d_s_t_e's Wattpad Reviews

Frozen Tears by PhoenixSylveon [Pokémon Anime AU]

In a world where Lysandre has become the king of both Kalos and Sinnoh, Dawn lives a quiet life as an apprentice to Master Rowan until the day when everything turns upside down. Suddenly swept up into the rebellion, Dawn joins new allies intent upon dethroning their tyrant king and his army of Flare people before they can unlock the ultimate weapon.

This is a historical fanfic that imagines the characters from the Pokémon anime and video games in an age of monarchs (perhaps seventeenth or eighteenth century?). Although I don't know nearly enough about history to judge whether it's an accurate representation, I did enjoy all the details the author added. Little things like the construction of the houses or descriptions of armor really add an element of interest and show the author's passion for the story.

Another thing I really enjoyed were the distinctly Pokémon-universe concepts. I personally love reading and writing about psychics in the Pokémon universe, and this book not only mentions that regions were once run by psychic emperors and empresses but also brings in the idea of aura wielders and their dark counterparts. A number of characters use aura powers to awesome effect, and I love the way the author handles these special powers.

Aura is shown as being able to do amazing things, but it is also limited, both naturally and by the fact that characters have varying knowledge of and practice with it. This means that aura can't be used as a magical solution to every problem. Rather, it's more like a mysterious power waiting to be unlocked, full of possibility and promise. That's great for driving on the plot.

Another element of the story that I thought was really cool at first is the sometimes-omniscient narrator. It becomes clear over time that this narrator is a legendary Pokémon of some kind, but it is never stated which one. It may perhaps be possible to guess based on snide remarks it makes about a fellow legendary, but I would really prefer that the author not rely so heavily on something that is firstly easy to miss and secondly dependent on detailed knowledge of the lore. If even a casual Pokémon fan would struggle to understand, a huge section of the potential readership of the fic is left in the dust.

Speaking of which, I would personally appreciate having a few gaps filled in for those of us who don't regularly watch the anime. I know who Serena is and I've heard about aura, but my knowledge of anything (or anyone) else that came into the show after Ash left Hoenn is bound to be spotty in my mind at best. If the author means for this book to appeal only to current anime fans, I'm sure the book is fine as is, but, again, a wider audience of Pokémon fans could be appealed to with just a little extra effort. It felt like there were a lot of references and jokes that were sailing over my head, although I did very much enjoy the one that I did get (I really love the adorable anime voices of Diglett and Dugtrio!).

But, to return to the narrator, my main problem isn't that we don't know which Pokémon it is. It isn't even that we have no idea what it's motivation is for watching Dawn. My biggest problem is that the narrator is wildly inconsistent in its level of omniscience. Sometimes the narrator seems to have complete knowledge down to the thoughts and dreams that exist only in Dawn's head, and yet it doesn't know what her name is until midway through the first chapter. Sometimes it gives a lesson in world history as if it knows about everything that's ever happened, but then it claims to not know even basic details about Dawn's past. Sometimes it seems to care a lot about Dawn and what's going to happen to her, while at other times it seems detached and unfeeling to a positively inhuman level. I want to like this narrator, I really do, but it's just plain impossible when the only things I know about it don't even stay consistent.

There are other parts of the book that are also promising but fall just short of truly delivering. I really enjoy how the author is trying to depict war as something terrible and horrifying, but the tone and language used to describe it, as well as the characters' emotional and psychological states don't quite carry the message all the way. I also like that the rebels, the ones you would like to think of as the "good guys", are painted in shades of gray. That's something really interesting that I wish was explored more deeply than it currently is.

Of course, with just ten chapters published so far, the book still has time to turn things around. That being said, beware of thinking that ten chapters will make for a quick read. Some of these dragged on for really long. I especially felt it when I was reading the first chapter. Perhaps some people don't mind, but I find that Wattpad's format really doesn't mesh with that kind of style. I would recommend splitting chapters on some of the breaks that already exist, again, to appeal to a wider audience of readers.

If you're an anime fan looking for a twist of setting featuring your favorite characters, perhaps this is one story you would like to try. Personally though, I think this story has a ways to go before it could earn a spot on my list of recommended reads.