An OC-trainer Pokemon Journeyfic with a side of slow burn yuri
I've just posted the first chapter of Against Adversity - an OC trainer long journeyfic with a full OC cast at the center of the story. It takes place in a reimagined Paldea that's been reworked to fit a more traditional Pokemon Journey structure.
The ao3 link can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/93752606/chapters/250202741
The major focus of the fic is our main character, Zinnia Drayce, fighting the uphill battle to become the greatest trainer in her year's League circuit (called the Trials in this story) to take up the mantle of champion and fill the space left behind by the previous champion's unexpected disappearance several years prior. This is not meant to be a SI or power fantasy, and our main character will be facing many hardships (though hopefully not to the point that it feels like suffering simulator), thus the title Against Adversity.
For those who enjoy this sort of thing, the story also contains a slow burn yuri romance plot, which I hope I've nailed the middleground of being compelling and interesting without overshadowing the Pokemon Journey core. The fic has been marked mature due to containing more mature/adult content matter such as heavy emotional subjects planned for the story, violence, and non-explicit but still adult romantic content.
The first 110k words (all of arc 1) have been pre-written, and the story will be updating regularly as I work through my backlog. I'll be working on arc 2 while this posts, so I anticipate the release schedule to generally function as somewhat seasonal, with fast chapter releases followed by brief brakes to refill the backlog.
I hope you enjoy!