The Flamestar Chronicles

The Flamestar Chronicles (also called TFC) is a Pokémon fanfic by Shrike Flamestar. While he had at least tried to write several other fanfics before this one, none really caught on as TFC did. In contrast to the author's other fanfic, TRINITY, The Flamestar Chronicles is a (somewhat) more traditional Pokemon fanfic in that the main characters are indeed actual Pokemon trainers although they are Original Characters and no canon characters outside very few gym leader cameos appear. Indeed, the author has at times said it's an Alternate Universe where most canon characters don't exist, however lately he's just been of the opinion that the story is simply set a few decades into the future from the canon timeline.

The story follows the titular Shrike Flamestar, a rather ordinary student at the Rustboro Pokemon Academy. One day after leaving class, two weird men break into his classroom and kidnap a Cyndaquil Shrike had been studying as part of a project. Having grown rather fond of the Cyndaquil, Shrike, along with the aid of his friend-of-sorts Rayne Jarxis, rescue the Cyndaquil and drive the kidnappers off. The incident creates a strong bond between Shrike and the Cyndaquil, named Zethro, however in order to be with him Shrike is forced to leave the academy and begin a Pokemon journey as a student trainer. Rayne also accompanies him with her own Pokemon, an Absol named Matariel, that she had been keeping hidden at school.

What starts off as an ordinary Pokemon journey fast goes awry though, as it becomes clear that something sinister is seething under the surface, with Shrike, Zethro, Rayne, and Matariel somehow at the center of it.

Tropes used in The Flamestar Chronicles include:

• Awesome McCoolname: EVERYBODY. Except Zack.
• Background Magic Field: Source Energy is explained as essentially being this. The interaction of Source Energy with itself creates all matter, life, and indeed existence.
• Deadpan Snarker: Rayne, most definitely. Oddly enough she's not quite as cynical as most snarkers are, but is usually calm and reserved. She just seems to have a thing for picking on Shrike, though...
• Expy: Tenebrae is somewhat of an expy of Zorua from the movie, albeit now more grown up than he was there and with a different backstory. Still, he has much of the same habits.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble
  • Sanguine (Blood): Aira
  • Choleric (Yellow Bile): Shrike
  • Melancholic (Black Bile): Rayne
  • Phlegmatic II: Zack
• Life Energy: It's explained that the canonical concept of Aura, already a form of Life Energy, is actually an application of Source Energy. All living beings have an aura of Source Energy that surrounds them and composes their Life Energy, with Aura-based techniques drawing directly from this field. The field is replenished in time thanks to ambient Source Energy, but if it's completely depleted...
• Meaningful Name: As with Awesome McCoolname above, just about everybody.
  • Shrike Flamestar: A shrike is a predatory bird that impales its prey on thorns. Birds are a big point of symbolism with Shrike, as seen with his IRC screen name, FireBird. The thorns can be compared to swords as he eventually uses. As for his last name, fire is his main element and he is indeed the star of the story.
  • Rayne Jarxis: Rayne is the most cool, calm, and level-headed of the group, thus the allusion to rain. Jarxis, on the other hand, is meaningless.
  • Aira Kaza: Both her first and last names reference air and the wind. Aira is simply a corruption of "air" with an a added to it, while Kaza is a corruption of the Japanese word for wind, kaze.
  • All of the Shrike and Rayne's Pokemon are named after angels. This is because they actually ARE angels.
  • Aira's Tenebrae, on the other hand, is simply named after the Latin word for darkness. Amusingly and unintentionally, Tenebrae also happens to be a rather depressing Christian ritual, that can be seen as tying into how religious Aira is.
• Team Pet: Zethro for Shrike, and Tenebrae for Aira.
• Translator Microbes: As is par for the course for the author's stories, the characters all, eventually at least, gain the ability to understand Pokemon.
  • Shrike: Receives a translator from Zack that fits in his ear canal.
  • Rayne: Can naturally understand Pokemon due to her affinity with Source Energy.
  • Aira: Initially, is able to understand Tenebrae due to his telepathy, but eventually gains a translator like Shrike's so she can understand all Pokemon.
  • Zack: Being a member of CORE, was given a translator as part of his job.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Initially, Rayne's abilities are completely darkness-based, but throughout the course of the story she begins to develop more light-based powers until she is fluently capable of wielding both darkness and light.