In celebration of the Pokémon Watty Awards, we at the GRA decided to do a special project. Our members were encouraged to read whichever entries caught their eyes and write brief reviews of whichever ones they liked. Through their hard work and the authors' permission, we now present to you a small sample of this year's Pokémon Watty Awards entries.

(d_s_t_e)

As a judge, I took the time to read every single entry. Sometimes it seemed like a lot of work, but sometimes it was also fun. So, while there were other entries that I liked as well, I wanted to take some time to write about one that made me slow down and enjoy the read in spite of the huge pile of unread entries waiting. This is a book that made me smile.

Words Aren't Enough by pi_memorizer

This is a really sweet story about a man learning how to be a good father and develop a meaningful relationship with his young son in spite of perceived obstacles. The plot is short and simple, neither dragging on nor rushing forward. It also shows a love of Pokémon shining through in a unique way, showcasing how the video games can make a difference in the real world by stimulating a child's desire to learn, providing opportunities for friendships to blossom, and even bringing a family together.

My largest criticism was that, while the simple story created an effect that was charming overall, it was a bit oversimplified in certain respects. There were little scenes that didn't quite ring true for me, like the announcement of the pregnancy. I felt that it was just lacking a little bit of adult perspective at times. Of course, that is understandable enough for a younger author. It was more important to me when it appeared as though some of the interpersonal tension had been oversimplified. What I mean is that, at times, it seemed as though characters' emotions were softened so that they weren't as sad or angry or bitter as I would have found believable. This applies to Brian's mother to a certain extent, but I noticed it the most in relation to Brian himself. I should say that I was suitably impressed with how well this story handled the presentation of a child with a disability. There were only a couple of minor places where the depiction seemed off, and everywhere else was believable and true to life. The subject was treated with respect, and Brian was not presented in a falsely negative light, which I was very pleased to see. The fact stands, however, that he is a very young child, and, based upon my own personal experience, I find it unbelievable that he maintained such a positive mood throughout all of the situations presented. During major upsets, I was expecting to see more tears.

Overall, though, there's much more to like about this story than there is to criticize. While reading, I paused in the notes that I was taking so many times just to type out "Lol!" or "AW!" or even little smiley faces. I loved how the story made me feel, and there were so many scenes that were adorable and heartwarming. I loved the emphasis on family and the way that it encourages challenging your pre-conceptions and finding unexpected wonder. It's a celebration of Pokémon, a celebration of people, and a celebration of life. I can almost guarantee that it will make you smile.

I also decided to round things out by reviewing a couple of books from the adventure category. Note that the GRA has previously published a full review of adventure category winner The Golden Throne. Feel free to check it out.

Psychic Aggression by blue___22

This was a book that impressed me from the beginning because of how well-written it is. It caught my interest from the beginning, with a scene set in the style of a court case and an intriguing setup that revealed details at just the right pace to keep me wondering. I was almost completely unfamiliar with Ace Attorney, but the circumstances and back stories of the relevant characters were presented well enough that I was never confused. In fact, I rather enjoyed the way the book blended Pokémon characters like Sabrina into a setting with an altogether different feel, which I assumed to be reminiscent of the Ace Attorney games. Sabrina is one of my personal favorite characters to write about, partially because the concept of her psychic abilities is so fascinating to me. This story handled them really well, especially in the beginning of the book before the main character even believes in them. There were also a lot of good twists in the plot throughout.

My largest criticism of the book is that I felt it was longer than it needed to be. Although I love having great details and a mix of in-depth scenes, I thought that the pacing was too slow in places and that there were many scenes that could have been presented more effectively through summary. The court scenes also showed a much looser atmosphere than I would have expected, which led me to question what the rules actually were. I also personally disliked the way it ended, but I won't go into spoilers.

Overall, though, it was easily one of my favorites in the category and a piece that stood out to me. I think it definitely would have taken first place in the crossover category if it hadn't been combined with the adventure category due to lack of entries.

Endless by StephenClarkson

Endless is another book that I found to be very well written. One of the things that I was most impressed with, though, was that every detail seemed to be realistic and absolutely on point, from the description of thirst in chapter one to the fact that the Pokémon's attacks clearly expend resources. Overall, the book depicts a harsh reality that's a perfect fit for its post-apocalyptic setting. The realism also makes every hostile encounter feel dangerous – the characters are mortal and consequences are real. I also like stories that drop the reader into the setting and weave in explanations and plot elements as they go. Every little revelation given in a spoonful at a time intrigued me, and the book itself kept everything short and sweet, cutting out extraneous detail in favor of what truly moved the story.

There were a few things that I thought could be a bit more clear, such as how the main character is able to tell the difference between a normal Pokémon and one that has been turned into a vicious killer. I also thought that the description could stand to be cleaned up a bit, because it has a few errors that could give a new reader a bit of a negative first impression. For one thing, I think that the author meant to call it a "post-apocalyptic" story rather than an apocalyptic one.

Other than that, though, I thought the story was really good. I especially enjoyed seeing that a lot of the errors I had noted on my original read-through had been cleaned up when I went back to it during the judging period. Although it's still not absolutely spotless, that showed that the author cares about making his work the best that it can be. This is one book that I would definitely recommend.

