Blitz 2022: Hype & Fic Recs Thread

[Pen]

Review Blitz is almost here!




Blitz is our annual forum-wide reviewing frenzy. This thread is for general Blitz hype--feel free to share fic recs, art, prizes you've received, prizes you've made, and anything else that gets you hype about Blitz. If you want to promote your own fic or set up review exchanges, check out this thread instead.

You can earn points by recommending fics! Once per week, you can earn 0.5 points by writing a 100(+) word rec in this thread, for a fic that you reviewed and that satisfies the weekly theme that week. In Week 4, any fic you reviewed that week will qualify. To help us identify a recommendation you'd like to earn points for, label it "Weekly Fic Rec."
​

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

I can heartily recommend every story that I brought up in my post on the Master's Eight thread a while back. On top of it, I can also vouch for checking out the following:

- Playfield - an oldie but a goodie one-shot by @Venia Silente that just made it here about an Arcanine and a Rapidash with a friendly rivalry with each other opting to try and race the sun. A bit chunky, but it's a comfy read and the characters are fun to follow. It's a personal favorite of mine, so of course I was going to take the time to shill it.

- Pitch Meeting: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - a short imagined back-and-forth between a Chunsoft dev and a desk jockey at TPCI by @The Walrein in which the roguelike series of cartoon animals we all know and love gets pitched for the first time in a completely off-the-wall fashion that takes the piss out of the Rescue Team games. Unconventional format, but highly recommended if you need something light to give you a giggle.

- Luceat Lux Vestra - okay, so I have some quibbles with some parts of this story for up to what I read, but what I did read was charming enough that I'll throw a rec at it and @silurica 's hard work anyways and think they're worth looking past. One day, a wandering painter doing field work for a professor that totally isn't just a random mountaineer gets the shock of their life when they play the Azure Flute at the summit of Mount Coronet and is promptly greeted by a mysterious man in white and quickly gets roped along into a quest chasing down divine artifacts as an... erm... 'servant'? Definitely worth a gander for if you have a thing for Legendary Pokémon mingling with humans and having a giggle at rants some of features of the modern Pokéworld we take for granted being heresy. :V

- PMD: Below - so I actually already brought up a work by @BestLizard in my Master's Eight post that I think is a bit more put-together mechanically, but I like this one enough that even with a few rough edges, I'll recommend it just by virtue of there not being anything else like it as a PMD story that I can think of offhand in terms of tone or subterranean barring exactly one other story that died a long, long time ago on its seventh chapter. If you ever wanted to see what Metro 2033 would look like as a PMD story or get the moral grayness and grit of SMT4 in a PMD story, this one is well worth your effort. The characters being entertaining to follow doesn't hurt either, and goes a long way to keeping things memorable.

 

[canisaries]

Going to yet again recommend @NebulaDreams' works. While he's no longer actively around, I really want people to read these stories and see all the effort and ideas put in. It's a shame that this genre of Pokémon-as-citizens-in-Trainerverse is so rare and doesn't seem to get a lot of views, but maybe you can see that as motivation to try something new and different from the usual Trainerverse/PMD binary.

---

I, Isobel

Meet Isobel, a Machamp living on her own in Circhester! With the introduction of the PokéJobs programme, she's determined to step out of her trainer's shadow and find her own place in the world, but between money problems, self-doubt, loneliness, and an uncertain future, can't a girl catch a break?

Chapterfic about a female Machamp trying to make it on her own in Galar. Explores the training system and Machamp-line culture among many other interesting things.

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The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

Jung the Hypno therapist starts suffering from panic-inducing nightmares that interfere with his work. There have also been cases of Pokemon being kidnapped near his city, and people accuse Hypno of being behind it. Determined to clear his own name and put a stop to his night terrors, Jung embarks on a journey to reconnect with his own kind and find the truth.

The longest of Neb's works starring Jung the Hypno - you can find the others in the author's notes in the thread. In this one, we go further into the discrimination Hypno face, and how Hypno culture works. As with all the other Dreamdiver works (name for the Jung series) we get really interesting dream sequences. If you like surrealism, I think you'll really like this series.

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A Pain in the Ash (2022 April Fool's One-Shot)

As the title says, this was a short April Fool's story about Jung giving therapy to Ash from the anime world. I think it's also pretty good starting material, since the differences between the anime world's regular Trainerverse and the story's Trainerverse get highlighted. It's also funny. Read.

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That's what I got. See you around.

 

[Pen]

Weekly Fic Rec: Week 1​

The Myriad Investigations of Detective Oscar by @JFought.

