Line #11 Fanfic/PokemonMysteryDungeonReflectingBalance


1	''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Reflecting Balance'' is a ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' fanfic by Tropers/DarkerShining.
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3	It focuses on a young Shinx named Blitz, an Eevee named Sera and an amnesiac Mienfoo given the name Chiaki when Blitz and Sera found him passed out in a forest. After joining the rescue team Sera and Blitz recently started, Chiaki learns about the basics of being part of a rescue team. However, when they learn that the eight crystals of Axis Tower, which are needed to maintain the balance, have been stolen, they and the other rescue teams must do what they can to retrieve them.
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5	But who stole the crystals, and why? What secrets does Elina the mysterious Elgyem hide? And what is Chiaki's true role in all of this?
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7	It can be read on [[https://forums.serebii.net/threads/pok%C3%A9mon-mystery-dungeon-reflecting-balance.568115/ Serebii]], [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9240158/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-Mystery-Dungeon-Reflecting-Balance FF.Net]] and [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/9320876/chapters/21122873 AO3]].
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9	In addition to the main story, there's also ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Reflecting Balance - Special Episodes'', consisting of one-shots focusing on the supporting cast set at different points in the timeline.
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11	The special episodes can also be found on [[https://forums.serebii.net/threads/pok%C3%A9mon-mystery-dungeon-reflecting-balance-special-episodes.670016/ Serebii]], [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13376924/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-Mystery-Dungeon-Reflecting-Balance-Special-Episodes FF.Net]], and [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20466662 AO3]].
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14	!! This ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' fanfic contains examples of:
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18	* ADayInTheLimelight: The point of the special episodes is to give focus to the supporting cast. As for the main story itself:
19	** Chapter 16 is this for Azure, being told mostly from her point of view.
20	** Chapter 27 is this for Hercules.
21	** Chapter 49 focuses on Blitz's family at Lightning Plateau, also being the first chapter set in the present day to not feature Blitz himself or any of his teammates.
22	* ActionPrologue: The first scene of the story is the main villain chasing a Pokémon in a gray cloak [[spoiler: (later confirmed to be Elina)]] during a thunderstorm. [[spoiler: We also see Elina trip on something, which is later revealed to have been a Pokémon Trap that transformed the Axis Tower crystal she was trying to protect into a Pokémon.]]
23	* AmnesiacHero: Chiaki the Mienfoo has no memories of who he is.
24	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[spoiler:It's unclear if Hercules intended to do this while trying to get Sera to stop asking him about Blitz in Chapter 21, but it certainly makes her stop and think.]]
25	-->[[spoiler:'''Hercules:''' "Besides, you haven't really shown much interest in Blitz's background or asked him about any of this before, have you?"]]
26	* AscendedExtra:
27	** Kala the Abra, who at first is only a character who works at the rescue team HQ and teleports rescue teams to far away mystery dungeons, but she got a bigger role when she also became Elina's mentor in how to use telepathy.
28	** Hercules the Heracross is an example of a character who had this happen to him ''before'' his debut chapter was written, as the writer originally only intended for him to be a minor character who rarely appeared at all, but at some point after she'd written the first few chapters, she came up with the idea of making him Blitz's mentor and [[TheConfidant the one Blitz trusted with his secret]], and thus Hercules became a major supporting character.
29	* BigDamnHeroes:
30	** Mirage and Sting's rescue teams come to the rescue when the main characters end up wandering into a Monster House in Chapter 14.
31	** The main characters end up in a Monster House again in Chapter 19, and this time they are saved by Azure, who recently evolved into a Marill.
32	** In Chapter 32, Hercules saves Blitz and Bow from [[spoiler:[[BigBad Erebos]].]]
33	* [[BigBrotherWorship Big Sister Worship]]: Sera seems to admire her oldest sister Amethyst the most out of her five older siblings.
34	* BrickJoke: In chapter 12, the main characters try asking some Spinarak for directions upon arriving in Nectar Woods, but the Spinarak are too busy working on their spider web, and mention that they are competing with a similar group of Joltik over who can make the best-looking spider webs. Later in the chapter, the Butterfree outlaw is trying to get away, only to get stuck in a spider web made by a group of Joltik.
35	* CharacterDevelopment:
36	** Sera gradually becomes less self-centered and begins to pay more attention to the feelings of those around her.
37	** With the help of his friends, Blitz is able to begin reconsidering his YouCantFightFate worldview, accept his natural leadership skills, and be more open with his friends about his feelings.
38	* ChekhovsGunman:
39	** Blitz's younger sister Lita is mentioned twice in conversations between Blitz and Hercules, before she eventually appears in Chapter 21.
40	** Stella has a pen pal that she is frequently seen writing to, informing her of the situation with the Axis Tower crystals. The identity of the pen pal is later revealed to be a Mismagius named Samara, [[spoiler:who is working to re-create the spell that was used to seal away the BigBad in the past.]]
41	** Chapter 3 had the main characters rescue an Aerodactyl named Aeron, who mentions that he was practicing for the flying competition on Wyvern Island when something went wrong and he hurt his wing. Aeron later returns in Chapter 57 to give Blitz and his teammates a ride to Wyvern Island after an Axis Tower crystal is found there.
42	* DisappearedDad:
43	** [[spoiler:Blitz's father abandoned the Luxray pride has was the leader of after something went horribly wrong during a hunting trip which he blamed himself for, leaving his family behind as well in the process. He eventually returns.]]
44	** Azure and Bow's fathers are also nowhere in sight, although the absence of the former is explained as him travelling a lot due to his job.
45	* {{Foreshadowing}}: There are a lot of small details alluding to future events or other things that will become important later on.
