47 KiB
[RST] Pokemon: The Origin of Species, Chapter 47 - Courage
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Author: u/DaystarEld Pokémon Professor*
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URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9794740/47/Pokemon-The-Origin-of-Species
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Score: 82
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Created: 2017-09-01T01:55:15
Post:
Comments:
u/DaystarEld [+16] Pokémon Professor (29 seconds later)
Hey everyone, welcome back! Managed to finish the chapter despite spending half the month teaching at ESPR. Hooray personal goals! It’s been a ton of fun, but I’m still in London on my laptop, which means updating anything besides Fanfiction will have to wait. EPUB for patrons and website will be updated when I get home. Enjoy!
u/Rouninscholar [+9] (12 hours later)
So, interesting chapter. I liked the speech part at the end. I really like Aiko as a character I like. I am curious about a few things though.
- They just used a lot of money to get her traveling, over 100,000 worth before the pokedex. I feel this needs to be mentioned, but I dont know what to make of it.
2.This means that of their 24 availible pokemon slots, they are using 5 just for abra's (assuming everyone has a GTFO and Aiko has one to go home and one to come back), 6 if red has a second for bills house.
3.From a tension standpoint, everything is a bit lower now, since they have the ability to sleep in a house with a mini poke center every night, or just pop over for a quick fix. Teleportation is hard to handle in most games and stories, so I'm curious if there is going to be a counter rearing its head soon.
EDIT- Points 2 and 3 are mostly null, 2 because you can have more than six pokemone, (although six on a belt is interesting. I wonder if they keep abra any where in particular.) and 3 because only a single person can use a single abra, bringing total cost up to... 4 abras if you do some pokeball shuffling
u/Mortuss [+20] (13 hours later)
The slot limitation is only for competitions and also how much can you comfortably fit on your belt, they can carry other pokemon in backpacks.
u/Rouninscholar [+3] (14 hours later)
Oh? I must need to go back and reread the beginning.
u/thrawnca [+5] Carbon-based biped (a day later)
By all means, reread :). But I'm pretty sure it's been a more recent chapter that addressed the "maximum practical belt size" issue.
Automatic absorption into a remote computer system when you exceed six is obviously not going to happen.
u/Ibbot [+2] (2 days later)
I think it was around the first gym maybe? Blue realized he’d make too many mistakes like grabbing the wrong ball if he had more than 6. And if those who could do it properly did it, it would encourage the vast majority who couldn’t to do it, with bad consequences.
u/SometimesATroll [+10] (14 hours later)
Blue can't be teleported due to being dark. It is unlikely the others will abandon him in the wilderness so that they can sleep in comfort.
u/Rouninscholar [+7] (14 hours later)
That is a very valid point, and a huge weakness.
u/NightmareWarden [+6] Church of the Broken God (22 hours later)
Well if you can convince Pokémon to use Teleport on their trainers then Miracle Eye should be fair game too. I suppose it would be a little bit grey in terms of legality, but for emergencies it would be worth a shot.
u/StrategicSarcasm [+3] Chaos Legion (2 days later)
If Miracle Eye worked that well then being Dark would be much less of a big deal. Being Dark is treated like an unbreachable full block against anything Psychic. Although, it's not really explained how teleport works Psychically, Blue could still go along for the ride, potentially.
u/DaystarEld [+9] Pokémon Professor (17 hours later)
Glad you enjoyed it :)
100,000?
Keep in mind that pokeballs on belts are meant for quick access for battles: "utility" pokemon can be held in backpacks.
This is true (except for Blue) but also just part of the "level up" process of a trainer. The more pokemon they get, the more tools and powers they have at their disposal, and teleport is a rather powerful one that gives our heroes an edge if they need one.
u/Rouninscholar [+2] (4 days later)
At a steep discount red got 30,000 per abra, the others got more. Red declared his plan was to sell them "wholesale, at half market price" Abra without a psychic can only remember one place at a time, so round trips wont work, you would need 2 Abras then. 2 abras, at 30k, is 60 k, but that is at half value, so 120k is a decent number, before the pokedex.
u/DaystarEld [+5] Pokémon Professor (4 days later)
Oh wow, no, Professor Oak didn't mean 25k for each abra, he meant each of the three of them. So Red was saying he made about 30k in total. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I can see why it might read that way and will fix it :) 30k for each abra would make them about a million each, which is a rather different scale of fortune.