Do you like detective stories? If so, have I got a rec for you! This fic is an anthology in the making, set in the PMD-verse and following the adventures of the great Detective Oscar and his side-kick Benigno. The first (and for the moment, only) story is the Mystery of the Thrice-Stolen Pearl, a fun, breezy ride, carried by the story's easy humor and the lovable dynamic between the detective and his side-kick. Detective Oscar thinks he is pretty hot stuff--you'll have to make your own estimation of his detective skills, but his hubris and determination make for enjoyable reading. The story also deserves a big kudos for pulling off a tight, comprehensible mystery in the space of a one-shot. Unless your name is Canis, Umbra, or Torchic, this fic will meet the Week 1 bonus for you, so why not check it out?

 

[Negrek]

If you're looking for some stories to hit for the Week 1 theme, I just wanted to give a brief shout-out to some people who've joined recently and could use more love for their fics! If you'd like those bonus points, consider checking out...

- @Arukona's Dual Wills, a PMD fic with high fantasy flavor that follows a once-human riolu thrust into a kingdom in turmoil.

- @Auroraphy's Darksteelshipping World Trip Stories, which is a collection of standalone Darksteelshipping (Steven x Cynthia) stories that explore the pair's relationship as they travel around the world.

- @Cherry_BombBees 's Pokémon Crossing: Fly Me to the Moon, a Pokémon/Animal Crossing crossover fic that sends familiar Animal Crossing characters on a trainer journey more dangerous than you might expect.

- @Incognito Albatross's Tenacity, Lore, and Other Helpful Things for Amnesiac Polymorphs, a fun and freewheeling PMD fic that follows Aster after she's transported to the Pokémon world and turned into a skitty.

- @Pikachuguy's Rogues of Light, a PMD fic that follows a young Pikachu trying to adjust to life in a new town after a great personal tragedy.

- @yooloo33's The Only Way, a story high on action that follows a covert operative navigating the deadly politics of a more-dangerous Pokémon world.

I also want to shout out @Poivron 's Vaporwave Frontiers here as well--a really fun urban/industrial PMD quest that could use some more people to cause problems for its POV character!

 

[Navar]

Weekly fic rec: Warped Skies by Team_Ion!

Want to get into PMD, but you don't know where to start? Well, this story is a retelling of the second games in the franchise, the "Explorers of" trio of games. But with a twist!

The main character knows they're games. He knows that the world is fictional, and he's meant to know what happens in said games. Yet, everything feels a little bit... odd. Buildings, Pokémon he doesn't recognize, it's all a chaos. But, to me, that's where the fun starts!

It's a very bulky story, but the prose and the way the chapters are written make it easy to digest. If you don't know much about PMD, I think part of it is lost, but there are enough gaps that you can learn what happens in the games, too. With a large cast of characters, Ion tells a story about the future, about what it means to live, and how to defend your future. A good reccomendation.

 

[K_S]

Welcome to my humble first rec... I descided to go against genre preferences (i am a bit anti pmd as i love the more "realistic" setting of the manga to play in) and picked a pmd story after browsing through the forum for something off the beaten path. And wow did I find a nice juicy chunk of a tale to share with you all.

Behold! Paths of valor

(sorry my inner Bar' came out to play).

Instead if tossing the player/human into the body of a mon and having them crash/hello into a partner. Or have "parimitive" mon express longing for a when/where where humans were THE thing... we have a setting quite different.

On the surface it starts simple. New girl starts first day of school...

Except said "girl" is a dragon ghost type. The school is a mix match of boarding school for the rich and famous with a seasoning of hogwarts (courtesy of dumble dragon and a triwizar- I mean a HOPE inspiring event to counter the Dark of Despair)... And we have so very very many lairs of drama. Issues. Among the cast and interwoven in that we've a collage of long reaching issues as well.

On a global scale....

Mystery dungeons are the hot spots of cults. Said cultists are quite content to kick off the appocolype right now... The side effects of which include...

Mental deteriation, butchering the forces of nature/typing and playing with the pieces in profane ways, and some grand sociatial disolving master. Plans that indicates that there is a scarily compitent brain behind the feral attacks and bizzare "natural phenom" and accidents that the cast bump into.

And on a smaller scale...

We have a small shy dragoness... More ghost than scale... She's taking ap classes in a hostile forign country. Shes got social issues. Achademic. Triwizard tourneys. Foreign powers playing power games. More racism directed to her you can shake a stick at.... Actually we mighta broke a few sticks... Maybe all the sticks in Breath of the Wild...

