Hard Enough

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The world of pokemon is synonymous with young boys and girls going on a journey and facing many challenges.This story is not like that. This story is about a SI coming into one of the most prominent companions of the pokemon world. Unlike other stories, Brock is already established and has gone on his journey. He's faced challenges and returned home to be other people's challenges. Which, there's a lot more to than most people realise.Explore an alternate pokemon universe with an expanded cast and more mature ideals through the eyes of Brock, Gym Leader to Pewter City Gym, and family man.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Viva01

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 6,209
Views: 6,267,990

Chapters(309 total)

What readers say about Hard Enough

“This story has probably the best realistic feeling world of Pokemon out of all the settings I have read about in fanfiction. The author knows and loves the source material and loves to play on little-known facts about the world or expand on things that were…”
JustADudeNamedKyleRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“First, - grammar -. On the forum I was reading the story there were some cases of misspelling. On the other hand, they always were quickly dealt with so the version uploaded here has been cleaned of these, most likely. Aside from that, I feel the grammar is…”
BlueshiftRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

JustADudeNamedKyleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story has probably the best realistic feeling world of Pokemon out of all the settings I have read about in fanfiction. The author knows and loves the source material and loves to play on little-known facts about the world or expand on things that were never properly detailed. A good example is Brock's family, where I think I will be weirded out if they are ever not like this in another story! It just feels so natural with how they all act together that I can't imagine it any other way!
BlueshiftRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First, - grammar -. On the forum I was reading the story there were some cases of misspelling. On the other hand, they always were quickly dealt with so the version uploaded here has been cleaned of these, most likely. Aside from that, I feel the grammar is rock-solid.
- Style - here is a serious contender for what makes the story interesting. It has slow and immersive cadence that lends itself fantastically to battle scenes or reflections. The Champion challenge arc wouldn't be half as sick as it is if not for the well-articulated style. When reading about Brock's internal frustrations with his situation, it ensures the delivery of needed impact. However, I have a feeling that the style is somewhat at odds with the intended development of the story. I'll get to it later.
- Characters - are believable and have their own distinctive voice. Karen loves to provoke confusion, Doctor Oak is charismatic and insightful and Koga is... well, let's say no person of outstanding talent can be called boring. I feel that emotionally they are somewhat distant to the reader but it can easily be attributed for Brock's own stoic nature.
Finally, - story -. I rated it 4/5 mainly because of how easy it is to misunderstand.
Minor spoilers ahead.
My biggest gripe with the story was why there were no high-stake battles or intense situations in general after the Champion challenge arc. If there was a finely written epic battle between titanic pokemon in the first 100k words, it must be characteristic to the plot large-scale. Right? Right?
Turns out that the answer is no. Thinking like that leads you to become trapped in your own expectations. There will be pokemon battles, but none of them will be equal to this. This aspect of the story peaked in the beginning and never picked up again.
The thing is, the story's focus is not about pokemon battles. The style is pretty immersive by itself, but it is hard enough to dive into the story when you read in an unhurried tempo how Brock is changing
Blair_okcRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story has become my favorite isekai fanfiction.
Set in the Kanto region of the Pokémon world, an adult Pokémon fan is isekai'd into 10 yo Brock. Uniquely, we begin the story of 16 yo Brock and only occassionally flash back to the past 6 years and to quick references to his past life. Being immersed in the original Ash Ketchum timeline from Brock's adult perspective has been captivating.
In Pokémon 10 yo kids grow up on their journey. At 13, Brock is called home to run the gym and accepts the adult responsibility of raising his 8 younger siblings as well as the management of a significant business to include supervision, accounting, taxes, and compliance with league rules for running a gym. At 16 (going on 17) Brock is getting involved with the greater Pokémon world and succumbing to the wiles of the opposite sex.
The story is well thought out and written. The characters are relatable and have depth. The style is surprisingly layered and complex for a children's game/story and adroitly handles adult sexual situations in a light comedic way reminiscent of Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books. Grammar only gets a ½ star deduct for occasional misspellings or wrong word selection.
If you grew up loving Pokémon as a kid, you'll love this adult version of Pokémon.
IxtaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story so much right now, I don't know if I can do it justice in my review. The storyline so far has been fantastic, giving us the daily life of a far more capable and pro-active Brock. Some of the chapters are more quiet and slice-of-life oriented, building up a solid foundation of character and backstory for the entire cast, while other chapters are full of tension and excitment.However, I think the new characterization given to Brock is the real highlight of the story. He's an interesting and smart character with motivations I can easily understand and relate to. The family dynamic is one that especially tugs at my heartstrings. He's the protector and caretaker for younger siblings that he loves, always being shown to go the extra mile to make them feel happy, loved, and secure, but he's nearly overwhelmed by the responsibilities that have been piled upon his young shoulders, yearning for more freedom, and angry at the parents who abandoned them all. There's both harmony and conflict between Brock's solid and nurturing nature, some very normal teenage boy moments, and some of his darker emotions that are just starting to be explored. It really makes me look forward to each new chapter.I also enjoy the style of the writing and have to say that this story has some of the best pokemon battle scenes I've ever seen written. One battle specifically was so good that I ended up reading through it a few times just to enjoy it again. I can easily imagine every moment and move of the battle without it going too far and having it become exhaustingly over-descriptive; a mistake I see other authors make. The grammar is also quite good and I only rarely notice mistakes.I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in the Pokemon world.
DesstRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The way you handle the world, the abilities, and even the characters' interactions with each other is incredible. I haven't read a story where that's given a voice on more than one occasion to secondary characters. The work you've done is incredible. You have my most sincere congratulations for what you have written.
DrakageRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
While not my favorite pokemon fic (Gotta give that to Borne of Caution), this one is... Rock Solid in developing existing characters and still making them feel like they would in the game/show.
The MC is emotionally mature, having this as a timeskip that lets him already have existing relationships and connections goes a long way in making this a bit more grounded in scope. No lengendaries rampaging, no threat to take over the world, it takes place right before the og games.
Who knew a writer could make Surge a loveable asshole, sure he's still big and loud, but he cares for his friends.
EntrielRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
OVERALL:A slice of life fanfiction in a world we all are familiar with, but the characters are more fleshed out and the setting is finely balanced between reality and original game/anime setting. Core of what makes Pokemon good is perfectly captured by the author.STYLE:Sometimes happy go lucky, sometimes extremely competitive, but always very invested and willing, adventurous even. That's how it makes me feel.Most of the time we witness the events from the protagonist's POV, but there are rare interludes from the POV of the pokemons or other side characters. And those chapters feel like jewels.STORY:The main character is isekaied into the Pokemon World with the knowledge of the franchise. So it is kind of a power fantasy. But the world is real, meaning that the dangers are real, and people are real. You can't just go on a Legendary hunt. You have to earn it.The story does not start right after the isekai event, so our hero had already earned some of it, and we tag along on the ride. A good choice for this story, I'd say.I'll not spoil the plot, but I'll say that it delivers for a slice of life story...I enjoy the pacing. It might be considered relatively slow. And one might get annoyed if they get competitive by sympathizing with the main character. But for me it is the perfect pace. It is a slice of life story, not a battle fest. And I do not want it to end. What's the hurry? I enjoy being there...GRAMMAR:The author is really careful with his art. Despite publishing two chapters a week on this story, I rarely see any grammar mistakes, or typos...CHARACTER:The main character is kind of a Gary Sue, which might be off-putting for some. But, that does not mean that he lacks depth. He can be calm-headed and wise(wisdom coming from living a previous life to adulthood), and he can be hot-blooded and competitive(fitting the Pokemon franchise really nice), he loves his siblings and is dependable. He is not all powerful. He lacks understanding on many things, but knows to as
FireguardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is book content. No errors in grammer, well written, diverse. Easily one of the top stories so far. Some sections I skipped over myself but it's all done well.
it's an idealized but the starting point is kind of rolled over so you are already in the good stuff. No 20 chapters of how to survive in the woods and learn how to use skills like other rpgs
author should add more tags to the story.
Genisyn69Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I think I needed something like this. Despite still sticking with friendship is magic power, a staple of the Pokemon franchise. This narrative cleverly moves the target age bracket for content to an adult-ish point of view. That honestly really helps it.
What really makes it stand out for me is the great deal of world building that goes into the story to form a thriving culture behind running of the Gyms and the Region. The gym leadership is really enjoyable, there is a wealth of character interaction and world building that is fantastic.
That also gives a reasonable excuse for the MC to be among shakers and movers, power structures of the Region etc. Rather than the oddity of Pokemon's franchise thinking it normal to send a new trainer to fight a legend or criminal. While the 'kids' still get involved, or affected by villainous activities. The adults are hard at work keeping everyone safe. It makes the world so much more believable that they would only really be tangentially involved some of the time.
Highly recommended for any Pokefan, but particularly older fans who've aged with the series.
KanibRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What can I say, I really like Pokémon and Brook was one of my favorite characters in it. This alone would make it good enough for me, but the story is so much more than a self inserted fan fiction. The world is properly explained on how it works and the characters don't feel flat and uninteresting. I truly think that even without the Pokémon and characters that we knew before the story would be high tier, My only small nitpick is that there are too many new (or old if you are well versed in the Pokémon lore) characters and it's hard to focus on any of them without getting lost. 5/5 cause I want more if it.