No Antidote

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"We're going to give it our all! No one will ever say that we gave up! Agreed?"

No Antidote is a 2008 Pokémon fanfic by Falcon Pain.

Marty Atrice was an average Pokemon enthusiast from Pallet Town, the kind who anxiously awaited the day when he would be allowed to raise and battle with Pokemon of his own. When the day came, he set out, faithful Bulbasaur at his side, with one goal on his mind: the Pokemon League.

That was before the Beedrill came.

This is the story of a young boy who awoke in a hospital, barely able to remember anything about himself or his surroundings, and who is predicted to have weeks at most to live. And this is the story of the Bulbasaur at his side, the one who promised to help him achieve his dreams, and the one who would do anything to make sure that the remainder of his master's life will have been worth living.

The story takes a darker yet softer look at the Pokemon journey, the relationship between trainer and trainee, the individuals and social norms that make this possible, and just how far a Pokemon is willing to go for the sake of his master.

And at what point he should be allowed to stop.

Tropes used in No Antidote include:
  • Accidental Murder: Bulbasaur was just trying to help Marty by sharing the Antidote, but it not only failed to work because he was human, it compounded the problem.
  • Exclusively Evil: Bulbasaur assumes this about the Beedrill at first, leading to Fantastic Racism. Ultimately Subverted completely when the swarm's reasons for attacking are revealed. To say nothing of Beedrill's status as The Woobie.
  • Berserk Button: Ekans doesn't think much of his former trainer, and reacts harshly to comments about him or the reason he was abandoned.
  • Carnivore Confusion: Most wild Pokémon eat other Pokémon to survive. The acts of training against wild Pokémon and hunting them for food are repeatedly compared. And then there's Ekans, especially once Bulbasaur discovers that he has eaten at least one human.
  • Collateral Angst
  • Contrived Coincidence: Every Pokemon the group catches is at least partially Poison-type. This is never justified. One of them lampshades it later, saying he thought they were going for a theme.
  • Critical Existence Failure: Unfortunately for Bulbasaur, averted. Those "weeks to live" turn out to be a steady decline, with no clearly defined moment of death.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Poison-type Pokemon are not always dangerous to be around. The ghosts are debatable.
  • Decoy Protagonist: Marty
  • The Determinator: Bulbasaur.
  • Deconstruction Fic: Of the whole concept of Mons. Telling a story with Pokemon requires them to have humanlike intelligence and character. However, the idea of a human trainer only makes sense if the Mons aren't intelligent. This contradiction drives most of the story.
  • Easy Amnesia: Marty even forgot his goal. Unusually for this trope, Marty has difficulty forming new memories as well and can't really remember things unless something reminds him.
  • Empty Shell: Marty becomes more and more like this as the adventure continues.
  • Everything's Worse with Bees:
    • The Beedrill in the beginning.
    • Subverted with the Beedrill who joins the group.
  • Fantastic Racism: Not really, but Bulbasaur understandably finds it difficult to trust Beedrill. He also is wary of Poison-types.
  • Gentle Giant: Ekans/Arbok tries to act like this around the others. He is not always successful.
  • Heroic BSOD: Bulbasaur's realization of his Poison-type, and all of its implications, as he freezes up and recalls memories from the rest of the story.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The first letters of the chapter titles.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: Justified later on.
  • Internal Reveal: Many of the Pokemon are unaware that they are poisonous until later in the story. The fandom, however, knows.
  • It Got Worse: At first it looks like this might play out like a typical underdog story and he'll still be able to reach his goal. Then Marty loses his Pokedex, and all of its knowledge. A setback, but with determination they can still make it right? Then it becomes clear that his memory is deteriorating, and it's already bad enough that he forgets things within thirty seconds. It doesn't really stop getting worse from there, either.
  • Jerkass: Haunter, especially at first.
  • Kuudere: Zubat.
  • The Last Dance
  • Level Five Onix: Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
  • Mama Bear: Pokemon tend to get aggressive when their nests are in danger.
  • Monster Is a Mommy: It's eventually revealed that Zubat is not only a mother, but has had lots of children... and was only captured because Marty and Bulbasaur got too close to their nursery.
  • My Greatest Second Chance: The way Ekans views his training. More significantly, the way he views the rest of the group.
  • Naive Newcomer: Beedrill. Arguably Bulbasaur and Marty as well.
  • No Biochemical Barriers: Averted with, of all things, antidotes.
  • Poison Is Evil: Type-wise, the main cast averts this, but the implications of using it and possible alternatives in battle are discussed frequently.
  • The Power of Friendship: Bulbasaur constantly tries to evoke this with Marty. In the end, it doesn't actually work. The whole fic could be said to be a deconstruction of this trope.
  • Rousseau Was Right: Every character remotely played up as evil or scary (with the possible exception of Ekans's first trainer and a few hungry predators) winds up being a good guy. There are no villains present.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Subverted. Ekans/Arbok is not as bad as he appears at first.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Zubat eventually abandons the group.
  • Song Fic: Every chapter ends with a two-line stanza loosely related to the chapter's events.[1]
  • Species Surname: Every Pokemon is referred to by their species. This causes confusion, especially when some of them evolve.[2] The one given name is not looked upon favorably.
  • Time to Unlock More True Potential: All trained Pokemon do this to some extent, but Ekans's life practically revolves around it.
  • To Be a Master: Was Marty's goal, until he forgot it.
  • Tomato in the Mirror: Bulbasaur did not realize he is part Poison-type.
  • Unreliable Narrator
  • Well Done Mon Guy: Bulbasaur toward Marty. Also Beedrill toward Marty, and later Arbok.

And that's before the last two chapters. MAJOR SPOILERS:

  1. ↑ Each comes from a song with the same title: "Antidote".
  2. ↑ In fact, note that the word "Ivysaur" never appears on this page outside of this footnote, even when referring to post-evolution events.
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