(Goes off to check).

Yep. All sticks are broken and the snubs/backstabs/and back hand are still coming in.

Theres a lot going on. Everyone's got an angle and the games a big one spanning nations. If you got the time Paths a good way to spend it.

On a casual note i would say my top two fav charaters as if chapter 10 are...

Nikki. Her insane scheming. Misplaced and poorly timed streaks of rebelion, mischief, and justice, make her both suspect and endearing turn by turn.

Nocturn: probably the most spastic people pleasing body servent to have ever spazed. Hes proven impressive in battle, adaptable... And totally able to be distracted by a spring roll when left to his own devices. Means well though.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Getting in one of these myself with a little under 14 hours to go on Week 1, but...

Weekly Fic Rec: Week 1​

The End: Rekindled by @DeliriousAbsol

Okay, so I actually had some experience with quietly reading chunks of the v1 of this story back in its Serebii incarnation, and when I went back to it as part of tending to my RB4 review hitlist, I was honestly really pleasantly surprised to see how much stronger of a work the rewrite is than I remembered the original being, and one that is willing to touch on the darker aspects of being set in the backdrop of the protagonists' having to fight a losing battle in a war for survival while still being able to keep an overall vibe akin to a darker YA fantasy book.

Highly recommended if you're a PMD fan and I honestly regret not paying attention to the rewrite of this sooner, something that I'll have to remedy a bit in 2023. Since what I read of the first chapter was a good omen for where the rest of The End: Rekindled is going to go.

Honorable Mentions:

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Warped Skies by @Team_Ion , Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch by @Sudmensch , The Origin of Storms by @Sike Saner , and 26 Years by @bluesidra

 

[Ambyssin]

Week 1 fic rec goes to @GumPlum's Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Free Fiction

Yes, that's right, GP, I'm reccing it. Stop talking down about yourself because it's good mwa ha ha ha.TR has a very large LGBTQ+ community and there are very strong themes surrounding this community (particularly gender exploration, going by several opening chapters), so even if it's colorful pokémon instead of humans I think it's worth a look even for folks who prefer human protagonists. The fic is an original setting and offers some nice subversions on a lot of typical PMD plot beats. I don't want to spoil anything, but a vague example would be how the heroes end up at the guild and what responsibilities they're given. It's quite... counter to the usual guild and exploration angle, which makes me intrigued to see how their work will tie into the A plot. Speaking of which, though the fic leans more slice of life initially, after the first handful of chapters it pulls the rug out from under the reader with some surprising revelations.

So give it a read, if you're interested.

 

[Dragonfree]

Weekly Fic Rec (week 1):

Spun So Sugar Sweet by aer
Despite winning the Mischief and Malice contest, this story seems to have been overlooked a bit since, so I figured I'd give it a little extra shoutout. While sometimes a little opaque, this bite-sized little story does a very memorable job of creating horror from an unexpected source (Milcery, Alcremie, and Dynamax Power Spots), with a morbid fairy tale homage slash eldritch horror all dressed up in vivid descriptions of sugar and sweets. It's inventive and unusual, but also just a neat exercise in description and lush prose, in the characterization of an alien being with its own bizarre sense of morality and rightness, and in slowly revealing what's going on over the course of a brief, vague snapshot of events. Definitely a story I won't forget any time soon - maybe hold off a bit if you were planning on consuming a lot of candy in the near future, though. :P

 

[Negrek]

Dragonfree sniped my rec, so I'll be reviewing that one for one-shot week instead, lol. Fortunately I have another story to recommend that fits the W1 theme for me: Irreflections by Shiny Phantump! Only one chapter's been posted so far, which is good if you want to follow along from the start and bad if you end up enjoying it, which I think you will! This story follows Gladion after he's stolen Type: Null and escaped from Aether Paradise, as he tries to find a new life for himself in Alola and get comfortable with the identity he wasn't allowed to express on Aether. This one should definitely be of interest to any Gladion fans, general trainerfic fans, and anyone who enjoys trainerfics with a particular focus on pokémon and their relationships with their trainers. Type: Null is wonderfully written and full of personality, and her interactions with Gladion are delightful.

Not much time left in W1! For W2 I imagine I'll be going through a lot of contest one-shots, which I think is a good place to start for anyone wanting to earn some theme points... you can find links to them here if you're interested! I also hope to catch up with The Walrein and JFought's work, as well as check out Pen's "Last Strike!" I also binged some chapterfics while traveling and simply haven't written the actual reviews yet, so hopefully those will go up in the next week.

