Sai. All in all I thought that was a nice turnaround for someone who’s pretty much the closest thing to Sai’s rival. As for Sasha, I don’t have as much to say about her other than that she was a nice foil to Marty. I’m not sure if she can be considered a rival of Sai, but if she can, she definitely takes on the role as the nice rival. Overall I enjoyed her appearances throughout the story.
Anyhow, enough about the human characters. With Survival Project being written from the perspective of the members of Sai’s team, it only makes sense I go over each them and tell you what I think of them. I thought I’d do something interesting and spice things up! Instead of just talking about them, I’m gonna rank them from least favorite to favorite. That way you won’t just know my general opinion of them, but also how I think they stack up to each other. It’s something I’ve never see anyone do in a review on Serebii, so I hope you’ll find enjoy it:
Plot
Alright, so the plot’s up next. Figured the best way for me to review this is by going over some of the events in the story.
The first part of the fic seems to mainly focus on Sai getting his team together. I think the way he acquires his Pokémon does a good job at showing something’s clearly off about him. From how he fought Senori himself, to the way he joined the trainer school and lied to Earl just to get Atis. There’s clearly more to Sai than meets to eye, but at this point in the story the reader is as much in the dark as Sai’s Pokémon. It gets me interested in what’s going and makes me wonder why Sai’s dead set on getting these specific Pokémon. That said, now I know the full story and look back at these earlier events, I wonder how there were never any Pokémon that rolled the die and didn’t get the correct number. What would Sai have done if Kuiora had thrown a six for example?
Anyway, for most of the story the main objective seems to be to beat all the gyms, just like you’d expect in a typical trainer fic. Survival Project is no typical trainer fic of course, and the badge quest turn out to be a red herring. Looking at the gym battles now I’ve finished reading the fic, their purpose seems to be more to develop the characters on a personal level rather than advance the main character’s goal. I like this little subversion from the typical trainer fic, since even if I thought that the gym battles were overall okay, those fights are not the story’s strongest suit, so I’m glad they served that purpose in the end.
Also this part of the story had so many fun little moments. One of them was when Sai got baby clothes for his Pokémon. I just thought the idea of Senori and Kuiora wearing T-shirts was such a cute mental image. Also the chapter when Sai and his team visited the department store was probably one of my favorites. It was very amusing to see the team’s reaction to the different stuff. Another moment I enjoyed was when Sai had left the team and Senori and Rennio tried to get food from people in Goldenrod (even if Ezrem is a little shit for setting up Senori like that lol). I think there’s only one thing from this part of the story that stands out to me negatively, which is the ceremony Kuiora saw. That chapter just didn’t interest me very much and I found it a little boring to read. I can see how it developed Kuiora, but looking back at it now, it does feel a bit like filler when you look at the overarching plot. That’s just my silly opinion though, and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who did find that chapter entertaining to read.
Moving onto to something that’s anything but filler: Team Rocket! I thought the buildup to their reveal in the story was really good. I remember how the foreshadowing at the radio tower intrigued me and how I couldn’t wait to read more when Atis got taken. The Pokémon having to find their own way to Mahogany after Sai left them again was also great. It was pretty cool to see them struggle to move around Johto without a human and how they cleverly solved it by asking Marty and Sasha for help (which also had the added bonus of them getting involved with the Team Rocket stuff). That said, after the team got to Team Rocket’s lab, I felt things got a little… anti-climactic. They managed to rush through an entire building full of Team Rocket scientists and grunts with very little resistance, which seemed kinda odd. I understand that it wouldn’t have been realistic for them to take on multiple teams of Pokémon belonging to Rocket Grunts, but I think some more action would have made this feel a lot more climactic. Though I didn’t dislike this sequence at Team Rocket’s lab at all, so please don’t think that. I just feel like it could have been better. Seeing a long chapter from Sai’s perspective was really interesting though, so I enjoyed that. I also thought bringing back the knife Sai bought at the department store earlier in the story was clever. It was also sweet to see his team pulling through for him even after finding out what he did to Atis.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was all the stuff after Team Rocket, which seemed to act like the story’s denouement. It was nice to see Sai recover from everything what happened and for things between him and his Pokémon to get better. Seems like them knowing the truth and understanding Sai better really did wonders. They’re so supportive. ^^ Something I definitely didn’t see coming was for Gracie to join the team, especially this late into the story. Although I do quite like her addition to the team, something about it didn’t feel right. Marty definitely didn’t seem like a bad trainer so her leaving him like that was kinda strange. I didn’t really get why she left him for Sai too, since she had only encountered his Pokémon twice and didn’t have much of a bond with him personally. Another thing from these final few chapters I wasn’t too fond of was the gym battle against Jasmine. I felt like it just dragged things on, since the story was pretty much over at that point. I understand the battle was added so everyone could get another chapter in the end, but it came off to me as filler. The fic had a really great finish though, and I’m glad Sai and his Pokémon got a happy ending. Too bad things won’t stay that way based on what I’ve heard so far about Phantom Project.
