Pokémon Mystery Dungeon/Fanfic Recs

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Proof that the remaining 10% is worth stocking up on Reviver Seeds for here:

These are recommendations made by Tropers for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Fanfics, all of which have been signed. After a few samples, you will be able to judge whether you might be interested in the 'fic, based on who recommended it. No-name recommendations will be Zapped (wiki). Nobody would back up the rec. Discussion of the recommendation is welcome on the discussion page. As such discussion is important, do remember to add the discussion page to the watchlist, if need be.

Do warn when a fanfic may head into homosexual or non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.

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Authors and Websites

Usami

• Recommended by
  • Seconded by
• Comments: Seriously, just anything by this author. There's some amazing control of the characters here.

General Fics

Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.

Spanning Time by

• Recommended by
• Seconded by
• Synopsis: A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness fanfiction. Grovyle tells his side of the story, a story which has two parts: one, of how he met a Celebi and a human in his struggle to survive the dark future, and the other, of how he met a Charmander and her Chikorita friend on his quest to prevent the collapse of Temporal Tower. In reflecting on his memories, Grovyle realizes just how much his quest has changed his life, as well as time itself.
• Comments: This is just plain neat. The author masterfully draws parallels between the events of the game and Grovyle's memories, all while (mostly) keeping with canon and offering a very nice interpretation of what happened before the events of the game. Highly recommended for any PMD2 fans.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Silver Resistance by ScytheRider

• Recommended by
• Seconded by
• Thirded by
• Synopsis: A human wakes up to find himself transformed into a Charmander, unable to remember even his own name... only his conviction that he was once human, and this is not his world. Teaming up with a fugitive Bulbasaur, he is drawn into the resistance movement against the mysterious and all-powerful Master.
• Comments: Far Better Than It Sounds, Silver Resistance strives to be a worthy successor to the plot-driven Rescue Team and Explorers PMD games. Its Darker and Edgier leanings are tempered with the author's willingness to joke around and make frequent Shout Outs to the actual series; he also put real thought into the internal workings of the original setting, and it boasts a large, decently developed cast.
  • Seconded--it really is quite nice.

Innocence by Ember A. Keelty

• Recommended by
• Synopsis: Sometimes forgetting is the greatest mercy you could ask for. Sometimes it isn't.
• Comments: A succinct and heartbreaking take on what life was like for the heroine before the adventure began. While the ending is technically Jossed by Sky, that doesn't dull its impact.

"PMD: Legendary & Ancient Discoveries Book I"

• Recommended by
• "Synopsis": When an evil Pokemon takes Palkia and Dialga as captives and drives the world into chaos, it's up to a human that was turned into a pokemon-and his team-to stop him.
• "Comments" A pretty good 'fic, generally revolving around the friendship and adventures of Team Pokesquad, with a developing plot. Gets better as you read on. By the way, if you read it, please, edit it's page.

Variations and its extension Trials of a Pokemon Trainer by LionsMane10

• Recommended by
• Synopsis:
  • Variations is a sequel to the Explorers of Time/Darkness storyline. Dialga is predicting a new disaster that can destroy both the Pokemon world and Earth, but this time originating from Earth. Can Leo and Blaze figure out what it is and stop it in time? Can Leo survive returning to Earth and confronting everything he left behind? The story is completed.
  • Trials of a Pokemon Trainer is the side story/sequel to that storyline, involving Leo attempting to become a Pokemon trainer on Earth, despite being a Pokemon himself. The story is completed.
• Comments:
  • Variations is most definitely a work of love, examining the emotional bond between the main character and his partner as they visit Earth, as well as the main character's past. Highly recommended for a take on PMD 2's characters and storyline.
  • Trials of a Pokemon Trainer is a humorous side story of the main character trying to learn how to be a Pokemon trainer again, but still stuck as a Pokemon himself.

Rescue Team Freedom: Ravages of War by WedgePalmer

• Recommended by
• Synopsis: When an evil warlord gathers an Army of Pokemon and invades the region of Kind, can a tiny rescue team formed by a Cyndaquil and his manservant Treecko fight the darkness
• Comments: It takes place in a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon styled world but other than that, it shares little with the actual games. However, this story is very dark, even darker than the Explorers of Time/Darkness. Sadly, it is dead but the 2 chapters that are present are very, very good.

Brave New World by Ri2

• Recommended by
• Synopsis: The sequel to Latias' Journey, which was sitting on the Fanfic Recs recs page for a while before Mystery Dungeon got its own page. Starts after the end of the Red/Blue Rescue game, whose human-turned-Pokemon protagonist was apparently Ash (as a Lucario) -- and he's not the only familiar face. Trouble starts brewing when a cult starts trying to destroy life and the fabric of the universe, and things kinda go downhill from there.
• Comments: Reading Latias' Journey isn't strictly necessary to understand what's going on, but it's set up a bit better if you did (for instance, why Pikachu has a sword -- don't think about it, just run with it -- and who some of the extras are). Like the previous work, it gleefully stretches both ends of the Sliding Scale of Comedy and Horror beyond the breaking point, often in the same paragraph, so expect to be assaulted by major Squick and major weirdness at the same time. Additionally, at some point between Journey and here, the author discovered TVTropes, and the first new member of the team is a Troper too...and he knows how to use Bulbapedia.

Aimee by Saturn Jupiter.

