Child of the Desert (Unovan Pokémon Story)

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

minyette6

• North Star Lacunosa
  Feb 4, 2026
• On The Road Again
  Jan 14, 2026
• A Bitter Pill to Swallow
  Feb 3, 2025
• The Summit
  Apr 19, 2024
• Scale
  Jan 21, 2024
• The Looming Mountain
  Nov 12, 2023
• Burgers and Roofs
  Nov 10, 2023
• Lesson
  Oct 25, 2023
• Caġaṡakehaƞska Caƞtaƞka
  Aug 13, 2023
• Bird and Elders.
  Jul 16, 2023
• Of Stone and Glass
  Jul 10, 2023
• Soldiers and Dreamers
  Jul 7, 2023
• Caves and Poachers
  Jun 12, 2023
• Route Eight, Where Ice Cubes Lie.
  Jun 5, 2023
• Icirrus, the Pale North Flower
  May 28, 2023
• Sleet and Rain, Route 7
  May 23, 2023
• Skyla, Heaven's Surprising Girl!
  May 13, 2023
• Electric Rocks and a Green Hair Day
  May 9, 2023
• Crimes and Trespassing
  May 6, 2023
• Victory and Blackouts
  May 6, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• Moonl3ssRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  And dare I say, the peak of what fanfictions should be in general.
  This is a fantastic story and premise elevated by the pokemon instead of entirely made by them.
  Aidinza is a fantastic main character because he's a rash young boy, yes, but he's also the very soul of his people and home made manifest, it's a duality that exists within him seamlessly and despite having read the story quite a while ago and only having come back with the new chapters, this is a book that has left its mark on me.
  It aso definitively helps that the pokemon aspect is so well integrated with the story's larger themes, and they have a lot of character without just being humans in pokemon form like in many others fics.
  I also want to say that this story's version of Unova is simply the best I have ever seen, and it has made me keenly aware of what it could've been if pokemon wasn't (mostly) just an easily marketable game for kids.
  Finally, there is a certain battle in the story... Despite not being the most "badass" or "impressive" from a powerscaling perspective, it is elevated by the stakes surrounding it so much that it has become my favourite pokemon battle in any fanfic I've read (and I've, perhaps, read too many).
  I truly hope the author will continue releasing more chapters because damn...
• CaladborgRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I will preface this review by stating that I have read further into this story than is currently available on Royal Road on another site. The author should bring this up to date here in time.
  Style:(5/5)
  It is a Pokemon trainer journey story. Go to new places, get into battles with a variety of characters, collect badges, and win with the power of friendship. You probably know what to expect here.
  I would not claim this story does that in a unique or revolutionary way, but that's not really the point to it. What it does do however is do it well. The world is built up upon far more than usual.
  A major focus of the story lies in how it develops the protagonist through their interactions with various communities of people, and in that interaction it dives deep into the people and their ways and traditions, and how different environments and different pokemon lead change the very fabric of how humans live around them.
  Also, one of my biggest pet peaves is pokemon being treated as 'humans in different shapes', in various stories. The author has done a good job of avoiding that by making sure to keep their development somewhat influenced by what they are, without avoiding the themes of trust and loyalty any good pokemon team story should have.
  Overall, the story starts strong with the Ya'an-ah ritual, and doesn't disappoint in the future.
  Story: (4.0/5)
  The author takes their time with the world building. Significant efforts go into explaining the scenes and the battles are well thought out and executed. This effort does mean however that at times the pacing comes into question. While pacing is often a matter of personal taste, I do feel the story takes too long at certain points and feels like it drags on a bit. I would say its worth it to read it all, but the desire to skim can come up at times
  Grammar: (5/5)
  Almost perfect. As well as can be expected without a paid editor. Not much to say here.
  Character Score: (5/5)
  Most important part of any story according to me, so
• RollingUpHighRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  One of the best OC Pokemon Trainer stories I've read. I love the cultural background of the trainer, and the way it's used to explore his choices and delve into some of the native tribes and groups we've seen in the games. I hope we see it continued someday ^
• dopplegerberRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It takes a lot for me to cry, I’ve grown used to bottling up my feelings, aided by my medication, so that is why it was so surprising to me that a Pokémon fanfiction was what broke the dam. There is something so raw about this story that reaches out to your soul in the best ways.
• JackevalRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've read quite a few pokemon fics at this point and this is one of the best around. The characters are interesting and their growth is believable without them drowning in indecision for chapters upon chapters. There is a healthy dose of antagonists that take a variety of forms to keep things interesting, without it just being the local Villain Team the whole time. The most recent arc was especially well done, and was well worth the read.
  Style: It's a practical style of writing that does the job as a vehicle for storytelling. No notes. 5/5
  Story: The story is well thought out, the arcs are very well done. The overarching plot is obvious and doesn't get forgotten at the first sign of a shiny pebble off the road. 5/5
  Grammar: The grammar is probably the weakest part of the story, just because it seems the author posts these without significant editing. There are minor mistakes (mostly just left in sample lines where the author didn't know which they wanted to use yet) but overall very readable. 5/5
  Character: I would say this is the strongest part of the story, especially the main character. Other characters are nice while they last but very rarely pop up again as the story goes on (other than the companion pokemon of the MC of course). The dive into the MC's motivations and why he's on a journey in the first place are the real meat of this story to me. His exploration of what matters to him and why, his pokemon helping him along the way, it's such a good perspective on what I think is a usually very overlooked portion of the journey by most pokemon fics. 5/5
  Overall score: 5/5
• FreshiestRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  First off, one of the best pokemon fan-fics I have read, and I have read a lot. Scratch that, this is genuinely one of the best written books on the site, in my opinion.
  The only complaint that I have is that I am not getting enough, but each chapter had a great amount of content and the quality is worth it.