Setting
The setting is admittedly the aspect I have the least to say about given how it’s set inside a canon region (Though I will give kudos for choosing Johto. Pokémon Silver was the first Pokémon game I’ve ever played, so Johto always make me feel nostalgic). That said, there’s still a few things about the world Survival Project is set in to comment on. One thing that stood out to me for example is how humans and Pokémon are able to talk to each other when humans have spent enough time around Pokémon. Although it’s definitely not my headcanon, it did allow for some really nice interactions between Sai and his Pokémon, so I’m glad you included that. Also I see cartoon physics don’t apply here, given the third degree burn Ezrem got from a single Flamethrower. It’s something I can definitely respect, but it makes me wonder how Pokémon battles are held as often in setting as they are in the games, since it’s much easier for a Pokémon to get crippled for life or worse.
Grammar / Writing
Survival Project’s writing style is probably one of my favorite things about the fic. It’s very unique and switching the perspective each chapter to a different member of Sai’s team allows the reader to get to know each character very well by showing what’s going on inside their heads. It’s also what initially got me to check out the story. Trainers fics are not really the type of stories I enjoy reading, but it being written from the perspective of each of the trainer’s Pokémon was a concept that intrigued me enough that I checked it out anyway. In the end it did not disappoint, and I thought it was well executed since every character’s perspective had its own unique flavor to it. It was always clear what chapter was written from what character’s perspective, even if their name wouldn’t have been written at the start, so props to that!
That said, there are a couple of things I didn’t like about Survival Project’s writing style. I haven’t checked out Phantom Project all that much, so I don’t know how much you’ve already improved when it comes to these things given Surival Project’s age, but I’ll go over what I didn’t like regardless. One of the things is that sometimes one chapter starts a little bit before the ending of the previous one. This a shame, since sometimes a chapter can have a pretty cool ending and it makes me wanna keep reading to find out what happens next, only to have to wait until halfway through the next chapter to find out what happens next. I get why you did this, since the characters aren’t always together and it allows you to show what they were up to, but there were times were I felt it would have been better to have them bring it up later as opposed to winding back time. This was mostly the case for some of the earlier chapters, were some of the stuff the characters were up to wasn’t important enough that simply telling about it would have been unacceptable. The other I didn’t like is something I mentioned earlier, namely that after Team Rocket everyone needed another chapter. It dragged on the story for a bit, something the writing style should never cause. I think it would have been better to either not give everyone their own chapter one more time, or to split those final chapters between two characters, but that’s just how I feel about it.
Characters
So I’ll start off by talking about the fic’s most prominent aspect, which is the cast. Survival Project features a variety of characters who all stand out in their own way. Sai is probably the one that’s the most unique. He was interesting to follow and I certainly didn’t expect his odd behavior to be because of Team Rocket. Mental illness ain’t fun, but his mother certainly didn’t help with that either. I do like how the weird things he did seemed random throughout the story, but all make so much sense once you get to the end. Overall I think that Sai is a great main character and having the story center around him through the eyes of his Pokémon made for a fun story. Much more than centering around any “normal” trainer could have been.
As for the human supporting characters, although we’ve seen some minor characters throughout the story that I think were alright, the two that stood out to me the most were Marty and Sasha. Marty is someone who seems unlikable at first, since even if he has a point about Sai not treating his Pokémon all that well, being super adamant about getting Sai’s Pokémon removed after losing a battle won’t get him any sympathy points. He does however get some after the whole situation with his dad is revealed at the Goldenrod Pokémon fan club. Hearing that explained a lot about his character and I even felt bad for him when one of his own Pokémon wanted to leave him for Sai. All in all I thought that was a nice turnaround for someone who’s pretty much the closest thing to Sai’s rival. As for Sasha, I don’t have as much to say about her other than that she was a nice foil to Marty. I’m not sure if she can be considered a rival of Sai, but if she can, she definitely takes on the role as the nice rival. Overall I enjoyed her appearances throughout the story.
