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Author's note regarding chapter 239 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-07-11 13:01:50
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Author's Note!

- Please be advised that I am in the process of rewriting major parts of Chapter 239 but due to the number of issues, I am going to need some time.

Like, a proper reread of it has me noticing some of the issues several people raised, and I can agree with many of them.

I think in a few ways I've dropped the ball! Sorry about that.

Feel free to still read and comment on your thoughts, but please be aware that I will be rereleasing chapter 239 soon!

One thing that I discuss on Discord is that today has been a pretty shit day as I released the chapter at 5am here AESt and then went to work. I then spotted all the comments that disliked what was going on with the resultant emotional responses but was unable to respond due to being at work and away from my computer.

This has happened before in the past and Thursday always ends up being a pretty shit day as I can't respond to people's comments due to work. I think I will be shifting the day that I release the chapters, therefore, to make it possible to respond or adjust as needed.

As it was, I sort of got a tidal wave of comments that I can recognise as justified upon getting to sit and read things through but... yeah, it wasn't fun while not having any chance to do anything, thus there will be an adjustment.

Sorry for the inconvenience! I will try and work out what days work best for me. I rather like having the chapters release the day after each other but I will toy with what works.

Sorry for the issues.

Oh! while I had time I made some adjustments to Chapter 237 and 238 as well to lead into things being better! just FYI!

Comments

Veracis

Take it easy viva o7

Jericho Rising

Looks like I'll get to have a fun look back at older chapters if you've changed things there. Should be entertaining. I definitely understand the frustration on your end though, got distracted at work myself just reading through all the comments.

Conor lennon

Yeah thanks for taking some issues to note from people to change. I know it must of been a tidal wave. Still think the story is great so don't take it to negatively mistakes do happen especially in fan fiction.

CentaureHeart

Thats very nice of you. While the chapter felt a bit weird I really don't think it deserved that much flame. But good on you for listening to the actual constructive criticism.

Jericho Rising
>>143328010

Oh and definitely appreciate the effort you put into last chapter by the way. The response may have been abrupt and perhaps a bit biased but it's because we hold your story, world and the work you put into it in such high regard. We may be a bit spoiled in all honesty.

Hickity

Good sign that you're listening to criticism but some people were being pretty unkind or petty tbh. Looking forward to what comes.

C&C

No problem! Hope you do feel confident enough to have Brock lose in a fight. Be that next update or somewhere in the future. The loss really wasn't the problem here, it was the manner in which he lost. People made a lot of arguments, but the one that resonated with me the most was that while reading the last 2 chapters i just knew Brock was going to lose. The writing had too many of your fingerprints on it sadly. For me, as long as it feels natural, i am fine with it. I'm sure that you can pull it off with time.

Monzter E

No probs from me, i took this patreon just to see this process

Weirwood

Honestly didn't have a problem with the last chapter but if you feel like it needs a rewrite go ahead. It felt more like Brock got overwhelmed with life and didn't lock into the battle how he normally does. That and the sheer colds affecting him with the feedback from knockouts and the actual temperature changes made it feel like Kaede was great and keeping him unbalanced

MacDoc-101

I think some of us probably got more angry as we read the comments then just the chapter by itself, which has probably lead to more negative comments being expressed

Vayes
>>143328938

Yeah the negative feedback loop didn't help with some readers, me included. Chapter definitely needs a rewrite.

AlthePal

I can see how all the (overly and many multiple) negative comments hit a bit hard. Not being able to respond must have made it suck even more. I think most peeps went a bit overboard, personally, my only issue was the final showdown (edit: the loss was fine for me). Imo there is a mirror in the battle with Blissey vs. Don, she was a Sp. Def. powerhouse and Don had to use physical attacks to try and overcome. That same logic went out the window when Samurai Furret physically beat down a fresh, Alpha of the Silver Range, Empress that made it a bit difficult to swallow for me (even without considering the rodent’s fatigue level and the poor choice of move Brock used (no AOE pulse moves to blow it off/away? no Dig to scrape it off like before?)). I enjoyed the rest of the chapters in this arc even if I felt that Kaede was putting on a showing not quite worthy of being an Elite, if still a high level and respectable battler. Best of luck with what you’ve got going on mate

crusaderstar
>>143328938

I didn't comment yesterday but I absolutely have been caught up in an outrage spiral in comments, then contribute more. Embarrassingly easy to do.

