Hello Internet!
I hope everyone had a fantastic week! Mine was full of ups and downs. On one hand I’m dealing with some car issues, but on the other hand I was offered a job I’m really excited about. I am going to start working as a Mail Man of all things and my training starts Monday. I’m super excited to get out of a very long slump of unemployment and start earning money, getting cardio, and delivering mail. I’m sure I will have more information about my job once I start it, but for now, I’m excited for my future. Now I just need to get my car fixed. Here on the website we had a pretty good week, so I better tell you all about the things that got published this past week. Last Sunday I published a mess of a Weekly Blog which was aptly titled A Weekly Blog, I Guess? It was one of the worst Weekly Blogs I’ve ever written and it also corresponded to one of my best days in terms of viewing, so thank you all for that. On Wednesday, I published a Poem titled “Jumping For Joy.” It’s a bit of a “more creative” Poem which takes the saying Jumping For Joy and expands it to other actions and emotions. It’s not as concrete as past poems I have written. On Friday, I published a continuation of my series based on my homebrewed Dungeons and Dragons world titled Captain Lillian Evergreen [D&D]. The group of adventures have made it to the City of Xylon which is a huge, very diverse mining city. Now that they are there, Riffen has wandered out into the city to track down his best friend and former Captain of the Royal Guard, Lillian Evergreen. If you like Dungeons and Dragons or like Fantasy stuff like Lord of The Rings, you might want to take a look at the series. I have a lot of parts, but you can check out my Special Weekly Blog: Explaining My Dungeons and Dragons Inspired World [D&D] to get all the information you need! Finally, on Saturday, I published my twenty-sixth chapter of my Pokémon Heart Gold/ Soul Silver series titled Pokémon HGSS#26: New Bark Town which is acting as a finale for the series (more on that later in the Weekly Blog). In this most recent chapter Jonathan and Beatrice make their way South from Blackthorn City after Jonathan has collected his eighth and final Gym Badge. They are both stopping in New Bark Town to regroup and celebrate this massive accomplishment while Beatrice and Jonathan think about what they are going to do next.
Now I just mentioned that this last chapter is acting as a series finale, but the chapter of Fanfiction ended up on a cliffhanger. (Seriously, if you haven’t read it, go read the latest chapter of the Fanfiction series, or else this Weekly Blog probably won’t mean that much to you or make a lot of sense.) There are also mentions of the Elite Four and Legendary Pokémon like Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Celebi. So what gives? Am I just ending this series on a cliff-hanger and never returning to it? Well no. Maybe. Probably not. That’s what I want to address in this week’s Weekly Blog. What I have accomplished so far in my Pokémon Fanfiction Series, what I am considering going forward, and when you can see Pokémon again.
So back in the later part of August I put out a Bulletin Board Blog which talked about Bringing Back Pokémon and starting a new journey in the Johto Region. Then the series started on September 1st and has gone for twenty-six chapters. My original estimates were only 20 chapters…then 24…then 26. Not the most rounded number but it does align with Raichu’s Pokédex number so I’m sure Raichu is happy. It’s often overlooked because it’s pre-evolution, Pikachu, is the mascot of the Pokémon Company, so it gets this moment to shine. In that Bulletin Board Blog I also talked about the concept of “Seasonal” content or additional content which would be complimentary to the staple of Weekly Blogs on Sundays, Poems on Wednesdays, and Writing Prompt Pieces on Fridays. Well this Pokémon series was just that: seasonal. It was her for 7 months and now its time to give it a little bit of a break. Next week there will NOT be a new chapter of my Pokémon Fanfiction uploaded and I’m honestly not sure when it’s coming back.
Now I know this might be reminiscent for long time readers of my last Pokémon Fanfiction series which focused on a girl named Alexis battling her way through the Alolan region. That series ended without any resolution because I grew tired of writing it and nobody really wanted to read it. I even planned on ending it with some kind of resolution, but it didn’t happen. It just came to a screeching halt. However, that series ended because I lost interest and had no motivation to write it. With this series, that couldn’t be further than the truth. I had a blast writing about the Johto Region and even went more chapters then I was originally planning because some events spanned multiple weeks (looking at you Goldenrod Radio Tower). I have really enjoyed the series and I am happy to see that it has gained some popularity among a few core readers who have read each chapter as they came out. The reason I am stopping for now is because I feel like it’s a time for a break and I’m not 100% sure where to take the series.