Anyhow, enough about the human characters. With Survival Project being written from the perspective of the members of Sai’s team, it only makes sense I go over each them and tell you what I think of them. I thought I’d do something interesting and spice things up! Instead of just talking about them, I’m gonna rank them from least favorite to favorite. That way you won’t just know my general opinion of them, but also how I think they stack up to each other. It’s something I’ve never see anyone do in a review on Serebii, so I hope you’ll find enjoy it:
Ezrem
So, let me start off by saying I didn’t put Ezrem here because I dislike him. In fact, I quite like him, but since this is a ranking someone has to be at the bottom. Overall I enjoyed reading his chapters. He has a fun, witty personality, and went through some really nice character growth throughout the story. He started out as someone who didn’t just get his previous trainer killed (who also happens to be is LaoN’s protagonist. Certainly doesn’t bode well for the ending of that story…), but also acted selfish, manipulative, and like a douche towards his teammates. Of course this slowly changed overtime as he started caring more about his new team. To me, one of the highlights of Ezrem’s character arc was when he stepped in to protect Rennio and got his wing severely burned in the process. It felt like a turning point in his behavior, and seeing him struggle with his burned wing was quite interesting. I also like how he evolved to save Sai despite his promise to Annie. I think that was the point where he wasn’t just a better ‘mon physically, but in terms of personality as well. The thing I didn’t like about Ezrem was that he was sometimes a bit too douchy for my liking, which even happened a few times after he evolved. Like when Ezrem was considering to grab Sai’s mom and throw her off a building, or his reaction to journalists was to instantly destroy their cameras.
All in all, the reason Ezrem is at number 5 is simply because he has some really tough competition. He’s a good character, but I think the rest is just a little better. Why that is I will explain, starting with…
So, let me start off by saying I didn’t put Ezrem here because I dislike him. In fact, I quite like him, but since this is a ranking someone has to be at the bottom. Overall I enjoyed reading his chapters. He has a fun, witty personality, and went through some really nice character growth throughout the story. He started out as someone who didn’t just get his previous trainer killed (who also happens to be is LaoN’s protagonist. Certainly doesn’t bode well for the ending of that story…), but also acted selfish, manipulative, and like a douche towards his teammates. Of course this slowly changed overtime as he started caring more about his new team. To me, one of the highlights of Ezrem’s character arc was when he stepped in to protect Rennio and got his wing severely burned in the process. It felt like a turning point in his behavior, and seeing him struggle with his burned wing was quite interesting. I also like how he evolved to save Sai despite his promise to Annie. I think that was the point where he wasn’t just a better ‘mon physically, but in terms of personality as well. The thing I didn’t like about Ezrem was that he was sometimes a bit too douchy for my liking, which even happened a few times after he evolved. Like when Ezrem was considering to grab Sai’s mom and throw her off a building, or his reaction to journalists was to instantly destroy their cameras.
All in all, the reason Ezrem is at number 5 is simply because he has some really tough competition. He’s a good character, but I think the rest is just a little better. Why that is I will explain, starting with…
Kuiora
Kuiora is probably the member of Sai’s team whose personality stands out the most. She’s someone who is fun, adventurous, and always seems to be eager to fight. She has a great dynamic with Ezrem and I like how she often steps in and keeps him in check when he acts a bit douchy. I think this is also one of the reasons why I ranked her higher than Ezrem, since these moments are usually pretty funny and like I mentioned I feel like Ezrem sometimes goes a bit overboard which is an aspect Kuoira doesn’t have. Throughout the story Kuoria has some nice standout moments. One of those moments is when after Sai loses at the Azelea gym, she goes back to get the badge herself. Not only did she succeed, but she also evolved by fighting Sai himself (after forcing him in public nonetheless). It’s stuff like that sets her apart from everyone else, and I like it. ^^ I will say that it felt a bit illogical Sai’s punch did so little to a Croconaw, but I’ll chalk it up to either Sai not punching at full force or you having a very different headcanon when it comes to Pokémon durability. But that’s a minor thing anyway.
Overall I like her and always enjoyed reading from her perspective. Totodile is my favorite Johto starters, so that’s definitely a plus too, lol. Although I do like the other three a bit more for various reasons, I think Kuiora is a great character.
