History Fanfic / TheRoadToBeAPokemonMaster

*** Rudy's challenge is the same, but Ash has to win all three rounds.

** Norman is shown to be happy when he learns that Ash has a girlfriend, not only because that means Ash won't make any move on May, but because May won't be alone with a boy.* HormoneAddledTeenager: At first PlayedForLaughs with Brock just like in canon. However, this trope gets deconstructed in Hoenn: Ash is 13, close to 14, and he's starting to notice just how attractive May is, to the point that he has to make a conscious effort not to ogle her when she's in a swimsuit, and needs to constantly remind himself that he's in love with Serena, which leaves him rather upset. Knowing what it feels like, Ash stops treating Brock being crazy about attractive girls they meet as a joke.

* HormoneAddledTeenager: At first PlayedForLaughs with Brock just like in canon. However, this trope gets deconstructed in Hoenn: Ash is 13, close to 14, and he's starting to notice just how attractive May is, to the point that he has to make a conscious effort not to ogle her when she's in a swimsuit, and needs to constantly remind himself that he's in love with Serena, which leaves him rather upset. Knowing what it feels like, Ash stops treating Brock being crazy about attractive girls they meet as a joke.

* OverprotectiveDad:
** While any kid can become a Pokémon trainer at ten, Norman has been delaying May's own journey for two years. He was going to let her finally go if she travelled with Brendan, but when the boy expressed his intention of going alone, he decided not to allow her. He eventually decides to call Ash and ask him to travel alongside May.
*** Norman is shown to be happy when he learns that Ash has a girlfriend, not only because that means Ash won't make any move on May, but because May won't be alone with a boy.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13165512/1/The-Road-to-be-a-Pokemon-Master-Hoenn-Arc Hoenn Arc]] (discontinued)

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** If you mess with a criminal organization, you'll find yourself fighting ruthelss people with the resources and lack of morals to make your life VERY miserable. Also, see [[spoiler: PaperThinDisguise]] above.
** In canon [[spoiler: Jessie's Seviper]] had no problem obeying despite the way it was caught. Here, it's outright afraid of [[spoiler:Serena]] for doing the same.

* AdultFear: Inverted. Ash is left a paranoid wreck after [[spoiler: Giovanni]] threatens his mother. And boy does he carry out that threat.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13165512/1/The-Road-to-be-a-Pokemon-Master-Hoenn-Arc Hoenn Arc]] (in progress)

* RealityEnsues:
** If you mess with a criminal organization, you'll find yourself fighting ruthelss people with the resources and lack of morals to make your life VERY miserable. Also, see [[spoiler: PaperThinDisguise]] above.
** In canon [[spoiler: Jessie's Seviper]] had no problem obeying despite the way it was caught. Here, it's outright afraid of [[spoiler:Serena]] for doing the same.

** The Stantler from “The Little Big Horn” had it’s Mother killed by Rico

** Serena, oh so much. Not only does she capture more and stronger Pokémon that she had in canon, but she also has [[spoiler: PsychicPowers]].
** While in canon Misty never trained Togepi and all it did was use Metronome a couple times during critical situations, here it gets proper training and learns more moves, and it's used by Ash and Serena on battles, including Gyms and League matches.
** Ritchie’s Zippo’s debut is as a Charizard rather than a Charmander in the Indigo Leauge.

*** Instead of building a sled and use it on a race down the mountain, Danny's challenge is a [[https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Rotation_Battle rotation battle]].

*** While in canon, Ash plowed through Drake's first five Pokémon with only two loses, and only had a hard time taking down his Dragonite, here Ash loses almost his entire team doing so, and when Drake is down to just one Pokémon, so is Ash.
** Consistently show among the Johto Gym Leaders:

*** Bugsy used the same team as in the anime, with the exception of all of them are fully evolved.

** Rudy appears in Fuchsia City. While his meeting with Misty is brief, it became important once the group meets him again in the Orange Islands.
** Tyson appears during the Indigo Leauge Championship [[spoiler: and wins]]
** Harrison competes with Ash for the right to fight the Orange Leauge Champion.

** [[spoiler: Archie, Maxie and Shelly]] appear in Johto.

** It may be easy to overlook, but Ash himself is an example of this trope. Many people probably forgot that at the beginning of the series Ash was a bratty JerkWithAHeartOfGold that could be rather entitled and disrespectful, before he became more of a straight up NiceGuy after much CharacterDevelopment. While Ash on this fic could be clueless or immature, is much nicer from the very beginning, and while in canon it took Ash and Pikachu a near death experience to begin to bond, this Ash was able to charm Pikachu with his natural kindness into trusting him before leaving Pallet Town. Plus, it would have been very unlikely for Serena to fall in love with the Ash from the beginning of the anime.

