Pokémon Book Reviews

Individual Review of Symbiont by Justcallme_b and UnisonRaider

(anunnamedgalaxy)

One thing I really enjoy about Symbiont is how unique it is. I'm using present-tense because I will probably go back and read this story again. And again. It's not every day you find a short story that deviates from the usual "feels train". Instead, it explores the events that happened before Salon Maiden Anabel showed up on the beaches of Alola with her memory nearly completely gone. Her tale is only partially revealed in the Sun and Moon post-game by Looker, who tells the player that Anabel arrived out of an Ultra Wormhole, leaving the rest up to speculation. I've always been extremely curious about things like this - hidden backstories and the like, so this was really a refreshing, interesting read for me.

The various factors contributing to Anabel's insanity and her imprisonment in Nihilego's Ultra Space were detailed and cleverly put together. I was very relieved to see that the writers didn't simply dump her into the alternate universe and go from there. Instead, the story starts with Anabel defeating a challenger in Hoenn's Battle Tower and thinking about how routine and disappointing her life has become. The reader realizes that something is already very wrong from the beginning and can only watch it go downhill from there, starting with Anabel's apathy toward former best friend Caitlin, Nihilego's first visit in her dreams, and then her obsession with the Ability Symbol . . . which was also very well written, by the way.

The description of her addiction to the symbol is also appropriately dark and sharp. The reader can almost feel Anabel's distressed pain when she misplaces the thing that she must have. Might be a short note, but I think it is still very worth mentioning. Oftentimes, writers will try to pull off parts like this, involving insanity, depression, addiction, or some other kind of mental health issue, and either overdo it or not research enough and be inaccurate. I did not find problems like this in this story, which makes me very happy.

I also liked how detailed the story was in general. Anabel's relationships with Caitlin and the rest of the Frontier Brains, Arno, and even the Pokémon were described thoughtfully and carefully, which is hard to find for a short story. It made the whole thing seem almost like part of a longer, ongoing book instead of just four chapters. I found it very easy to connect with many of the characters, which was something I would have expected in a longer fanfic, so I was pleasantly surprised. The best thing about this is that the authors do this without explicitly writing "Caitlin is kind" or "Anabel is angry," without seeming too wordy, which is a pretty difficult thing to do.

Also, the grammar is absolutely flawless. It might not seem that important, but this is absolutely key for good writing. Oftentimes, I will stumble upon a fic, or even an original story, that will have a plot with great potential, wonderfully fleshed out characters, and excellent pacing but is just riddled with typos and subject-verb agreement issues. This is not one of those stories.

However, there was one thing I didn't like. Some parts of the book seem pretty forced, like the scene where Anabel tells Nihilego that " . . . we never did live in perfect symbiosis." I found this a little confusing, especially since it implies that Anabel thought she was having a beneficial relationship with the Ultra Beast. But the two characters really don't have much interaction until the last chapter. It seems like this quote is just there to support the title of the story. A change I would suggest making would be to include scenes in the book where Anabel is talking to and developing a friendship with Nihilego, instead of just blundering through Ultra Space on her own.

But still, I really liked Symbiont! I thought it was a super creative short story with great development and description. I would like to congratulate the authors on their placement in the PWA and add that they totally deserve it.