When dealing with the creation of characters in the Pokegirl World, one must tread carefully. Although, for the most part, it is wonderful to see new authors and their stories... it can also be horrendous. You see, the Pokegirl World's dynamics on character creation are somewhat more limited than most FanFiction authors are used to dealing with. The reasons for this are twofold: first, the PGverse is not a fandom where one's writing has no affect 'pon the rest. Rather, it is an actual universe in it's own right, and a living canon. As such, barring AU's, stories are expected not to break certain rules, to respect certain premises, and to contain certain dynamics. The other reason is that, by nature of the universe, male characters are very limited in what abilities they may possess. This is tied in with the first, and deviating too far from it is to disregard the most important of said dynamics.

Since I seem to be on the subject of males, they will be the first subject that I address herein. After all, you will generally need at least one human male as a major character, although on, rare occasion, a female might suffice. Humans are, by and large, the physically weakest species in the Pokegirl world, barring a few domestics breeds such as the G-Poindexter. To better make my point, I will use the most common example; most Pokegirls have "(attribute) x (number) somewhere in their enhancements section. The number is how many times human average this attribute, so even an Ingénue has twice the strength of your average human. Needless to say, this leads to an obvious conclusion; humans do not have the capacity to fight Pokegirls without extenuating circumstances. And these, unfortunately, seem to be a favorite thing to create. The easiest way to do this is through blood traits.

Blood traits are traits that a character inherits having Pokegirls in their family history, and they come in two flavors; blood gifts (positive) and blood curses (negative). As such, in most cases, the Pokegirls' elemental type(s) are an important factor in deciding what blood traits a person has. Blood traits also have estimated rarities, ranging from common (one in four men with that ancestry) to extremely rare (one in one-thousand twenty-four with that ancestry). If the traits are of the same type, then the person may be more likely to receive a "true blood gift," which is a combination of several gifts and curses that make a "set." such as the "Shadowed Soul," which usually includes the Dark-type gifts of Blank Mind, Sealed Mind, Sealed Soul, Psychic Invisibility, and sometimes the curse of Mentally Isolated, although it is not limited to these, and may include other dark-type traits, such as TK Invisibility or Combat Ineptness. For a further discussion of these traits, see the Blood Gifts and Blood Curses file, which can be found on the Y! group.

Blood traits can be great help to your story, in any case... if they are not abused. You see, it is a sadly common practice to pile on more gifts than could be rationally explained. If you are going to use a higher number of gifts, unless some believable extenuation is used as the reason, they should generally be made to be of similar types. For example, it's a lot more acceptable to see a character with an expanded form of Shadowed Soul than it is to see someone with a scattering of gifts from random types, such as, say... Waterborn, Rage, Cool Head, and Insectiphobia. This set simply is not at all logical, for the obvious reasons that it draws from vastly different elements (Water, Fire, Ice, and Dark). Another important rule when dealing with blood traits is balance. Balanced sets are essential, and a character should almost never have more than twice the number of gifts as curses, meaning that six gifts should bring at least three curses with them, if you do get that high by some quirk of fate. And, although we all know your protagonist is "special," please avoid going overboard with the rarity of your traits, kay?

So, now you have your character all ready to go, with his blood traits, et cetera. So, he picks up his sword and heads off to the center--ah, wait. No. Where is that sword coming from? Unless you're writing in, say, Edo, there is very little reason for a tamer to start off armed with something like that. Your average human will not only have no access to such a weapon or training for it, but little desire or reason to use one. After all, Pokegirls have been the weapon of choice for three-hundred years, and a damn lot of them are going to be able to snap a sword like a twig. Which is why the twig (or rather, staff) is a much more viable, economical, and practical, if you must arm you character to start out. Now, that's not to say that circumstances can't extenuate the possession and use of swords or other weapons, especially in a family of fighting types who use weapons, and feel to have him learn later, via an Amazonwu or something of the like. Just keep it reasonable, please, especially when it comes to the use of the weapon. Again, I'll stress that men are the physical weaklings in the PGverse.

Anyway, after the sword disappears in a puff of logic (or is reaffirmed by said logic), your characters arrives at the Pokécenter to take his tamer's test. It naturally goes well, and he passes the psyche exam too, assuming they bother giving one, and then it's time for the starter. So, he naturally gets several choices; there's a Dracona, a Magic Knight, and a Cherry Blossom. But, he did so well on the test that they decide that maybe he might want that Archmage Warmech that they just happen to have--ah, wait. No. There is a reason for those rarity classifications, and breeds that are extremely rare are in that category for a reason! Thus, whilst not utterly impossible, unless you have a very good reason and a very good scenario, why not stick to something that's uncommon or rare, especially for a tamer who starts out the classic way? You have a bit more leeway if you have some other circumstances, but otherwise try to be reasonable. If you really can't live without that Dracona, I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity to get her later, and a lot of the rather neat uncommon 'girls are underused, which is sad and very ironic. But, I digress--if you're going to have a very unusual starter, don't just have it be random happenstance; give us a good, plausible reason.