Kuiora is probably the member of Sai’s team whose personality stands out the most. She’s someone who is fun, adventurous, and always seems to be eager to fight. She has a great dynamic with Ezrem and I like how she often steps in and keeps him in check when he acts a bit douchy. I think this is also one of the reasons why I ranked her higher than Ezrem, since these moments are usually pretty funny and like I mentioned I feel like Ezrem sometimes goes a bit overboard which is an aspect Kuoira doesn’t have. Throughout the story Kuoria has some nice standout moments. One of those moments is when after Sai loses at the Azelea gym, she goes back to get the badge herself. Not only did she succeed, but she also evolved by fighting Sai himself (after forcing him in public nonetheless). It’s stuff like that sets her apart from everyone else, and I like it. ^^ I will say that it felt a bit illogical Sai’s punch did so little to a Croconaw, but I’ll chalk it up to either Sai not punching at full force or you having a very different headcanon when it comes to Pokémon durability. But that’s a minor thing anyway.
Overall I like her and always enjoyed reading from her perspective. Totodile is my favorite Johto starters, so that’s definitely a plus too, lol. Although I do like the other three a bit more for various reasons, I think Kuiora is a great character.
Senori
Alright, so at the middle of the list we got Senori, which I suppose is fitting for a Normal-Type. That said, he’s anything but mediocre! He’s a good boi and I love him. I think he got some nice development throughout the fic, going from the Sentret who was an outcast in his clan to the Furret who’s essentially the leader of Sai’s team. My favorite Senori moments were probably when Sai left and he had to lead the team by himself. Seeing the team try to manage without their trainer was generally interesting and I feel Senori really got to shine there. I admittedly don’t have too much more to say about him, other than that the things I just mentioned that I like about him are why I ranked him above Kuiora and Ezrem.
Alright, so at the middle of the list we got Senori, which I suppose is fitting for a Normal-Type. That said, he’s anything but mediocre! He’s a good boi and I love him. I think he got some nice development throughout the fic, going from the Sentret who was an outcast in his clan to the Furret who’s essentially the leader of Sai’s team. My favorite Senori moments were probably when Sai left and he had to lead the team by himself. Seeing the team try to manage without their trainer was generally interesting and I feel Senori really got to shine there. I admittedly don’t have too much more to say about him, other than that the things I just mentioned that I like about him are why I ranked him above Kuiora and Ezrem.
Atis
So fun fact, earlier on in the story Atis was actually my least favorite character out of the bunch. Yet, now look how high he ended up on the list! At the start Atis didn’t really stand out that much compared to Kuiora and Senori, mainly because he was so shy. Although I still liked him, being surrounded with teammates like that it made his personality feel a little bit generic. That said, Atis’ development throughout the fic and his relationship with Sai really turned that around. I found the idea of a Pokémon wishing to be a human really interesting since it’s something original that you don’t see a lot. I also liked how Atis ended up helping Sai not only with stuff like battling, but also with dealing with his mental health issues. And then there’s of course the whole arc of Sai giving Atis to Team Rocket and Sai then getting him back and Atis forgiving him. Knowing everything that happened it’s sweet that Atis went with Sai to therapy and even decided to stay on his team. Atis is just such a great character overall, though despite all of this there is one ‘mon on Sai’s team who manages to top him…
So fun fact, earlier on in the story Atis was actually my least favorite character out of the bunch. Yet, now look how high he ended up on the list! At the start Atis didn’t really stand out that much compared to Kuiora and Senori, mainly because he was so shy. Although I still liked him, being surrounded with teammates like that it made his personality feel a little bit generic. That said, Atis’ development throughout the fic and his relationship with Sai really turned that around. I found the idea of a Pokémon wishing to be a human really interesting since it’s something original that you don’t see a lot. I also liked how Atis ended up helping Sai not only with stuff like battling, but also with dealing with his mental health issues. And then there’s of course the whole arc of Sai giving Atis to Team Rocket and Sai then getting him back and Atis forgiving him. Knowing everything that happened it’s sweet that Atis went with Sai to therapy and even decided to stay on his team. Atis is just such a great character overall, though despite all of this there is one ‘mon on Sai’s team who manages to top him…
Rennio
Yup, that’s right. Coming in at number 1 is none of than Rennio! He’s cute, endearing, and for most of the story I just want to hug him, so how could he not be my favorite?
Jokes aside, I enjoyed this cute little guy the most because he has a very likeable personality and as a reader you just really feel for him. He lost his old trainer who was essentially like a mother to him, gets lied to by the only ‘mon that’s still around from those days, doesn’t really get the love he needs from his new trainer for most of the story, and on top of that you have stuff happening like the gym fight with Whitney. Just, poor Rennio. He doesn’t deserve all of that. :<
That said, like some of the other characters, I think Rennio went through some really nice development throughout the story. He matured and no longer needed things like for his trainer to feed him. Rennio also went from being manipulated by Ezrem, to finding out the truth, confronting Ezrem and even meeting another Elekid towards the end. The subplot was fun the follow and the ending of it was quite satisfying.