Rhett Sellers

I'm glad the criticism is being taken constructively, and I hope your day today is better.

Lányi Csaba

Good luck for the rework. Really, the only reason you got such a uniform tide of criticism is because you defined your characters and their place in the world really fucking well (which obviously comes with everyone noticing when you deviate). Obviously you only have like half a week for chapters so it is inevitable that sometimes you can't do a perfect job (their is a reason books go through infinite iterations before publishing). I am looking forward to how you rewrite the battle so Kaede's victory feel earned because Samurai Furret is the GOAT (after Titan) and I can't wait how awesome it will be when he stands on top of a defeated Tyrannitar. Samurai Furret is awesome. Like really awesome so please let him Focus Punch Empress, please. Ps: Pretty awesome how quickly you reacted but please take your time with the rewrite and do it right instead of rushing it. You usually do a great job, so take your time.

DarthWaffles

Please don't change the loss, it is a reasonable course for the story to take. Empress's loss to Furret might have been a little forced and could use some work but I don't think the outcome should be changed.

SirKarpsalot

Thanks for all your chapters, I think a lot of the criticism was over the top, so don’t take it too hard.

Tank45
>>143331350

Probably should. There’s many better options to defeat him. With prior events in the story and the growth he’s gone through, he should win this 10 times out of 10.

Caras Galadon

You are such a good writer that I sometimes think we expect a lot from you, a lot more than what we would expect from other fan fiction writers. It’s also why I believe you have such a big following and why people are so invested in the story. I love that you publish two times every week… but, it doesn’t have to be so close together. Do what gives you the times and fit better with your schedule. You are doing such a great job! We all miss the ball sometimes. But you listened and that’s what also makes you such a great writer! Can’t wait to read the changes you are making!

Mario Schade

I give you a lot of credit for wanting to rework the chapters and the fight. I think that's very good for the logic within your world. Big respect from me for this. Brock's exhaustion can be made more explainable by previous events. This may also have led to one or two mistakes and would explain it a little bit. A few attacks/decisions weren't so logical - so you can rethink that (a few comments went in detail). The defeat in general can certainly stand and was not the main problem by itself. I'm convinced that you can portray Kaede and the fight in such a way that Brock doesn't look like the first rookie, but even a passable preparation doesn't help against the tricks and Kaede can win narrowly but deservedly. In the long term, this can really make you think about Brock's movesets. Taunt or similar, which Brock seems to have completely ignored so far. Baton Pass abuse and ways to prevent such things,... So the defeat would also be important for his development. Would be happy to see the mpacts.

Wayne

Really hoping that Brock doesn't lose in the rewrite, the baton pass spam and the insane durability of Furret really left a sour note. Seeing Titan not be able to defeat a single pokemon and then Empress going down like a chump was immensely annoying. Not sure why people are insisting that it's fine that Brock loses again despite all the training he's done. It's so strange that Brock peaked when defeating Lance.

Carter

Thanks for listening to feedback! I appreciate it

Yobikir
>>143335126

With Lance he had all the advantages. He knew everything Lance could and would do. Thus he could prepare for it. While Lance knew very little. In this fight, it was pretty much the other way around. Brock knew very little and Kaede could prepare very well against him.

Sean

You don’t need whiny subscribers. If they don’t want to fund you, I’m sure you can find others. You do good work. As long as your are happy and the follow up works in your mind, I trust it. You don’t buy books and then argue with the writing. I don’t see why this is different.

Sean
>>143331350

Aren’t you the same guy on discord that has been whining for the last 24 hours? Do you have better things to do?

carebear90

He definitely should lose. He doesn't really take the Ace scene seriously. It showed time and again. His preparations are pretty lacklustre too and he tends to fall back into 'turn based' gym leader teaching/evaluation modes. Where he waits to see what the opponent does instead of setting up his own tempo. He also doesn't really have a reason to be in the tournament anymore with Will's fall from grace. And we've seen that he doesn't really have time for competetive battling at this level. So... yeah, he should lose. It's just that the 'how' of said loss here was very unbeleavable. Take your time with the rewrite. Don't rush it or feel pressured by the readers to pump it out asap. We can wait a week or two without new chapters. ;)

