- Execrable
Also, what the hell is it with creepy torture porn Pokemon fanfic? First "The Pokemon Story" reviewed by Topless Robot, now this.
Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.
Funny how the people who came in praising this fic look back on it with disdain.
You forgot about the part with Latias falling in love with the Ghost King who ordered the deaths of everyone in Alto Mare.
There, that's where the real DIAA would kick in. (Latias lost all sympathy, and the Ghost King crossed the Moral Event Horizon to win any good points back)
What is up with so many fanfics about child-friendly series and their gratuitous introduction and use of freaking rape. Seriously, do these people really think it adds absolutely necessary narrative elements to their story, or are they just satisfying their perverse kinks?
"Yeah, it's a shame. Here we are in an underground cave with all these lasers, and instead of having a rave we're using it for evil."
@Elbruno I dunno, but even without all that rape this fic still would've been an absolute mess.
And to think this story has a sequel, too...
@Everybody: There's a sporking of the first 24 chapters on Project A.F.T.E.R. You guys might enjoy it:
http://www.projectafterforums.com/index.php?showtopic=3327
Honestly though, 400 words is just not enough to cover the trainwreck that is this fic. Latias falling in love with Rayquaza despite him destroying Alto Mare is bad as it is, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Latias took Rayquaza back because a hologram of Latios told her to, and she obeyed unquestioningly because "she just knew" it was the real Latios. Later, we find out that it's also Because Destiny Says So. Rayquaza does the bare minimum to reedem himself, and the fanfic bends over backwards to whitewash his actions (like telling us we shouldn't think of his constant spying on Latias is "stalking"). He later admits to Dark Latios that he doesn't regret destroying Alto Mare at all because otherwise, Latias would have never gotten to know him! Even Latias thinks at one time that maybe Alto Mare being destroyed was a good thing because she got to make new friends (which is bullshit when you realize that the Unown would have summoned her anyway)!
But Latias and Rayquaza's awful relationship is also the tip of a bigger iceberg of badness. There's also bad characterization. The canon heroes are all badly Flanderized, and the rest come off as jerks or so stupid that they get in the way of everything (and MOLLY IS A RAPIST, WTF?!). The bad guys are all half-wit Hate Sinks that serve no purpose other than to get pwned, or irritating Villain Sues. There's the ships that serve no purpose other than the author wanted to throw them in there. There's long infodumps on stuff that doesn't matter (like how Pokeballs work), while important events happen in author notes or brief dialogue (like how the ghosts found Ash or how the Ghost King found and recruited Registeel). There's violations of common sense like our heroes deciding that a virtual Hell is a great place to contemplate their navels or a demon zombie invasion is the perfect time to talk about their sex lives. And that's all off the top of my head!
@El Bruno: I think the rape is shoehorned into this fic just for the sake of edgyness. It's not told in a fetishized manner, so it doesn't sound to me like it's an author kink.
@Nisjay Cakecup: There is, it's called Brave New World.
Oh, goodie. Edgyness. "Check it out guys! This is totally a mature story and not at all tacky and based on a stoopid kiddie gamey, amirite?"
And to think that the first mentions of this story I saw on this site tried to show it as if it was the best most mature thing since sliced bread.
"Yeah, it's a shame. Here we are in an underground cave with all these lasers, and instead of having a rave we're using it for evil."
@DA - I saw the page on the sequel. To think it was named after an Aldous Huxley novel... I'm sure it's more of the same, plus it rips off the plot of Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, wholesale.
@El Bruno - And to think so many people on Fan Fiction.net think this thing's a masterpiece... No, wait, that proves that a vast majority of the people there have no taste when it comes to fanfics. (Either that, or they don't realize that fanfics like this are nothing more than pretentious, overly-edgy tripe just waiting to become the next Twilight, The Giver, or Fifty Shades of Grey.)
Leave a Comment:
Good Plot Marred by Excreable Execution
I will be upfront with this review. The basic plot and dazzling action sequences are the only good things about the story.
In a nutshell, Latias is forced to go on the run because her hometown is destroyed by the "Ghost King". Unfortunately, this basic plot, which had the potential for a high-octane thrill ride, was completely and utterly mangled beyond all repair by Ri2.
For starters, there is the extreme length — over one million words. Most of this is padding and could be done away with. The other issue is that Ri2 gleefully plays Genre Roulette — sometimes multiple times — every chapter. This leads to a disjointed and confusing narrative where the reader is left wondering if they were supposed to be reading a horror story, thriller, Crack Fic or some unholy mash-up of genres. There is also the issue of Ri2's completely random jokes and gags in the story. Humor is acceptable in a story when it presented in the appropriate dosage and location. Ri2 arbitrarily throws in random comedic moments that do little more than confuse the already bewildered audience.
Now a word before I get to the other issue, I have no problem with gore or other distasteful subject matter in fics. However, Ri2 seems to delight in transgressing as many boundaries as possible and disgusting as many people as possible. There is no other way to explain the abundance of Gratuitous Rape scenes, many of which are graphically described; extreme amounts of intense, nearly over-the-top violence and extremely gory descriptions of violence. Eventually, the reader stops caring about the characters thanks to all the horrible things they're put through.
In short, I give this story 0.5 stars out of 5. The half-star is awarded simply because of the dazzling action sequences. I leave this review with a semi-accurate and irreverent description of Latias' Journey: This is Pokèmon written by a meth tweaker after watching a bunch of ultra-violent slasher flicks.