u/Tokyo_X-4 [+2] (6 days later)
Well, in the games, an Abra goes for 180 coins in the Celadon Game Corner. Given that the conversion rate is 50 coins for 1000 dollars, that puts a single Abra at 3600 dollars. The Game Corner, like a modern arcade, is probably going to inflate the value of the Abra, so I'd round it down to 3000 dollars a piece. If we take the game price of the Abra as canon, and assume Red sold 30 Abra, his 25,000 dollar profit is about a 73% markdown - what a deal!
u/DaystarEld [+4] Pokémon Professor (6 days later)
Actually, the money symbol in Pokemon is based on yen, meaning that the 1000 is really more like 10 dollars :) Which means an Abra is worth about $35, which is ridiculously cheap for such a hard to catch pokemon!
u/Tokyo_X-4 [+3] (6 days later)
D'oh
u/DaystarEld [+5] Pokémon Professor (6 days later)
Good hustle though! This is the kind of thing that goes into trying to find realistic answers to such questions from nonsense source material like this. The other alternative is just to make everyone have abra and be able to teleport wherever they want, which kind of trivializes travel to a huge degree in a world where travel is seen as a rather big deal.
u/TheTrickFantasic [+1] (13 days later)
Which means an Abra is worth about $35, which is ridiculously cheap for such a hard to catch pokemon!
Perhaps the Celadon Game Corner Abra are provided by breeders?
u/DaystarEld [+1] Pokémon Professor (13 days later)
That would certainly bring down the price of abra on the market, unless we made the abra from Celadon super weak. Which is certainly an option :)
u/TheTrickFantasic [+1] (16 days later)
Between a genetically weak breeding stock (easiest to capture), poor nutrition (if this is some hellish, neglectful breeding operation), and the real-life ramifications of repeated inbreeding (squick), or some combination of the three ( =( ), there are several options.
u/Electric999999 [+4] (a day later)
Can Teleport actually move multiple people at once, we've only ever seen it used for one at a time so far and presumably there is some limit, otherwise we'd have public transport abra where at certain times whole groups of people are teleported between cities.
Also how are you getting 100,000? As to the pokedex it was implied to be a refurbished (so probably less valuable) model and Prof. Oak seems to be pretty well off, so can probably afford the occasional expensive gift.
u/DaystarEld [+6] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Teleport cannot in fact move multiple people: just the abra's trainer. I need to make this more explicit in the story, I think.
u/Hermaan [+2] (3 days later)
I think you mentioned it in a previous chapter already or did I misread that? IIRC you said something about having to connect your mind with the Abra's for it to work. Or was that the single teleport location rule?
u/DaystarEld [+4] Pokémon Professor (3 days later)
Might have been an author note, but I'll try to specify it again just in case :)
u/Hermaan [+2] (3 days later)
I meant no offense. :) I love your story.
u/DaystarEld [+1] Pokémon Professor (3 days later)
No offense at all! Glad you're enjoying it ;)
u/Rouninscholar [+2] (4 days later)
At a steep discount red got 30,000 per abra, the others got more. Red declared his plan was to sell them "wholesale, at half market price" Abra without a psychic can only remember one place at a time, so round trips wont work, you would need 2 Abras then. 2 abras, at 30k, is 60 k, but that is at half value, so 120k is a decent number, before the pokedex.
u/Rouninscholar [+2] (4 days later)
oh, as a second note he clarified in an author note that only one person can move per abra.
u/tehcrashxor [+3] Chaos Legion (a day later)
Finally got around to reading your fic, and it's fantastic! Definitely enjoyed seeing the Goal Factoring chapter following CFAR.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Glad to hear it! Hope all's well on your coast :)
u/DerSaidin [+13] (11 hours later)
Great Chapter!
"Mr. Sakai, I have a business proposition for you,"
I wonder if Red will get any profits from this business arrangement. Or research credit if it is effective treatment for people.
A number of stores, a ranger outpost, and a pokemon center are on either side of the road leading up to it
This seemed strange for a second (why wasn't Aiko rushing to to heal her eevee ASAP?), until I realized there isn't really any urgency if eevee is safely suspended in pokeball.
And I guess Vermilion would have a bigger pokecenter (like a bigger hospital can often offer more treatments)?
u/Electric999999 [+7] (a day later)
I thought about Aiko and eevee too, perhaps it would take a while to diagnose and fix eevee, so they'd need to be able to wait around a while, after all the medical equipment at the house clearly wasn't enough and seemed fairly substantial.
u/DaystarEld [+7] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Yep!
u/DaystarEld [+8] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Yeah, and also, unlike the magic game mechanics, pokecenters in this world actually do have to be physically treated, which means potential wait times not well suited to passing through an area.
u/NightmareWarden [+3] Church of the Broken God (22 hours later)
If he needs therapists for research on Pokémon and trainer/owner relationship then he'll earn goodwill and volunteers from this.
u/4t0m [+12] Chaos Legion (2 hours later)
That last scene is my favorite in the fic so far -- I actually had tears bubbling up. I really like seeing Red as an idealist, like Harry, but gentler and more sensitive. In a different sort of story, I can imagine Red becoming a really interesting public figure: someone who remains bad at these sorts of things (interviews) but is constantly coming up with great ideas that further the public good. I'm imagining this innocent-child-prodigy-savior. It's a really pretty archetype (which might only exist in my head... you'll have to let me know whether it's what you were going for).
