u/Benj_i28

Hey, I'm writing a journey-fic right now and I've been thinking about what moves are 'acceptable' for a pokemon to learn. I generally find their in-game movepool to be a good starting point, but quite a few species are lacking in that department.

Take Flareon for example, which is one of the pokemon I'd like to eventually have on the MC's team.

They essentially only learn Fire Type moves and a couple of random things like Shadow Ball and Iron Tail by TM. I won't name all of them, but there's also some random ones like Zap Cannon in Generation 2 iirc.

Now, I don't have an issue with Flareon focusing more on their specific type in my story, I actually like the idea that Eeveelutions have a limited movepool. It just means that they'll be better at using their fire compared to most other Fire Types around their skill level. But, at the same time, there are some coverage moves that I'd like to add, even if they're not 'game legal'.

Not that game legal always makes sense lol.

It's all within reason, of course. I'm not going to say that a Flareon could learn Hydro Pump, Thunderbolt, or Psychic, but if they can learn Scorching Sands and Dig...then why not Earthquake? Would it be as strong as a Tyranitar using Earthquake? Definitely not, but I don't think it's unreasonable after considering exactly how many pokemon can use that move.

Some of the moves I'm thinking of using are: Solar Beam, Earthquake, Iron Head, [Elemental Fangs]...

So, I'm wondering if anyone who's had this problem before would mind giving me some advice? Or even just what people think of authors doing this kind of thing? My story doesn't respect the game or anime 'universes' to the letter, but I still like to draw inspiration from both.

Thankies :)

I think the title is pretty self explanatory, but I'm trying wrap my head around how Protect can actually work against Ghost Type moves if it's a shield made of Normal Type Energy, which shouldn't interact with something like a Shadow Ball.

The move would just pass right through and strike the user instead of being stopped, right?

Breaking through a Protect isn't even impossible so I'm not against it as a concept in my fic; a few moves are capable of it like Hyper Drill and Phantom Force. I just don't like the idea of Ghost Types or technically anyone with a ranged Ghost move having the ability to ignore Protect at all times. Shadow Ball isn't a rare as far as I'm concerned, so that kind of interaction would really drop Protect's overall value in pokemon battling.

It isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I'd love to have an explanation since one of my characters would definitely question it and I don't like shrugging away the whole thing and saying "It just works, don't think about it".

So, I'd love to hear any of your ideas on this!

Hey, I'm in the process of writing a Pokemon Journey fic, and one of the team members will be a Porygon, who I'd like to see eventually evolve into a Porygon-Z. I like the design a lot, and I feel like they'd be an interesting character to write. Plus, tinkering around with Adaptability + Conversion also seems like a really fun, combination down the line.

I just have a couple ideas I'd like feedback on, if you feel like giving it. They mainly centre around getting the Porygon and how evolving them would work in my world.

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1. Acquiring a Porygon.

Currently I'm thinking of picking up a Porygon from a University researcher who purchased a couple of them from Silph Co. for computing complex calculations. I don't really have a physics or math background so I'm not going to go into any detail there. Also up to pivoting this to some kind of organization that bought a couple for cybersecurity, but I'd rather go with the former.

Anyways, my plan is that one of the Porygon they bought isn't really cooperative and willing to do their assigned tasks, instead they're clearly showing interest in other topics online, like battling.

I'm sticking with their Pokedex description from Cystal here, where "...it can perform only what is in its program." So, this strange behavior is abnormal and more in line with a Porygon-2, which can "...learn new gestures and emotions on its own." The "researcher" or whoever owns this Porygon is looking to find someone to take care of it, since the 'mon is clearly...defective, and isn't happy there.

Maybe Silph Co. also ran a buy 4 get 1 free deal or something, so this organization doesn't mind giving it away for free since they didn't actually pay for it?

My main issue is that I'm worried it'll feel like a free handout. But honestly, I'm going to write this little duck as being so dumb that I think it'll work out. Oh, they'll get smarter eventually, but it's going to by my MC's first real problematic 'mon to train.

2. The Upgrade Problem (Porygon-2)

So then the issue is 'how do I get an upgrade?' to get a Porygon-2. And how does it work?

As far as I know, the anime hasn't featured this evolution line at all since the episode that got taken down years ago for the epilepsy incident, so I feel like I have a lot of creative freedom here.