46	** Blitz doesn't like using his Fire and Ice Fang attacks in battle, but doesn't tell his teammates why. [[spoiler:Chapter 22 reveals Blitz's backstory, and shows exactly why Blitz doesn't like using those attacks in battle. The same chapter also fully explains a few other things that were alluded to in conversations between Blitz and Hercules.]]
47	** A few locations that are mentioned in early parts of the story have been visited by the main characters later.
48	** A lot suggests that the main villain is no ordinary Sigilyph, with his unusual powers and the way he talks about Cassandra (one of the previous town oracles) as if he had known her. [[spoiler:Turns out the Sigilyph is possessed by an evil spirit named Erebos. We later learn who said spirit was, and how he and Cassandra knew each other.]]
49	** There is also quite a bit of foreshadowing related to the truth about Chiaki.
50	* ForgetfulJones: Bow is quite forgetful, and often tends to forget to tell others about her visions until after they have already happened.
51	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Gameplay mechanics are acknowledged in-universe, even if the source of them remains mysterious.
52	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each chapter is named after a line of dialogue from said chapter.
53	* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: In the original version of the first chapter, the story begins on this line and lampshades it. This was changed in the revised version of the chapter.
54	* LongRunners: ''Reflecting Balance'' has been semi-regularly updating for more than a decade since April 7, 2012.
55	* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Sera has five older siblings.
56	* MundaneUtility:
57	** Blitz tends to use his Ice and Fire Fang attacks for purposes other than battling.
58	** Megara uses her Flame Burst attack to signal to Sera and Sting's rescue teams that Mirage's team had found the entrance to the Sand-Veiled Sanctuary in Chapter 14. [[spoiler:Chapter 25 has a CallBack to this scene when Blitz suggests that Frederick do something similar with his Dragon Rage attack.]]
59	* Mystical108: The Spiritomb who lives deep in Nightmirror Forest, Nereza, apparently changes her name every 108 years, keeping with Spiritomb's theming around the number.
60	* NervousTics: Blitz tends to rub the yellow rings on his forelegs together when nervous.
61	* NoodleIncident:
62	** [[spoiler:Whatever it was that went wrong during the Luxray pride's hunting trip that led to Blitz's father leaving the pride.]]
63	** When Kala is asked about how she is familiar with the Cubone tribe living near Nightmirror Forest, Kala begins telling a story of something that happened before she moved to Fenix Town, only to doze off before she can really give any further details.
64	* OhCrap: Blitz's reaction in Chapter 14 when he realizes that Sera and Chiaki [[spoiler:have just walked right into a Monster House.]]
65	* OriginsEpisode:
66	** Chapter 22 reveals Blitz's backstory.
67	** Chapters 34-40 reveal the backstory of the town.
68	* PlotCoupon: The eight Axis Tower crystals.
69	* PolarOppositeTwins: Princess Blithe and Prince Somber, the Frillish twins that appear in Chapter 19 and 20. Blithe is optimistic and full of energy, while Somber is pessimistic and doesn't seem to get particularly excited about anything.
70	* {{Revision}}: The earlier chapters went through some revisions when they were posted on FF.net, and the Serebii versions of those chapter were later updated with the revised versions as well. One notable change between the original and revised versions is that Chapter 3 had Azure's failed attack changed from Bubble to Bubble Beam due to moveset changes introduced in ''Pokémon Black 2 and White 2''.
71	* RuleOfThree: There are three elemental monkey tribes in Harmony Forest, and when Sera, Blitz, and Chiaki explore the forest in chapter 9 and 10, they run into groups of three Pansage, three Pansear, and three Panpour at three different points.
72	* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Erebos was sealed inside a stone chest created by his twin sister Pandora, but since Pandora left the world of the living a long time ago, her remaining magic has been fading over time. Shortly before the events of the story, he finally broke free after an unfortunate Sigilyph happened to find the chest.]]
73	* {{Seers}}: Stella, being a Gothitelle and the town's current oracle, can see into the future. Her daughter Bow also has this ability.
74	* ShoutOut: There are several nods to the RP Roleplay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers, though the two stories do not take place in the same multiverse.
75	* TemptingFate: When nearly at the end of the mystery dungeon in the Sand-Veiled Sanctuary, Sera wonders out loud what could possibly go wrong when they had gotten this far. Only a few moments later, [[spoiler:she and Chiaki end up walking right into a Monster House.]]
76	* TomatoInTheMirror: Chapter 60 has Chiaki finally learn the truth about himself. [[spoiler: He's one of the Axis Tower crystals, that was accidentally transformed into a Mienfoo by a Pokémon Trap.]]
77	* TongueOnTheFlagpole: Nurse Giselle's dialogue while treating a Lickitung alludes to something similar to this [[NoodleIncident having happened to the Lickitung off-screen.]]
78	* TwoGirlsAndAGuy / TwoGuysAndAGirl: Most of the recurring rescue teams seem to consist of three members, and usually consist of either two male members and one female, or two female and one male. Mirage's team fits the former trope, and Sting's team fits the latter. Sera's rescue team also fit the latter, until Azure joined their team in Chapter 20.
79	* WhamEpisode: Chapter 60 ends with Chiaki learning the truth about himself from Elina. [[spoiler: He's one of the Axis Tower crystals, that was accidentally transformed into a Mienfoo when Elina tripped on a Pokémon Trap while fleeing from Erebos on the night the crystals were stolen. And since all eight crystals need to be returned to the tower, they need to find a way to return Chiaki to his original form. Chiaki basically learns that he'll have to sacrifice himself in order for things to go back to normal.]]
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Context Fanfic / PokemonMysteryDungeonReflectingBalance