I don't think that's where you're taking this though:
I think it would be hard to pull off since we live in his head, and this is not the main vibe he gives off
[Redacted private future knowledge]
Still, I think it's worth putting thought into the broader narrative the world has and will have for each of the three (four?), individually and as a team, that will bring you some of the way towards creating an Epic^1. You've been showing us how society reacts to the team so far, and how this affects their choices, but this is the first time this has added something to the story for me. It recalls the scenes in Worm where we see Taylor from other perspectives. These scenes are some of my favorites. If you can manage to do the same, I'll be impressed.
One difficulty is that the image stuff (including information about how they are coming across -- not just how they mean to come across^2) seems somehow integrated more deeply into your story. This means other-POV interludes or scenes like this one are less powerful, because they are less surprising or demonstrate less growth/change.
Anyway, the team dynamics and the characterization of the trio in that scene are really excellent. It's good to be reminded how well Blue can pull this sort of thing off.
More than ever, I really want Red to do further impressive stuff.
On the hand... I wasn't particularly interested in the rest of the chapter. I was not very engaged with the Aiko plot -- it felt like something we just sort of had to sit through. It seems as though it ought to be possible to present the whole arc there in much fewer words/scenes, but I don't really know. Neither was I particularly interested in the psychic stuff. I'm hoping we don't see too too much more of this particular thing until something cool happens, with training going on in the background until then. The scene with the Eevee felt a bit forced to me. (Partly because she (I think) wasn't part of the normal rotation, partly because of course he's able to help with the pokemon that's the most special. But at least it's sort of economical in that it introduces the Eevee and gives him his I helped moment in one beat.)
Noticed some typos but didn't take notes... sorry! Hopefully others will catch them.
^1 This also doesn't seem to be what you're going for, unlike, say The Line, and probably Game of Champions which I haven't read. I think it'd be more fun to read though.
^2 See the conversation with Prof. Oak last chapter, or many of Leaf's sections.
u/DaystarEld [+7] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Glad you enjoyed it so much <3 You're pretty spot on with Red, I see him as being pulled in the directions of his heroes without being able to quite fill any of their shoes, but rather developing into his own unique person: his journey is shaped by the titans whose shoulders he strode up as he endlessly searched for something even higher.
I think it would be hard to pull off since we live in his head, and this is not the main vibe he gives off
I'm trying to plant the seeds of this in his dissatisfaction with the status quo and the people who he admires. Professor Oak and Giovanni are two people he respects above all others, but Red has been happy to take what both have taught him and still find new ways to pursue what he thinks is most important/interesting/useful to others.
It recalls the scenes in Worm where we see Taylor from other perspectives. These scenes are some of my favorites. If you can manage to do the same, I'll be impressed.
I love scenes like this as well, I think the closest I've come so far was the one where Giovanni, Misty and Brock discuss the "Young Oak and his companions," but hopefully I can manage to pull more off, despite as you mentioned already tracking these growths from within the characters' perspectives.
I was not very engaged with the Aiko plot -- it felt like something we just sort of had to sit through. It seems as though it ought to be possible to present the whole arc there in much fewer words/scenes, but I don't really know.
Yeah, this chapter definitely bloated on me as I was writing it: it just kept striking me that the problem I'd set up was a hard one, and thus more and more words kept wanting to be written around their struggles while interfacing with it and trying to solve it, and the natural character interactions along the way also felt important. Aiko seems to be a character readers can take or leave, somewhat replacing Leaf in that role :) Maybe someday I'll develop enough to get (almost) everyone on board with every character!
The scene with the Eevee felt a bit forced to me. (Partly because she (I think) wasn't part of the normal rotation, partly because of course he's able to help with the pokemon that's the most special. But at least it's sort of economical in that it introduces the Eevee and gives him his I helped moment in one beat.)
Got it in one: I was going to have him diagnose a few others too, but it was taking too long so I just cut them and stuck to the discovery with the eevee. Maybe I should add them back in later if I have some time.