** Paul recognizes Ash as a trainer after their battle in the Indigo League, but still believes that the way Ash trains his Pokèmon is squandering his potential.
** Sabrina as well. While she does have the same cold, ruthless personality as in the anime, she merely tells Ash to leave the first time he loses to her, as opposed to canon, where she shrunk Ash and his friends to the size of dolls and trapped them inside a dollhouse.
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Unlike canon where is quite fond of the activity, May doesn't like shopping much.

** Damian is even more of a jerk than the original show, and he even [[spoiler: joins Team Rocket.]]
** If the second to last chapter of the Johto Arc is to be believed, [[spoiler: Tobias]]. He's considered a dangerous individual, the Pokémon League is investigating him, and Ash is told to avoid him at all costs.

** Drake's Dragonite. In canon, it fought against four of Ash Pokémon, managed to defeat three, and was just barely defeated by the fourth. Here, it only fights against one of Ash's Pokémon, which is unable to beat.

** Like Drake's Dragonite above, [[spoiler: Whiteny's Miltank]] curbstomped Ash during its first appearance in the anime. Here, it fails to defeat a single Pokémon.
* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Inverted. In the Power of One, Ash could had given the GS Ball to Professor Oak when the latter arrived at the Orange Islands to meet him towards the end of the movie. Here, Ash makes sure to hand Oak the GS Ball the moment they meet.

** Misty buys the Magikarp from the Magikarp salesman instead of James in this fic.

** Since the story skips all filler, most characters or the day won't appear. The author will sometimes bring them into the story if he needs them to fill a certain role, and has stated that due to the vast amount of these characters, there simply isn’t any need to write in human {{Original Character}}s into the story.
** While they do appear in the story, a lot of moments of the anime happen without the Team Rocket Trio's involvement. In fact, they go the whole Orange Islands arc without showing up not even once. [[spoiler:They're PutOnABus for good towards the end of Johto, and with their organization dissolved, they will be absent as well for the rest of the series]].

** Chuck's Poliwrath is nowhere to be seen

* AdultFear: Inverted. Ash is left a paranoid wreck after [[spoiler: Giovanni]] threatens his mother. And boy does he carry that threat.

** If Giovanni's words are any indication, [[spoiler: Ash's father, Red]] used to be his.
** Ash's Tailow and Serena's Wingull start this way, being the leaders of their respective flocks, which were at war with wach other. They do manage to quell their mutual hatred at their trainers' insistence.

* AnimalsHateHim: Downplayed with May. She does get along with most Pokemon just fine, but seems to have a knack for some Pokemon to be somewhat hostile towards her; there's the RunningGag of a Mudkip firing a water gun at her if she gets to close to one, and the only way to calm down the wounded Electrike of New Mauville was to let it bite May's hand.

*** Brock takes in the baby Stantler from ''The Little Big Horn'' due to it’s mother being dead.

* BetaCouple: Misty and Rudy. Brock and Suzy and Gary and Leaf seems to be on the way there as well, [[spoiler: the later being official before the end of the Silver Conference]].

** The Orange Islands Arc has the Power of One Three parter (Chapters 17, 18 and 19) taking place during Ash's 12th birthday. No Serena Birthday here, though.

* BlackSheep: May keeps her lack of interest in Pokémon a secret due fear of becoming this, given that the rest of her family are huge Pokémon enthusiasts (given that they're the one running Petalburg Gym).
* BlessedWithSuck: While they prove to be useful on ocassion, [[spoiler: Serena]] possibly would be happier without PsychicPowers.
* BreakTheHaughty: While Gary goes MUCH further than he did in his first tournament, he still gets hit with a dose of humble pie by losing to Paul
** Ash got one too against Paul as well.

** Paul's Donphan, Dragonair, Fearow, and Rhydon
** [[spoiler: Giovanni's Hypno]]

** May's Electrike

** Pokémon:

* TheChosenOne: Includes the Pokèmon 2000 movie as a story, and it won’t be the last time either.

* TheCorruption: Dark Aura, which is fueled by feelings of extreme anger and sadness, can turn Aura users in vicious, violence prone monsters.
* DarkerAndEdgier: the fic itself isn’t this, but it does has a few moments that the anime wouldn’t '''dare''' think of including.

** Charmander is [[spoiler: tortured]] when Ash, Serena and Gary were captured at Silph.co
** Silver has used his Pokèmon to kill several Rocket Grunts.
** The way Pokèmon Hunter Rico perishes is fairly mediocre but it’s not something you’d see in the series.

** Delia Ketchum of all people. [[spoiler: Not only she used to be Giovanni's lover, and even had a son with him, but also had a hand in creating Team Rocket]].