Ixcall it karma

Narratively, Kaede is not the person who should beat Brock. I do think Brock needs to lose, but he's beaten Lance, so whoever beats him needs to be both at least Elite Four level and the person to win the tourney. If only there was someone who fits all those qualifications, who has the personal relationship with Brock to make the fight feel more significant, and who has the tools to beat him in a (kinda) scummy way? Someone who is established to be more experienced with aura, and who's last fight with Brock got interrupted. Hmm... That being said, the only reason people are upset here is because of how amazing a writer you are. Don't let this get ya down Viva. Take your time, think things through and come to the decision that feels right to you. We will be patient because we love this story. As always, thank you for the chapter.

Spacefather

Appreciate you taking the feedback positively. Please do rethink the consistency of the logic of the world you want to build, and whether the last couple of chapters add or subtract from that.

Rhett Sellers
>>143338363

Maybe that's how you function with what you read, but critiquing what I read is a pretty normal process. The format of a weekly with Patreon allows for a more organic creative process than a novel, much like a play with a live audience does vs a TV show. Sometimes things are seen in hindsight. More importantly, just because someone is complaining doesn't make them whiny. I understand the thought process you have here that the author should stay true to their creative vision, and I don't fundamentally disagree - but as someone who has spent time both individually and on a team doing creative work collaboratively, there are many points in a project where you do something the best way you can and realize later it could work better if done another way. Fundamentally, though, the author needs to feel comfortable with whatever the final result is. And there is no need to try and sort out those who love your work but have an issue with something from those who love your work and don't have an issue with something. Trying to filter those out who are not 'true believers' is usually a fruitless and thankless task with nothing to show for it at the end of it. Just learn what kinds of comments to ignore, what to consider, and what to take to heart even when it is tough to hear. It's how we improve as artists.

Rhett Sellers
>>143335126

This is true for the most part. But I do think the flow and portrayal of the fight in terms of strategies had Brock progressively getting worse throughout the fight. He started poor, got worse, and then some of the matchups and results were just plain weird, particularly in how Brock approached them versus other fights he has done.

Rhett Sellers
>>143331350

I don't truly have a problem with the loss here, but I do think it would have been better narratively if Karen or someone else gave him the L. Kaede spends most of her time making movies.

Simplexity

If he lost against Karen or Bruce I could see it going over a lot better. Karen because it's been heavily implied she did a training arc in the wilderness and is probably a lot stronger than she used to be. Bruce because he's obviously being set up as the new Villain and a rival to Lance except his aces are more suited to putting the hurt on Brock. Kaede is versatile sure and she has a lot of heavy hitters but like I'd be more acceptable if Brock managed to win a close match against her after being caught off guard with the prep and other surprise tactics.

Jordan Lopez
>>143338979

To your not having the reason point Brock has started multiple times he wants to be the best and strive for the highest peaks of battling. Dude doesn't need Will around to keep him in the game. If the story was like that I'm sure most of the readers would move on. Because then it would be just the slice of life family drama and while that's nice theirs a reason ppl get bored of it and request the plot to pick up.

Jordan Lopez
>>143331350

I agree, because what's the point of all this set up for Brock to take on the rebel dragon only for him to lose to the movie star who can't even keep her Pokemon from showboating in a very important match against Pokemon that have basically become harden war vets. But we're supposed to believe she has the time and dedication to train her other Pokemon to pull off multiple ohko moves with bs 100% accuracy

AlthePal
>>143328869

This makes sense until you realize she was affected the exact same way (minus the personal issues with the family at risk) but as a professional battler/gym leader/guardian (and with them coming out of the drama unscathed and no one even remotely hurt) he should have handled it much MUCH better than that showing.