Thanks for the feedback, as always!
u/Ibbot [+5] (2 days later)
I think the interludes showing how people react to them add a lot in addition to the information on reactions in the normal chapters. It’s interesting to see how much of the impression they make is still there when they’re no longer in the moment and maybe haven’t been around for a bit.
Edit: Typo fix.
u/NightmareWarden [+9] Church of the Broken God (22 hours later)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. The obtuse mechanics for the Daycares and all of the civilians that players are unable to battle make it clear to me that you understand the creators' intentions for what the world of Pokémon is meant to be. It isn't about breeding the most powerful creatures for violence, but to make the world a better place for everyone. Sure stories like Falconpain's Deus Ex Pokeball and Antidote give battling an important role in the setting, but you demonstrate in big and small ways that they change every level of society.
It makes me feel how intricate bonds between characters can be while making me terrified of major changes like capturing humans in pokeballs, Mewtwo going on a rampage, or the wrong person upsetting a house of cards (Koga's daughter) with the best of intentions. You make us want to hug everyone, believe they can conquer the ends of the earth, and then introduces challenges that make it clear no one will come out unscarred.Thank you for another terrific chapter! So who wants to talk about the future of that Eevee? Or if anything will come from sending a Pokedex scan of a shiny Eevee to Oak Labs before and after taking it to a Pokémon center?
Huh. There's an idea. "What if the Pokémon center's healing machine causes strange changes in Pokémon that potions, berries, etc. are unable to repair?" That'd be an interesting twist on Nuzlocke stories.
u/DaystarEld [+4] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Glad you're enjoying it so much :) Would you recommend either Deux Ex Pokeball or* Antidote*?
u/NightmareWarden [+7] Church of the Broken God (2 days later)
Deus Ex Pokeball is not the happiest short story, but it touches on a lot of commonly-ignored risks of the Pokémon world. The protagonist isn't a trainer, Pokémon are not always good at communicating, and power is never straight forward. It is complete. I think you'd appreciate it.
No Antidote you'll appreciate just for the recent comments about Doduo and Gyrados' typing. It is, without question, a Tragedy. Some of the ideas about training are as incredible as yours. It shows us the impossible-to-ignore side of adventure in Kanto from the Pokémons' perspective. The final chapters are... controversial, but I think they will make your jaw drop. I'm happy to say that the sad feelings of this story (those felt by the characters) are comparable to how you handled Red. Read it. It may give you ideas about Blue and Giovanni's personalities or body-language-type subtleties in how they'd act.
A Special Kind of Hell introduced me to the above two stories. It is screwy, it is a little monstrous, and it made me understand why carefully designing a character can have a satisfying payoff. Anyone that plans an atypical Pokémon adventure story should read it for what to avoid and how to pace content/action/lore extremely well. It is more "fanfiction" than it an original story like yours or like the above stuff, but it is worth bookmarking. Maybe it'll help you out of any writer's block.
Edit: I've noticed a distinct lack of conspiracy theories this update about Mewtwo puppetting Aiko or some other teenager in the name of Friendship! Come on commenters, we're slacking.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Thanks for the rundown! I'll see where I can fit some of them on The List :)
u/THEHYPERBOLOID [+2] (2 days later)
I think your link for No Antidote is wrong. Is this the correct one?
u/NightmareWarden [+2] Church of the Broken God (2 days later)
Whoopsie, thanks. Edited it.
u/THEHYPERBOLOID [+2] (2 days later)
You're welcome.
Also, I enjoyed Deus Ex Pokeball, and I'm just starting on No Antidote. Thanks for the recs.
u/Cariyaga [+9] Kyubey did nothing wrong (2 days later)
Wow. That speech at the end... To say nothing of the very end of it (which, yes, plucked at my heartstrings as thoroughly as anything ever has), I have to say I know EXACTLY how Red felt standing in front of that crowd -- I've got excessive nervousness about public speaking, and you captured that brilliantly.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Thank you! Glad it came across well :)
u/DaystarEld [+6] Pokémon Professor (35 seconds later)
Typo thread!
u/UnfortunatelyEvil [+3] (51 minutes later)
Not sure how the typo thread works, but Paragraph 2 "he sits sup".
I feel like there may be a word missing in "Red pulls his mind back with a gasp, hand clutching his nose even as the sensation fades, was never really in his nose at all."
