11 years in the dark future ... things have changed.
It is eleven years into the dark future. Join the new adventures of Ash and Pikachu and discover the changes that have left the world in ruins…. And discover the power of the Pokemon Masters…
Pokemon Master is a Pokémon Dark Fic by Ace Sanchez
. Considered by many to be the first major Darkfic of Pokemon.
It follows the story of an older Ash and Misty (in-story full names: Ashura and Mistaria) as they fight with the Resistance against the League in its attempt to bring about The End of the World as We Know It. Along the way, they deal with elemental powers and their own budding relationship.
You still can find the whole fic in FF.Net, here and in the Pokemon Tower archive. Keep in mind the last chapter is not published in ff.net, though.
Any similarities with the show Heroes is coincidental since it was finished in 2002.
Nothing to do with the 2019 mobile game Pokémon Masters.
Tropes:
- The Ace: Ash Ketchum is the best and most powerful Pokemon Master in this setting... to his chagrin.
- Adaptational Badass: Everyone. Yes, even Team Rocket. It seems odd that every last trainer in existence would become some sort of warrior, no?
- Adaptational Villainy: Many characters have turned to the dark side, such as Lara Laramie, Suzy, Gary, Brock and the Eevee brothers.
- After the End: Every city is in near-ruins except for one.
- Almighty Janitor: Laselle's evolved Caterpie named Flint 'Dittorion', who also happens to be Brock's 'father' Flat "What" doesn't even begin to describe this Mind Screw...
- All There in the Manual: Several years after ending his fic, Ace found a faq he had written with supplementary information, including characters descriptions and stats.
- Ascended Extra: A lot of anime and game characters ahoy!
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Subverted with Misty. She is short-tempered, hot-blooded, rash, passionate... and a redhead. However her elemental powers are not associated with fire and heat but with water, ice and cold.
- Attempted Rape: In the very beginning of the story, Ash punches out a League soldier who is about to rape a little girl.
- Bring It: In chapter 4, during their duel, Ash beckons Bruno to attack him.Ash turned sideways and beckoned him with his gloved hand held to the ready.
- Casting a Shadow: Ash possesses the ability to manipulate and shape shadows, as well as seeing through darkness. Pikachu's attacks are always black-colored.
- Dark Fic: The first 'prototype' dark Pokemon fanfic. Now Bloodier and Gorier than the actual series. Sweet dreams.
- Recursive Fanfiction: This series was so popular it caused a lot of other 'fics written about the characters...
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Every Master move-set in the fanfic is like this.
- Destructive Saviour: Places tend to end up burning, crumbling down or exploding in the wake of Ash and his friends. One character lampshades this in episode 10:Lily: "You know, places that go to hell seem to be quite common when you're around."
Ash: "Tell me about it." - Diabolus ex Nihilo: MissingNo randomly shows up inside Mt. Moon.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Ash punches his way through a thirty-foot-high, shadow-powered Dragonite.
- Don't Ask, Just Run: As exploring an area swarming with Forbidden Pokemon during the tenth chapter, Ash and Erika run into Misty, who insists on getting out of there RIGHT NOW. Ash asks why before seeing what Misty was running away from and realizing his question was dumb.Misty lifted her head away from on top of him as they continued to slide away backward on Ash's back. "Sorry! At the count of three, let's jump up and get out of here!" she said in a high voice.
"Why?" Ash called out when his mouth was free of Misty-hair. He looked behind them, or in front of them as they were sliding away backward. Then he saw. Uncountable four-legged forms of what looked like growlithes made of black ice were snapping and hissing as they poured out from the alleyway they had just passed and the one Misty had come from. He couldn't quite see clearly with Misty and Pikachu on top of him, but they looked all sharp teeth, claws, red eyes and dark frozen spines. "Ask a stupid question," he answered himself sardonically. "Okay, one, two, three - JUMP!" - The Dragon: Lance
- Dramatic Irony: Invoked. Brock decides he'll force a mind-controlled Ash to kill Misty. He shouts "Now you'll be killed for your lover himself. What dramatic irony!"
- Elemental Powers: Giovanni unlocked something that should not have been opened, humans started developing Pokemon powers and traits... and the result was NOT pretty. The featured elements are the standard first-generation Pokemon elemental powers, plus a few more... Light and Shadow.
- Evil Evolves: These Forbidden Pokemon get stronger every chapter, and some of the main characters have trouble fending them off, eventually there is a worldwide epidermic of those Pokemon. Does this remind you of a Zombie apocalypse?
- Expy: A few of the characters are this to 'trainer classes' from the games.
- Evil Twin: Valdera, to Misty. Gary has become this to Ash in a fairly contrived way, but it suits the story.
- Fastball Special: Ash often throws Pikachu at the enemy.
- Fiery Redhead: Being a twenty-two-years-old woman -and wield elemental mastery of water and ice- hasn't mellowed Misty AT ALL. She is still just as hot-headed, short-tempered and prone to bursts of rage as her twelve-years self.
- Fusion Dance: Three of them: Valdera/Misty, Triverion (Vaporeon/Jolteon/Flareon) and Mikey's Eevee/Missingno- yes THAT one.
