Line #46 Fanfic/TheGreatestThereWasOrEverWillBe


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cover__greatest_there_was_or_ever_will_be__by_djanubis.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Commissioned cover created by [[https://www.deviantart.com/djanubis djanubis]] on Website/DeviantArt.]]
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4	''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10215497/1/ The Greatest There Was or Ever Will Be]]'' is a ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' fanfic written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5265490/Forever-United-Never-We-Fall Forever United Never We Fall]] on Website/FanFictionDotNet.
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6	[[Administrivia/SeenItAMillionTimes We've all seen this before...]] a writer attempts to "[[FixFic fix]]" the story by rewriting the whole anime so that Ash is smarter or more competent, but 90% of the time succeeds only in making Ash boring and unlikeable. ...This is not one of those. Instead, Ash is ''so'' much more powerful than his canon self that it CrossesTheLineTwice into pure, unadulterated ''awesome''. The best comparison is most likely ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Manga/MedakaBox''. At times, it reads like a parody of Overpowered Ash stories, and at other times like a deconstruction, but in truth, it is neither. [[{{MST3K Mantra}} As long as you don't take it too seriously]], it's an enjoyable read.
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8	Has nothing to do with former professional wrestler Wrestling/BretHart's RedBaron.
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10	!!The Greatest There Was Or Ever Will Be contains examples of:
11	%%* AdaptationalBadass: WHERE TO BEGIN with Ash!
12	* AdaptationalVillainy: In the anime, there's a gang of bikers who appear in one episode and cause some trouble on a suspension bridge, [[BigBadWannabe but that's it]]. This fic upgrades them into an organized crime syndicate that rivals Team Rocket and whose leader (who has no hint of existing in canon) is worse.
13	* AgeLift: Misty is 12 instead of 10, like in ''Manga/TheElectricTaleOfPikachu''.
14	* TheAlcatraz: [=DeadHeat=] Prison heavily mistreats its inmates, yet none of the heroes have a problem with the way it is run.
15	* AlphaBitch: In Chapter 10, Misty and Giselle are harassed by a rich girl from Saffron City and her lackey, who believe that the two of them are filthy farm girls who have no shot at defeating them in a Pokémon battle. They actually come pretty close to beating them, before Misty and Giselle learn to work together.
16	* ArcWelding: What are standalone {{Filler}} episodes with no connection to one another in canon tend to be tied together in a logical way here. Notably, the entire stretch between Vermilion City and Maiden's Peak becomes a single coherent plot.
17	* AscendedExtra: Giselle was originally an OneShotCharacter, but here she becomes one of Ash's traveling companions [[spoiler:and his LoveInterest]].
18	* BaitAndSwitch: Ash and Brock tour Silph Co., and are on edge because they previously heard that Team Rocket is going to target the place. At the end of the tour, a man in a trench coat looks as if he is going to attack the place, [[spoiler:but it turns out he is just [[NakedPeopleAreFunny a streaker]].]]
19	* BlofeldPloy: After Ash defeats Sabrina, she takes out her anger on her referee, even while he is begging for mercy. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that said referee is just a construct created from Sabrina's psychic energy, but it still appeared to have some level of self-awareness.]]
20	* BreatherEpisode: Chapter 11 doesn't have any conflict with Team Rocket, and the antagonist is easily dispatched.
21	%%* TheChosenOne: Ash is this. By Arceus herself no less.
22	* CherryTapping: Ash's MO when facing a really cocky Trainer is to teach them humility by using his weakest Pokémon to curb-stomp them.
23	%%* CurbStompBattle: Surge finds himself on the receiving end of this from Ash and Pikachu.
24	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compare to the original anime, the fic has more darker moments and displays the dangers of criminal syndicates.
25	* ADayInTheLimelight: Chapter 11 gives a lot of focus to [[OriginalCharacter Weepinbell and Parasect]].
26	* DeadFic: Hasn't been updated since April 2020.
27	* DeconstructionFic:
28	** At times the story reads like a ''deconstruction'' of the "make Ash a total badass" plot rather than playing it straight. Not only is Ash only the way he is in the first place because of Arceus's intervention to motivate him to learn everything he could about Pokémon before even starting his journey, meaning that the only reason everything goes his way is that Arceus (read: [[LampshadeHanging the author]]) is favoring him, but this has resulted in him [[spoiler:developing a SuperpoweredEvilSide, making his friends and him terrified that he will eventually lose control]] meaning that he ''needs'' his TrueCompanions around to remain sane.
