DMJ: To Save a Kingdom - Story Idea

[Vizaryll]

Hi all, first time posting and whatnot.

Haven't attempted Pokémon Fanfiction for about 6 years now, so I might be a tad rusty. But I couldn't get this idea out of my head...

So far, I've got:

Summary:
Join Dragon Master Jack as he attempts to unite the Kanto region, against invaders and wild Pokémon alike. Can he fight against all odds and save his people, or will eternal war ravage his homelands?

Extended Summary:
Johto has been united for years, while Kanto has remained broken and isolated, as invasion after invasion has plagued its lands.
Meanwhile, Indigo Plateau has ruled across both regions, and its Champion, Lance - who hails from the Johto Region - had been abusing his power by providing every advantage possible to Johto, over Kanto.
Born to an unknown father, and a young woman who is an assistant to former Pokémon Trainer, turned Pallet Town Defence Leader, Samuel Oak, will Jack succeed in his dream to become a Dragon-type Master and be able to unite a war-battered region against the powerful and oppressive Indigo Plateau?

Story Objective(s):

• Portray the Pokémon world in an isolationist-feudal setting
• Accurately showcase life as a Human during times of hardship, and struggle, as powerful beings attack, due to unknown forces

Plot Objective(s):

• Unite the various towns and cities of Kanto together
• Prepare to fight back in the war against Johto

Character Objective(s):

• Progress from a new Trainer, to an experienced Trainer
• Train exclusive Dragon (or near-Dragon) Pokémon

(All subject to change, naturally.)

Basically, dude goes around uniting the various towns and cities of Kanto against their evil Johto/Indigo Plateau overlords. Bit of mystery, action, and adventure.

I have the basics of a plot outline written, for the rough direction I want the story to go in. And I have a more detailed plot outline in the works. Not touching chapter writing until I've got my ducks in a row, I've learnt my lesson from last time. Don't want to burn out.

Just looking to get some initial feedback on my idea, nothing too serious.

Cheers!

 

[Pen]

Ooh! Well, your story idea touches on a lot of stuff I'm deeply interested in--the unification of Kanto and Johto is one of my favorite pet topics. Depicting a feudal setting makes a lot of sense, and Lance could certainly make for a compelling villain.

I think the main hurdle from a writing perspective in the idea you've outlined is in how you portray the main character. Why this person? What motivates them? How do they become a dragon-master in this setting, where I assume all dragon-type pokemon are heavily regulated by Lance and his allies? How old are they, and why are they someone the towns of Kanto would follow, especially since it sounds like rebellion would be met with deadly force? Basically, how do you make it feel earned and avoid 'chosen one' syndrome.

I'd definitely be interested in giving it a read when you come around to writing chapters. I'm working on a Lance back-story fic right now, which will ultimately deal heavily with Kanto-Johto unification questions and politics, so hit me up if you ever want to do some world-building brainstorming!

Oh, and I suppose one final question: is Team Rocket a thing in your setting? They could be a major factor in all of this.

 

[Negrek]

This sounds like a fun idea! I'm always up for an adventure around Kanto, and I certainly don't disapprove of dragons. :) Like Pen, I think my biggest questions at this point are about your main character. How did he decide that he was going to set out to unify Kanto, and why dragons, specifically? What's really driving him to undertake such a huge goal, and how is his approach going to be different than the many people (I'm assuming?) who've tried and failed before him?

I'm also curious how Jack's going to assemble a team of dragons (or dragon-likes) if Kanto's very isolated and as a result you wouldn't expect to see too many species from other regions being brought in. In Kanto itself you pretty much have charizard, dragonite, gyarados, and kingdra, and tyranitar wouldn't feel out of place, but that sounds like a tough team to put together! Pen also raised a good point in that Lance would probably take note of an upstart dragon trainer, although if there's a ruling class of dragon-users or something, that might open up more opportunities to steal or otherwise acquire a few dragons... One way or another it sounds like being a dragon trainer would be even more difficult than usual in the setting you describe, so I'm interested in how you're thinking of handing it.

 

[Vizaryll]

Ooh! Well, your story idea touches on a lot of stuff I'm deeply interested in--the unification of Kanto and Johto is one of my favorite pet topics. Depicting a feudal setting makes a lot of sense, and Lance could certainly make for a compelling villain.

I think the main hurdle from a writing perspective in the idea you've outlined is in how you portray the main character. Why this person? What motivates them? How do they become a dragon-master in this setting, where I assume all dragon-type pokemon are heavily regulated by Lance and his allies? How old are they, and why are they someone the towns of Kanto would follow, especially since it sounds like rebellion would be met with deadly force? Basically, how do you make it feel earned and avoid 'chosen one' syndrome.