Jordan Lopez
>>143328938

Naw I was legit pissed if anything the comments helped me not feel like was alone angry and sad. Seriously I stared this fic over a year and some change ago. And it's been the highlight of my work day giving me happiness and joy. I might have issues when viva started to play gender favorites but I could deal because the story was that good. The last two chapters have been painful and yesterday's chapter had me mad all the rest of my day. Only the comments of others helped me know it wasn't just me feeling this way

Donald Bagwell

I think he should have lost, and yes it should be close considering he hasn’t had a big “I lost” feel since his draw with will. But considering he spars regularly with Sabrina, who is elite 4 level. Spars infrequently with Koga and Agatha and has spars with Karen who is reaching that level, I don’t think having Empress of the Silver ranges loose to belly drum botón pass furret is the way to go. You had his pokemon tank OKO moves, he has mega, decent counters. I’ve seen people say here that he has a “game style turn based mentality” have this be the wake up call for it. Hell when he eventually looses have Lance reach out for a sparing partner, off season johto trip with the family where the girls can do the kimono girl thing, and boys can learn fo properly raise a dragon. Maybe have gible evolve there. Lance sees Brock as a friend who knocked the cocky out of him, he sees Brock as someone worthy of that. Now he sees Brock with a similar problem of being in too much of the gyms mentality and can offer a way to knock some sense into him Personally I would have had a draw with Bruce in the finals/ semi with Karen winning on a technicality like the dark type she is. Or flip it. Karen winning equals a Dark type on the elite four. Bruce winning means nothing to stop the dragon gym idea replacing the steel guy with them pushing to replace Blaine Lance knows this and can warn Brock or one of his clans elders can put Brock against him next Other than that I think everyone already covered the misgivings had. Thanks for the chapter dude

Oblivious Bookwyrm
>>143339796

TLDR: I agree. Huh. Y’know, most of the comments didn’t have a good reason for why Brock should win this fight. They just felt like people whining that he lost, albeit with some legitimate grievances (Certain mistakes like forgetting about Blissey’s low defense and Aerodactyl’s high offense despite knowing about the former beforehand and OWNING the latter seemed stupid. And Baton Pass is broken. Pls nerf). Personally I don’t think Brock’s lost was that unbelievable though. Brock strikes me as the kind of isekai protagonist who’s never really lost a match when going all out before the story began, y’know? We know he had a mature mind in a child’s body during his Pokemon Journey, so he’s never had to learn the basic and even advanced techniques in Pokemon battling that rookie children challenging the Gym circuit had to. And his meta knowledge allowed him to catch and train powerful pokemon far better than anyone his age reasonably could. He probably lost when challenging a veteran trainer while still being a rookie, but that’s not really a lost, more of a learning moment for young trainers. I doubt he’s ever lost a Gym battle, he would always be prepared for whatever tier he was challenging, or against anyone his own age. Brock has NEVER been the underdog from what we’ve seen, not really. He’s an overpowered protagonist. Even Lance was woefully unprepared for how powerful Brock would be, not even mentioning the type effectiveness of a primarily Rock-type trainer going against a trainer with five Flying-types. Brock knew Lance’s entire team beforehand, while Lance had little information on Brock whatsoever and was blindsided by Pokémon he’d never seen before. Meanwhile in this match, Kaede had enough information on Brock’s team to form a strategy on how to beat him (Brock and his pokemon were a known quantity by then with entire videos on his pokemon battles and strategies), while Brock had comparatively little information on her other than the Pokemon she probably had access to and some of their moves. And he didn’t really form a strategy on how to beat her with that, because he’s never had to. Even he admitted in a previous chapter that the power of his pokemon was carrying him through much of the lower ranking Ace battles. Brock has never had to claw his way to a victory or a position in the top 10 Aces rankings like many of these trainers. The only trainer who’s ever pushed or challenged him we’ve seen so far is Will, and he was a cheater unfortunately, almost completely invalidating the lessons in how Ace trainers strategize and defeat similarly strong opponents that could’ve been learned from that match. But Brock losing to Karen instead would actually be a lot better narratively for the exact reasons you’ve stated, and provide the fulcrum for character growth in Brock that Will’s match failed to accomplish. It would really legitimize Karen’s claim towards the position of Elite Four too. Karen has the narrative weight to beat Brock, with a possible Mega Evolution and all, and I’d love to see that match. If she’s an actual contender for the position of Elite Four, it’s time we finally see why.

Oblivious Bookwyrm
>>143338363

Maybe some of the comments went overboard, but being able to comment and critique a fiction like this is a feature of webfictions over books, not a fault. A lot of authors would’ve killed for such a community, publishing freedom, and and more reliable source of income back in the day

Khress

I did not like that he apologized again to hypnotoad for not using him right. He said the same the last time he used him. That felt so wrong for this version of brock

Tank45
>>143331350

@Sean Valid criticism isn’t whining and I wish I could do something else. Kinda hard to do anything when power and internet are out and everything is closed cause a Hurricane came through. Nice try tho. Lol.

