Amnesia Alola by @Darklight_Horizon

Genre: Action/Adventure/Mystery.

Chapters Reviewed: 21 chapters.

Update Schedule: 1-3 times a week.

Amnesia Alola is about a boy who has absolutely no memory. He has forgotten everything: his name, what a Pokémon is, what his favorite foods are, and even forgets how to walk. Luckily for him, Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet take him in just like they did with Lillie. They act like an adopted family to the boy, whom Lillie named Storm, and accepts him for who he is. However, Storm would like to gain his memories back, and after realizing that obtaining Z-Crystals can do that, the young Trainer begins the Island Challenge, hoping to one day gain all his memories back.

This book is really good for those who are just getting started in the Pokémon fandom, or just starting to read Pokéfic. Since Storm remembers nothing, the book explains everything that goes on in the Pokémon universe, or at least in the Alola Region.

I've never actually played/watched the SM/USUM portion of Pokémon, so I always get a bit confused as to what's going on in Pokéfic when the storyline follows this aspect. What I loved was that the writer explains the difference between a Trial Captain and a Kuhuna, how a Trainer starts an Island Challenge, and all the other details that makes Alola different from the previous Regions.

While I enjoyed reading that, I know there are people who may find that redundant. I wouldn't exactly disagree with them as the story goes into great detail about typing. While I learned a thing or two about Pokémon typing, I almost found it overwhelming. Sometimes I felt like Storm would know more about a Pokémon typing than a normal character. This could do with who he was before he had amnesia, but it's still uncertain as the book seems to be in it's early stages.

Despite being in the early stages, there is one thing I absolutely love about this book, and that would be the main character, Storm. He seems to have a positive outlook on life, despite not having much of a memory. In the beginning, his amnesia doesn't seem to bother him as much as Lillie's personal life does. It shows that while he has problems of his own, he can set them aside for other people. This trait Storm has is really enjoyable to read.

Another thing I enjoyed is the medical side that the book starts out with. Now, I may be a tiny bit biased on this being as I'm currently working towards a degree in the health field, but the way the writer went into detail about Storm's amnesia was mostly correct. For instance, the alveoli are the little sacs that are located in the lungs. They can tell a lot about a person's breathing by how compact or spaced out they are.

While that's interesting for me to read, I was a bit annoyed by how much detail it got into. It wasn't that there were flaws in the details or that the doctors tried reasoning with the case, but there was a single problem that could have gotten the doctor/nurse/whoever-was-at-fault fired. See, Storm finds his own medical notes and reads them because the were laying in his room. I don't care what medical shows may show, but this is against HIPAA and other medical/health regulations! Leaving a patients medical notes can harmful to the patient—Storm—as his information could get into the wrong hands.

Of course, not many can catch that if they're not familiar with HIPAA or other medical/health codes. Even medical shows will dismiss these things. Being that it's Pokéfic, it's not a big deal. Being that I hope to be in the health field, it was a bit cringeworthy for me to read.

However, I did learn from this book, which was surprising. In my few psychology classes I've taken, I've never learned how harmful amnesia can be. This is explained when Storm walks for the first time, or tries to walk. He ends up falling. When reading this, I thought it was a bit too exaggerated, but after some research, depending on the severity, amnesia can cause someone to forget how to walk. It was very interesting to read.

Besides the medical side (as that was only the first few chapters of the book) there are some things this book can improve on. Starting with the prologue, the book starts out with nice little scene that explained how Lillie and the two professors found Storm. It's really nice to see; however, there's one small detail that didn't match up with the rest of the book. That detail is that there are close to zero details found about these characters. This almost creates a false advertisement to the readers. Being that it's good for new readers as there are details on what the characters look like—which I highly enjoyed—the first chapter just lists off their names.

Again, my knowledge of SM/USUM is very slim. I know who Lillie and Professor Kukui are, but Professor Burnet is someone I've only seen a few times in Pokéfic. I know I can't be the only one on Wattpad who is like this. My advice to help readers who are a bit unfamiliar with the characters, is to add some sort of detail to the prologue. It doesn't have to be much since later in the story it goes into great detail, but just a bit for the readers to know some sort of trait for them to come up with in the character in their brain.