If I had to give any sort of criticism it would be the way he acted when Sai came out of the hospital and all those journalists swarmed Sai. Threatening to electrocute a group of people who aren’t hostile or trying to harm Sai seems a bit overly aggressive, especially in a setting where Pokémon attacks seem noticeably more harmful than let’s say the anime. I get that you were just trying to show he cares about Sai and is willing to protect him, but this seemed a bit much. It almost felt out of character, since prior to this he never acted anything like this, and once this scene was over he went back to his usual self. It’s something minor, but since I like the character so much I still wanted to point it out.
Yup, that’s right. Coming in at number 1 is none of than Rennio! He’s cute, endearing, and for most of the story I just want to hug him, so how could he not be my favorite?
Jokes aside, I enjoyed this cute little guy the most because he has a very likeable personality and as a reader you just really feel for him. He lost his old trainer who was essentially like a mother to him, gets lied to by the only ‘mon that’s still around from those days, doesn’t really get the love he needs from his new trainer for most of the story, and on top of that you have stuff happening like the gym fight with Whitney. Just, poor Rennio. He doesn’t deserve all of that. :<
That said, like some of the other characters, I think Rennio went through some really nice development throughout the story. He matured and no longer needed things like for his trainer to feed him. Rennio also went from being manipulated by Ezrem, to finding out the truth, confronting Ezrem and even meeting another Elekid towards the end. The subplot was fun the follow and the ending of it was quite satisfying.
If I had to give any sort of criticism it would be the way he acted when Sai came out of the hospital and all those journalists swarmed Sai. Threatening to electrocute a group of people who aren’t hostile or trying to harm Sai seems a bit overly aggressive, especially in a setting where Pokémon attacks seem noticeably more harmful than let’s say the anime. I get that you were just trying to show he cares about Sai and is willing to protect him, but this seemed a bit much. It almost felt out of character, since prior to this he never acted anything like this, and once this scene was over he went back to his usual self. It’s something minor, but since I like the character so much I still wanted to point it out.
Plot
Alright, so the plot’s up next. Figured the best way for me to review this is by going over some of the events in the story.
The first part of the fic seems to mainly focus on Sai getting his team together. I think the way he acquires his Pokémon does a good job at showing something’s clearly off about him. From how he fought Senori himself, to the way he joined the trainer school and lied to Earl just to get Atis. There’s clearly more to Sai than meets to eye, but at this point in the story the reader is as much in the dark as Sai’s Pokémon. It gets me interested in what’s going and makes me wonder why Sai’s dead set on getting these specific Pokémon. That said, now I know the full story and look back at these earlier events, I wonder how there were never any Pokémon that rolled the die and didn’t get the correct number. What would Sai have done if Kuiora had thrown a six for example?
Anyway, for most of the story the main objective seems to be to beat all the gyms, just like you’d expect in a typical trainer fic. Survival Project is no typical trainer fic of course, and the badge quest turn out to be a red herring. Looking at the gym battles now I’ve finished reading the fic, their purpose seems to be more to develop the characters on a personal level rather than advance the main character’s goal. I like this little subversion from the typical trainer fic, since even if I thought that the gym battles were overall okay, those fights are not the story’s strongest suit, so I’m glad they served that purpose in the end.
Also this part of the story had so many fun little moments. One of them was when Sai got baby clothes for his Pokémon. I just thought the idea of Senori and Kuiora wearing T-shirts was such a cute mental image. Also the chapter when Sai and his team visited the department store was probably one of my favorites. It was very amusing to see the team’s reaction to the different stuff. Another moment I enjoyed was when Sai had left the team and Senori and Rennio tried to get food from people in Goldenrod (even if Ezrem is a little shit for setting up Senori like that lol). I think there’s only one thing from this part of the story that stands out to me negatively, which is the ceremony Kuiora saw. That chapter just didn’t interest me very much and I found it a little boring to read. I can see how it developed Kuiora, but looking back at it now, it does feel a bit like filler when you look at the overarching plot. That’s just my silly opinion though, and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who did find that chapter entertaining to read.
