By: Generatedname
A crossover between Pokemon and Palworld, where the Team Rocket trio get sent off to a strange set of islands...
A fic like this was inevitable, and to be honest I'm surprised there aren't more crossovers between the two. Palworld is, after all, a parody of Pokemon equal parts affectionate and deconstructive.
And it's the differences between the two that make this fic work. Team Rocket is an excellent choice for this kind of crossover. They standard trio are, despite their villain status, capable Pokemon trainers who treat their Pokemon well, which swiftly endear them to the Pals, who are more used to Standard Player Behavior in Palworld: i.e. shameless, ruthless exploitation. Seriously, go watch LPs of the game, the depths players will descend to in abusing their pals is comical. Anyway, being villains also means that they're more used to the kind of shit people get up to in Palworld - I suspect if it was Ash in this situation the moralizing would've been unbearable.
So yeah. Just what little we get of Team Rocket playing the Palworld loop is quite solid. But what happens next is what really has me shivering in anticipation. I so want this to come back.
You're on the list!
It all started the day Intrepid asked Enterprise a question. "Can you please look after my sisters for me? They're going to be stationed here and I'd be a lot more comfortable if they had you looking out for them"
I've mentioned before that a problem Kancolle fics often have is being too broad in their scope and lacking an endgame to reach toward, which means they tend to meander in the minutiae of fighting a war. An Old Ghost's Wisdom solves that by being an intensely
personal story. Our main character is Enterprise, after all - and her main opponent's are Abyssalized versions of her sister, Hornet, and her mother figure, Saratoga.
Not surprisingly, Enterprise is low-key Not Okay throughout the fic. It's honestly fairly common Enterprise stuff all around: a loner still dealing with a lot of demons, suddenly having three newbies thrust upon her and depending on her guidance. Her arc so far has been her realizing she can't just half-ass her mentorship like she's been doing, not in this scenario.
And our newbie trio of Iwo Jima, Reprisal, and Tarawa are well-done as well. They're distinct in voicing and behavior - not easy to do, that, especially when you have to make up personalities whole-cloth without even a fig leaf of ship history to work off of - and accordingly have different things that need working on. They're fun.
You're on the list.
One was destined to be a NEET sent to another world for wacky adventures with a useless goddess. The other was destined to become the mightiest disciple. But due to a truck related mix up, Kazuma will no longer go to another world, but must instead embrace a new dream:
Becoming the world's greatest H Doujinshi Author.
Wait, hold on, what?
The key appeal of this fic is Kazuma in Kenichi's spot. He's a
completely different character, and contrasts in many respects to the chivalrous, straight-laced Kenichi. He's an open pervert, which immediately gets him into Ma Kensei's good graces. He has his canon guile and luck, which drives conflict by letting him screw Ragnarok out of a bunch of money. And it highlights a neglected part of his character: he's a sucker for positive reinforcement after years of negative. That's what allows him to power through all the brutal training, and even in these early goings it's made a clear impact on his self-confidence.
And the other Konosuba stuff on this side of the crossover is neat, too. Aqua showing up to investigate all the times Kazuma dies in training and gets revived by Ryozanpaku, only to basically take a vacation, up to and including offering illustration work to Kazuma's webnovels, is an excellent connection to the Konosuba side of things. And Niijima being recontextualized as a nascent Earthside demon king makes way too much sense.
Sadly, I can't say the same for the "Kenichi in Konosuba" part. And I think the authors agree, because that subplot basically vanishes a couple chapters in. I don't miss it.
Still, I like this. You're on the list!
