Borne of Caution

The author is clearly a skilled storyteller, but the story is fundamentally about animals getting hurt for sport. The anime was cartoony enough and the games were abstract enough to get past it, but reading about the broken bones and shredded flesh of animal fights is not my idea of a good time.

**EDIT#2** I'm pretty confused, my review seems to be hitting the wrong notes as it's gotten a lot of dislikes? I'm pretty honest in my review and I'm actually confused as to why people don't agree with it. I feel like what I said made sense but I guess not? If you think there's something wrong with my review or disagree with some points I made, maybe PM me so I can understand why people don't think the way I do? I'm literally the only review with any dislikes at all, and I have 5!

***

I really like the story and how the author has tried to portray the world of pokemon, trying to make things more believable and make sense. The world-building is nice, and I like how although the Main character knows about pokemon events, doesn't go out of his way to try to manipulate them in his favour. He doesn't want to mess with the 'timeline' and just wants to train his pokemon into the best they can be.

**EDIT** I'll try not to spoil much, and try to keep my review based on the early chapters. Please note that I'm bad at saying why I like things, but I tend to focus on negatives a lot. Please don't take this as me hating the story, most of it is nitpicking little things, there's a whole lot I love about the story that I just cant put into words without spoiling.

Without further ado, there is one major issue I have with this novel, and it is something that mainly affects fanfiction stories. The problem is that the author writes the story expecting us readers to have knowledge about Pokemon. What this entails is when a pokemon appears, let's say a Magikarp, the author rarely describes what the Magikarp looks like, what its traits are etc. So for people like me who only know a bit about Pokemon, it's very difficult to picture events and scenes and I have to frequently resort to googling pokemon to get an idea of what it looks like. This is actually a big problem, and it's sometimes frustrating when I have to constantly google what pokemon looks like mid-combat.  

I do really like this story quite a bit, but I really really dislike the author's choice of using present tense in their writing. I personally find it very difficult to read present tense books, as it throws me off, especially when not executed well. In this story, there are many times when the author uses the present tense when they should be using the past tense. E.G, in dialogue, characters sometimes say 'Know' instead of 'Knew'.  I think this just shows inexperience with the writing style, although it does seem to slightly improve along the way. 

I also have some problems with the author forcing plot or character interactions. One of the memorable problems I have is with the early chapters. When our MC was burned and very physically injured by a nuclear explosion, he constantly refuses to go to the hospital. Maybe it's an American thing, but when people have asked you to go to the hospital multiple times maybe you should listen instead of thinking you're absolutely fine after eating a berry. The MC also had his clothing partially destroyed, and ripped some of it off to use as a bandage for his leg. For 3 days, the MC wore the same clothes, and nobody properly questioned him and asked what happened to him, or try to fix him up. The MC, after experiencing a nuclear explosion, doesn't seek to get proper medical attention, never once mentions any potential radiation poisoning, and walks around as nothings happened besides have some PTSD.

I also have a problem with Brendan, the kid. I think he is 12 years old? He has been hugely influenced by our MC, (obviously), but the influence doesn't feel gradual. It feels like Brendan was always like this, when considering his father Birch, doesn't seem to make sense IMO. Brendan seems to swear a lot for a 12-year-old, calling Zinnia a thot. I know he doesn't mean it and all, but I feel like there should have been some hesitation in Brendan using swears like these at the beginning of their journey. Considering Birch is a professor, and has never once used any form of curses, and seems like a very nice person, I doubt Brendan was taught or allowed to say any of these things. I know this is literally nitpicking, but I guess this goes to show how much I like this novel to complain about small things like this.

Well, I've never been good at reviews. I usually just complain like above, but this novel is pretty good. I really like the world building and characters, although I really hate the present tense of the style and there are some things that I feel like the author forces, overall I would recommend this novel to anybody who has any interest in realistic pokemon fanfic. 

I don't know where to start, this was such a great read. Your characters (including the pokemon) were flawless. We finally get a character who is much more developed with a real personality (sorry Ash from the pokemon episodes). 