This may not seem important, but as a reader, I crave detail. The promising thing in this book is that the writer uses a little bit of detail to shows what the characters look like, or how a character is feeling. It's promising to see; however, with Storm not having any kind of memory, maybe adding some detail about how things look would be a bit nice. There are parts where this is shown, like when Storm sees the professors' lab/house for the first time. While there are parts like this, there are parts I wished I could've had a better picture set in stone whenever Team Skull are around.

I did like how realistic on how Team Skull would show up. Being that Storm and Lillie are both young kids, there's a sense of fear that washes over them. I find in many Pokéfic that kids/heroes/and other characters don't find the villains to be so scary. This book shows the dangers that this group of bad guys have.

Storm and Lillie are always on the brink of "losing" to Team Skull, but it doesn't help that Storm has limited knowledge in Pokémon. One of the first time Storm comes across Team Skull is when he catches a Mimyku, and during the battle, Team Skull uses some Normal Type Pokemon. Mimyku only knows Ghost Type moves. It's parts like this that really stood out because the author knows how to provoke emotion out of his readers.

Another thing that stood out to me was the pace. It's very slow. The exposition is a nice pace, as it gives a clear outline as to who everyone is, what the problem is, and all that good stuff, but once the rising action happens with the Island Challenge, I started to get a bit bored. I think the problem is because Storm goes on a journey alone. When this happens, his amnesia is almost dismissed. I say almost because he does have trouble and has Rotom to help him out, but it's not the same as having help from the professors or from Lillie. Think it would've been more effective if someone *cough* Lillie *cough* would've joined him as soon as he started this journey as it would've given something to look forward to that.

Besides all that, and a few grammar mistakes (but not much) this book is off to a great start. One of the interesting parts about this book are the battle scenes. It takes a while for them to take effect, but as soon as they're in the story, they can be very entertaining. They're fairly long and very well thought out. Lately, I've been reading a lot of short battle scenes, so it's refreshing to see a book that has battle scenes that aren't over in a move or two.

I also enjoy the relationships that are placed in the book. While Professor Burnet and Professor Kukui are married, they act as parental figures to Lillie and Storm, and almost immediately, the two act as siblings towards one another. It's so beautiful to read, and I love how they will help one another out throughout the entire book.

The plot of this book is interesting. This is the first Pokéfic I've seen that has someone's amnesia be the main conflict. Storm is having this internal conflict that happens for short periods of time as to who he was before he got amnesia. All I really wish is that this would be a bit more prominent, but it's still an interesting concept, making it an interesting read.

I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to review this book, but I'm thrilled that the author, @Darklight_Horizon , allowed me to interview him about his new book, Amnesia Alola.

JunieWeathers: One of the most enjoyable things I've read in this book was Storm's amnesia and his journey to try and overcome it. What made you decide to take on this route when writing?

Darklight_Horizon: I love making the small things matter at the very end and giving that strong sense of realization when the pieces are put into place. With a plot that surrounds something like amnesia, I can utilize that to its fullest, not just with the reader, but with the character as well.

Plus, it can put my readers into the shoes of the character with amnesia (Storm) because they know as much about him as he does: little to nothing.

JW: That's very interesting to hear. It's very evident that the book has lots of great battles in it as well as explanations behind type effectiveness, and other battle elements. Do you enjoy writing battle scenes and how do you find inspiration to create battle scenes?

DH: How I do it is I put myself in Storm's place and just, act. I envision everything in my head like a movie and write what comes to mind, either before or during writing.

JW: That's awesome. What's your favorite part about writing?

DH: Hmm.. I'd say planting those small tidbits of lore and story here and there, as well as the interactions between Storm and Lillie.

JW: Where do you find inspiration for this book?

DH: I take inspiration from many different sources, like the Sun and Moon anime/manga/games and the Explorers trilogy from Mystery Dungeon.

JW: Thank you for taking some time to participate in an interview. If you're looking for a new take on the Sun and Moon series of Pokemon, then this might be the book you may want to check out.