How would I write a pokemon story aimed at adults?

[Naruzeldamaster]

Pokemon is generally not my first thought when I consider mature/deep story telling.
And yet I kind of crave it, not so much on the swearing/violence/other adult things front. (some characters do swear but not often) More so on the more 'meat on the bone' front. If that makes sense? Narratively I'd like to write something similar, but more for adults maybe in my same age range, rather than the usual crowd.

Pokemon stories are often Simple, and I'd like to keep my story simple too, just have it be a bit more mature. Without resorting to the cliches of so, so many fan games.

The Biggest hitch I have encountered while crafting my Original Region is making my Gym Leaders have interesting roles while not overstepping their 'boundries' much. For the uninitiated, Gym Leaders are characters who are more like Road Blocks you encounter once or twice, you battle them, and then never see them again unless you go back to their Gym and Greet them. They tend to be 'one note' but can have a lot of charm or can be annoying to deal with. Same with the Elite Four and Champion although those trainers do tend to have a stronger story presence than the gym leaders.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think the more relevant question is how do you write for adults?

 

[ixris]

Generally an 'adult' story has adult-aged characters with adult-style problems. The basic quest of most mainstream Pokemon games is the catch 'em all aspect and the gym rush, which if you start zooming out, neither really makes -sense- for something that must be done every time but is great for nostalgia marketing from Game Freak.

Consider who your main character is and what their major dramatic question would be. What about the problem can't be solved by the average 11-year-old with a pikachu? What makes it something that MUST be an adult to solve the issue? Also spend some time thinking if your main is an adult, why are they undergoing the gym challenge now, as opposed to (for instance) age eleven (sounds like you're aiming there, but disregard if I misread)?

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Maybe an important thing to think about is: gym battles aren't the only thing your protagonist can do. There's pretty much unlimited job or role opportunities. They could be a researcher, a scientist, a contest affectionado, a fossil excavator, a Pokemon Ranger, maybe even a former evil team member, or, if you want to take inspiration from the Mystery Dungeon series, be a Pokemon! If you want to keep the gym battles, though, you could have the option of flashbacks, of the protagonist reminiscing about their childhood. So many creative options.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Generally an 'adult' story has adult-aged characters with adult-style problems. The basic quest of most mainstream Pokemon games is the catch 'em all aspect and the gym rush, which if you start zooming out, neither really makes -sense- for something that must be done every time but is great for nostalgia marketing from Game Freak.

Consider who your main character is and what their major dramatic question would be. What about the problem can't be solved by the average 11-year-old with a pikachu? What makes it something that MUST be an adult to solve the issue? Also spend some time thinking if your main is an adult, why are they undergoing the gym challenge now, as opposed to (for instance) age eleven (sounds like you're aiming there, but disregard if I misread)?

The trainers undergoing the gym/league challenge in my region tend to be in their late teens-early twenties for a particular reason.
The Residents of the region (either born there or relatives of someone born there, in this case the main character is the son of the Region's current champion) have much stronger connections with their pokemon, some of them can even speak directly to them on equal terms. And I don't mean 'gut instinct' like in the show where they show humans talking to pokemon like we do our dogs/cats, I mean actually speaking with them. It's a genetic trait that's made more evident through pokemon battling in more skilled opponents. (also why they tend to be older, the adults don't feel as bad going 'all out' on them in pokemon battles because they can handle losing better than an average eleven year old)

Another thing is Pokemon battles take a lot of physical and emotional toll on the trainers due to the much closer bond with their mons. Especially for those with the 'gift' of gab. Battling really drains them especially while in the region itself.

I have a simple-ish plot hashed out, only the minor details and key scenes. I'm just wondering how to write it as a pokemon story, but also, have it appeal to adults. Which begs the question, how to write a kid friendly story that's interesting for adults?

As for the Gym Challenge itself, I am on the fence if I'll be fully narrating every battle for every badge, but I do want my Gym leaders to be fun and engaging characters. All 8 gym leaders will appear about 4 times in the story at least, and one of them in particular is one of the Elite Four. (She's related to Larry, so why not lol)

Most of the problems in my story caused by the big bad could easily be solved by any other pokemon protagonist, I'd just like them to be older so that I can have some more mature character growth than what we usually see in pokemon.

 

[Queshire]

Hrmm.... well it seems decently likely to me that the idea of challenging gyms comes from the idea of dojo storming. Dojoyaburi - Wikipedia It might be neat to see a region that goes back to some of the stuff aligned with that. Maybe something like independent trainers being rare and the majority of pokemon trainers being affiliated with a specific gym? Then the gyms themselves could have intense rivalries between themselves.

 

[Finchbearer]

It’s already been done with Pokémon Concierge.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think the more relevant question is how do you write for adults?

Wait, adults actually exist? I thought they were a myth...

In all seriousness though, the difference is that one has children solving problems vs adults solving problems in the other. They could be children issues vs adult issues, but that's not necessary. Just look at Harry Potter, who is saving the world as a child (which yes is very silly if you think about it).

Personally, if I would want to write an aldult story about Pokemon in that setting, then I would consider what the actual consequences of Pokemon are. Are they really just there for entertainment purposes, or is there more to them?

 

[ixris]

I have a simple-ish plot hashed out, only the minor details and key scenes. I'm just wondering how to write it as a pokemon story, but also, have it appeal to adults. Which begs the question, how to write a kid friendly story that's interesting for adults?

If your only concern as far as that goes is 'if the content isn't grizzly will an adult like it' I'm gonna point to all the adults who only read YA fantasy because the content isn't as graphic as 'adult' fantasy. There's plenty of people who want to invest in a story with lighter subject matter, either as their bread and butter or as a break.

I would suggest adding a B plot - something going on in addition to the gym storm / saves the world aspect in most Pokemon games. That extra complication can add problems for you the writer, but that complexity of life and depiction of things as something more than just black and white is generally a mark of work aimed at a more mature audience, even if it's something simple like your rival is your ex or your dad's going through chemo and you have to make time for him while you're also doing the A plot could really make your story stand out as not just a one-for-one of the original material.

Write your story, and try to think of yourself in the age range for the protags. Is this something you would have wanted to read then? If yes, you're probably doing fine!

 

[CupofJoe]

I thought the film Detective Pikachu was an interesting way to show a different side of the Pokémon world to a different [older] audience [as well as their kids].

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Wait, adults actually exist? I thought they were a myth...

Well, certainly not in this house. Those things are high maintenance and have demands for stuff, like wines and stinky cheese and health insurance.

And then we have my desk. I pulled everything down to dust and clean two days ago. This is as good as the Tornado Strike Zone gets. Nothing gets drafted around here without my toys.

 

[pmmg]

I think if I was writing pokemon for a more mature audience, I would add some death and some real world consequences to their reality.

 

[Queshire]

Lt. Surge was in the war, maaaaaan.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I admit, I don't play Pokemon past the pet battling in WoW, but isn't one of the things about Palworld (or whatever) that it's Pokemon with rocket launchers and swearing?

Of course, that could also describe the Books of Binding, but they aren't for kids, either.