DarthWaffles
>>143331350

@tank45 Just because he should win doesn't make it a given. Sure his pokemon are stronger but strength isn't everything in a battle, Brock got caught up in Kaede’s pace and made a lot of bad calls. failure isn't the end of the story and opens plenty of paths for the story to take from here.

carebear90
>>143338979

Yes, he said that... He just didn't do much to actually achieve anything in that regard. He's constantly distracted with one side project after the other. Often several at the same time. He's juggling. On top of hat, he wants to go on a journey again sometime in the foreseeable future. He lacks focus. If he wants to be on top of the Ace circuit as well... There are only so many hours in a day.

Jack

If you feel like you need to rewrite feel free but I liked the last chapter and felt like him losing felt right.

Alex McGregor
>>143338979

..are you High? the only way he loses that fight is if he has the idiot ball glued to his hand with everything he can bring to the fight, hell just the fact he had both Titan AND Empress in that fight should have seen him almost sweep the damn thing with what we've seen of him and them previously

Bat

I liked Brock losing but rewrite however you want.

Orbnet

I liked the chapter, Samurai Furret was awsome and I enjoyed the thought that his team gave Furret the support needed by healing him to make him win the fight. Also I while I do belive Brok would win against many in the tournament sometimes you get to play the one of finalist early and you lose

carebear90
>>143338979

I'm not talking about the individual power of his pokemon. I'm talking about Brock's skill as a trainer. He deserved to lose. Not necessarily this fight. As I said before, the 'how' of the loss was very unbelievable. I was actually fine with how Titan went down. Brock's reactive way of fighting is sadly very much established at this point and a major flaw. I was honestly expecting more from Guardevoir and Blissey. But with Empress... He was just plain stupid. I wrote yesterday in a comment: Why outrage of all things? It makes no sense at all in this situation. It happened pretty often by now, that the only thing that carried Brock through a high-level battle was the individual power of his pokemon. His battle skills are very lacking. Sometimes I think his pokemon would do better if he didn't direct them at all and just let them do their thing. At least... that is what it looks like to me at the moment. It wasn't just this one battle. This has been happening for a while. Here, it just completely destroyed my suspension of disbelief with how exactly the match went down. He deserves to lose.

4eyedmonster

Not to beat a dead horse (so many people are supportive already), but I have no problem with re-writes. I started following the story on spacebattles, and only joined the paetron last month or so, but I treat these as an early release rather than regular update. If you feel the need to re-write, go for it, but don't be so caught up in, or feel pressured to, make a 'perfect chapter' (especially when catering to other peoples ideas of perfection) you end up stalling out, or lose the love for the story and drop it. Hard Enough has always been a Five star experience in my Book.

Weirwood
>>143328869

I'm sorry but if the children you raised were at risk of being harmed it doesn't just go away because you have a tournament to be in. Also she knew that there was going to be temperature changes and also made mistakes.

4eyedmonster
>>143369387

Agreed - its nice to see Brock lose in a way that seems feasable and deserving - it seems like Kaede set up long reaching strategies, and even tactical traps, to get Brock on the ropes - written as if Brock is good, but at the end of the day Kaede put in more prep-work at a higher Level, strategy wise rather than brute strength. They mentioned this around the goldenrod trip, but she played an effective 'meta/style' of battling that weighed the match against brock's own.

Jericho Rising
>>143374976

It's the fact that each chapter is perfec that makes anything that doesn't suit the flow of the story feel that much more impactful

Jordan Lopez
>>143369387

I disagree a lot of her strategies just came down to Rngesus help her heavy

Jordan Lopez
>>143348100

Same with Don and the whole team overall. I'm not looking forward to reading ppl have to try and pick up the Brock pieces again since he's once again lost and is going to heavily castrate himself. I don't want to see him tell his team once again that he let them down. This is onel top of the fact that he has a match against Agatha this following week and she will be lambasting him over using his best team and fumbling like a child against kaede's prancing preening showboat furball

Jordan Lopez

For all the ppl who say Brock should lose her please explain to me why because in my mind he's already had several waking up calls to be better to not be complacent. Now he has a match against Agatha coming up where he was going to try and school her over how she treats her students

carebear90

If Brock takes this loss as an occasion to finally teach his Elite team some new moves instead of focusing solely on their physical fitness, it'd be funny if he'd take 'inspiration' from the baton-pass cancer. Flip Turn for Swampert and Kabutops. Baton Pass for Lunatone. U-Turn Kleavor... but I think Gawain should already know that move? And Volt Switch vor Golem. Would make it more viable to use Sanchez as an opener again. In case he runs into a hard counter.