I swear, I feel like an addict. I can't get enough of this. You've created the characters so well that I feel like I've known the MC for all my life. 

Outstanding story. Nicely done. Can't wait for the next chapter! Thank you!

I would say that I was surprised how great this one was.  I was legit impressed with how well it was flowing and the action is extremely well done.  A human trying to understand pokemon powers and mentality is amazing to read!  I didn't know I needed this but I do.

(To author) The biggest story point I love and want to also critic is also a minor spoiler, but basically I love the way he is tramatized and has to deal with it to grow (not just brushing it aside) is great.   However spoiler...

He has put it on hiatus to plan and write, but that is WAY WAY BETTER than a story with no plan at all and will eventually be dropped.

Again, amazing job, it is a great story I will wait for

Spoiler free review:

I was warily of starting this story because of the fanfiction, this story turned my opinion 180° on its head. I took the gamble and decided to give this a couple chapters. Unfortunately,  I am now having to wait for new chapters released due to reading them all in one sitting. This took a concept that shouldn't work in the "real world" and inexplicably made it work. It has now made the main pokemon my new favorite pokemon it has taken the companionship to a whole other level , where as I feel the games/anime didn't (dont hate on me) you'll soon understand once you read as well. While I could go on and list the various reasons I am in love with story you should just start reading it yourselves. Seriously do it. Now. Give this author the attention they deserve. The only compliant that I have is that their isn't more too read.

A

All right lets start with saying that I absolutely recommend you to read this.

The writing style manages to make each scene fit into the story with just the right amount of pacing to keep the action scenes tense and the leisure scenes peaceful. The story follows a classic isekaied protagonist as he deals with his death and new life in the pokemon setting. The grammar is near perfect with only a couple of errors that look like an over active spell checker. The Character is honestly quite interesting as he uses his knowledge of the video games and pokemon show along with his zoology degree to take an interesting approach to the pokemon setting. In conclusion I am looking forward to wherever the story goes as I am absolutely hooked.

uhh apparently the review needs to be 200 words long so I am just writing this sentence to fill out the word cap. I could write some more about my thoughts on the story but I honestly don't want to spoil anything. But being as vague as I can to not spoil anything the author takes the main character on the usual gym battle journey but manages to keep it interesting by taking the focus off of the usual child show antics and instead places the focus on a more realistic version of the pokemon setting.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I began reading this as the stigma of fan fiction quality being subpar was at the forefront of my mind when I began. However,  Borne of Caution has blown those doubts away with its life like characters, engaging fights, and a new insight into a world I thought I knew. I am ecstatic to read more and continuously check to see when the next chapter is out. Great work! 

I think this story hits all the points a good story needs while still being fanfiction. It fleshes out the pokemon universe to give a deeper system than the games provide. This allows the author to create rules but also character developement as someone from Earth adapts and deals with these new rules. I enjoy the characters in all their flaws, the main character still has ptsd from the first chapter, and it feels believable. 

The supporting characters are interesting, and get development of their own. I enjoy his dynamic with the world of pokemon as a zoo keeper and carnivore enthusiast. I reccomend giving this story it's well deserved binge read, even if the author doesn't continue to write this is a fantastic story.

Simpy put? Hands down the best pokemon fanfiction that I have ever read.

What sets this story leagues apart is the direction the story has taken, rather than going extremely dark in stories of a similar nature such as Sun Soul this piece of uses and abuses the little bits of lore that are dropped in pokedex entries to show what a more fleshed out pokemon world would look like.

I would give this a 10 if I could and I can only hope that Fuggmann continues to write such amazing chapters. You have my personal thanks for providing such great reading material.

This novel is definitively one of my favorite stories I have ever read. The main character is relatable, and endearing in his strengths and weaknesses. You took a fanfiction, and instead of writing using the mc of the fiction, you created a new main that was demonstrably more 'real' that the original. You added physics to a game, and it works fantastically. I am constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting for new releases.