29	** The Rocket Trio's PaperThinDisguise doesn't fool Ash ''at all'' in chapter 8, as Jessie and James don't bother to change their hair colors or their accessories, and no effort is put into hiding that Meowth is a Pokémon.
30	** "Bad guys" like Team Rocket are ''not'' portrayed as major chumps who won't harm children here. This is why Ash had to handle his "war on crime" against the Team Rocket anonymously, less they get wind of his identity and kill him and everyone he knows who's involved.
31	* DirtyCoward: When Haunter {{No Sell}}s an attack from [[spoiler:the remains of Black Fog]], the aforementioned villain immediately tries to run away. [[CurbStompBattle The heroes are not amused.]]
32	* {{Doorstopper}}: The fic sits at a whopping ''985,543'' words long despite only having seventeen chapters. This means the average chapter length is roughly 58 thousand words long, or the size of a decently-long novel.
33	* DoesNotLikeSpam: Due to how much of a health nut Ash is, he and his Pokémon have a strong intolerance for unhealthy food, which his girlfriend and his friends have taken up. During their visit to Maiden's Peak, they leave the food district early due to being overwhelmed by the smell of grease.
34	%%* EarlyBirdCameo: Solidad and [[spoiler:Dr. Zager]] both show up in Kanto.
35	* EasilyForgiven: Goes both ways-- Ash will forgive anyone who wronged him or a Pokémon instantly if they admit their mistakes, and no one ever holds anything he does against him. {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in Chapter 10.
36	* EasyEvangelism: Every Trainer who Ash criticizes quickly takes it to heart and becomes a better person.
37	* EyeBeams: When Ash is particularly upset, he can [[spoiler:psychically link with his Pokémon while under the influence of his SuperpoweredEvilSide]]. This allows them to fire beams of pure aura from their eyes.
38	* ForegoneConclusion: Even from the beginning, one can guess that Giselle will play a greater role than in canon because her name is listed in the character filter with Ash.
39	%%* FunPersonified: The talking Gastly from Maiden's Peak.
40	* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Sabrina demands that Ash become her plaything forever if he loses. Even though he wins, she still uses her powers to trap him and his friends in an illusionary world.
41	* ILied: Even though Ash asks Sabrina to leave his friends out of her demands if he loses his gym battle with her, Sabrina traps them along with him, despite his protests.
42	* InSpiteOfANail: Despite Ash winning against Sabrina the first time, he still incurs her wrath because he does not use Haunter and therefore cannot purify her soul.
43	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Ash describes Gary as this while growing up, as the latter had always focused on being the "cool kid" that he had never bother to learn anything that wasn't going to help him be better than everyone else, and even said that anything that Gary knows about "winning over the opposite sex" is almost entirely from self-instruction. Even in the present day, there're still certain gaps in Gary's knowledge of Pokémon despite his own natural talent.
44	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After she's defeated by Ash in her debut and has her JerkassRealization, Giselle states that, if her life was a story and someone was reading it, the reader would find her EasyEvangelism as unrealistic.
45	%%* LikesOlderWomen: The fact that Ash's girlfriend Giselle, who is three years older than him, his crush on Gary's 18-year-old sister, Daisy Oak, and his attraction towards Solidad count as this. And given the cover art, Clair and Cynthia will soon be seen in this light by Ash as well.
46	* MissionFromGod: Arceus has declared Ash to be her destined Chosen One since his birth, and Ash is aware of this.
47	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Jeremiah has this reaction when [[spoiler:he thinks he killed Ash's Weepinbell in a Pokémon battle]]. He is very relieved to learn that it evolved instead.
48	* MythologyGag:
49	** It is a plot point that Ash has a crush on Gary's sister. She doesn't exist in the anime but she does exist in [[Manga/TheElectricTaleOfPikachu the manga adaptation of the anime]], where Ash's counterpart does have a crush on her. The character of Black Fog is also inspired by this manga.