 

[JFought]

Week 1 is right about to end, but I figure I can take this time to recommend PMD: Crux of the Self by Truebrush. It’s a fic about a college dropout named Devon (Von for short) who gets Isekai’d into the world of Pokémon. Worse, he wakes up as a salandit of the wrong sex. The story deals with his experiences trying to get his bearings both in this world and in a body that isn’t his. His only chance of escape from this world and back to his old body -- as far as anyone seems to know -- is to delve into the Labyrinth, a massive network of connected Mystery Dungeons that sprawls across the continent. The story hasn’t quite gotten to the point where we explore it yet, but what is there is well-written, with a lot of good setup, interesting locales, fun worldbuilding, charming characters, and mounting mysteries that add up to a PMD story that’s definitely worth watching out for. And as it happens, the next two reviews will qualify for the Week 3 bonus, so that’s something to keep in mind for the future~

 

[Phoenixsong]

Ooh, look, I actually have a rec this time! Just started in on The Origin of Storms. A fandom oldie but a goodie that it took me entirely too long to get around to, and even though it's been posted on TR specifically since the beginning of the forums, it doesn't seem to get much attention! Let's change that, eh?

The Origin of Storms is pokémon-POV but set in the world of trainers/humans rather than something analogous to PMD, and even in just the few chapters I've read so far it's done a really fun job setting up some worldbuilding and biology for wobbuffet (when the poor thing normally doesn't even get the time of day from most folks just 'cause it's a little funny!). There've been tantalizing hints at really seeing the world from a wobbuffet's perspective as well, and learning more about how the main character has dealt with a long, slow recovery in a hospital at what seems to be a fair bit of trauma we're only just starting to learn about. See also a very sad and distressing dream sequence, and the question of how logical it is for certain species of pokémon to drive cars (the answer is none of the species in question and it is therefore hilarious).

If you like pokémon xenofiction, pokémon getting by in a world that still seems to be mostly made for humans, unusual and mysterious apocalypses, a nice dash of humor, or just some fun and unusual pokémon getting the spotlight for a change, give it a read!

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Got a Week 1 fic rec~

I'd recommend any of the stories I read and reviewed today, but I'm choosing to write about Keleri's Gods and Demons because it is tragically unknown right now and I want it to receive more attention. I've only read the prologue so far, but already I can tell it's My Fucking Jam. Now, to be fair, it does meet my own sensibilities and play to my biases enormously, with Keleri happening to hit a ton of my buttons and echo my own worldbuilding takes remarkably well... but I gotta recommend it for sheer storytelling quality and top-notch, gorgeous prose. Keleri's writing is fucking exquisite. I'd go so far as to say that if you like my work, you really ought to go put your eyeballs on Kel's work. Can't wait to get stuck into the rest of it!

 

[K_S]

Week 2 rec... Yay...

(For the record finding fics i haven't read /reviewed here is getting hard)

So here's my offering

May I present the surreal

Algorhythmic by Sparkling Espeon

The tale starts.out as any other mystery dungeon adventure. Meaning adventure, explorations and beloved companions... but there's little tells. Bits of surreal... One of them being a rip... Just a small one mind... And going to mend what's broke tears open the whole of reality and then some. The story evolved into a mix-match of the matrix, a grim what if, and a protag that, after an understandable freakout, actually finds a solution. And thier solution, for what and how? Well I'll give a clue, how does one solve a mon/mystery dungeon matrix? Well, giving the answer that would be spoilers and I shall refrain from any from here on out.

Post-reading though, I feel I owe the slew of weedle chilling in my iv/ev nature training/breeding boxes my most heartfelt apologies, for everything.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

So, there's.... -checks notes- about 16 hours to go for Week 2, so I suppose now's as good a time as any to belt out a weekly recommendation

Weekly Fic Rec: Week 2​

Nameless by @HelloYellow17

So this is another story where I admittedly came into it with a prior taste, namely from having beta read the first half of it pre-submission for the 2022 Mischief and Malice Contest where I wound up literally timing out before I could read it. Kinda a bit embarrassed as to how long it took to go back to properly read the rest of it, since it's well written and boy does it go places as a piece written about the creation of a Shadow Pokémon that takes to its new power and identity a little too smoothly, as seen from the Pokémon's own perspective.

Highly recommended if you're a fan of the Colosseum games or even just curious about them, and it's a decent advertisement for the other works from HelloYellow's shared Orre canon such as Of Sand and Shadows. Just be sure to check your eyes for sand once you reach the end, some of it might leak out of from the Orre desert and into yours by the time you're done with it.