** The Team Rocket Trio doesn't appear nowhere near as much as they did in the anime.

* DyingCurse: When Sir Aaron killed [[spoiler: AZ]] before he could enact his plan to annihilate humanity, he claimed that a descendant of his will carry his will and finish the job. Said descendant? [[spoiler: ''Serena'']].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Archie chewed their men for taking Serena hostage in order to cover their retreat after their robbery of Captain Stern's Pokemon Tracking Device, claiming that even if Team Aqua might resort to illegal actions to further their goals, they don't kidnap teen girls.

* FantasyGunControl: Averted. Criminals use firearms as much as they use Pokemon.

* TheFellowshipHasEnded: At the end of Johto, Ash, Serena, Misty and Brock, who with the exception of the Orange Islands arc have been together since the beginning of the first fanfic, go their separate ways, with Misty going to the Orange Islands with Rudy in order to begin her training as a Sea Guardian, Brock returns to Pewter City in order to resume his Gym Leader duties as well as his studies to become a Pokémon doctor, and Ash and Serena return to Pallet town in order to plan their next journey.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Ash's Aron attempt at taking control of the Pokemon at Professor Oak's lab often annoy the other Pokemon, often to the point of physical retaliation (especially by Blastoise and Primape). When Ash asks to borrow Aron for a gym battle, [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing he heard his Pokemon cheering through the screen]].

** Leaf sometimes join the main group at some chapters in Kanto. She became a regular member during the Orange Islands arc (the author planned to have her leave the group at some point and travel on her own again, but was unable to find a good reason for her to do so). In Johto, she stopped travelling with Ash and co. for the sake of traveling alongside Gary.

* HormoneAddledTeenager: At first played for laughs with Brock just like in canon. However, this trope gets deconstructed in Hoenn: Ash is 13, close to 14, and he's starting to notice just how attractive May is, to the point that he has to make a conscious effort not to ogle her when she's in a swimsuit, and needs to constantly remind himself that he's in love with Serena, which leaves him rather upset. Knowing what it feels, Ash stops treating Brock being crazed about attractive girls they meet as a joke.

** A rather unplausible example happens during the fight against the Team Rocket Trio in the Viridian forest; despite both Misty ''and'' Serena helping Ash fighting them, all of their Pokemon are soundly defeated in a rather unbelievable way so Caterpie is forced to fight them alone just like it did in canon, and then evolve.

* ItsPersonal: When May asked Ash why does he has the need to stop Teams Aqua and Magma himself instead of letting the authorities take care of them, Ash told her about his past with Team Rocket, and how it affected not only him but his family as well, and thus, he can't stand the thought of more criminal organizations running unopposed.

* JourneyToFindOneself: After Gary’s [[spoiler: loss to Paul]], he immediately leaves out on his own wanting to change from his old arrogant self for good.

** This is how [[spoiler: Giovanni]] keeps his location secret: his Hypno mind wipes anybody that wanders into his hideout.

* LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone: Invoked. When the group was going to get on a ferris wheel, Pikachu and Cubone, who never leave Ash and Serena's side, respectively, suddenly decided that they want to be with Brock and Misty instead.
* LegendaryInTheSequel: Downplayed. More "minor celebrity" rather than outright legend, but by the Hoenn Arc, Ash's achievements made him popular enough to appear in the cover of magazines. Also, Serena is sometimes recognized as [[spoiler: the Johto Queen]] by people as well.

** Starting Johto, Ash will sometimes try to defeat a Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon with the same species, if he has it, such as Falkner's Pidgeot, Morty's Gengar or Chuck's Primeape.

*** Tired of seeing Wrumple pampered by May at the expense of Torchic and Azurill, Torchic dares Wrumple to evolve into Cascoon instead of Silcoon (like May was expecting) to prove that she only cares about it because she wants to have a Beautifly. Torchic's point is (initially) proved right when May throws a huge tanturm, but it quickly regrets it when it sees how utterly devastated Cascoon ended up.
*** During her tantrum (induced by the Cascoon evolution), May unconsciously reveals that she doesn't care about Pokémon at all. This caused Cascoon to abandon her, and Torchic and Azurill to try to find it on their own. Upon seeing their Pokemon gone, May is horrified, and regrets her words before going to look for them, hoping she can set things straight.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: A Zangoose that [[spoiler: Sabeleye]] encounters has no interest in fighting Serena's Seviper, being peaceful in nature[[note]]Seviper and Zangoose are mortal enemies, and will fight each other at first sight[[/note]]. [[spoiler: Sabeleye, wanting to induce despair on the heroes, uses Torment on it and make it attack Seviper (and in extension anyone that gets in its way). Once Serena and Seviper defeat and capture Zangoose, it returns back to its friendly disposition when out of its Pokeball]].
* MysteriousPast: Serena, both in and out of universe, including to herself, since she's unable to recall anything from her life before moving to Pallet Town. She knows she used to live in Vaniville Town, but she doesn't remember what said town or even her former house look like. [[spoiler:It was later revealed that the trauma of her father dying caused her PsychicPowers to seal away every memory regarding him. Said trauma also prompted Grace to move away from Kalos]].

