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Hello
history nuts! Want to know how this creation of mine got up and running? Well
you’ve come to the right place! Sit back and open your minds as I tell you of
the site's developments.
Also, why not
check out our Bulbapedia entry
here!
BEGINNINGS
My
Pokémon fandom started back in 1997 with the brother of my sister's friend. His
name was Keith, and at the time he was a faddict* of Pokémon. I hadn't seen much
of the franchise, bar the bad press it had received on international news media
back when the "Electric Soldier Porygon" episode of the Pokémon anime caused a
load of Japanese children to have seizures. Curiosity drove me to watch the dub
of the same anime when it started broadcasting in the UK. I was hooked. Soon I
was trotting around Kanto with my very own Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow while
taking down tournament opponents in Stadium. Good times, good times.
After flicking through my latest
copy of an unofficial Nintendo magazine (complete with its ‘design a game’
section) I struck upon an idea which many Pokémon fans had probably
thought of (and still do).
You see Gameboy
Pokémon was all well and good but the graphics…well…they left a lot to be
desired, and the realism…you get my drift.
So I said to myself
‘Why can’t they make a 3D Pokémon, you know, like Pokémon Stadium but with all
the catching and mystery solving on top of that?’
After a few ponderous sketches I
had created my synopsis of what I called "Pokémon: Dimension 3"
And here it is…
I forgot to post the game design and instead
it was forgotten under a pile of books for the next year and
a half. Thank goodness that happened - had I
sent the design off, Rebirth may never have been born at all.
Still, my
dream Pokemon game has yet to be achieved. I
keep the specifications around, just in case.
INSPIRATION
Some time later I was busy
surfing through Neopets when I came
across
"Pokémon
Houla" (now
defunct). It was a fantastic site and, along with
Neuto,
were the proof that I needed of just how much potential the Pokémon world really
had. Further inspiration came from the
anime itself which, at the time, was in its third season and suffering from plot
that was simply written to introduce a new Pokémon every episode.
My concept? A Pokémon fan fiction - but with a
difference. I wanted to work with and build upon the universe that the Pokémon
anime had already created, instead of pulling against it like most fanfic
authors did. There were so many unfinished concepts waiting to be explored, but
otherwise left overlooked due to the anime's aim to follow the plots of the
games closely. Like the Pokémon manga artists, I wanted to pull the anime world
and its characters free from the game ties that in a sense, kept it so
restricted.
I also
wanted to keep some of the characters I adored so much in the animation, and
make them into something more; give them a vision outside of the ‘must catch Pikachu, must please boss’ mindless crud that we viewers
were so used to. James immediately came to mind, as I found him an extremely
variable character to work with.
But who
would be the one to start it all off?
Then it
hit me…the concept page! Searching through the paper pile that was my room I
uncovered the work, blew off the dust and there he was…
Caley Wilson.
Caley,
in a sense, was invented as an 'anti-Ash', personality-wise** - I wanted him to be skilled (even
powerful), but unaware of his worth. He was also intended to be a lone
traveller throughout the entire story, but that would have really cut down
opportunities for character development. Then James was somehow dragged into the running
of things. Adam followed soon after; he was created to give pathos to the situation
by being everything James could not stand; annoying, insulting and
disrespectful.
This was the original trio
of travellers.
Do excuse
the art skills of
doom.
In November 2001,
Rebirth was launched as a culmination of Microsoft Publisher pages on Geocities.
A lot of attention, plugging and advertisement has caused visitor count and fan
interest to grow steadily. With it the story has progressed and developed,
covering a more detailed side to the Pokémon universe and making links between
many of its biggest mysteries.
AIMS AND INCENTIVES
Pokémon fanfics have a bad
reputation. Like fanfictions in general, they're best recognized by
Mary Sue
type characters, reams of overly-powerful creatures and unsavoury pairings. With
that in mind, our aim is to show that a fictional spin-off of an existing
project written by its fans need not necessarily feel like a fanfic.
For a while I have been writing
Pokémon Rebirth's main series, "Ultimatum", with a finished product in mind. My
greatest dream for this project would be to see it become part of the official
Pokémon anime, even if it was just as a spin-off series like Chronicles. To keep
authenticity, many of the project's artworks are drawn in the style of the
anime.
Maybe some day, we might receive
that golden invitation. But in the meantime, we'll keep on writing, hoping that dream
might become reality.
*Faddicts, not to be confused with
true fans, are those who support a franchise because its fashionable. Once the
fad wears off, so
does their interest.
**I have nothing against Ash. In
fact, Ash even gets his own time in the spotlight during Pokémon Rebirth.
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