Honorable Mentions:

Algorhythmic(Oneshot()) by @SparklingEspeon , Dark-Clothed Small Human by @Shiny Phantump , Spun so Sugar Sweet by @aer , and The Last Strike by @Pen

 

[Pen]

Week 2 Rec: To Speak Again by @Starlight Aurate

The first thing I'll say about this fic is its unique setting: an old-timey, colonial Galar world where the magic of pokemon coexists with good old-fashioned magic. Our main character is gem-peddler, magician, and devoted friend to his aura-less lucario companion. Why exactly this lucario lost his aura and what he and his friend will do to get it back form the back-bone of the story's plot.

This oneshot drew me in and didn't set me down until the end. I found it a compelling, if disturbing, read, and one of the most interesting explorations I've seen of a villain POV. Come if you like creative worldbuilding, unreliable narrators, karma, and the Power of Friendship (TM)! For the point-minded, I'll mention that this delightful oneshot currently has only one review (by yours truly), so if you don't get to it by the end of week two, there's a good chance it will qualify for week three as well!

Also check out: Exploded View by @Negrek. Studying for finals. And exploding clowns. Come on, I know you're curious!!

 

[Arukona]

So I read a few oneshots this week in line with the theme, and there were definitely some great ones. One that particularly stuck out to me was:

Dark-Clothed Small Human, by @Shiny Phantump

This is a story about Type: Null being rescued from captivity by Gladion, all from Null’s point of view. I found this to be a compelling read, about the freeing of Null from a life of captivity under the Aether Foundation and transitioning to a new life as Gladion’s companion. It begins with a bleak picture of a being in captivity, not knowing anything outside of its prison in Aether Paradise’s depths. Gladion then frees it and takes it out into the wide open world, where it becomes gradually accustomed to many facets of the outside world it was previously unaware of. It ends on a happier note, with the two of them having a firm trust in one another.

I found this to be a wholesome read, and would highly recommend it, especially to lovers of Sun and Moon!

I’ll also toss out two other oneshot recs that I enjoyed reading this week: Edgeworth by @zion of arcadia, which deals with the transformation of a decaying town into a Mystery Dungeon, as well as Walls by @Blackjack Gabbiani, a series of conversations between Nanu and Guzma in Po Town. The latter’s another recommendation for Sun/Moon enjoyers, and the former’s certainly an interesting read dealing with things from an angle far different than most fics I've read.

 

[Starlight Aurate]

For Week 2 of Review Blitz, the two one-shots that I would most recommend include Fl4k3s by @Cresselia92 and The Heart of the Glades by @Pen.

Fl4k3s was widely talked about and recommended a lot when it was posted, and for very good reason. It's a story about a NPC from the Gen I games that turns out to combine existential horror with annoyance of mundane parts of everyday life, relatable exasperation at working an unfulfilling job, with heartrending and heartwarming moments. The story has a "Choose your own ending" option at the end, which gives it a very unique and climatic feel! For a story about an NPC who looks like a clone of countless other characters in the games, it's surprisingly touching. Cress makes VERY good use of different persons in her narration as well as the writing style, depending on what is currently going on in the story. For anyone looking for some nostalgia from the Gen I games wrapped in a heartwarming adventure, Fl4k3s is absolutely wonderful!

Secondly, The Heart of the Glades is a fun fic that takes place in boonie swamplands VERY reminiscent of redneck Florida. Maddy is a highschool dropout who lives with her deadbeat Uncle and scrapes a living by offering swamp tours for people to see Totadiles and Crocanaws. There is myth and legend tied to the glades she lives in, and a certain wealthy businessman (who may or may not be a parody of a real-life businessman) wants to take advantage of it in the slimiest ways. Pen manages to create a very captivating setting as well as a touching story and a dash of humor that kept me on my seat the entire time.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Hello!

Listen. Every single one of you needs to drop what you’re doing immediately and go read Pizza With a Slice of Pain by @zion of arcadia . Why? Let me tell you why.

I read this fic while judging 2021’s one-shot contest and absolutely adored it—and, reading it again a year and a half later, it’s still just as charming, if not more, than the first time I read it. This is a lovely PMD fic that takes two extremely different, yet extremely lovable characters and throws them at one another as they get to know each other’s fears and desires. The characterization, descriptions, and dialogue are all top-notch and will leave you grinning the entire time. (And you will probably walk away craving pizza at the end.)

This is a wonderful, wholesome, heartwarming read and I recommend it to absolutely everyone!