• Recommended by:
• Synopsis: A young girl's mind is trapped inside the body of a Pokemon whilst her body lies in a coma elsewhere. Her loyal Pokemon watch over her comatose body while her mind is threatened by a faction of dark type Pokemon wishing to resurrect the legendary Darkrai.
• Comments: The first great PMD fic that didn't involve a retelling of the entire game that I've ever found. What I especially like is how the author does a side-by-side comparison of the young girl (called Aimee) as an Eevee in the PMD world and her comatose body in the real world and the effects of both Aimees to those around her. Bonus points go to the fact that she has all her chapter titles in French.
  • It's probably safe to assume that Aimee is now a deadfic, as it hasn't updated for a year and a half.

Team GoGetters: Beyond the First Gate by GreenSonic21

• Recommended by:
• Synopsis: Based off the first anime special (yes, there were multiple anime specials.) Squirtle, Charmander and Chikorita continue on with their Rescue Team work after their first mission. Author's preview of the story: "I recently watched the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon special again, and thought about trying to continue it. Team Go-Getters continue their work, but they may be in for more than they bargained for. Follows the game storyline with some later differences." The later differences mentioned are related with who Squirtle really was as a human.
• Comments: It expands on the basic plot of the first PMD games; the author prevents the story from going trite by tweaking parts of the plot, which includes setting up Gengar as a henchman of another, more sinister villain by the name of Faust, and manages to work up an acceptable compromise between originality and quality. The plot may still sound banal for some people, but other than that it is a good story.

Pokemon Unknown Chasms by Pocket-Fulla-Shells

• Recommended by
• Synopsis: Somewhat based on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Sky, Andrew finds himself in a world without humans, and as been turned into a Pokemon himself, and sets out to discover the truth and the way home, only to discover things that would undermine his own sanity
• Comments: An alternate take on the story of PMD Sky, with a main character roster of somewhat different personalities, making it, whilst all the more hilarious, also all the more gripping and exciting. Also adds some interesting expansions to the universe as a whole. Good stuff.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: A Novelization and its sequel Life in Flames by Gamerfan411

• Recommended by
• Status: The original is complete; the sequel is has been finished as of January 14, 2012.
• Synopsis: Somewhat Exactly What It Says on the Tin; it's a novelization of the famous Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games this section is for, but with a few twists and turns by the author. The sequel, while still based on the games, is more original and doesn't rely strictly on the game's plot for its own story.
  • Novelization: Alex wakes up on the beach one day as a Pikachu, remembering nothing about himself other than his name and that he used to be a human. After meeting a friendly Eevee girl, they form an exploration team and go out to save the world...twice. Contains some minor shipping between the hero and partner.
  • Life in Flames: Elisa is a girl who never liked Pokemon, but she wakes up one day as a Vulpix saved from a forest fire in a faraway place. After she gets used to this situation, she meets a friendly Riolu and soon reluctantly joins him as an exploration team. Several events cause this to be very different from the games, in contrast to the previous story.
• Comments: Definitely one of my favourite Pokemon fanfics. There is quite a bit of characterization, as well as some well-needed backstory. The series is also updating very frequently; the sequel started on September 4th and already has 14 chapters by the 26th.

Shipping Fics

Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Team Twilight by HopeThePixii

• Recommended by:
• Synopsis: Set in the world of MD: Eo D, this fic stars a Charmander and a Treeko, both with scarred pasts, who join up to form a rescue team. The story is well written with quite a few sad moments, some when I cried, and some moments where all you can do is say "Awwwww".
• Comments: It lives and breaths in the same world as mystery dungeon, but our titular main character, Pixii, is not a human, just an abused Charmander. Normally I don't go for these kinds of things, but this one is so filled with everything that makes a romance story great that I can't help but get drawn into the story. I've always said that if I can't stop reading it until I look up at the clock and it says 4 in the morning, then it is a great story. This has everything a good story needs. Romance, Drama, Action, Suspense, a dash of Angst, and more plot than you can shake a stick at.

Music

Fan remixes. ...What? Fan music counts!

• "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Primal Dialga Remix" by PokeRemixStudio
• Recommended by Sparky Lurkdragon
• Synopsis: A six-and-a-half minute expansion on the already awesome Primal Dialga theme from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2.
• Comments: This, right here, is PokeRemixStudio's masterpiece. The original theme is already very epic, suiting the grave situation faced by our heroes as they face a mad time god in battle over the world's fate. This remix? It feeds the song about a hundred Rare Candies.
  • Jackman B: Good gravy, seconding!
  • CAD: Thirding! Amazing use of oldschool chiptune square-wave, too.
  • Fourth'd. Really, after this mix, nobody should ever really try to even mix this song again lest they end in humiliation.
  • Zero Tw0: I sort of love it and hate it. Love it because it is an unbelievably good remix, as it should be regarded. Hate it (somewhat unfairly) because a certain author I know associates this song with himself. It doesn't help that his writing ability is... rather poor, to say the least.

• "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Sky Tower Remix" by GrovyleDDV
• Recommended by CAD
• Synopsis: Orchestrated rendering of the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game's final level music.
• Comments: Better than PokeRemixStudio's mix, in my opinion. Unlike his, this one is smooth, well-mastered, and mystical sounding, capturing both the epicness and sadness of the final stage.
  • Seconded.

• "The Greatest Loss of All" by TheGuitahHeroe
• Recommended by Sky Blue Fox
• Synopsis: Orchestrated remix of "Memories of You" from Explorers and "Run Away" from Rescue.
• Comments: One of the best remixes of Mystery Dungeon music I've ever heard. It takes the melancholy-yet-hopeful tone of both the songs and captures it beautifully with the choices of piano and flute to drive the melody.