Boundaries is a Pokemon Fan Fiction written by Choice Brogan. It follows Stone Hardacre, an aspiring Pokemon Trainer and baseball fan, and his loyal, yet snarky Braixen, Fifi, as they are enrolled into the Prestigious Le-Masters Pokemon Academy to sharpen their skills and grow their bond together.
At least, that's how it was supposed to be. On top of coming from a poor family and possessing a knack for getting into trouble, Stone's Pokemon has also, to his initial surprise, taught herself to speak English, and is not afraid to use her new skills to speak up about her feelings for her "master". Combine this with her optimistic attitude, increasingly human behavior, and a very strong bond with her trainer, and you get a Pokemon that is a magnet for unwanted attention, and concern. Soon, Stone is warned by his parents that if Fifi doesn't return from the academy as a "normal" Pokemon, they will have to step in and solve the problem their "own ways".
The story has been cited as very articulate and well written, especially compared to other stories of it's kind, with large focus on characterization and lengthy but detailed banter scenes between characters, chiefly between Stone and Fifi.
Has a tendency to go on long hiatuses without warning, with the most recent one lasting from November 2018 to January 2023 (over 4 years!). Needless to say, any fan of this fic should be prepared to wait months and possibly years for the release of new chapters.
The story can be read here.
The author also has an Archive of Our Own version of the story, which can be found here.
This fanfic contains examples of...
- A Friend in Need: Fifi seems to never skip a beat when it comes to pep talks.
- Action Girl: In Chapter 2, Fifi manages to knock out a level 50~ish Garchomp. Unfortunately, their victory doesn't last...
- Alternate Universe: Implied by the story to be taking place in the real world, with the main plot taking place in the Midwestern U.S.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Averted. When it seems that Stone is about to lose the battle in Chapter 2, they receive an unexpected save from one of their friends.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Assy learns this the hard way from both Fifi and Coby.
- Cluster F-Bomb: So much so that it could wipe out a city...
- Cringe Comedy: Much of the comedy relies on characters either making fools out of themselves, being completely humiliated either by accident or on purpose, or making some kind of reference to sex, slurs, bodily excretions, or some combination of the three.
- Cute Monster Girl: Fifi, being a Braixen.
- Darker and Edgier: On top of the previously mentioned profanity and adult themes especially in later chapters the story is not afraid to make the occasional sex joke or throw in some toilet humor for the heck of it and even this is omitting the Interspecies Romance. Overall, the story is much closer in tone to South Park than Pokemon.
- Dead Fic: Averted. Chapter 13 was the last chapter for a very long time, being released in November 2018. In his author notes, Choice Brogan told readers to consider Chapter 13 the finale if he never came back, and he had gone radio silent since May 2020, seemingly confirming that this was the end. However, in January 2023 Brogan made an unexpected return along with the release of Chapter 14, though with a reminder that updates would remain slow and sparse.
- Deadpan Snarker: A ubiquitous trait among most of the cast.
- Fallen Hero: Edgy seems to be this, although it is hinted that he was more sociable in the past.
- In-Series Nickname: Many characters are referred to by nickname either as an insult or to conceal their true identity.
- Interspecies Romance: Between Stone and Fifi, although the former didn't want to accept it at first.
- Jerkass: Assy, as Stone has affectionately called him, is your standard antagonistic rival: a cruel, egotistical rich kid with a bad case of halitosis. Unfortunately for our heroes, he's 100% no slouch in battle, which Stone and Fifi learn the hard way in Chapter 2.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Fifi is extremely dependent on Stone emotionally, something which he is initially annoyed by, but later comes to accept.
- Olympus Mons: Coby's only Pokemon is a Mew. This gets him some unwanted attention.
- Undying Loyalty: As mentioned above, Fifi is incredibly loyal and supportive of Stone and his ambitions, even when he doesn't want to acknowledge them. Likewise, Stone shares similar feelings toward Fifi and was even reluctant to take her to LeMasters out of fear that she would get knocked out in battle.
- World of Jerkass: There is no shortage of rotten characters in this fanfic, especially once we get to the academy itself. Stone, Fifi, Clary, Professor Redwood, and most of the Pokemon are nicer, but are still far from perfect, while Coby is the nicest and most innocent of the cast.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Stone, especially in the early chapters, can't seem to catch a break...