Chris

Since it’s so divisive, I’m going to explain why I think Kaede should have won. In many ways Brock is stagnating a little bit. Belligerently mad during the Mewtwo Incident, Been using the Ace Circuit to showboat, deal with side plots, and going about things “as normal” now with Team Rocket out of the way. And Brock’s handled all the “cannon” events of Johto and Hoen. He’s a big fish in a now small pond and he thinks he has a handle on “the big players” in the region. In the video game metaphor, he’s built his team and their main moves, he has stats for the Meta that he’s aware of, and he’s comfortable because of it. So while he’s training new Aces, he’s mainly just power leveling and brute forcing matches. Kaede breaks this in a huge way. Now I agree that the fight wasn’t as well written as other fights, but structurally, I think there’s a lot of potential in her team and the idea of Samurai Furret and Baton Pass. I love the concept of using Baton pass and stat increase skills to turn the Furret from the movie star whose quick and can make hits that barely do damage, into a beast who lives up to the TV show hype. It plays into the theme of Pokémon/anime (friends empowering you to punch a dinosaur) and it would be a strategy reliant, not on brute strength but honing mastery of a few key skills. I’d love to see a “passing of the buffs” as Kaede and her Pokémon Daisy chain stat increase to eventually end back at samurai Furret. This could then kickstart Brock getting technical. Working on move augmentations or masteries. But putting aside future character development I think what’s most important is Kaede isn’t from the games. She’s OC and she’s wonderful. I love her and how she fights. I want her to join the guardian. She’s proof that the games are not the bee-all-end-all of knowledge and power in the Pokémon world. She could be the start of the proof that, Hoens worst villains are not based in the games and show, but are players behind the scenes. the ones who hire all those free lance Pokémon hunters. A rogues gallery of trainers who have serious potential but, because their only tangentially trainers or in roles that didn’t get them focus in the shows/games, their full unknowns. I’m excited. I get that people are sad because Brock lost and are double sad because the writing quality was off in terms of writing a Pokémon fight. But my guy, you’ve written so many. And I’ve watched and played through so many Pokémon battles. It’s going to take a lot more than one rough draft to chase me and other fans of your work out. Looking forward to the next one!

carebear90
>>143382980

I agree. She should win this fight. Especially since she apparently wanted to beat Bruce in this tournament. And Brock is too reactive in his matches and brute-forcing it most of the time—almost no finesse. It's really just the last showdown between Empress and Furret I find implausible as it is written right now. She could have won this fight without resorting to... whatever that was... why the ... why Outrage of all things?

Caerold

I dunno why the fuss. I think it read just fine. The most important thing is that you’re happy with your work and living a healthy life. By all means, take criticism where warranted, but don’t think you have to bend over backwards for it. I come here to read YOUR story. A few bumps ain’t shaking me off this train.

Matt H
>>143382980

@Chris - Like many have said, Brock losing this match is fine if not particularly enjoyable. Brock HAS stagnated; he's developed his team from the perspective of winning individual fights without taking a broader perspective of winning whole matches. And yet, we can't ignore the ramifications of this match with respect to both political considerations and world building more broadly. As this fight is currently written we have a FURRET beating two Tyranitars in one-vs-one fights: one of which bested the Indigo Champion's Ace and the other ruled the Silver Mountains for decades and was only lesser to an elder Legendary. If you want to argue that the story is significantly diverged from the games, that's fine. But if that's the case there's no justification for why Pokemon like Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross, etc. are both revered and feared by the general population. Either they're something special (so how could a common ferret beat them) or they're just another Pokemon species (so why would anyone care about them). Brock losing a match is, honestly, probably a good thing in the long run. As things stand he doesn't seem to be a particularly skilled trainer. Above average? Sure. Top 1%? That's honestly in doubt at this point. As much as I don't like to compare stories, Brock seems like Vicky before she fought Koga the first time: relying on overpowered Pokemon without any consideration of tactics. My main issue with this fight is that Kaede didn't "earn" this victory between what we know about Brock and his Pokemon and the world that's been built up thus far. If Kaede is going to win the fight there needs to be a justification of why Samurai Furret can beat Empress in a one-on-one when they're both fresh. Furret beating Titan with a surprise Endure + Reversal combo? Disappointing that Brock didn't foresee something like that but ultimately understandable. Furret beating Empress in a simple melee? That's utterly incomprehensible.

