Battle Scar by: @Cryobeats
Genre: Fanfiction/Fantasy/Romance.
Chapters Reviewed: 4 Chapters.
Updated: Irregular.
Quote: "Everyone has scars. It's a symbol to show that we go through even the toughest of times and yet we can stand strong. It represents our strength and courage. It represents our weaknesses and downfalls. It represents us."
When I read books, I love it when the author gives a complexed story with different storylines that intertwine with one another. It makes story telling more interesting, and has me wondering how it'll all tie together, and what will happen next. Battle Scar does exactly that. We have our main character, Corvis, who has just begun his journey as a Pokémon trainer, but due to an injury that has happened long ago, he seems to have to take extra caution. Sara on the other hand, was born from a rich family, and wanted to start her own journey. These two trainers meet right away and decides to travel together. Meanwhile, unknowingly to the two trainers, Team Magma and Team Aqua make a return, only their story is much darker than the one we know from any of the games.
By doing this, it adds a lot of dynamic to the storyline. We have the everyday story of Sara, who is normal (or, as normal as one can be when coming from a super rich family), but we also have the main character who has a very interesting background as well. In addition to that, the storyline for Team Magma and Team Aqua is very different. I won't get into major spoilers here, but I will say they are much more ruthless than the Anime and games will depict any bad guys being.
One thing that I enjoyed about the book was that despite all the bad that has happened, the author adds a bit of humor. Humor is needed when books are about to get dark. This book is already 4 chapters in, and with everything that has happened, I can tell this humor is definitely necessary. One of my favorite scenes in this is something that is directly pulled from the anime: Professor Birch's bad driving. Now, when this happens, a few things occur. The main character is clinging onto dear life while trainers on the street run for cover. It's perfect considering the series of events that have happened earlier.
While there is a lot of good that is going on in this story, there are a few things that need to be clear. The first is in regards as to whom is in a scene. After all, the readers reading the story are only going to know what is written on the screen. With this in mind, starting off a chapter with He, and not describing who He is, can be a bit confusing as to what's going on. Luckily, this is an easy fix as all that is needed is a tad more details. This doesn't mean you have to give the character a name, but rather, give detail as to what the character looks like so that later on in the story, when the character is revealed, it's clear as to whom that mysterious character was all along.
Then again, this is just my preference as I'm the kind of reader who craves details. The more the merrier as I've yet to find fanfic with too little details.
If details isn't something I seem to harp on enough, then it would probably be grammar and spelling. There are barely any spelling errors that make it an issue; however, it is something to look out for. More noticably are the punctuation rules that are spread around. This usually happens in dialogue. When writing dialogue, you must choose 1 punctuation at the end. In addition to this, you must be aware of the small capitalization errors, whether they are in the beginning of a sentence or getting to capitalize the i in I. Again, it's an easy fix, and I've noticed that this seems to be somewhat fixed on in the story.
I like that the author is choosing to improve in the book, as I find less and less mistakes the more I read. There's just one more note I'd like to mention. It's about how this books is constantly changing the POV, which is great to know what's going on in other places of the story, but it's very unclear as to how it happens. In the very first chapter, it talks about Corvis's surgery. When doing so, it's very clear as to what's going on; however, the last three paragraphs talk about a different event happening elsewhere. When reading, there was no break to show a simple scene change. Scene breaks are needed when there's a time break (like the next day, a few hours later, etc), there's a change of scenery, or whenever there's a change in POV. This uncertainty of what happens doesn't occur often. In fact, later in the book, the author will start using scene breaks, but seeing them in the beginning can deter readers away. Be careful of this, and don't be afraid to go back and correct it.
All of that may sound like a lot, but it's really not. This book is clearly going in the right track. One of the things I enjoy most about this story is the plot, or the potential of it. True, we are getting different POV's, as to what's happening with Corvis and Sara and what's happening between Team Magma and Team Aqua. The book is in it's early stages that it's still unclear as to how the two storylines will become one, but with everything that has happened, I can tell it's going to be an exciting one that will be very interesting to see how everything plays out.
Those reading it seems to think so too, saying, "Can't wait to see where this story goes,"
@RockyJWarrior
The battling in the book is very well written too. No matter how short a battle is, it's always interesting to see how two moves will play out as these characters are strategizing their next moves. True, they are novice trainers, so battles are respectively short in that matter. This doesn't leave out the epicness as to what is already there. Having a few moves play out to finish a battle is fitting as it reminds me of the actual games. At first, everything is easier, but the further and further you get into the games, the harder battles become. While Battle Scar is in the early stages, it is easy to tell the author is using this formula for the battles, making each one more exciting than the last.
Overall, if you're looking for a book filled with adventure, a dash of humor, and one that will keep you guessing in the end, then this book may be what you're looking for.
After reading such a thrilling tale, and being very patient with my crazy schedule, I am so very pleased that this new author Cryobeats, AKA Lucas, has given up some time to do an interview.
JunieWeather: What inspired you to write this book?
Lucas: Well, on my old account, I wrote a journey Fanfiction about Alola. And to me, it didn't feel right; most of my readers to me felt like it didn't enjoy it. After reading the Ruby and Sapphire manga, I decided to write a new journey fanfictions about one in Hoenn and in more of traditional terms like kings and war (reference to chapter 3). Another inspiration was "Fiery Lands and Stormy Seas" by PokeBroncoFan.
JW: That's very interesting. In Battle Scar, I've noticed that you take Team Magma and Team Aqua from Hoenn and have made their storyline a lot darker—and deadlier—than they're known to be. What made you take this path in your writing?
Lucas: Well, I'm a huge fan of the writer STORYmaker2 on Fanfiction.net and all of his books have one thing in similar, Aura Guardians, (if I'm not mistaken, it was an idea from Assassin's Creed). Anyway he made the plot darker and more actions scene were shot and to be honest, I actually liked it, so I tried to make Aqua and Magma not anime, friendly like but more towards war and violence. The violence idea was from Vespin's The Golden Throne, it's my favourite book on wattpad so far.
JW: I have read Vespin's book, and I can see where you can get inspiration from it as it's definitely a wonderful book. Despite all the dark sub-story that's currently going on, there seems to be a lot of humor in the book. Which do you find harder to write: the comedic parts, or the more serious ones?
Lucas: Actually, I think I'm all right with those two, what I find hard are Pokémon battle scenes. I try to have a battle play out in my head and write them down. Whenever I do, it feels short so I keep trying to think of ideas that are interesting enough for battles.
JW: Battle scenes are very hard to write. One thing I absolutely loved in your book is how different the characters are. Out of all of them, who is your favorite one you've created, and why?
Lucas: If you read the ending of chapter 1, and the beginning of chapter 2, I mentioned about a kid being trained by team magma, I have many ideas for him, and he'll play a very, major role in the book in the future. Right now, I don't want to reveal too much about him like his name or background.
JW: That's understandable. Is there anything you would like to share about your story to anyone who will be reading this review?
Lucas: It'll be a whole different take on Hoenn. Set place in the future, after the events of ORAS, with a take of romance, action and violence. Certain Pokemon in the book will also play a role in the story, we can't forget about that.
JW: Thank you again for allowing me to interview this story. Battle Scar may be in it's early stages, but even so, it has great potential of being great, so check it out.