Canon region or creating your own?

[Hex Maniac]

I'm thinking about writing an original trainer fic for fun. I'm just not sure about which region to use. I haven't played B&W so I'm not as familiar with Unova as I am with other regions. At the same time, I also want to include some pokemon from recent generations. I've thought about creating my own region but I don't know if people are into that. So I'm curious, do you usually just add new pokémons to old regions? Do you create your own from scratch? Thanks.

 

[Flaze]

Well there's nothing wrong with adding new Pokemon to old regions that's what everyone even the games, anime and manga have done.

 

[AceTrainer14]

If you are willing to wait a week and a bit, this month's Academy Lesson will be on Building your own World if you want to discuss things then

 

[Nereus]

It's perfectly okay having Pokémon native to other regions (or better other generations) appearing in other regions. At least I'm fine with that.

I'm not a big fan of "own worlds", but I like customizing the canon regions :3 For instance, in my fiction there's a snowy mountainous area northern of Miltank's MooMoo farm in Johto

 

[Hex Maniac]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I was wondering if it was a big faux pas and I guess it's not. As a follow up question, is a custom region a deal breaker for anyone? I think I might go that route since it probably fits in better with what I want to do, but if I do that, I'll be fleshing out the whole region so it's not just a boring copy of the existent ones.

I like the idea of customizing canon regions, although a gen 1 pokémon plays a big part in the story and it's not available (as per game canon) in other regions, so I think I'd have to set it in Kanto and add newer pokémons to it... but I don't think it'd work as a backdrop. I'll think about it.

@AceTrainer14, that's awesome! I'll definitely keep an eye on this subforum for that thread.

Once again, thanks everyone, your replies have me thinking.

 

[Lugion]

Who cares what the games say? They're a barebones version of the world that Satoshi Tajiri imagined, confined within the limitations of the format. Literature has no such limitations. If you think a Kanto Pokemon can feasibly exist in Johto, make it so. I've made Combee appear in Kanto, after all.

 

[Hex Maniac]

Who cares what the games say? They're a barebones version of the world that Satoshi Tajiri imagined, confined within the limitations of the format. Literature has no such limitations. If you think a Kanto Pokemon can feasibly exist in Johto, make it so. I've made Combee appear in Kanto, after all.

You have a point, I'm just wondering how fic readers usually see it. With pokémons of recent generations in older regions, it's probably easier to pretend they were there all along or some such since there's a practical reason for retroactively changing things around. You're right about the games, I'm trying to avoid getting too stuck on them and trying to make it more fleshed out than just what's canon.

 

[Flaze]

Yeah it's okay if you want to add the Pokemon from Gen VI, it's your story after all and as long as you handle it well there's no reason for anyone to tell you otherwise. Now if you want to create your own region well that's also good, it's been a long time since I've seen a good fic with an original region but it's always good cause it really tests your creativity. Essentially by creating your own region you can add what you want, also just cause you create a new region doesn't mean you have to create Pokemon for that specific region so you can even add all the Pokemons from all the gens if you want.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Personally, I try to refrain from creating my own Pokémon or regions because I'm a huge stickler for canon, and I'm always afraid that adding something too big may result in a massive contradiction later. That's just me, though—if you think you can make a custom region work, I say go for it.

 

[CrystaI]

If you are willing to wait a week and a bit, this month's Academy Lesson will be on Building your own World if you want to discuss things then

Sorry to mention, but we already had such lesson before:
Lesson 2: Creating Fantastic Pokeworlds

But I do have to say, the previous lesson for too short for any useful learning. Better expand it to a bit longer post with more useful information.

 

[AceTrainer14]

If you are willing to wait a week and a bit, this month's Academy Lesson will be on Building your own World if you want to discuss things then

Sorry to mention, but we already had such lesson before:
Lesson 2: Creating Fantastic Pokeworlds

But I do have to say, the previous lesson for too short for any useful learning. Better expand it to a bit longer post with more useful information.

This one is more on Worldbuilding than exclusively Pokemon

 

[Hex Maniac]

Again, thanks for everyone's input. This has been very helpful.

The world I'd build for my fic doesn't have any original pokémons because I personally enjoy more the existent ones and because I think it's hard to get fakemons right. I might include them in the story but only very rarely. I've seen that thread while searching for advice but it's pretty short, it's true.

Just two more questions:
- Would it be ok to use *older* pokémon in a region where they don't exist? For example, Bulbasaur doesn't seem to exist in Hoenn since you have to trade to get one.
- If I create a new region, what do you think of aging up trainers a bit? Part of the plot I had in mind has to do with one of the characters being a teenager and being a brand new trainer, so at least 13. I thought about making it so that a higher life expectancy and more access to education keeps kids in school until they're 13, at which point they can go and become a trainer or apprentice for jobs.

 

[Nereus]

The world I'd build for my fic doesn't have any original pokémons because I personally enjoy more the existent ones.

Stick to this, please. As I said, customizing regions, rules of the world and so on is fine One thing I can´t enjoy are Fakemon :/ everyone´s different though, but I think it´s better to omit them.