Moving on. So, he's got his starter, and they've moved to the taming room. Being as she's not been tamed in a while, she's amorous, so, after the optional talk, they jump into the taming with gusto. Of course, he's a perfect lover, and if she was in a previous harem, he's sooo much better than the last tamer--ah, wait. No. Even in the PG world, the odds of a kid with no experience starting out as a perfect lover are low. Sure, he'll do better than a first-timer in our world would because he's probably had more exposure and maybe even a class on it, but he's still inexperienced. So, unless her last tamer was a total idiot with no skill in bed despite having probably been in the business for a while or your character has had prior experience, let's keep his sexual ability at a reasonable level, kay?

Anyway, the sex was good, and they're resting in the afterglow. Then she starts calling him master during taming shock. Oops. Morality crisis! Of course, he won't let her; only his name is allowed--ah, wait. NO. Whilst a few liberalistic tendencies are acceptable, the odds of there being as many left-wing extremists becoming tamers as fics would show are very low. Importations have a little more freedom, but they have a lot of their own problems. In any case, let's remember that, for about three-hundred years, Pokegirls have been the servant/slave class. In many leagues, they have almost no rights. The overall mindset is not pro-Pokegirl Rights. So, whilst it's fine to create a character with some beliefs in that regard (especially if they come from a league that is pro-Rights, like Capitol), let's keep it, again, reasonable. And one must also note that "master" is not a demeaning term when used by a Pokegirl--her master keeps her sane, takes care of her, et cetera. It is a term of endearment, and one that would also appeal to the egos of many tamers, liberal or not.

So, the next day, he finally relents--she can call him master, but he still wants to talk her out of it eventually, preferring to have her use his real name. As such, they head off into the wilderness and...lo and behold! It's a feral Battle Dracona! Quickly, releasing his starter, the tamer manages to weaken her enough to throw a Pokeball through some stroke of cosmic luck! And then, of course, he gets a huge reward for dealing with such a problem. Aaaand, when he releases her and manages to tame her, well she decides that he'd worth staying with--wait. NO! Adding a few 'girl to the harem early on is fine--probably even a very good idea--but let's, again, not be outlandish about it. Again, if you really need that Dracona, there are plenty of opportunities that are a lot more plausible down the road, and the odds of encountering, beating, capturing, and getting accepted by something so rare and powerful at the beginning of his journey are preposterously low, and then there're the risks of someone with a lot more experience deciding that he wants her and calling for a salvage battle. So, what's wrong with one of those Buzzbreasts, or maybe a stray Goth? There are plenty of common/uncommon 'girls that can be useful at the beginning of a journey and aren't too hard to acquire. Once more, though, if you want something a bit rarer... keep it reasonable!

In any case, with his new Goth in tow (hopefully tamed), he decides to move on in his journey... until he sees the strange women in the road talking. They seem to have a bunch of strange lizard 'girls around them, so our hero approaches. Oh, damnit! Sanctuary Goths! Hating the hypocritical bitches with a passion, he organizes a sneak attack with his little harem, and they manage to take out all the Dameosaurs barely, and even capture a 'Goth--ah, wait. Nein. Knowledge of subjects such as Sanctuary are highly classified for a reason. Unless your character has some daaamn good connections, there is almost no way to have him know much about Sanctuary, and even then, it's likely that any knowledge will be diluted by the rumor and myth that surrounds it. Hell, the Leagues don't know about it in the full extent. So, if you really have to include knowledge of it, then you need an extraordinarily good reason for the character having it. And just forget actually beating Sanctuary forces in battle until you get to a pretty damn high level of power. Never mind that the 'Goths can just teleport out. They may be hypocritical attempts at a Mary-sue race that defy the logic of the PG world by existing, but that doesn't mean you can further defy it just because you want to kill some, kay?

As such, after narrowly escaping death at the hands of the unknown group, our dear new tamer is recovering in a Pokécenter when, suddenly, a team attack is made. Whilst he gets away, the tamer next to him isn't so lucky, and he happened to have an Arachnae. So, now there's a rampaging Widow on hand. After annihilating the team, she turns on the other tamers. Several of them die, but our hero manages some hare-brained plot that allows him to kill the Widow and save the day! Yay--ah, wait. Mein Gott im Himmel, NEIN! NEIN! Don't even think about it. Widows are oversaturated. They are extremely bloody rare. Not only that, but they're ridiculously powerful monsters, and there's almost no way in the nine hells that one tamer is going to beat one on his own, even if he's exceptionally powerful. And, to be blunt, most of the community is tired of a Widow and or a Panthress in every damned story. They're supposed to be very, very rare. As in. One every few years. Not as in one of each in every other story, damnit. There are hundreds of Pokegirls, and almost any of them can be a threat. You do not need a "menace" type to serve as a threat. So, please, I implore you to use the "menace" types sparingly, if at all!