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: On chapter 31 of the Hoenn arc [[spoiler:Serena's evil Sableye]] used Torment to send a wild, peace loving Zangoose into a frenzy rampage, hoping for a fight between it and Serena's Seviper, which inevitably happened. However, the end result was Serena and her Seviper managing to mend their relationship a little and grow closer to each other.
* NightmareSequence: Ash as quite a few, especially after [[spoiler: Giovanni threatens Delia's life]].

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ash is uncharacteristically furious with May after her tantrum when her Wrumple evolved into Cascoon instead of Silcoon. Serena notices that Ash being so angry is a rare sight to see.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: Ash's attempt at a Pokevision video in the Orange Islands arc. He doesn't do too well when being recorded. He freezes up and stutters and when talking about Togepi:

** While any kid can become a Pokémon trainer at ten, Norman has been delaying May's own journey for two years. He was going to let her finally go if she travelled with Brendan, but when the boy expressed his intention of going alone, he decided not to allow her. He eventually decides to call Ash and ask him to travel alongisde May.

* PaperThinDisguise: Ash, Serena and Gary steal some Team Rocket uniforms to infiltrate the Rocket-occupied Silph Co. [[spoiler: Subverted in that the disguises didn't fool anybody. [[RealityEnsues The three of them still are and look like kids while every other Rocket is an adult]]. Plus many of them recognize Ash's face, since he had become quite infamous among them due how many times he had foiled their plans]].

* PowerIncontinence: When they're triggered, [[spoiler: Serena]] has a lot trouble keeping her PsychicPowers under control. In, fact, at some point [[spoiler: she unwittingly brings down the performance hall of Olivine City during a showcase]].

** At the beginning of the Hoenn arc, Gary and Leaf, who have been recurring characters in all previous three stories (with Leaf being a main character during the Orange Islands) go to Pokemon Island in order to take part in the Pokemon Snap Challenge, meaning that they won't appear in Hoenn.
* RealityEnsues: If you mess with a criminal organization, you'll find yourself fighting ruthelss people with the resources and lack of morals to make your life VERY miserable. Also, see [[spoiler: PaperThinDisguise]] above.

* ReplacementGoldfish: The reason behind Riley rejecting Yellow's advances, even if he likes her back; Yellow used to like Red, but ended up marrying Delia, so Riley feels that Yellow is setting on Riley as a replacement for Red. Not even Yellow herself is able to tell if it's this case or if she's genuinely in love with Riley.

** A more dramatic example is Grace and Serena's phone conversation in Olivine City[[spoiler:about Serena's headaches and her PsychicPowers going out of control]] where Grace accidentally slips that she knows more than she let Serena on:

* ShesNotMyGirlfriend: Deconstructed with Jimmy and Marina. Jimmy is so stubborn with his feeling s and denial that it starts to hurt Marina’s feelings and their relationship. This is resolved before they leave the main group.

* TakeThat: A few towards the anime:

* TokenEvilTeammate: [[spoiler: Serena's Sableye, who while seemingly to the main party (sans Togetic, who sensed its true nature) as a harmless prankster, is actually a Pokémon that hates other living things, and was drawn to Serena's ESP so it can corrupt her and end the world.]]

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Archie and Maxie. They're the respective leaders of Teams Aqua and Magma, but to the world they're a couple of respected scientists and researchers. Hell, they're even good friends with Ash and co. No longer the case after Chapter 20, where their true alingments are finally revealed.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Serena, dear god, Serena. Hurt Ash in any way, and she'll go from a sweet and caring girl to a nightmare in human form, as Mandy found the hard way.

* WhatTheHellHero: May gets a dressing down from Brock, Serena and an especially angry Ash after she throws a tantrum when her Wrumple evolved into Cascoon instead of Silcoon like she was expecting, unconsciously shouting that she didn't care about Pokémon at all.

** Had the fic continued, Ash would have gotten James’ chimeco as well.

** Hoenn: Roxanne's Cradily and Lairon from Black 2/White 2

On November 14, 2020, [=FanaticLAguy06=] had chose to discontinue the main storyline, though plans to continue the Chronicles spinoff.