(Sheare)

Sheare decided to read entries from the one shot category.

Reminiscence by Stormlocke

Fantastic imagery. Overall, utterly perfect grammar all around. Seriously, no complaints on mechanics aside from my pet peeve shining through when you mentioned 'Déjà vu' without the accents.

Your overly intricate writing seemed to distract me from the overall message of the one-shot. When I finished, I went back and read it a second time just to make sure I absorbed the substance of the writing. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, but I think it would be beneficial for you to find a balance between mysterious tones and being confusing.

Because You Never Stopped Believing by glaceon346

Your one-shot was literally a sea of typos, pun intended. I recommend going back in there and brushing up your typos. Also, it's PokéDollars...Poké as a currency is awfully incomplete. You also have a very limited vocabulary, and it didn't feel sophisticated or thought out at all.

Content-wise, I didn't really get the one-shot. Yes, it's supposed to send the message that anyone can become what they aspire to be with encouragement, but I felt the theme was stuffed down my throat too much. I also felt that you were trying to hard to make the one-shot appear sad, which ultimately affected my take on the story.

Pokémon Mansion Journals by pi_memorizer

The formatting of the one-shot was interesting, but I cannot help but feel that each entry was far too short. I would have liked elaboration in that aspect, even though the idea was there. Again, as with other installments I reviewed from you, saying "pokemon" is a big pet peeve of mine without the accent. Yes, you can kill me now.

It was an interesting take on a relatively not talked about character in Pokémon, but I feel like the reveal of the character was more played for shock value, which didn't settle well with me.

Little Flower Girl by Meme_Knightwalker

I liked the actual writing of it. Everything was clear and precise, nothing overly intricate to distract or confuse me.

There's a right and wrong way to do angst in a one-shot. The situation with yours is rather standard and common when people attempt it and that's having the initial moment of sadness, then the reader realizes that there's no actual substance to be sad about. It's like being sad for the sake of being sad, rather than being sad for the story. If...that makes sense?

(blue___22)

Last but not least, Blue brings us some reviews from the romance category.

Velvet Crescent by Sheare

It was a very captivating, high stakes book. The characters were interesting, and the plot had enough twisting in it that the general thing was kept interesting. I liked it for the most part. The whole diving of days thing was probably the best part, for those who know what happens. I liked the character development of Wiki. It was a little dark, but that's alright. In all honesty, it resembles Nordic writing. The only major qualms I had were that there could have been a stronger feeling of romance in parts 1-3 and that you should have given Spanish translations of sorts. All in all, I would rate it a 7.5/10 on the GRA rating scale, though. Great job.

Love the Way You Lie by kittychesire123

It could use a lot of work. The writing is butchered into massive walls of text that are not only hard to read but majorly grammatically incorrect. The writing itself feels very crazed and changing without much of a direction. The characters could use a little more introduction and a lot more depth. I was personally astounded when I read the writing and was of the opinion that it needed more bulk and less energy. It was just completely random with a bunch of point of view changing. In terms of rating it, I would give it a 2/10.

The Anistar Chronicle by twerpish

Mediocre is what I'd use to describe this book. It's an okay story with a good plot. There's nothing truly groundbreaking, but, at the same time, I really saw no issues with it. I would say that at best it could be lengthened and the characters added to, but it is what it is. The fact that the main character was part of an evil organization was kind of interesting, but that's it. Camameros was pretty cool because I kind of imagined it as a psychic queen bug of a massive human hive, but otherwise there was nothing really all too memorable. To rate it, I'd give it a 5.5/10 or decent.

Magnum Opus by izayoix

There's a massive conflict with my feelings about this book. On the one hand, I really liked it. The language skills were better than many natural speakers, and the way with which it was executed had poise. From the very get go it was clear that the love between Akai and Sachi was fated. The romance was there. The other side of it though, was the confusion. There were a lot of things which were unclear. Such as, what is the prison of life? I understood the whole host thing with the legendary Pokemon, but that concept eluded me. It was really, really strange and unclear. Plus there was a numerous amount of questions I was left with regarding the legendaries and the legion thing and why they needed hosts. Nonetheless, I was very clearly entertained and would rate it 8.5/10, really excellent.

Umbreon X Espeon: The Sun and Moon by DjFennekin

Overall it was alright. It was a quick, easy read with a little bit of romance in it. All in all, I would say a typical Umbreon/Espeon romance. The dialogue was alright, a little hot and cold sometimes with rapidly changing emotions, but it was typical. I think it could have been improved if there was more bulk to the story, more character development, and better grammar. It wasn't too bad in terms of writing, and I would say that it was still pretty good, just not very outstanding from the crop. I would say it's alright to read if you're a fan of that pairing and would give it a 6/10 or good on the GRA scale.

Thanks to Blue, Sheare, and dste for writing these reviews. We hope that you enjoyed this special project of ours, and we also hope that all of you Pokémon fans go out and read some of this year's entries so that you can vote in the special awards that are open now! Whether one of our reviews caught your interest or whether you want to go out and discover for yourselves, we hope that you can help to give all of the entries the chance at the spotlight that they deserve. And, as always, thanks for following!