Fic Rec and Review Archive

[K_S]

Title/Link: The Drawing Board chapter 4

Genre: Pokemon OT, genre analysis

Rank: Teen, mainly for language and some not too horridly detailed 'mon abuse,

Author: Against.The.Current.

Status: One shot/ idea pile, complete

Why I'm recing it/summary: A variant of "challenging the 'mon world system" and the "trainers are wrong" without running into the pit falls of the mainstream of that genre. So we've a 'mon story with no battling, no trainer's journey where the trainer had the wrongness shown in stages, rather the MC it's a out of universe insert who has a fuzzy clue as to where she is, and when she takes her bearings, realizes what world she landed in is...

Her groan of utter irritation can be heard a 'verse away.

 

[WildBoots]

I think the index post is fully updated now with all the posts on this thread, but I haven't yet combed through and pulled allll the recs from the 7 Day Fic Challenge thread. That'll be a project for another morning. 😤

 

[K_S]

I found more fics... sharing one though since rules and all that...


Made for Team Rocket

by JFSindel
Link: MfTR
> Seems to be settled in Teen for the moment, as there's some alluded gore and evil but nothing much showed thus far.

> Pokemon Manga centric, a spin-off of the Yellow/SPECIAL arch focusing on the spiritual nature of the series.

> adventure intrigue (stories in starting stages so this may change)

> Optional: It Seems Team Rocket-centric considering one of the narrative forces is Gio and he's the present head of TR.

> Length and status ongoing multi-chapter with short chapters each update.

> Why you're recommending the fic? Honestly, anyone who starts poking into the spiritual side of the manga gets my attention since it's a rare topic even broached. The fact that the main antagonist is still connected with the Forest of Viridian (a melding of eldritch abomination/landscape/and something from Miyazaki's head) and the present protag is a child raised by the said Forest and is half-feral for it... It's an interesting starting point to the tale where the underlings of TR are wondering if their Boss is losing it, unable/unwilling to challenge his power either way, and the villain of the hour seems to be sliding between worlds/awareness from the physical world to the metaphysical at a drop of a hat. This spin of Gio contrasted to the sweet, innocent if feral, Yellow has been a treat to read thus far.

 

[BossCar]

Dawn of the Ultra Beasts
Zokolov
A03
T
Category would be....canon trainers?
Mystery
Multi-chapter, complete
This author writes really well, but their works have very little views, comments, and kudos :( This fic has a nice mix of characters, including Wes. The author also includes elements from the games, anime, and manga into their headcanon. Even a TCG-exclusive region's included.

 

[Seren]

I've been meaning to do this for a while now and what better time than staving off sleep?

Fic Title: The Sea Phantom
Fic Author: Frozen Archer
Links to the fic: FFnet (As far as I know, this is the only place it's posted.)
Rating and any warning that may apply: She's got it set to T but as of yet there's nothing really to even warrant that. Might be later on.
Category: Original Trainers/Journeys
Genre: Listed as "Adventure". It's not a "journeyfic" in terms of like, gym badges and stuff, but it does feature a number of trainers.
Optional/other TLDR keywords: (Hoenn, pirates, multiple character PoVs, vaguely medieval setting)
Length and status: Chaptered (12), 52k total words, slow-but-ongoing.
Why you're recommending the fic: It's simply a fun read. There's three alternating PoV characters that (usually) change each chapter. You've got Sketch, second-in-command of a pokemon pirate crew in Hoenn. You've got Alex, a female trainer (trainer-turned-crook) from a Sinnoh where such a thing is a no-no, with a flygon (!) who acts as an anchor for her panic attacks. You've got Ki, a fragile, sickly librarian who's knowledgeable on Sinnoh myths. There are kings and knights and pirate battles, all of it is fantastically well-written. Lots of under-utilized pokemon involved (mantine and kingdra and ariados and tropius and-). You've got a sick and dying land, spanning multiple regions, and pokemon becoming aggressive towards human settlements. Eventually, all of the three main characters (and assorted side cast, by association) will merge into one "main questline" so-to-speak, in their efforts to try to find a cure for the disease plaguing the world.

Side note: This was originally a "submit an OC" fic way back in like... 2013. Only two ever made an appearance, and only one has remained, and that one is mine. I mention this simply because it is inevitable that it will become known to readers; she's part of the pirate crew and I'm credited. This is in no way a reason I'm recommending this fic - in fact, the reason I submitted an OC in the first place (and am reccing it now) was because the premise and the prologue captivated my interest. It's only 12 chapters in so far (well, 11 and a prologue), so it's easy to get caught up with. The only real downside is that the author has a lot going on in real life (I believe she works in some medical field, and... y'know, global pandemic for over a year and all), so updates have been quite slow.

 

[canisaries]

Crossposting my recommendation from the Reading Rookidee thread.

Fic Title: I, Isobel
Fic Author: @NebulaDreams
Link to Fic: Here
Rating: T for swearing and references to alcohol
Category: Pokémon-Centric (in Trainerverse)
Genre: Drama, Action, Slice of Life
Keywords: Machamp, Galar, Pokémon POV, Xeno
Length and Status: Episodic multichapter. 10 chapters across 2 episodes. Ongoing/finished status undecided on author's part as of writing this post.

Recommendation:

I, Isobel is a story about a Machamp in Galar trying to make it on her own in the city. It has two arcs, the latter of which the three chapters I read for this Rookidee belong to, but I think that they do a grand job of wrapping up the entire story rather than just the latter arc.

This story belongs to a genre that I very much like and think is criminally underwritten, that being (sapient) Pokémon POV in a trainerworld. In fact, I think I, Isobel (and other works of @NebulaDreams, such as the Dreamdiver series with Jung the hypnotherapist Hypno) really delves right into the heart of the things that make the genre special. It explores the identity and aspirations of a Pokémon essentially trying to live a human life and how it fits with their biology and cultural background. In addition, it shows the many different kinds of roles that trainers can take - caretakers, friends, business partners, and sometimes, unfortunately, exploiters. The chapters I read also deal with themes of growing up and coming into adulthood but still feeling like a child or having no idea what one should be doing, which I imagine is pretty relatable for a lot of people here, myself definitely included.

One element I really liked in the story was the Machamp settlement that Isobel, the protagonist, came from as a Machop. It really feels like a dwelling that humanoid Fighting-type Pokémon would make for themselves nearby humans. There's also a great sense of culture in how the Fighting-types behave, such as using fights to express themselves and communicate - their brains really seem wired to work in tandem with physical stress.

The last thing I want to shout out is the ending. I don't want to spoil much, so I'll just say that it involves a concert. I very much liked how it showcased the way Pokémon can take up human practices but put their own spin on it and end up making something new and part of a culture of its own, the kind of compromise Isobel seemed to be looking for throughout the story. The atmosphere was also simply wonderful - I started to visualize it as if it was a movie without even thinking.

So definitely give I, Isobel a read, even if you're really not into Pokémon POV, because this is very solid and might just spark your interest for the genre. It's only ten chapters, and if you feel like you can't do that much, the first arc is only three.

 

[Joshthewriter]

Hello everyone, I’m JoshtheWriter. I’m one of the mods of r/pokemonfanfiction and our community has created The Masterball List, curated by community members and drawing on submissions from readers across the fandom. We have a committee of anonymous reviewers that provide neutral and unbiased judgement!

Self-recs are allowed, but will be held to a higher standard when judged for the list. You might even find your story already on there!

https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemonfanfiction/comments/tuot23

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