Our next big event is going to be a one-shot contest! The idea is simple: people write one-shots based on a set theme, and group of judges reviews them and selects their favorites. Only thing: we need a theme, and also a couple of those judge people! The staff have discussed possible themes already, but I thought it would be most fun to let members have some input. I've listed some options below; feel free to vote for as many as you like and/or suggest something completely different. Here are the options in more detail:
Galar: Celebrate the latest generation of pokémon with a Galar-themed story! Whether you want to showcase some of Galar's new pokémon, some of its characters, or the region itself, as long as your story has Galar at its heart, we'd love to see it! Your story doesn't need to be set in Galar itself, but should be strongly connected to it in some way.
Pokémon/Human 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!
Myths and Legends: The pokémon world is full of stories, from tales about specific pokémon to legends of ancient heroes. For this contest, we'd like to see you explore some of those in your story! You might choose to write your own pokémon myth, expand on one from canon, or write about characters investigating a local legend--anything that centers around an in-universe myth! Although a legendary pokémon may be the center of a myth and might certainly appear in your story, the main focus should be on the stories surrounding that pokémon--simply having a legendary pokémon feature isn't enough for a story to fulfill this theme.
If you have other ideas for themes, feel free to throw them out here! If people like one you come up with, we'll go with it instead, and even if we don't end up using it for this contest, there's a good chance of it showing up in a future contest or other writing event.
Also, we're looking for people interested in judging for this contest! Being a judge means committing to reading and writing reviews for up to a dozen or so one-shots in the space of two months, and also means that you won't be able to enter anything into the contest yourself. The writing phase of the contest will run mid-February through mid-March, which means that you'd potentially be judging through mid-May. We're looking for three-four judges total, so if you're interested please post in this thread here, VM/PM/Discord ping/carrier pigeon me, or otherwise let the staff know!
Galar: Celebrate the latest generation of pokémon with a Galar-themed story! Whether you want to showcase some of Galar's new pokémon, some of its characters, or the region itself, as long as your story has Galar at its heart, we'd love to see it! Your story doesn't need to be set in Galar itself, but should be strongly connected to it in some way.
Pokémon/Human 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!
Myths and Legends: The pokémon world is full of stories, from tales about specific pokémon to legends of ancient heroes. For this contest, we'd like to see you explore some of those in your story! You might choose to write your own pokémon myth, expand on one from canon, or write about characters investigating a local legend--anything that centers around an in-universe myth! Although a legendary pokémon may be the center of a myth and might certainly appear in your story, the main focus should be on the stories surrounding that pokémon--simply having a legendary pokémon feature isn't enough for a story to fulfill this theme.
If you have other ideas for themes, feel free to throw them out here! If people like one you come up with, we'll go with it instead, and even if we don't end up using it for this contest, there's a good chance of it showing up in a future contest or other writing event.
Also, we're looking for people interested in judging for this contest! Being a judge means committing to reading and writing reviews for up to a dozen or so one-shots in the space of two months, and also means that you won't be able to enter anything into the contest yourself. The writing phase of the contest will run mid-February through mid-March, which means that you'd potentially be judging through mid-May. We're looking for three-four judges total, so if you're interested please post in this thread here, VM/PM/Discord ping/carrier pigeon me, or otherwise let the staff know!