...oh dear. It seems that I've killed my example with that last Widow. Oops. Ah well; there aren't many "huge" problems left to cover with creating a reasonable character and story, so I'll use this opportunity to speak of the "lesser" flaws, many of which can be just as bad. The first is saturation. There are certain breeds that show up too much for their rarity... and a damn lot more who don't get used at all. So, when you're considering what 'girls to use, try to think of what you have and haven't seen. Although I don't have too much space to talk here (since I used one), I would highly suggest avoiding vampires. They're particularly oversaturated, as are Nogitsune, the latter being used primarily as devices to illustrate how great the protagonist is when he evolves her into a Dark Kitsune.

Other important considerations run along similar lines. After reading other stories, do your best not to copy the work of others, of course, and try to avoid major overall fiction clichés. There are so many that even the beginning of the list would take pages, however, so I will trust that you know what they are. If you have any doubts, feel free to drop by the Pokegirl.org chatroom. A number of other authors and I frequent it, including the admins, and we'd all be more than happy to help you determine how good an idea is, and even improve on it. The community is an excellent resource, so please don't waste it if you have any need of assistance. I digress again, however.

Another common problem is not properly giving your Pokegirls a personality, but I'll cover that later. Similar, though is that not all antagonistic forces are going to be heartless bastards who care nothing for their 'girls, treat them badly, kill with no compulsions, et cetera. Sure, some are, but so are a lot of legal tamers, and in some ways, a criminal has more reason to be close to his Pokegirls than a legal tamer does, as they're partners in breaking the law and need to trust each other to a degree, but that's another subject. So, try to keep the attitudes on both sides logical, as opposed to just making the "enemy" be posteriors with right-wing mindsets. It's just not at all realistic.

Inversely, though... do not, as already stated, make your own character unrealistically nice. Unless you're in Capitol or another WAPL League, Pokegirls are mostly just considered property. They are not people, they are tools, weapons, and sex-toys all rolled into one, and this philosophy is taught from childhood. Unless a character was somehow raised outside the normal system, then they are not just going to start treating their 'girls as humans/equals/other such nonsense from day one. Feel free to develop it over the course of the plot, but starting out, the odds of them feeling that way are slim. As such, it should not be commonplace to see tamers doing things for their 'girls (e.g. "punishing" a previous abusive tamer, giving her some special treatment at first, aside from a thorough taming, et cetera).

On the subject of a thorough taming... One's character does not require recovery and endurance to give one. There are drinks with these effects, lust poisons, and just plain experience. Oh, and it's not exactly helpful with realism when you explicitly state your character's huge endowment as. Aside from the very small 'girls (Cutiepie, etc), size is something that a 'girl isn't likely to give a damn about.

As my penultimate suggestion, I'm going to give you this advice: for the love of the Gods, please don't start messing with bloody legendaries as major characters. Please. Not only are the legendaries obscenely powerful, but they are very difficult to accurately portray, especially since you must take into account their portrayal in various existing stories. So, especially in your first story, for the love of all that's infernal (including Succubi), have no more than cameos from them. The same goes for other world-shaking events in a first story, really....

Finally, I'm going to come around to a point that I made indirectly before, but feel the need to stress before I move on into the subject of Pokegirl creation. Humans fighting Pokegirls equal dead humans. As I said, men are the weaklings, and even in armed and trained, the odds of them beating anything stronger than an Ingénue are very low, especially in any kind of extended battle. Tamers depend on their Pokegirls to survive, and this is the most important dynamic of the Pokegirl World. If you want to make it defunct... why are you writing here?

With that said, I think it's now important to spend some time on the subject of creating the Pokegirl characters for your harem. Although it is easy to fall into the trap of choosing based on breed alone, I've found that it is much wiser to instead wait until a character comes to you, then find a species that fits her. In either case, the point is that Pokegirls are not lifeless shells with female anatomy. They are characters as much as their tamer, regardless of whether or not their personalities are "notable." And, although the 'dex gives general personality info, it is important to personalize your 'girls to some degree. This also means that it's a very good idea to show some interaction between the different 'girls in a harem, and use this interaction to create character development. Again, the Pokegirls in the harem are as much major characters as your tamer, so treat them like it.

So, in closing, I hope that my little essay has been useful. If, after reading it, you feel that your ideas have been threatened... well, why not stop by chat? We're nice people by and large (especially the admins, surprisingly), and we'd be happy to give you a more case-specific opinion on your ideas. If they're bad, then maybe we can help you fix them. And, naturally, my suggestions in here are just that; suggestions. They aren't the rules that define a good story, and many good stories have gone against them. But, still, I'd appreciate if you'd take what I've said under consideration, especially if you're a first-time author.