"Well, if you don't have to put yourself through that, then. Our normal diagnostic tools should be fine." - the If seems out of place.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed first and third, thanks! Second is a stylistic thing, might change it later if others flag it too :)
u/PDNeznor [+2] (2 days later)
I'd ditto the second one; "...as it was never really in his nose at all..." sounds better in my head.
u/KnickersInAKnit [+2] (a day later)
Agreed that the if seems out of place
u/Slapdash17 [+3] (an hour later)
collide wit -> collide with
therefor -> therefore
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed, thanks!
u/Putnam3145 [+3] (an hour later)
"Leaf despairs that he'll be ever be able to hear this conversation"
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed!
u/DerSaidin [+3] (11 hours later)
If something doesn't make sense to you, it's because either your model of the world is wrong, or the thing itself is in some way.
The last bit of this phrase ("or the thing itself is in some way") is a bit confusing. Too many pronouns I think. It doesn't read easily, imo.
If an observation doesn't make sense to you, it's because either your model of the world is wrong, or the observation was flawed in some way.
Or maybe Red is just a bit unclear when put on the spot.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed :)
u/charrondev [+3] (11 hours later)
"Right, and help you able to defend the ranch if needed." Feels like it's worded oddly.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed!
u/None [+3] (15 hours later)
[removed]
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed, thank you!
u/KnickersInAKnit [+3] (17 hours later)
I made plans to capture abra
or
I made a plan to capture abra
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
Fixed, thanks!
u/thrawnca [+3] Carbon-based biped (a day later)
help you able/help you be able
hyperthermia/hypothermia (might not be a mistake, but hypo seems to fit better)
if you don't have to/you don't have to
staring in the distance/staring into the distance
Red ays/Red says
Hopefully the therapy ranch idea/Hopefully if the therapy ranch idea
hanging on from a thread/hanging on by a thread
both pokedex/both pokedexes (pokedexen?)
Incomplete sentence: "As Red watches Pichu for any signs that he isn't okay with his new travel arrangements and reflects on how nice it is to travel between cities without risking his life for once."
and began preparing/and begun preparing
enable psychic phenomenon/enable psychic phenomena
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (a day later)
All fixed, thank you! Left Pokedex as is for now, as the other plurals don't feel right.
u/thrawnca [+3] Carbon-based biped (a day later)
Thank Red/Thanks, Red
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Fixed!
u/MikeStyles27 [+7] (a day later)
Prediction: Eevees mystery malady is pokerus. I can't wait for Red to study the worlds most useful disease.
u/KnickersInAKnit [+5] (a day later)
I love this! While the pokerus doesn't really manifest with symptoms in the game, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to change it to cause flu-like or other symptoms. But how come it hasn't been transferred to any other pokemon?
u/MikeStyles27 [+2] (2 days later)
It is fairly rare in game, perhaps it is simply not very contagious? The EV gain takes effect with pokerus, but is no longer transferable once 'cured'
u/PDNeznor [+2] (2 days later)
If this turns out to be the case then Aiko may just have the most valuable eevee in the entire region. It'd be hard not to look at it in terms of profit afterwards. Although, I'd imagine this isn't the case since it would be hard to keep the pace of the story from tanking with the inevitable publicity rush the group would get when the world at large finds out about a shiny eevee with pokerus.
u/Electric999999 [+6] (3 days later)
Probably not, since the only effect it seems to have had on the eevee is to make it weaker, which is the opposite of what it does in the games.
u/UnfortunatelyEvil [+9] (an hour later)
Great chapter, so many feels~
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
\o/!
u/ColeslawHappiness [+3] (a day later)
It also is going to be interesting how Red's mom reacts to the news conference. The charecters are all written dynamically, anticipating their actions is as engrossing as the story itself, and adds one more layer of my enjoyment.
I do not like Red's Mom as a character, she is actually in the role of an antagonist. I fell her getting angry at Red caused me to be sorrowful, knowing Red's personality. Her being the closest to him, she's seen no reason to doubt his actions (that I know). He is young, which does not free him from consequences. This could easily have been a teaching opportunity to bring them closer in a dangerous world, and also have a better discussion regarding goals, finances, and the role of ethics and morals in building a platform for long term mental stability and happiness. Does anybody else feel similarly or am I misunderstanding something?
I read this story leisurely and perhaps that in itself is a mistake. Thank you, u/DaystarEld for your hard work.
u/NightmareWarden [+7] Church of the Broken God (a day later)
Have you ever heard of a young boy being made the "man of the house" when their father dies? It usually is a little, but important note, in larger events. It adds a bit of background information on why someone interacts one way or another with their mother and siblings. In Red's case his mom fully believing in that idea is a bit loony. But seeing positive growth and strength in him after his father's death?
Seeing him as a potential prodigy of a researcher or trainer?