- Bonus points for this fic trope being in existence long before the manga Pokemon Réburst...
- Hair Flip: Many characters - mainly the female ones: Giselle, Erika, Duplica...- did it constantly (
Word of God says he found the gesture cool), but the main offenders are the two main characters, Ash and Misty. Ash does it because his hair is longish and gets in his face frequently, and Fiery Redhead Tsundere Misty to convey her annoyance.
- Hellgate: Gary Oak's goal is to open three hellgates and unleash upon the world all kind of evil Pokemon.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Brock uses Self-Destruct to kill himself and Lance.
- Ice Magic Is Water: In this setting, Water and Ice are different elements. Though, Water Masters like Misty command both Water and Ice. Curiously, Ice Masters usually do not control Water.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: "Returns". "Reunions". "Remembrances". "Rebellion". And so on. Every chapter's title is one word which begins with "Re".
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Ash can hit Gyarados in the eye with a longbow from over 500 yards.
- Innate Night Vision: Ash has perfect night vision due to his Shadow mastery.
- Interspecies Friendship: The bonds between a Master and their respective Pokemon is so powerful they are able to feel each other's physical pain. At the beginning, Ash also remembers how Pikachu and him stuck together through thick and thin after their first adventure.
- La Résistance: includes Bill, Misty, Erika, Bruno, and many others
- Luke, I Am Your Father: That overpowered Caterpie Laselle had all along? Turned out to be Flint in disguise as a Forbidden Butterfree...
- Love Triangle: Between Ash, Misty, and Valdera
- Magic Is a Monster Magnet: After the Forbidden Pokemon are released from their prison, the characters can not use their own elemental powers freely because just using elemental power draws the Forbidden's attention and lures them towards you. And you do NOT want that.
- Mind Rape: Used on Ashura by Agatha/Chaneller.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ash releasing everyone except for 'Shadow' Pikachu had consequences for everyone, including Ash's own Pokemon...
- One-Winged Angel: When Lance fought Ash, he grew wings."I don't think so." Lance stepped backward, his eyes now gleaming. "I'll admit you are better than me on the ground ..." His cloak began rustling behind him when all at once, two large, leathery dragon wings were expelled out from his back simultaneously. They flapped once, powerfully, sending wind and rain flying into Ash's face. "But can you defeat me where I am strongest, Assassin? In the air?" With that, his wings flapped again, and continued flapping until he was airborne, eight feet into the air and still rising.
- Original Character: Valdera, Channeller, and Flint-Butterfree
- Powers in the First Episode: In the first chapter Ash and his Pikachu master the Shadow element.
- Puberty Superpower: Linked to 'the Incident' which is a Noodle Incident.
- Red Is Heroic: Misty is a redhead and this story's main heroine.
- Remember the New Guy?: Valdera's past is... something we probably would have heard mentioned in the actual series.
- Rival Turned Evil: Several.
- Schizo Tech: For some reason, despite the rebels having a technologically advanced headquarters and the manufacturing capability to produce computers and battleships, both armies still fight with medieval weapons like swords and bows. No explanation is ever given, especially considering that with Pokémon present one would think it would be easier rather than harder to replicate Lost Technology.
- Skirts and Ladders: During a scene, Misty and Ash are climbing an elevator shaft. Misty goes first, and she wears a very short and tight skirt, and knee-length boots, and Ash tries very hard to not look up her skirt.
- Separated at Birth: Oddly, Mistaria and Valdera.
- Some Kind of Force Field: The heroes run into something invisible and hard when they are heading towards Indigo Plateau. Ash states there's some kind of unbreakable energy dome surrounding the whole of the Plateau.
- Split at Birth: Misty and Valdera turn out to be this: they were a single person that was split in two.
- Super-Detailed Fight Narration: Ace Sanchez is very fond of flowery narration and detailed descriptions. This extends also to fights: every single blow, every elemental attack... in every fight are described in great detail.
- Taking You with Me:
- Brock has his Pokemon self-destruct as attempting to take Ash out. It nearly succeeds.
- Shortly later, he blows himself and Lance up.
- Talking in Bed: In chapter 11 Ash and Misty have a bitter argument after sleeping together.
- Thermal Dissonance: Due to their elemental mastery, Fire and Water Pokemon Master's body temperature remains constant, regardless the environment. In a scene Misty wore a sleeveless outfit despite the temperature being freezing-cold because she is a Water Master and coldness does not affect her.
- Title: Requiem: The twelfth chapter is titled "Requiems".
- Two-Person Love Triangle: Ash/Misty/Valdera Love Triangle turned out to be this... Late in their history, it was revealed that Misty and Valdera were originally a person that was Split at Birth. During the climax they merge then become one again.
- Threshold Guardian: The seven 'Master' Forbidden Pokemon - Laselle's Caterpie is one of them.
- Yin-Yang Bomb: Caliga Illustro. Ash and Misty combine the elements of Shadow and Light, forming a massive sphere of pulsating white and black energy which they drop on Gary.
- You Killed My Father: The three remaining Eevee brothers blame Ash for Mikey's death.