Moving onto to something that’s anything but filler: Team Rocket! I thought the buildup to their reveal in the story was really good. I remember how the foreshadowing at the radio tower intrigued me and how I couldn’t wait to read more when Atis got taken. The Pokémon having to find their own way to Mahogany after Sai left them again was also great. It was pretty cool to see them struggle to move around Johto without a human and how they cleverly solved it by asking Marty and Sasha for help (which also had the added bonus of them getting involved with the Team Rocket stuff). That said, after the team got to Team Rocket’s lab, I felt things got a little… anti-climactic. They managed to rush through an entire building full of Team Rocket scientists and grunts with very little resistance, which seemed kinda odd. I understand that it wouldn’t have been realistic for them to take on multiple teams of Pokémon belonging to Rocket Grunts, but I think some more action would have made this feel a lot more climactic. Though I didn’t dislike this sequence at Team Rocket’s lab at all, so please don’t think that. I just feel like it could have been better. Seeing a long chapter from Sai’s perspective was really interesting though, so I enjoyed that. I also thought bringing back the knife Sai bought at the department store earlier in the story was clever. It was also sweet to see his team pulling through for him even after finding out what he did to Atis.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was all the stuff after Team Rocket, which seemed to act like the story’s denouement. It was nice to see Sai recover from everything what happened and for things between him and his Pokémon to get better. Seems like them knowing the truth and understanding Sai better really did wonders. They’re so supportive. ^^ Something I definitely didn’t see coming was for Gracie to join the team, especially this late into the story. Although I do quite like her addition to the team, something about it didn’t feel right. Marty definitely didn’t seem like a bad trainer so her leaving him like that was kinda strange. I didn’t really get why she left him for Sai too, since she had only encountered his Pokémon twice and didn’t have much of a bond with him personally. Another thing from these final few chapters I wasn’t too fond of was the gym battle against Jasmine. I felt like it just dragged things on, since the story was pretty much over at that point. I understand the battle was added so everyone could get another chapter in the end, but it came off to me as filler. The fic had a really great finish though, and I’m glad Sai and his Pokémon got a happy ending. Too bad things won’t stay that way based on what I’ve heard so far about Phantom Project.
Setting
The setting is admittedly the aspect I have the least to say about given how it’s set inside a canon region (Though I will give kudos for choosing Johto. Pokémon Silver was the first Pokémon game I’ve ever played, so Johto always make me feel nostalgic). That said, there’s still a few things about the world Survival Project is set in to comment on. One thing that stood out to me for example is how humans and Pokémon are able to talk to each other when humans have spent enough time around Pokémon. Although it’s definitely not my headcanon, it did allow for some really nice interactions between Sai and his Pokémon, so I’m glad you included that. Also I see cartoon physics don’t apply here, given the third degree burn Ezrem got from a single Flamethrower. It’s something I can definitely respect, but it makes me wonder how Pokémon battles are held as often in setting as they are in the games, since it’s much easier for a Pokémon to get crippled for life or worse.
Grammar / Writing
Survival Project’s writing style is probably one of my favorite things about the fic. It’s very unique and switching the perspective each chapter to a different member of Sai’s team allows the reader to get to know each character very well by showing what’s going on inside their heads. It’s also what initially got me to check out the story. Trainers fics are not really the type of stories I enjoy reading, but it being written from the perspective of each of the trainer’s Pokémon was a concept that intrigued me enough that I checked it out anyway. In the end it did not disappoint, and I thought it was well executed since every character’s perspective had its own unique flavor to it. It was always clear what chapter was written from what character’s perspective, even if their name wouldn’t have been written at the start, so props to that!
That said, there are a couple of things I didn’t like about Survival Project’s writing style. I haven’t checked out Phantom Project all that much, so I don’t know how much you’ve already improved when it comes to these things given Surival Project’s age, but I’ll go over what I didn’t like regardless. One of the things is that sometimes one chapter starts a little bit before the ending of the previous one. This a shame, since sometimes a chapter can have a pretty cool ending and it makes me wanna keep reading to find out what happens next, only to have to wait until halfway through the next chapter to find out what happens next. I get why you did this, since the characters aren’t always together and it allows you to show what they were up to, but there were times were I felt it would have been better to have them bring it up later as opposed to winding back time. This was mostly the case for some of the earlier chapters, were some of the stuff the characters were up to wasn’t important enough that simply telling about it would have been unacceptable. The other I didn’t like is something I mentioned earlier, namely that after Team Rocket everyone needed another chapter. It dragged on the story for a bit, something the writing style should never cause. I think it would have been better to either not give everyone their own chapter one more time, or to split those final chapters between two characters, but that’s just how I feel about it.