Imagining him being an incredibly responsible and respectable trainer that involves himself in catastrophes?
All of that is on top of the fact that DaystarEld has raised the competence and maturity of kids in his setting. So Red's mother might hold high standards for him. She may also see him as precious and rather innocent, such that after all of the terrible, spirit-breaking news she has investigated in the past (crimes) that she wants him to avoid getting on peoples' bad sides.
Red will do less-than-legal things (with little regret) if the opportunity is right. I'm not talking about making a rushed decision when lives are on the line. He will shock and disgruntle people while following his heart and standards. In spite of all of his talent and drive his career can take a nosedive if he is blacklisted. His potential will shrivel up if a lucky criminal attacks him with stronger Pokémon. His mother believes in him and believe he has earned such confidence from others, but Red has weak points. Red's hamartia, if he has only one, could make this a painful journey.
I agree that his mother will act as an antagonist multiple times in the future. I also think that Red coming to terms with how other people feel and think about his actions is a completely valid way to direct the story. If we want his mother to spoonfeed him "correct" morality then we would've started the story earlier in the timeline.
u/ColeslawHappiness [+4] (2 days later)
I do not want to offend, I do want to discuss and learn, so lets sit on the same side of the table and look at this together.
What is his harmartia? I had to look this word up. I don't think this story is written as a tragedy; it is still early. To say Red has a fatal flaw is difficult for me to grasp at this junction(used dictionary to form opinion). I think Blue does, and it almost destroyed him, but he recovered from the fallout through volunteering in the pokecenter, as well as other P.R. activities.
You ask several questions in your reply and I think they are rhetorical to get me to see through multiple lenses, thank you. I think that bit of backstory is important to understand the dynamics...in this case I feel that it can explain that Red is his mothers infinitely precious aspect of the physical realm, and that she is allowed to act irrationally. Her reactions still made me dissapointed, and thus dislike her, but I will think on it further to see where I may be wrong. I also have no intent to speak for the authors intent, this analysis is what makes it so enjoyable to read works with depth. Also, its interesting to probe my own thoughts and ask, "Am I projecting?" Furthermore, Aikos father is a foil to Red's mother, and I don't dislike him, I instead empathize. I think there should have been more of a self analysis undertone to Red's Moms thoughts if I was supposed to like her, i.e. she says she raised him better, but she must also realize that people are the product of their enviroment. This begs a nurture vs. Nature aspect, and she is glancing over it. Her methods are not likely to increase his baseline of honesty. Also, this was not a heat of the moment argument, but rather a simmering one, which in my experience is the most dangerous for relationships. Finally, i have to admit a personal bias, Reds mother is a woman, and I have immediately layered her in my expectations of how a woman/mother/female handles emotions, and their role in a relationship. What action could she have done to make me respect her more? She could have spanked Red, and told him he acted childishly and would receive a childs punishment. She could have also given him some money, and told him that she would rather have nothing then have her son lie to her. She could have begun her conversation with an anecdote of her lying to someone she loved.
I really want to know Daystar's intent, however isn't it peaking before Christmas? It's still fun to rattle the box a little and imagine whats really inside.
u/NightmareWarden [+4] Church of the Broken God (2 days later)
I apologize if the tone of my last comment seemed to be aggravating or angry. I really enjoy talking about this and speculating on the future on this story helps the author. You are correct that I was using rhetorical questions to isolate important qualities Red's mother would see Red demonstrate. I was also using them to predict what Red will be doing in the future.
Your sentence about Blue is a terrific example of what I predict Red will do in the future. I really enjoyed reading the conflict and challenges Blue went through for his Shiftry. As Blue justified himself to people that criticized him we, the audience, got a look at the setting history of criminal violence. We learned about the differences between violence and Pokémon battling from the perspective of average citizens. In recent chapters Red talked with Bill and Professor Oak about barriers to scientific progress. Red's focus is on academic research, but he has great passion for the wonders of engineering! He knows that pokeball technology could save lives and Bill made it clear that some morbid topics need to be approached delicately. Bill does not think Red should tell the public about goals to stop anybody from dying.
An important note there, and why I think it connects to Red's future challenges: Bill did not kill Red's conviction. Bill is not the kind of hero Red plans to be. Bill did manage to help Red mature a little bit and protect him from damaging his reputation. Red as a logical way of thinking which is balanced by powerful emotions such as passion. Bill, Red's Mom, and many other characters help Red improve his thoughts so that he can avoid pitfalls and help him grow. They have an important role in guiding Red as he tries to use his enthusiasm and passion in productive ways.
