d_s_t_e's Wattpad Reviews

Fading by Synshadow [Pokémon]

Fading is a Pokémon fanfiction that focuses on Suicune, the Johto legendary who controls water. He has worked all his life to protect humans from the dangers of the ocean and its storms, but he seems to be met only by hatred. Some humans don't even believe that he exists. We follow Suicune as he begins to question his very existence and navigate through the reactions that this existential crisis triggers among his fellow legendaries.

I liked the structure of this one shot, which told a complete story with a distinct beginning and ending, just as a one shot is meant to do. I liked that the opening paragraph was simple and yet attention-grabbing. I also liked the note on which the story concluded. I also liked the way the plot unfolded, with little details creating a sense of foreboding at times and a number of surprising turns throughout.

One thing that I personally enjoyed about this story was that the legendaries had power and purpose that was truly suited to beings of legend. Suicune can control the water and the wind, while Arceus has even greater powers, just as one would expect. Arceus's castle was also shown to be fittingly grandiose. Some smaller things that I liked include having the accent mark in the word "Pokémon" and giving credit to the artist who created the picture shown on the cover.

What I really found to be the best thing about the story, though, was the concept upon which the plot revolved. From the beginning, Suicune is shown to have complex emotions, and I found his feeling of near-nonexistence due to being completely alone and unacknowledged to be really deep. I also thought that the story created a really interesting take on theodicy in a fictional universe. The depiction of Arceus being patronizing caught me so much by surprise that I thought it was bad writing at first, but then I realized just how fresh and clever it actually was, as well as the way in which it perfectly tied into the escalating plot. The final scene of the story was the climax. It pulled no punches and left me feeling genuine emotion.

I think the story could have been even more successful, though, if it had truly explored the concepts of emotionality that it states. To have a character created completely without emotion, as Raikou and Entei are said to have been, is a very interesting idea, but, when those same characters go on to laugh at Suicune, it seems to not actually be true. I can't imagine how one can laugh without feeling any kind of emotion, or, indeed, why a being without emotion would even want to laugh. I had a similar problem with Suicune, who is said to have been given only the ability to feel empathy. As I said above, I thought that Suicune was actually depicted with quite complex emotions, in the plural. If the point trying to be made was that it is necessary to be able to feel all things in order to have proper empathy for others (and thus Suicune was created with all feelings in order to have empathy) or that Suicune was able to gain emotions over many years of feeling empathy for humans because it made him feel what they were feeling, that could have been quite interesting. As it was, I was just a bit confused and disappointed. Another point is that the unusual emotional realities made me wonder why Arceus supposedly created them that way, especially given what we later learn. If there is a definite reason, it might add even more to the story to skillfully reveal it at the right moment.

Another idea that didn't seem to be fully played out was the idea of the humans either hating or not believing in Suicune. By the end of the story, I was left wondering how much contact Suicune had had with them and what those relationships were like, especially given the ability for empathy that he is said to have.

In terms of technical errors, it wasn't bad. I did notice punctuation errors with commas and semicolons, as well as some misspellings and words used improperly, such as using "afterwards" instead of "after". It's still quite readable, but it could use a bit of polishing.

Despite these flaws, though, I think that it really is an original piece with something worthwhile to offer. It's great to see a fanfic exploring big ideas, portraying characters with intellectual and emotional depth, and evoking emotion in its readers all under the auspice of a well-constructed plot. I would recommend it, especially for older Pokémon fans.

** Published in February of 2017 **