Matt H
>>143338979

@Carebear Exactly. I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed the most recent chapters, but Brock has NOT been fightingly skillfully (Link reviving Agatha's starter is about the only tactical decision I can think of in a LONG time). If, narratively, Brock needs to lose this fight then the stage needed to be set for Furret to conceivably beat Empress in a one-vs-one. Furret beating Titan with a surprise Endure + Reversal is a little disappointing that Brock didn't foresee it, but it's ultimately understandable. But Kaede needs some other trick up her sleeve or justification for Furret ALSO beating a fresh Empress one-vs-one. I think the lowest hanging fruit in a rewrite is Blissey destroying Don through the use of Gravity so that Empress ends up fighting Furret already weakened, but considering Kaede's style I think Empress should instead come into that final fight already weakened while Furret comes in with buffs of some sort.

Matt H
>>143379925

Short answer? He may have had some wake up calls, but that doesn't mean anything if he doesn't do anything to address his faults and shortcomings. His weakness is in the directness of his battle plans and the, relatively, narrow movesets his Pokemon utilize. Brock has Dark type aura, but despite 5 of 6 Pokemon in his team canonically being able to learn Taunt it was never used a single time even though it could immediately shut down any sort of buffing and/or Baton Pass strategies. Imagine if Karen didn't have her Pokemon ready to use Taunt and how Agatha would respond (a SHIT ton of taunting and berating) and now ask yourself if Brock is truly a skilled trainer if he's left such low-hanging fruit untouched considering he's trained with BOTH of them at this point. Brock has won until now due to his, relatively, overpowered Pokemon and his foreknowledge. Him losing was inevitable with how he was going, but the specific manner in which he lost is what many of us have problems with.

Jordan Lopez
>>143379925

I have that same thought. The end I reach is that viva, the author wants badly for Brock to lose and idk why since all the things he needs to know and learn Brock is supposed to have or else all he's been doing is wasting time. Having his crew of battle minds be a bunch of kids and nobody points out the obvious for shame. It's always been an issue that Brock doesn't use his dark type enough and just thinks of it as a way to stop psychic attacks and his dark impulses I really see no benefits from him losing other then viva thinking if Brock doesn't lose here going forward he never will

LordLaw

The biggest issue for me is simply a Furret taking out an almost full HP Mount Silver Hegemon Tyranitar, shit just doesn't make sense in any way shape or form...

Singa_pore

Do what you think is best. I really enjoy your writing. My input on this situation would be, dont let this make you any less confident in your writing. You are a phenomenal writer imo.

Sean
>>143382980

Agreed. I almost rather you keep with your current track and keep writing. I’m happy to cover lost earnings if folks drop out because what stuff that they wanted didn’t go to plan.

