Observation: Paternal versus Maternal Aura inherited Ash Ketchum

[KrspaceT]

I just noticed something in regards to the Ash Ketchum and fics that look into aura.

If the aura is inherited from his father, the father tends to have aura as an explanation of what he's been up to. For example Ashes of the Past, where he used it and died.

If the aura is inherited from his mother, the father tends to be either less important, or a villain. For example you will never see Aura Giovanni.

It's a fascinating observation. Even I did it without intending to, with Reset Bloodlines Ash having aura inherited from his mother (and her from her father) while his father is a villain (though not Giovanni).

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Well, I never read Ash-centric fics, and I didn't realise aura Ash was a popular trope, but I suppose the reason for this observation is that Ash's father is already unimportant by way of being anonymous and unreferenced, and aura abilities are a way of rendering him relevant to a story. If this is not done, then there must be another element to make the father relevant, the most obvious trope for this being villainhood.

 

[Ambyssin]

I think unrepentantAuthor kind of hit the nail on the head. It seems like many anime-verse writers want to try and keep Delia closer to canon. And since Ash's father is a gigantic question mark it's easier for the sake of fanon to go with paternal aura. I think I've glanced at maybe a half dozen anime fics involving aura and they always tie Ash into Sir Aaron somehow (either a direct descendant or he gets aura training from the guy... somehow). Bonus points if he ends up with a Riolu/Lucario at some point.

As to the maternal observation, I suppose it's just more interesting that way. Sure, he could get his aura from Delia and, say, have his dad work some sort of menial job that requires him to constantly travel and never be at home. Doesn't sound all that interesting, especially if you plan to tackle the effect an absentee dad has on Ash. I know one fic with paternal aura tackles that issue... though I'm pretty sure his dad's Red and Riley from the Sinnoh games is actually his uncle, so that's a whole other can of worms.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I don't read Ash fics, either, but I'd give these aura fics props for trying to feature parents as prominent characters. There's a lot to be said about kids never mentioning their parents/family/friends from home, calling them or thinking of calling them, and so on in Pokémon fics, especially when characters are pre-teens more often than not.

As to the maternal observation, I suppose it's just more interesting that way. Sure, he could get his aura from Delia and, say, have his dad work some sort of menial job that requires him to constantly travel and never be at home. Doesn't sound all that interesting, especially if you plan to tackle the effect an absentee dad has on Ash. I know one fic with paternal aura tackles that issue... though I'm pretty sure his dad's Red and Riley from the Sinnoh games is actually his uncle, so that's a whole other can of worms.

Hmm, I can see merit in that kind of mundane scenario. Could make for a good slice-of-life/character driven piece, although it'd be very easy to make Ash come across as OOC. If I wrote an Ash paternal aura piece, where Ash learned his dad was far more interested in a faraway job than being at home with the family despite how freakin' boring the job is, he'd wonder quite a bit just how little his existence matters if the job got chosen over him. He'd be using those aura powers trying to make a connection with his dad that his dad doesn't, and never really did, want. IMO, it'd actually be far more understandable - but not necessarily less painful, mind - if some tragedy was the cause of his dad's continued absenteeism. Though my view here is probably heavily biased due to IRL experience on the subject matter.

 

[Ambyssin]

@diamondpearl876 that's fair. The thing that I had in mind when I was writing that is that I assume the audience for these Ash fics skews younger on the whole. They're probably less interested in deeper character-driven stuff and more interested in action. I could be wrong, of course, but the basic premise of these "Ash knows aura" fics just screams "There'll be a lot of Pokémon battles in this story," which can be entertaining, but not exactly what you'd call a literary classic. XP

 

[KrspaceT]

@diamondpearl876 that's fair. The thing that I had in mind when I was writing that is that I assume the audience for these Ash fics skews younger on the whole. They're probably less interested in deeper character-driven stuff and more interested in action. I could be wrong, of course, but the basic premise of these "Ash knows aura" fics just screams "There'll be a lot of Pokémon battles in this story," which can be entertaining, but not exactly what you'd call a literary classic. XP

I'd say you are rather wrong, given that Ash fics are filled with things that are not meant for kids.

Like Betrayal.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Nah, dude, I don't buy that.

Betrayal shows up plenty often in media for kids, kids don't self-censor (I was reading and writing some gruesome nonsense as a kid), and although neither of us has a way of obtaining age stats for fanfiction readers, I have no doubt whatsoever that the readership for anime fic does skew young - 'young' being 13 or so, incidentally. You know, relative to the older fans who are well into their twenties or thirties.

 

[KrspaceT]

So what, fanfics with canon characters are 'juvenile'?

I must admit that is a rather elitist thing to say. A self insert is honestly a lot more likely to be some kids fantasy...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Please don't put words in my mouth. I only said that I expect the readership to skew young. You assumed I thought that fics read by young people are juvenile, that I thought that a young readership was a bad thing, or that I thought the readership indicates anything about the maturity of a fanfic.

I expect the readership of anime fan fiction to skew young because that's the target demographic of the anime. That's a perfectly reasonable, value-neutral statement that makes no judgment on anyone.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I suspect that as a whole, Pokémon fanfic authors are on the younger side. We did a poll a few years ago here and found, as you might expect, the authorship here tends to hover between late teens and mid twenties