It's time to get ready for our yearly one-shot contest! We're getting started a little earlier this year so people will hopefully have time to get their writing done before exams, but before that writing starts... we need a theme! We're also going to need some judges to help out with the contest itself.
These are the theme options the staff came up with for this year. Vote for as many as you like! The poll will remain open until Friday the 29th.
Sinnoh: This chilly region has been getting a lot of buzz recently--will we be returning there soon in the mainline game series? This theme would welcome stories centered around Sinnoh's pokémon, its lore, or even the land itself. Anything's fair game as long as it showcases some aspect of the Sinnoh region.
Human/Pokémon Partnership: The connection between humans and pokémon has always been at the core of the franchise, whether it's the bond between trainer and pokémon, between pokémon-turned-human and partner, or even the fleeting relationship between a ranger and a pokémon they've called on for help. How do humans and pokémon live together in the pokémon world, for good or for ill? Whether you want to explore the sorts of examples we've seen in canon or take things in a completely different direction, it's fair game as long as the story centers around the relationship between humans and pokémon!
Reunions: This marks the Pokémon franchise's 25th year. As we look back at the series' roots, this theme celebrates the idea of the return, the way that the people who fall out of our lives can sometimes reenter them just as unexpectedly. The various pokémon canons offer many stories of reunion to explore, and the opportunity to imagine many more, and any of them would make for a fine entry under this theme.
If you have another idea, feel free to share it in this thread! If it's popular, we might go with it over one of these themes, or it might reappear as the prompt for another event (or for our contest next year).
We also need judges! We're looking for 3-4 people to read, review, and rank the contest entries. This means you'll be asked to review up to fifteen one-shots over the course of two months (March-April, although you can start a bit early if entries are received before the deadline) and, at the end, rank the entries from best to worst. To get an idea of what the job would look like, you can take a look at the results from last year's contest! Note that if you volunteer to judge, you won't be able to enter the contest yourself. If you're interested, post in this thread or shoot me a private message!
These are the theme options the staff came up with for this year. Vote for as many as you like! The poll will remain open until Friday the 29th.
Sinnoh: This chilly region has been getting a lot of buzz recently--will we be returning there soon in the mainline game series? This theme would welcome stories centered around Sinnoh's pokémon, its lore, or even the land itself. Anything's fair game as long as it showcases some aspect of the Sinnoh region.
Human/Pokémon Partnership: The connection between humans and pokémon has always been at the core of the franchise, whether it's the bond between trainer and pokémon, between pokémon-turned-human and partner, or even the fleeting relationship between a ranger and a pokémon they've called on for help. How do humans and pokémon live together in the pokémon world, for good or for ill? Whether you want to explore the sorts of examples we've seen in canon or take things in a completely different direction, it's fair game as long as the story centers around the relationship between humans and pokémon!
Reunions: This marks the Pokémon franchise's 25th year. As we look back at the series' roots, this theme celebrates the idea of the return, the way that the people who fall out of our lives can sometimes reenter them just as unexpectedly. The various pokémon canons offer many stories of reunion to explore, and the opportunity to imagine many more, and any of them would make for a fine entry under this theme.
If you have another idea, feel free to share it in this thread! If it's popular, we might go with it over one of these themes, or it might reappear as the prompt for another event (or for our contest next year).
We also need judges! We're looking for 3-4 people to read, review, and rank the contest entries. This means you'll be asked to review up to fifteen one-shots over the course of two months (March-April, although you can start a bit early if entries are received before the deadline) and, at the end, rank the entries from best to worst. To get an idea of what the job would look like, you can take a look at the results from last year's contest! Note that if you volunteer to judge, you won't be able to enter the contest yourself. If you're interested, post in this thread or shoot me a private message!