But. But I brought up Blue, Hamartia, and these positive influences on Red because they are building up to a critical moment. This moment will be a test of Red's character, his competence, and how he values other people. For example: if Red has the opportunity to free Mewtwo followed by a debate on the merits of peace, revenge, etcetera, then should be stand back and allow Mewtwo to eliminate Giovanni's Team Rocket? Mewtwo is a greater threat than the Legendary Birds in this setting. Red knows it is moral to protect humans from dangerous Pokémon. Red may see Mewtwo as a person and cause Mewtwo to allow everyone else in Kanto to live.
That scenario is one of many possible moral quandaries Red could face. Red could make the "right" decision and have people hate or fear him for it. Blue could easily suffer the same thing if he allies himself with Giovanni in some conflict.
I'll readily admit that the conflicts and challenges I see in this story's future could be off-the-mark. Red is a well-written example of a rational character because he does make mistakes. His mother may be an antagonist or she may be an interesting ally. She has her own goals and challenges in the future. I am glad that "like mother, like son" they each sometimes fail to find a perfect solution. I agree that she could have handled that better! Red also made a reasonable decision that hurt someone he cared about. Hahaha! I made this response just to make the points:
- Red is like Blue. Red could be "Dark" without changing his personality.
- Red is like his mother.
And yet I brought up so many other points. I love this story. Red isn't the character I identify with most, but every page inspires emotions like nothing else.
u/ColeslawHappiness [+4] (2 days later)
Reading your reply gave me great joy. There is an underlying danger when speaking about topics of mutual passion, which is that we inadvertently offend in our haste to share. Blame any akwardness on me, so no apology is needed, but your willingness to provide one is kind, and I too return the same. In response:
- Yes, correct, if you mean evilish? A more ends justifies the means? This is interesting, because if Laura saw this in him as a child, it would explain her response! However this is still bargaining with my already incorrect assertion, i.e. daystars response. As we know, anger is very close to fear. Do you also mean he could turn his psychic abilities off? Perhaps its not either-or here, perhaps him doing so would cause him to lack empathy. Perhaps this is further explanation of Blues mental mindset. Red is like his mother: This is a broad statement, and I do agree with it; being generous to say red is inquisitive, brave, cognizant, and has a self defined moral framework that alligns with what is a majority would percieve as positive. Red is also unlike his mother - he has less personal experiences as to how the world works. He is likely more educated in the realm of physical laws. He has selfless expectations of people - he is considerate of oaks time and value, while cautiously using their relationship for mutual gain, and even then hesitantly. He has greater psychic ability. He is more isolated from the cruelty of the world at this time. You did bring up many points, and you are demonstrating a great deal of understanding. Furthermore, not sure if you saw but daystar commented to verify your interpretation of his mom, earlier. I really can't say much more other then it was certainly nice to get a greater understanding of the characters through you. I hope we can speak more in the further, and if you care to recommend any writing to me I would be thankful, and I would be happy to recipricate if the need arises.
Also, on mobile so not my cleanest response. Thank you
u/DaystarEld [+5] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
I really want to know Daystar's intent, however isn't it peaking before Christmas? It's still fun to rattle the box a little and imagine whats really inside.
I hope my answer above didn't spoil things too much in this regard, but I do appreciate questions like this in general, as they also help me check my own assumptions about how well the characters are being conveyed vs my intentions :)
u/ColeslawHappiness [+3] (2 days later)
Thank you, I'm glad you feel that way because I get enlivened by your writing, I want to discuss, but always with the attitude of graciousness. While I do enjoy my ignorance at points, being able to discuss your work with you is even better, and even if you gave me your outline, the story is so good it couldn't be spoiled.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Glad to hear it!
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Well put :)
u/DaystarEld [+6] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
I definitely intend for his mom to come off as both a mentor figure but also a source of conflict: children and their parents rarely have a totally positive relationship all the time, even if they get along fairly well, and besides which that would be boring and provide little room for growth and character development :)
That said, I do find it interesting how few people seem to agree with Laura's views on this particular topic (the "insider trading" on the clefairies). I wasn't expecting the reaction to be so one sided, so she may be coming off as more unreasonable and antagonistic than I intended.
u/thrawnca [+4] Carbon-based biped (2 days later)
I don't have a particular problem with Red's insider trading. If he was smart enough to leverage what he found out, good on him. That's capitalism.
However, he specifically promised his mother that he would not do it, in order to secure her cooperation, and then broke his promise. Dishonesty matters, and the fact that she became involved in something that she would not approve of, under false pretences, also matters.