I'd definitely be interested in giving it a read when you come around to writing chapters. I'm working on a Lance back-story fic right now, which will ultimately deal heavily with Kanto-Johto unification questions and politics, so hit me up if you ever want to do some world-building brainstorming!

Oh, and I suppose one final question: is Team Rocket a thing in your setting? They could be a major factor in all of this.

One of the things I used to struggle quite a bit with was why. I can do the plot, the battles, the ideas, etc. But the motivational reasons as to why a character did something evaded me. Definitely something for me to consider during the planning phase I'm going through.

The Dragon-type Pokémon being regulated is an interesting concept; one I'd happily admit I hadn't thought of. Without giving too much away, I'll say that Lance isn't the only Trainer with Dragon-types, so while he might be able to regulate the Pokémon traffic through Blackthorn City and Dragon's Den, he can't be everywhere at once, and there are some Trainers even he wouldn't take lightly.

Making the main character feel compelling, and avoiding 'chosen one' syndrome is going to be key here, I think. I don't want to just re-write Ash (-I'm actually debating whether or not I even want Ash in my story).

Again, without giving too much away, Team Rocket is actually one of the ways of my main character avoiding the spotlight, that I have in my rough first draft.

A Lance back-story fic sounds interesting! I may well take you up on that offer, at some point in the future.

This sounds like a fun idea! I'm always up for an adventure around Kanto, and I certainly don't disapprove of dragons. :) Like Pen, I think my biggest questions at this point are about your main character. How did he decide that he was going to set out to unify Kanto, and why dragons, specifically? What's really driving him to undertake such a huge goal, and how is his approach going to be different than the many people (I'm assuming?) who've tried and failed before him?

I'm also curious how Jack's going to assemble a team of dragons (or dragon-likes) if Kanto's very isolated and as a result you wouldn't expect to see too many species from other regions being brought in. In Kanto itself you pretty much have charizard, dragonite, gyarados, and kingdra, and tyranitar wouldn't feel out of place, but that sounds like a tough team to put together! Pen also raised a good point in that Lance would probably take note of an upstart dragon trainer, although if there's a ruling class of dragon-users or something, that might open up more opportunities to steal or otherwise acquire a few dragons... One way or another it sounds like being a dragon trainer would be even more difficult than usual in the setting you describe, so I'm interested in how you're thinking of handing it.

What kid doesn't love Dragons?

Unifying Kanto was never specifically on the cards for my main character, in the beginning, but the circumstances surrounding his growing up, in combination with some events that will play out across the first few chapters should be compelling enough for him to actually want to do something about the oppression coming from Indigo Plateau.

Ah! I'm glad you asked. Because I too was struggling with this myself. And then I thought, "Well, a Dragon Master doesn't need to have a full team, to be one, do they? What if they had a select few that they trained to an especially high-quality?"

In addition, this fic won't be about battling Gym Leaders. The vast majority of Gym Leaders across Kanto have ruled over their Cities and Towns for decades, and will have exceptionally well-trained and powerful Pokémon. How can a teenager with less than half-a-decade's experience deal with that? No. The sequel I have in my head is about taking the fight to Johto, and will include far more battles and general chaos. This is fic about saying "enough is enough!" and unifying Kanto. Once that happens, perhaps the other regions may get involved and we'll see more of Pokémon from other generations. Who knows?

I do have one non-Kanto/Johto Dragon-type Pokémon planned for Jack's team, but I believe the circumstances are believable enough.
(I'd also get rid of Tyranitar from your list, and replace it with Aerodactyl, but that's just me.)

The Dragon issue- It's a difficult balance to get right, IMO. While I do believe that not every random Joe should be raising Dragon-types, they're quite limited in the first few regions. Sticking with Kanto, you have Charmander (just about), Dratini, Magikarp (again, just about), and Horsea. Who the heck is going to be hunting a dude with those Pokémon? Now, once they're fully evolved? Perhaps. But by they point, they're probably trained to a decent enough standard that you could stall for long enough to escape.

My personal take on it? Dragon's Den produces high-quality Dragon Pokémon, with several difficult-to-learn moves that come from breeding, shiny Dragon Pokémon, the lot. Jealously guarded by Clair, Lance, and their entire clan. But there are others out there with Dragon Pokémon, Professor Samuel Oak's oldest and most powerful Pokémon is a Dragonite, right? (Dammit, gave too much away!)