  Style:
  The pacing is good. It is revealed in a natural and gradual way that I have associated with profesional, published books. The writing itself flows, the paragraphs are not too long or short, and they have a good deal of variation.
  Dialogue is also great. It has that weight to it that you want in a book, but doesn't feel robotic, forced or cliche. I think this is one of the harder parts of writing, but the author pulls it off great.
  The only problem I can imagine someone having is with the names in the MC's native language. I never found them too distracting, and much of the time they are explained either in their use or at the end of the chapter.
  Story:
  Without saying too much, the book is about a kid from one of the native Unovan tribes going on a pokemon journey. The reasons and background are unique and different, even if there is noting wildly deviating from the norm. There are few-to-no cliches that you need to worry about.
  The worldbuilding and development is in-depth, but the story is never choked-out by it. It beautifully expands on the already-known pokemon universe in a way that is just that - beautiful. It gives the world a depth and realism that I think many authors try to get, but it never falls into the 'pokemon are murder machines' trap.
  Again, the worldbuilding is the absolute best I have seen in a pokemon fan-fic, and is up there in those I have seen on this app in general.
  Grammar:
  I think I only noticed one thing in the whole book so far, and it was a small, technical grammatical detail that is barely anything. However, I can assure you that everything was clearly written with care and attention.
  Character:
  Apart from worldbuilding, this
• vk346Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  One of my biggest guilty pleasures on RR is reading Pokemon fanfictions. There have been a lot of them after Born of Caution blew up, good and bad. Even the good ones have gotten stale since most of them are Isekais. Child of the Desert though has been a welcome breath of fresh air.
  Aidinza is an interesting character and its been enjoyable following his journey and character growth. The backstory of his people is interesting and its also great to read a story set in Unova.
  The pacing feels a little fast at times, mainly in the routes and training. Just feels like that part can go into more detail to make his Pokemons growth feel more organic. I guess the main problem imo with it all is the author doesn't really mention often how much time has passed in his travels. It believe it was only the last chapter or so did he mention how long his journey has been so far.
  Still this story has been great so far and I can't wait for more in the future. I read it all in one sitting and def want more soon. Still I hope the author takes their time and not get burnt out or stuck like so many authors on this site cause I really want to see how things pan out.
• GenelvoRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  So to be straight the world building is top tier so far each chapter help add more to the world in a way that it naturally flows and comes to life. The first chapter you have to read in it's entirety, you'll start confused about what's going on but you slowly come to understand and appreciate the steps the author has taken to flesh out the introduction. The pokemon aspects are done well, with battling starting off simple from ordering pokemon to bite too building up more intricate moves. Your not thrown into the deep end trying to visualize moves and techniques as there clearly built up and shown flawlessly. Highly recommend this novel. Truthfully the only problem the novel has had was one or two spelling mistakes, but most of those I would have misses if a commentor didn't directly point them out.
  This is just word filler now
  So to be straight the world building is top tier so far each chapter help add more to the world in a way that it naturally flows and comes to life. The first chapter you have to read in it's entirety, you'll start confused about what's going on but you slowly come to understand and appreciate the steps the author has taken to flesh out the introduction. The pokemon aspects are done well, with battling starting off simple from ordering pokemon to bite too building up more intricate moves. Your not thrown into the deep end trying to visualize moves and techniques as there clearly built up and shown flawlessly. Highly recommend this novel. Truthfully the only problem the novel has had was one or two spelling mistakes, but most of those I would have misses if a commentor didn't directly point them out.
• HorderunnerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This is a pokemon story I didn't know I needed.
  I love the pokemon world and love digging into the stories based on the pokemon world. That said there are two big groups that make up most of the pokemon story scene, the SI with meta knowledge and the rehash of cannon with a twist. This story is neither. Fallow a random trainer on his journey that does have its ups AND downs, fallow a story that breaths world crafting lore, fallow and hopefully be hooked like I have been by this story.
• Lux_KlaraRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This Is such a fantastic story. It's incredibile compelling, with very well written and tridimensional characters, all with their own motivations and complexities. It's always interesting to see the way they interact with the protagonist and to see how they Will affect him in his journey and personal growth.
  The Pokémon as well all have their own different personalities and relationship with Aidinza and it's Always fun seeing how they all jpin the team. He has captured more Pokémon at this point than you usually see in pokemon stories (he Is currently at the third Gym and has captured 8 pokemon) but so far they have all been interesting and I never felt like the addition on new pokemon detracted from the others.
  The culture and rich history of the Unova tribes is definetely One of the strongest and most interesting aspect of this story. And they are a fundamental factor in Aidinza's journey, both obviously because his culture shaped him but ALSO because Aidinza's love for his tribe, together with his hopes and fears about its future, are the driving force of his journey.
  I really like the writing style. It really flows and captured my attention.
  It's written in 3rd person pov, which is actually the pov I personally prefer to read, hut I know that many other prefer 1 person pov...so yeah, heads up.
  As for grammar, I didn't notice any mistakes. But English isn't my first language. I read all my books and Fanfiction in English and have some so for more than a decade, to the point that Reading in my own language at this point feels weird. So I'm confident that the grammar in this story isn't atrocious, but not enough to Say that it's absolutely perfect and void of any mistakes.
  Overall, this story is a gem.