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Creating A Backstory

by Shiny Blue Gardevoir

Shiny Blue Gardevoir How to create a backstory for your pokemon OC
Ok, so, some of you might have read my essay about choosing pokemon for your character, and today, I'm going to be addressing a different topic, when it comes to character creation, which will be, as you might have guessed from the title, backstory. Your character's backstory is the most important thing about them, as it will directly affect how and why they interact with the world, with pokemon, and with other people, and will affect how your readers, and the people you RP with see them. So, with that being said, how does one go about creating a backstory?

Start with the basics. Which region is your character from, and which town or city? What do their parents do for a living? Who, or what, made them aim for the goal they currently have? Someone important to them, like a parent, or close friend? An event? A serendipitous occurence?

Now, we'll move onto the trickier part. How did your character's past, and upbringing affect them? Let's say that your character grew up in Snowpoint City. There are a lot of ice types in the surrounding area, and it's pretty far away from any of the other towns in Sinnoh. Your character might adore the cold, and will most likely have an ice-type partner pokemon, unless anybody they know has the means to get them something other than a pokemon commonly found around that area. Or, they might not like the cold, and long for greener pastures. Or, let's say that your character grew up very poor. They might be grateful for what little they have, or they may be resentful of the fact that they are poor. They might not even be able to afford to keep six pokemon.

Now, we're going to cover tragic events, because way too many characters have tragic backstories, which demonstrate a lack of originality, desire for attention or sympathy on the writer's part, or just poor writing. A character who has been physically, or emotionally abused (I have seen way too many of these characters to count) will probably suffer with a host of mental health issues, like a real person would. And I don't mean in the 'I'm suffrin senpai gimme simpatheh! DX' way. I mean severe depression, trust issues, paranoia, and possibly self-harming, and suicidal tendencies. These are risky topics, which must be written with sensitivity and care, and not used as a way for your character to gain sympathy from love interest/rival/friend. A character who has been sexually abused will need to be treated with just as much, if not more care. And characters who have been members of evil teams in the past may be consumed by guilt over their actions, which interferes with their day to day life, or, they may be working to revive their team, possibly under their ideals.

(Note: Backstories, tragic or not, must be believable. There is a point where a character's backstory is so overloaded that it is just laughable, and you cannot let yourself get to that point. I once RPed with someone whose character was a dragon type master, the son of Alder, and an ex-Team Plasma member, who was dead set on capturing one of the legendary birds for no apparent reason. He was also the future Unova champion. Y'see what I mean?)

A character who is the son, or daughter of an important public figure, like a gym leader, or champion, is likely to feel immense pressure to be just as successful as their parent, or more successful. This can manifest in a number of ways, including immense stress, and fierce, direct competition with other trainers, and then, maybe with the parent. The character may even come to resent said parent, or vice versa. Or, the character might be very close with said parent, and want to follow directly in their footsteps.

(A quick note about this: It would be better if your original characters were not in any way related to canon characters. It, quite frankly, demonstrates a lack of originality, or desire for your OC to be 'special' without earning the right to be called so.)

With that in mind, go forth, and create your backstories!
  1. The Snom Prince
    The Snom Prince
    some OC stuff can be done well...just rarely done at least semi right...
    Aug 7, 2017