If you know anything about Pokémon, if you have played through the Pokémon Games Heart Gold or Soul Silver, or if you’ve been reading through the series, you’ll know that after collecting the eight Gym Badges, Pokémon Trainers usually go on to take on The Elite Four. So it makes sense that Jonathan would also take this path and head towards the Elite Four. However it is clear from Jonathan’s thoughts that he is unsure about that path which echoes my own thoughts. The one problem with taking on the Elite Four from my perspective is that the Elite Four consists of battle after battle without any moments in between. It’s just Pokémon battling without any plot or real dialogue. If I’m being honest, writing intense, interesting battles is the hardest part of writing the series and it is something I have struggled with the entire time. I fear that the Elite Four would not be something interesting to read and would not live up to the hype surrounding it. Even the Pokémon Anime tossed the concept of The Elite Four and went for a tournament type strategy, which I could also do, but that would still be a series of battles, one after the other. Plus without all the interesting visualizations something like the video games or anime have, I think the Elite Four would fall flat.
The other direction I could go with it, which I think is more likely, is that Jonathan meets up with all the legendary Pokémon in the Johto Region spread out over a few months or even a year’s time. Ho-Oh already springs to mind because it was mentioned in the final chapter of the series (so far) and, alongside its counterpart Lugia, ties into the Pokémon Games the series is based on. I could write moment from moment as you see Jonathan grow and train with his Pokémon while meeting Pokémon that are basically legends. This would still allow battling from time to time as well as dialogue and character moments I feel would be lacking from The Elite Four. Either way I could see this series coming back at a later date for another 10 or so chapters to add some more to Jonathan and Beatrice’s journey in the Johto Region. There’s also the neighboring Kanto Region which Jonathan could head towards, although in game this is done after taking on the Elite Four. Basically there are quite a few options on the table as well as the option to just let it be. I could just end the series there which wouldn’t be horrible, but might leave some people unsatisfied by the cliff-hanger ending.
No matter what I do with it, two things are for certain: 1) The series is going on an hiatus, either temporarily or permanently and 2) I will let you know about any future changes after I’ve thought about it for a little bit. Starting this week, there will only be three pieces being published each week: Weekly Blogs on Sundays, Poetry on Wednesdays, and Writing Prompt Pieces on Fridays. This period of time will be used to decide on what I want to do next in terms of seasonal content as well as get used to writing alongside working a new job. It will take a little bit of time to get into a new rhythm with this new job and its hours, so a little less writing will hopefully keep the stress levels low. Honestly, the end of this series came at the perfect time. If you are bummed out about this series coming to an end, don’t fret. There’s still some really cool stuff to look forward to. Published Piece number 400 is quickly approaching and should be published around the beginning of April and I am currently thinking about what my next period of seasonal content will be. Right now the plan is to introduce something new for the Summer Months, probably starting in June. That could be a continuation of this Pokémon Fanfiction series or it could be other stuff. I’ve been thinking about doing a Book Report style writing where I break down a book chapter by chapter or section by section or cover a new book each week (which would be a lot more work for me) or starting up new Fanfiction series based on other video games, books, or movies. There’s quite a few ideas floating around in my head.
I had a great time writing this Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Fanfiction Series and I am interesting to see where it might go. I really love those games and the Johto Region as well as being able to write in that world. Pokémon is something that I hold dearly in my heart and it’s such a joy to imagine yourself as a Pokémon trainer living in that vibrant world. I’m a little sad to see it come to an end, but hold out hope. There’s a good chance that it will come off its hiatus, I just don’t know when or to what capacity.
Thank you for reading that Weekly Blog and thank you to everyone who has read through my Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Fanfiction series. No matter if you read every single chapter or just checked it out from time to time, I appreciate the love and support you’ve shown me. If you liked this Weekly Blog, feel free to give it a like or maybe go read though all the chapters of the Fanfiction series if you haven’t already. Also you can leave a comment down below if you’d like. I’ll take any ideas for what my next bit of seasonal content should be or what you think I should do with this series going forward. Go ahead and leave any comments down below. If this Weekly Blog wasn’t your thing or you aren’t into Pokémon, that’s okay. There are over 390 other pieces published on the website which you can check out. We have Weekly Blogs, Poetry, and Writing Prompt pieces which focus on a variety of topics as well as touch on many different genres of writing. Hopefully you can find something to read just like all of the other wonderful readers on the website. No matter if this is your first time here or you’ve been reading my stuff for awhile, I appreciate you and all the love you send me. Thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Part one of the Series: Pokémon HGSS #1: New Journey
The latest part of the series (#26): Pokémon HGSS#26: New Bark Town
Header Photo Credit to Alpha Coders
https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=318875
Allen The Writer 