Pokemon: The Origin of Species is an adventure/science fiction webserial created by DaystarEld.
Synopsis[]
Hello all, and welcome to Pokemon: TOoS. This fiction is mostly based on the gameverse rather than the anime, the greatest distinction being that the vast majority of pokemon have roughly animal-level intelligence. It's inspired by rationalist fiction, primarily Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, and much of the science mentioned, especially the psychology, is based on real research and experimental resultsThat said, I could no more rationally explain how a pokeball would "actually" work than I could build one!
My aim is to, at the very least, present a version of the pokemon world that is logically consistent with itself, which includes not just a realistic examination of pokemon/human interactions and an attempt to address some of the contradictory parts of the pokemon universe, but also an exploration of how society thrives in a world where deadly monsters are commonplace, and children are trained from a young age to survive independently by their pre-teens.
All feedback is appreciated, either here or at my posts in the subreddit /r/rational.
Finally, all intellectual property in this story belong to The Pokémon Company International, Game Freak, and ultimately Nintendo. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
Official synopsis
Chapters[]
- 1. Unreliable Predictions
- 2. Fallacy of the Single Cause
- 3. Memetics 101
- 4. Operant Conditioning
- 5. Personhood Theory
- 6. Interlude I – The First Night
- 7. Optimism Bias
- 8. Priorities
- 9. Delayed Gratification
- 10. Avoidance
- 11. Risk Assessment
- 12. Interlude II – Shadows
- 13. Theory Induced Blindness
- 14. Desensitization
- 15. False Dichotomies
- 16. Diversions
- 17. Tradeoffs
- 18. Interlude III – Son of Stone
- 19. Great Expectations
- 20. Body and Mind
- 21. Sample Bias
- 22. The Decisive Path, Part I
- 23. The Decisive Path, Part II
- 24. The Art of Persuasion, pt I
- 25. The Art of Persuasion, pt II
- 26. The Right Questions
- 27. Challenges
- 28. Interlude IV – 2 Point 351
- 29. On the Road Again
- 30. Over the Mountain
- 31. Distractions
- 32. Decisions
- 33. Interlude V – Double Binds
- 34. Redefining Priorities
- 35. Deception
- 36. The Shape of Things to Come
- 37. Resolve
- 38. Learning from Failure
- 39. Hearsay
- 40. Interlude VI - And Every Common Sight
- 41. Adaptability
- 42. Making Do
- 43. Risk and Reward
- 44. Premortem
- 45. Goal Factoring
- 46. Interlude VII - Connections
- 47. Courage
- 48. Popularity
- 49. The Paradox of Choice
- 50. Comfort Zone Expansion
- 51. Link
- 52. Departing
- 53. Out of the Blue
- 54. Into the Black
- 55. Accountability
- 56. At Sea
- 57. Autoargumentation
- 58. Precipitate
- 59. Interlude VIII - Organization
- 60. Interlude IX - Thunder
- 61. Storm
- 62. Trust
- 63. Interlude X - Judgement
- 64. Purpose
- 65. Fearless
- 66. Interlude XI - Pyre
- 67. Postmortem
- 68. Internal Family Systems
- 69. Missions
- 70. Mind Boggling
- 71. Imposter Syndrome
- 72. Gaze Forward
- 73. Teamwork
- 74. Choices
- 75. Interlude XII - Children of the Mind
- 76. Chrysalis
- 77. Focusing
- 78. Merger
- 79. Status Effects
- 80. Nonviolent Communication
- 81. Interlude XIII - Titans
- 82. Interlude XIV - Titans II
- 83. Interlude XV - Titans III
- 84. What Comes Next
- 85. Interlude XVI - The Vaulted Sky
- 86. Interlude XVII - The Needs of the Few
- 87. Ghost Town
- 88. Heeding Whispers