For your questions: 1) Wingull in Kanto is fine, Pidgey in Sinnoh is fine and Starly in Hoenn is fine as well. You don´t have to question this. It´s up to you

2) Again, it´s your fan fiction, you can do whatever you want to. If you want trainers to start at the age of 13, make it so. You don´t have to take every game / anime canon into account. Writing a fiction is about freedom and as long as you have reasons and a good plot and characters, no-one will blame you for not following the "strict" canon. And if they do, it´s stupid

 

[Hex Maniac]

^ Cool, thank you so much! You bring up some very good points.

 

[kintsugi]

Again, thanks for everyone's input. This has been very helpful.

The world I'd build for my fic doesn't have any original pokémons because I personally enjoy more the existent ones and because I think it's hard to get fakemons right. I might include them in the story but only very rarely. I've seen that thread while searching for advice but it's pretty short, it's true.

Just two more questions:
- Would it be ok to use *older* pokémon in a region where they don't exist? For example, Bulbasaur doesn't seem to exist in Hoenn since you have to trade to get one.
- If I create a new region, what do you think of aging up trainers a bit? Part of the plot I had in mind has to do with one of the characters being a teenager and being a brand new trainer, so at least 13. I thought about making it so that a higher life expectancy and more access to education keeps kids in school until they're 13, at which point they can go and become a trainer or apprentice for jobs.

Yeah, I'm never a fan of fakemons because I rarely get enough description (GUYS IT'S A BIG BLUE BLOB WITH THESE LITTLE PURPLE BLOBS COMING OUT OF IT AND IT'S VAGUELY ICE-TYPED or something... iunno), so I'm all for excluding fakemons, but I'm sure there's a good way to pull it off. I just haven't seen it.

I think that using cross-regional pokemon species is perfectly fine, honestly, so long as you stick to some semblance of ecology. I'd raise an eyebrow at a bulbasaur on Mt. Chimney kicking with the fire-types or whatever, but if he were in the forest or the grasslands, I'd be perfectly okay with that.

Honestly, I think it's only canon in the anime for kids to be ten? (Correct me if I'm wrong; I don't read all of the mangas or watch the animes or play all of the games, for that matter) I know there were people in-game who mentioned starting as adults, so I always saw training as a flexible, do-as-you-wish profession and less of a "get your letter from Hogwarts" sort of thing. Your reasoning is your reasoning, and if it makes sense, it makes sense. ^^

so basically what Nereus said

 

[jjl2357]

Again, thanks for everyone's input. This has been very helpful.

The world I'd build for my fic doesn't have any original pokémons because I personally enjoy more the existent ones and because I think it's hard to get fakemons right. I might include them in the story but only very rarely. I've seen that thread while searching for advice but it's pretty short, it's true.

Just two more questions:
- Would it be ok to use *older* pokémon in a region where they don't exist? For example, Bulbasaur doesn't seem to exist in Hoenn since you have to trade to get one.
- If I create a new region, what do you think of aging up trainers a bit? Part of the plot I had in mind has to do with one of the characters being a teenager and being a brand new trainer, so at least 13. I thought about making it so that a higher life expectancy and more access to education keeps kids in school until they're 13, at which point they can go and become a trainer or apprentice for jobs.

I'd be a little leery of bulbasaur in particular, since the starters are supposed to be fairly rare. Don't think anyone would raise much of an eyebrow at something like a wingull though

 

[Hex Maniac]

I'd be a little leery of bulbasaur in particular, since the starters are supposed to be fairly rare. Don't think anyone would raise much of an eyebrow at something like a wingull though

Bulbasaur was just an example, it was the first thing I could think of. Wingull seems to be available in all games released since it was created... This follow-up question was about Gen I pokémon that don't seem to exist in the newer regions. For example, I don't think Cubone seems to exist outside of Kanto because when you do get it in Gen II games it's by travelling to Kanto, in the other games you have to get it by trading.

Yeah, I'm never a fan of fakemons because I rarely get enough description (GUYS IT'S A BIG BLUE BLOB WITH THESE LITTLE PURPLE BLOBS COMING OUT OF IT AND IT'S VAGUELY ICE-TYPED or something... iunno), so I'm all for excluding fakemons, but I'm sure there's a good way to pull it off. I just haven't seen it.

I think that using cross-regional pokemon species is perfectly fine, honestly, so long as you stick to some semblance of ecology. I'd raise an eyebrow at a bulbasaur on Mt. Chimney kicking with the fire-types or whatever, but if he were in the forest or the grasslands, I'd be perfectly okay with that.

Honestly, I think it's only canon in the anime for kids to be ten? (Correct me if I'm wrong; I don't read all of the mangas or watch the animes or play all of the games, for that matter) I know there were people in-game who mentioned starting as adults, so I always saw training as a flexible, do-as-you-wish profession and less of a "get your letter from Hogwarts" sort of thing. Your reasoning is your reasoning, and if it makes sense, it makes sense. ^^

so basically what Nereus said

That's my issue with fakemons too, plus a lot of them seem very obviously fake.

I'd obviously pay attention to where I was placing pokémon, I just love details like that anyway.

As to the age thing, that reasoning makes a lot of sense. I'm probably making the starting age more flexible in my fic and more just a custom you can adhere to or not.

Thank you so much!