The water is wide, I can't cross o'er... note
(Commission by Chibi-Pika.)
Fledglings by Tracer Bullet is a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fanfic taking place in an oceanic world where humans have gone extinct following the killing of most legendaries, first released in 2015. When Nida, a young Nidoran♀, finds a young Lugia later named Pleo in her local Mystery Dungeon, both her island and the world at large are forced to come to terms with the return of their gods.
It can be read on Serebii.net, FF.net, and AO3.
Tropes:
- After the End: Fledglings takes place after the end of the old world thanks to selfish Pokémon.
- Common Tongue: Most Pokémon in the Cradle, on top of their individual languages, can understand a pidgin language that is translated as English storywise.
- Constructed World: A more literal example than most, since the Cradle was originally created by Arceus using pieces of the old world according to myth.
- Eldritch Location: The Mystery Dungeons themselves like in the main series, though it's played up more than in the games. For instance, one Mystery Dungeon encountered by Team Traveler has portions of the rest of the dungeon serving as the ceiling. The feral Pokémon inside tend to make their homes in the few stable areas of the dungeon.
- The Empire: The Company is later revealed to have broken off from a great Empire, whose agents also start chasing Pleo for his power.
- Expy:
- A few characters in the series are based on those from We Are All Pokémon Trainers, who the author happened to participate in. For instance, Team Taxonomy's members are based on the PEFE Founders, sharing a species with all of their member's Pokémon forms. Character-wise, however, they're a bit more unscrupulous, being willing to forcibly coerce Team Traveler into helping them after bailing them out.
- The Company takes many nods from both the real-life Dutch and British East India Companies.
- Fantastic Racism: Mainly against the Marked because of other Pokémon considering them responsible for the killing of legendaries.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: On each island our heroes visit the cultures are roughly analogous to a real-world one. Tromba Island, for instance, has Latin American influences.
- Food Pills: Gummis, which can give a Pokémon the amount of essential nutrients they need to survive without the use of meat in the case of more predatory species, and make the society of "civilized" Pokémon possible.
- God Is Evil: The Marked believe that the legendaries were destroyed because they were dangerous and evil. As a result, many of them fear Pleo.
- Goo-Goo-Godlike: Downplayed in that Pleo is incredibly strong from when he first comes out of his egg, but the lack of control he has over his powers means that he still has problems fighting more experienced opponents.
- Kill the God: It's believed in-universe that the world of Fledglings was formed following the death of most legendaries save for Arceus at the hands of selfish Pokémon using the power of the "Star of Destruction".
- The Magic Comes Back: The start of Fledglings' story proper is caused by Pleo's hatching, among the first legendaries born in centuries if not millennia, though others start appearing later on, staying mostly in hiding to avoid agents of the Company or Empire.
- Meaningful Name:
- Tromba Island comes from the Spanish word for "waterspout," which is fitting for an island where a Lugia would hatch.
- All of the names of Company heads are derived from Lapine words, with Nidoking Director Inler's name coming from the Lapine word for "moon", inle.
- MegaCorp: The Company, who controls all shipping in the area and makes those islands under its influence pay protection money, or else.
- Nay-Theist: The Marked believe in legendaries, but as a whole also believe that they're evil.
- Olympus Mons: Pleo the baby Lugia, who as a legendary is considered a deity.
- Ocean of Adventure: The story has Team Traveler traveling through the Cradle, a sea containing numerous islands, most of which have some sort of Mystery Dungeon to explore.
- Ocean Punk: The world of Fledglings is covered by water with mostly islands dotting the surface.
- One Nation Under Copyright: The Company is basically a nation unto itself due to its reach throughout the Cradle.
- Red Right Hand: The Marked have a marking on some portion of their body denoting their status as pariahs by other Pokémon for their ancestor's perceived role in the current world's state.
- Translation Convention: Despite the use of real-world languages, according to
Word of God they're merely being translated as Earth languages partially for ease of comprehension, partially to hint at their connection to the old world. - Two Lines, No Waiting: Apart from Pleo and co's travels through the Cradle, the storyline also follows Crom and some of the mons of Tromba as they try catching up to them.
- Wretched Hive: Rosequartz Town, a settlement made up mostly of pirates.