Indigo Plateau used to be far more active in Johto's war against Kanto, but as the war cooled down to a simmer in the most recent years, they took a more hands-off approach, only interfering when something big happens. We will see all sorts of things in my fic, from invasions, to Elite Four attacks to natural disasters from the Legendary Trio; plenty to keep our heroes occupied while the counter-war effort continues!

 

[Pen]

One of the things I used to struggle quite a bit with was why. I can do the plot, the battles, the ideas, etc. But the motivational reasons as to why a character did something evaded me. Definitely something for me to consider during the planning phase I'm going through.

I do think character motivation is at the heart of what makes a story compelling, so definitely an area to ponder.

I don't want to just re-write Ash (-I'm actually debating whether or not I even want Ash in my story).

A feudal setting sounds antithetical enough to the world of the anime that I assumed you were planning to go more off of game canon. In which case it would be a question of Red more than Ash, I suppose.

Team Rocket is actually one of the ways of my main character avoiding the spotlight, that I have in my rough first draft.

Ah, and a good way to get ahold of a rarer dragon type, perhaps, if Team Rocket engages in illicit poke trafficking.

Sticking with Kanto, you have Charmander (just about), Dratini, Magikarp (again, just about), and Horsea. Who the heck is going to be hunting a dude with those Pokémon?

I could see Lance and Dragon's Clan crew taking a stray dratini in the hands of a rando very seriously. Going off game-canon, dratini are incredibly rare.

Indigo Plateau used to be far more active in Johto's war against Kanto, but as the war cooled down to a simmer in the most recent years, they took a more hands-off approach, only interfering when something big happens. We will see all sorts of things in my fic, from invasions, to Elite Four attacks to natural disasters from the Legendary Trio; plenty to keep our heroes occupied while the counter-war effort continues!

From your summary, I thought Indigo Plateau rules a unified Kanto-Johto as one country, and the issue is that Lance is favoring Johto while Kanto suffers? But this implies there's an active, if on low simmer, war between the two regions still?

 

[Vizaryll]

A feudal setting sounds antithetical enough to the world of the anime that I assumed you were planning to go more off of game canon. In which case it would be a question of Red more than Ash, I suppose.

Indeed. Although, after further planning, I have decided that the timeline is going to be set a generation before Red is due to be born. I'm making up the dates and years, but say that Samuel Oak is born in the year 2190, and Red is born in 2240, then the story is going to be set in the years of 2220-2240.

Ah, and a good way to get ahold of a rarer dragon type, perhaps, if Team Rocket engages in illicit poke trafficking.

Not quite. As previously mentioned, Oak has a Dragonite. And tends to hand out Charmander like candy. Other Dragon-type Pokémon will be obtained on his journey. It won't be a full team until quite late in the story though; nor will they, I hope, feel cheap and not duly earned.

I could see Lance and Dragon's Clan crew taking a stray dratini in the hands of a rando very seriously. Going off game-canon, dratini are incredibly rare.

Perhaps. Plenty of people have Dragons outside of Dragon's Den. The Safari Zone contains Dratini and Dragonair...
As mentioned above, I think Dragon's Den has higher-quality Dragons (of a higher pedigree, perhaps?) and the Wataru Clan (name tbd) are quite elitist about it. Looking down on Trainers with other Dragon-type Pokémon as inferior.

From your summary, I thought Indigo Plateau rules a unified Kanto-Johto as one country, and the issue is that Lance is favoring Johto while Kanto suffers? But this implies there's an active, if on low simmer, war between the two regions still?

Oh yeah, there's a war alright. There was a war going on before Lance was born (Year 2200). Year 2221, better known as 'The Year of Lance's Conquest', was the year that Lance ascended to the top of the Indigo Plateau, either supressing or outright eliminating the previous Elite Four. Lance was raised by his grandparents, as he lost his parents to the war against Kanto. In addition, his elders heavily impressed on him the superiority of his family, as well as Johto as a whole. He loves his family, and his region. He genuinely believes they are superior, and might makes right. His defeat over Samuel Oak in the year 2219 only cemented his role as a decorated war hero, in the eyes of the Johtoans.

Our story kicks off in the year 2231, while Lance sits at the top of his ivory tower at Indigo Plateau, there are rumblings of an uprising in Kanto, lots of moving parts and plans behind the scenes, and all it takes is one voice to say enough is enough, and something needs to be done, for it to alight.

I'm trying not to give too much of the story away, but Team Rocket will be involved, but if you consider the timeline, they're in their infancy at this stage.