I don't agree with Red's justification here. He had good reasons for needing the money, but not for lying. He could have borrowed from her - or from Professor Oak, probably - and used the Abra income to quickly repay it. He could have sold his Clefairy at cost price, which would not have violated the spirit of their agreement or her conscience. He could probably have delayed his research by a few weeks if really needed. He could have called her, explained his reasons, and asked permission, or for early access to his other funds - or at least forgiveness.
Instead he broke his promise, and then kept quiet. Naturally she feels betrayed and angry; how can she trust his promises in future?
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Yep, the lying part is definitely a problem, and he really should have tried other things before resorting to that... but at the same time he was feeling trapped in value dissonance from his need to get things done sooner rather than later, which his mother didn't seem to understand at the time. He should have tried explaining it to her, but he was instead willing to take the hit and ensure his next projects would succeed.
u/thrawnca [+3] Carbon-based biped (2 days later)
Whether he explained or not, I think that in her position, I would not feel that "I was in a hurry" was an acceptable reason. If he failed to think through his options because he was in a rush, that only compounds his mistake.
Giving him control of his savings was an effective solution, since she does trust him to manage it well. It's sad, though, that she felt it was necessary to avoid future conflict.
u/ColeslawHappiness [+3] (2 days later)
It's an honor to have you respond, thank you. The great thing is you have written great characters; we defend them even when they are wrong, or perhaps its especially when they are wrong? I see Red as a friend. Your challenge was to even find a conflict, with Red being rational he is immune to so much. I analyze because there's more then just a surface story here, and while I may pay too much attention to something unimportant, it allows me to catch some gems as well. You are still providing realistic stimuli that could present challenges to your creations, and I hope not everything is perfect and obvious and intended, as then I couldn't think further on it. Furthermore, introducing insider trading is novel, creative, and a world building detail that impresses me.
Laura is a better person then me, that is clear, so I really shouldn't judge anyway.Thank you again.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
No problem! I enjoy reading all the various analyses regardless, but am glad to see others enjoy thinking through and debating the characters and their actions too :)
u/SometimesATroll [+6] (2 hours later)
It's been months, and we finally find out that Aiko is going with them, and the strategy used was the simplest all along.
Just go whether or not he stops you.
It's an interesting twist that all of their attempts to convince her dad were pointless, and convincing her was what counted.
At least they got the therapy petting zoo thing out of it.
Great chapter, and I look forward to the next.
u/DerSaidin [+5] (11 hours later)
It's an interesting twist that all of their attempts to convince her dad were pointless, and convincing her was what counted.
Yeah, good point. There's probably another rationalist lesson in there somewhere too :)
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Glad you enjoyed it!
u/None [+3] (11 hours later)
I know this might be asking much, and I probably missed it early in the thread, but could you post what the new research explaining the Flying Type actually was? Cuz I found it really interesting, with the references to particles and wind and the such, and would to see whatever idea you came up with to explain Flying Type and its canon inconsistencies really fleshed out.
u/Rouninscholar [+4] (12 hours later)
They managed to detect a particle put out by flying types, this particle intereacts... not quite "explosively" with air, but on the same scale as a small explosion. Pokemon can use their wings or such to throw out these particles and cause huge amounts of air to move in certain directions.
u/Electric999999 [+4] (a day later)
Flying types can emit a special particle, it's that particle that seems to let them do all the things that their wings wouldn't (gusts of wind, combee flying ridiculously fast etc.)
u/AweKartik777 [+3] (20 hours later)
He already explained it in another chapter - back then it was only a "theory" by the narrator, but now it is scientifically published.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
The full interview that goes into more detail was watched by Laura in the previous chapter :) Unless you meant something else?
u/None [+3] (2 days later)
There's something really awesome about being able to ask the author directly about any confusion, and something really awesome about the author writing back :) Thanks man, cleared everything right up.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
No problem!
u/PDNeznor [+3] (2 days later)
DaystarEld, happy belated birthday, question mark?
I'm wondering if there's any real world inspirations for the cities in Kanto, such as Pewter being associated with Kyoto and Saffron with Tokyo and such. With Vermillion being a port city I imagine it would be much more alive than what we saw in Pewter and possibly Cerulean. It would be cool if we see something akin to freeways to accommodate for the increased traffic and other such ways pokemon help people around town.
u/DaystarEld [+2] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
Thank you!
No real world inspirations so far, I'm mostly world-building them as I go, but Vermilion will certainly have a different feel to it ;)
u/seylerius [+2] Lord Inquisitor (a day later)
You kicked me right in the feels, man. Damn fine chapter.
u/DaystarEld [+3] Pokémon Professor (2 days later)
offers your feels a bandaid