Rhett Sellers
>>143379925

Im pretty OK with brock leaning into power as a style for himself as a trainer. It suits how the character has been written. But brock has also been using these power moves creatively before, and has shown he is aware of counters even if he doesnt always use them due to him often battling in his own gym with a rock heavy roster. He also has a dark type aura though, signifying that really he is willing to unleash his anger on someone and twist the knife (not all dark is good for, but its where his stems from), but he is repressing this as he doesnt think its healthy behavior or a good role model as a gym leader. He wants to be more wholesome, and holding that part of himself back is holding his progress as a trainer back as well. I do think its pretty reasonable for Kaedes strategy to throw brock off balance. I just think the way he handled it was like a rookie, completely forgetting to use area attacks against a nimble target, or trying to fake out an opponent who is clearly trying to anticipate his every move. He lived inside her head that entire match and didnt even realize it once. I think furret doing as well as it did was even pretty reasonable - up until the second healing wish. Its been shown in this fic before that restoration moves dont truly restore everything, stamina-wise. Furret should have been in no shape to take down empress after everything it already did for kaede. But thats fine. Just have another fight go differently and let someone else clean up empress. Or let brock barely win and then lose his next match if you dont want to do a full match rewrite. The point I am making here is kaede had the right approach to beat brock even if some things should have been written differently. I personally dont think a movie star is the right background to have time to train elite 4 caliber pokemon, especially behind the scenes with no one noticing. Its not like she can spend all day every day training her pokemon like many of her competitors do - you know, the top 1% of the top 1% of all trainers in the region. But the fundamentals of the fight are solid.

Chris
>>143382980

See what I’m proposing is that Furret in this match breaks the meta. Because there is no meta in the real world. Brock’s been making use of reincarnation know how, and while it tracks 80-90% of the time. I’d prefer that this is a sign that Brock’s understanding of the world isn’t a mastery of it. Maybe Furrets training has led to a precursor Z-move without the crystal, which is why seeming regular attacks delt so much. Or perhaps mastery of one specific skill and a strong trainer bond is what results in being able to overcome resistances. Brock’s been able to do aura powering with his Pokémon and we’ve never seen it from the outside. Maybe that’s what happened here with Furret. Maybe it gets written that all of her Pokémon had Batton pass and super juiced Furret and the rewrite has a Hero Academia power stockpiling thing going. Maybe held item bullshit happens. Maybe all moves that would normally increase an allies stat in a double battle somehow transfer to Furret. Maybe the belief of the children who watch his show cause this little rodent to poop plasma. The exact reasoning doesn’t matter because the reason why you’re upset is why it’s so brilliant for Furret to win. Everything needs to be questioned now. We don’t know the world like we thought. SOMETHING happened here. And chasing that mystery can make this Pokémon world so much more nuanced. What makes Psudo-legendaries so special and how can Pikachus and Furrets and Pokémon who have strong trainer bonds over come that strength?Brock and others will be chasing this mystery and testing previously held believes. Maybe new moves are created by manipulating type energy, maybe this explains the flood of youngster trainers who ride or die with their rattatas and pikachus. Maybe this leads to an alternative battle style for Brock and forces him to adopt some “water type strategies” instead of brute force. My only issue at current is that there’s nothing in the current chapter that suggests this. I think there potential here. But it needs refinement to clearly showcase what blindspot Brock (and the audience) has currently. To show where and how Brock misplayed with Empress due to stress/overconfidence/using too much rock type aura/whatever. Because Fresh Empress vs “fresh” Furret doesn’t make sense in a vacuum. I do hope the rewrite addresses it. But overall it’s not a bad narrative choice. It’s been stale. Overwhelming strength and Geodudes who’ve been trained to Duke it out at lower levels are not engaging anymore. And the reason why it’s not changed is because it still works. The Furret Samurai breaks that. It’s all up in the air. And exploring that for the next circuit and the Hoen arc (or maybe a Johto arc?) actually makes me excited for something in this story other than the Brock Mother drama. Stop playing with meta knowledge and “discoveries” made from his Journey. Put Brock on the back foot and have him play catch up for once. Either way the next few chapters are going to be juicy. I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

maheshwaran pillai

No idea, why he is losing to Kaede, there is no character development for her and this feels like when Ash used to lose to Richie, etc. The strategy was also very wonky and no idea where this is going. The tournament was built up for a long time and now this just ended with a whimper. He won one fight, and now he is out.

world-concepts-are-breaking god-is-dying

I think it could be kept the same with just some changes. Like an explanation on why Brock didn't prepare more for switch out tactic after the second opponent that abused them against him. Also even tought he knew all her pokemon and their moves he still didn't play around enough so to avoid that problem you could say that "she only ever used three pokemons in her previous match and very little is known of her rooster" or something like that making it like Brock maybe only knew about Gardevoir, Whishcash and Furret. The people fussing about the Furret defeating Empress could be silenced by either changing her in the team with something else like Link or by explaning Furret as some sort of Alpha of his species (like the ones in Alola or Legend Arceus).