But, I was thinking of, well, running with that theme.

What if we never saw a Porygon, Porygon-2, or Porygon-Z in the anime because no one ever uses them for battling? Why would they, if a single company in Kanto is the only one capable of making them, right? It seems like a lot of effort to get a 'mon that isn't really all that great at first glance.

So, I don't think it would be unreasonable, in this case, that a trainer seriously using a Porygon in a gym battle to be seen as a notable thing. Even if it might be people making fun of them online. But, if it worked, I don't think it would be surprising if someone from Silph Co. saw that Porygon kicking ass in a Gym Battle, and go "Hey, maybe this is a good marketing opportunity" and offer that trainer a minor sponsorship or something.

That's my current idea to get an Upgrade and have a Porygon-2.

As a Porygon-2, the duck will no longer be...lets call it 'endearingly dumb'.

They'll learn much quicker and start to really take off, stop being easily tricked, and devise complex plans on their own.

3. Porygon-Z Ethical Dilemma

See above. Like, idk what to do about this landmine of an evolution.

Is it unethical to evolve a Porygon-2 using a Dubious Disc. How does that disc even exist? Does Silph Co. make it?

Could I say that the item is a beta version and they offered it to my MC to test, and it went wrong?

Or maybe some intern or junior dev in the company made it to get a promotion and screwed it up?

It could also be something my Porygon-2 cooked up themselves...maybe they wrote up the program over time to change them into a new form that they'd prefer, one that was more based around offense and speed instead of defense? Maybe there were a few bugs they need time to iron out? So eventually the glitches will go away?

I definitely don't think it'll be something Silph Co. just sells, unlike how I see the Upgrade.

And, as I mentioned in another post, one of the team members is a SI-Ralts (probably a Gardevoir by the time this evolutions happens) who knows of Porygon's whacky final evolution. I definitely plan for them to be a little concerned about the...mental health of their teammate should they evolve. Its making me lean towards the 'Porygon-2 coding its own dubious disc' idea.

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So, yeah, would love to hear any thoughts about this.

I've definitely seen a fic where a Porygon's trainer has coding experience and was able to 'update' their code to be more effective. Can't remember the name though. I don't really see myself writing this. In my mind, a Porygon should already be capable of completing basic calculations like projectile motion and properly leading a moving target. It'll just be easy to trip up since it hasn't really developed proper thinking until evolving into a Porygon-2.

tysm <3

Hey, I'm writing my first Pokemon fanfiction and I wanted some advice for how characters might react to certain things. Mainly looking to hear what other people think.

So the premise of the fic is basically:

Someone from our world wakes up as a Ralts in the woods, finds a trainer, and goes on a pokemon journey across Kalos.

It'll be told from both his perspective as well as his trainer's.

There's more to it than that obviously, but I don't want this post to be a whole chapter.

So, what are some things you'd expect a human to struggle with when living as a pokemon, specifically a captured one? I will mention that he (the Ralts) does have the ability to, very choppily, speak telepathically with humans. It'll get clearer after he evolves. His trainer is also very nice, though she isn't perfect either. Neither of them are flawless, at least that's how I'm trying to write them. But their goals align almost perfectly, so they've taken a leap of faith together.

I currently have him written in a way that he doesn't mind the loss of independence, something I see pop up pretty often in similar (literal pokemon-SI) fics I've read. At the same time, he does have a will, and won't blindly follow stupid orders...

But the power dynamic between them is something I do plan on exploring.

Something I also want to include in the story is him revealing his previous life as a human to his trainer. I don't think I can really write my MC the way I want to without doing that. And It's something that would have come up eventually, I'd rather he just be upfront about it early on, to avoid his trainer thinking that he doesn't trust her or something like that.

Regarding that, I'm not a fan of the whole "holy shit I'm a character in a fictional universe to this guy?!?! I need to have a mental breakdown now!!!" reaction thing that I've also seen. It just... Idk it doesn't seem like something people would do? Or maybe that's just me?

I also have the other 5 team members planned out, so if you have any thoughts on something he'd do that a pokemon might think is weird, or notable, I'd love to hear it.

I'm mainly writing this for myself, but I do also want it to be something other people can enjoy. If I ever publish it, I'll probably make another post here.

I thinks that's most of it though, thank you!