It's that exciting time again—the official launch!
Thank you all for your incredible support. Huge thanks to the "Big Bosses" for your consistent tips, to the daily readers who follow along, and to all the fellow authors who gave me shout-outs (chapter recommendations).
To share some of my thoughts: the primary reason I'm writing this book is to try my hand at a "Dark-style" (realistic-style) story, which is a fairly unique niche within Pokémon fan fiction. I felt my journey with Pokémon wouldn't be complete without experiencing every facet of the world.
However, in practice, I've found it quite challenging to fully adapt to this style, even though I've always instinctively tucked similar "realistic" elements into my previous works.
Writing a story entirely in this vein is a different beast altogether from just sprinkling bits in.
Don't worry—it's not that I've run out of steam. It's simply that I personally prefer the Pokémon world to be a beautiful place. Some things are a bit too realistic for the fantasy I want to inhabit.
Because of this:
For the setting, I specifically chose a spin-off region far from the main continent (Orre). On one hand, this region is perfect for "headcanon" (fan-made lore). On the other hand, it's desolate enough to plausibly house the "evils" of the Pokémon world.
In the anime, we often see the "Pokémon Hunter" profession. However, we usually only see them catching Pokémon, never selling them. I'm talking about the hunters who take anything, even Arbok and Weezing—not the high-end specialized ones like Hunter J.
I know there are many channels for such trade, but I felt there was a lot of creative room to explore there. Since Orre needs imports anyway, it was a perfect match: let's make it the dumping ground for poached Pokémon. Being far from the main series regions and having a very vague relationship with the League makes it a uniquely lawless place.
While this region explores the darkness, other places naturally remain "pure."
Even though many readers are fascinated by theories like League corruption, the "Inner Circle" monopoly, or the Joy and Jenny families being feudal oligarchies... I personally have zero interest in writing those beautiful ladies with the faces of corrupt aristocrats. Even in the anime, there are plenty of villains; let's keep those two firmly on the side of justice. Let's set aside the "shades of grey" for a moment and keep things a bit simpler.
As for the depiction of the villains... after watching the various antagonists in the anime, I think my writing gravitates toward that level. Some might say they lack depth, but some anime villains are far more "brainless"—like Charmander's original trainer, who acted like a spoiled brat. Since this is an anime-verse fan-fic, a similar vibe is appropriate—though I've still given them a foundation of basic logic.
Every "disgusting" action they take is driven by either pride or profit—basically, the lower tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Alright, enough rambling.
The book officially goes "premium" tomorrow at 12:00 PM. I'll start with a minimum of five chapters (at least 10,000 words).
The Goals:
Target: 1,000 Initial Subscriptions.
Bonus: +1 extra chapter for every 100 subscriptions over the target.
Monthly Tickets: +1 chapter for every 100 tickets (we're just under 200 now; reaching 200 counts as one).
Tips: +1 chapter for every 10,000-coin tip (this month only).
Also:
I owe some chapters from my previous book. Since I lost count, let's call it 15 chapters of debt.
The standard schedule is two chapters per day. Anything beyond that counts toward the debt. Since I'm writing part-time (I found a new job!), the updates might be a bit slow. I can't drop 10 or 15 chapters all at once, so I ask for your patience, but I will definitely pay them back.
One final note: this book won't be as long as my last one. My apologies to those who prefer epic-length series.
Lastly, a huge thank you to the many authors who recommended this book. (List omitted here but highly appreciated!)
And a special thank you to the donors
Let's meet tomorrow at noon.