50	** In the anime, [[IdiotHero Ash]] assumes that the man who saves him and his friends from Sabrina knows her life story because he is her family photographer. In this fic, the man explains that he is Sabrina's father from the beginning, and adds that he used to have a photography business before Sabrina's powers manifested.
51	* NamedByTheAdaptation:
52	** Unlike the anime, Misty and Brock have last names; "Waterflower" and "Stone" respectively.
53	** Giselle on the other hand has her Japanese last name, ''Yuto'' (優藤). Thus making her name sound like, ''[[MeaningfulName Excel Honor Student]]''.
54	* NeverTrustATrailer: The author's note at the end of Chapter 7 claims that the next chapter will focus more on [[BreatherEpisode developing Ash's romantic relationship]], but in fact, Chapter 8 is the most action-packed chapter yet.
55	* ObligatorySwearing: Special mention goes to Misty in Chapter 10:
56	-->"Shut your collagen-filled, herpes-infested mouth, [...] you hooker!"
57	%%* PayEvilUntoEvil: To [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrifying]] results.
58	%%* PstandardPsychicPstance: Sabrina's father uses it when rescuing Ash and friends.
59	* TheReveal: This fic gives a hypothesis for what Dugtrio's full body looks like.
60	* RougeAnglesOfSatin[=/=]WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: Unfortunately, the author has some trouble with spelling and grammar, frequently mixing up noun cases or using commas incorrectly. It usually does not detract from the story, but can get annoying at times. Fortunately, the author has gotten much better about this starting in Chapter 10.
61	* SecondhandStorytelling: Happens a lot, as characters Ash meets on his journey will often tell him their whole life story up to that point. Chapter 9 in particular has many instances of this.
62	* SerialEscalation: Every chapter is even more over-the-top and awesome than the last.
63	* ShoutOut:
64	** Ash's comment when Dragonite nods her head upon being told to destroy the mechas and the control building? "Dragonite... Smash!" A practically word-for-word shout-out to Film/TheAvengers2012 when ComicBook/CaptainAmerica tells the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] to do the same thing.
65	** Ash name-drops Music/JohnnyCash at one point in Chapter 11.
66	** Boulder Town, where the buildings are carved into a rock, maybe a homage to the ancient city of Petra.
67	* ShowDontTell: {{Averted\|Trope}}. Even when the action is very clear about what is happening, the author will make sure to tell the readers about how great a trainer Ash is and how righteous he and his comrades are, despite this not being necessary.
68	* ShowyInvincibleHero: To date, Ash has never lost a battle, and the readers love him for it.
69	* SwiperNoSwiping: Ash can talk down Primeape even when it has gone berserk from Anger Point.
70	* ThemeNaming: Erika's employees are all named after flowers.
71	* TrainingFromHell: Ash puts both his Pokémon and himself through training so severe that [[ExaggeratedTrope their bodies are only barely able to recover from the strain, and Ash actually calls it cruel]].
72	* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Pokémon can evolve when under extreme stress, even when they would usually be incapable of it. Black Fog's StartOfDarkness involves [[spoiler:evolving after humans killed the woman who took care of him and then killing them in turn]]. So far, two of Ash's Pokémon has evolved while close to death, though both would ordinarily require a stone to do so: Staryu and [[spoiler:Weepinbell]].
73	* TrueCompanions: Ash and his friends are this even more than in canon, which is particularly evident at Pokémon Land and the Tentacruel incident. It's at that point that Brock, Misty, and [[spoiler:Giselle]] decide that they aren't just going to be bystanders to Ash's heroics.
74	* WeUsedToBeFriends: At least on Gary's end, but Ash never once gave up on his friend and is looking forward to fixing that soon.
75	%%* WomenPreferStrongMen: Discussed in chapter 9.
76	* WorldBuilding: Much of the NarrativeFiligree is devoted to the author fleshing out his interpretation of the Pokémon World, which often wildly diverges from canon.
77	* YoungerThanTheyLook: Ash is only ten years old at the start of his journey, but after intensive body and martial training for five years, he looks like a teenager with a height of 5'2" and having lean muscular stature. Couple with his emotional and intellectual maturity for a boy older than his actual age relatively brings him to around Brock's age (himself being only 15, but is already a ParentalSubstitute for his siblings).

Context Fanfic / TheGreatestThereWasOrEverWillBe