Affinities

In the world of Lola and its sibling fanfics, pokemon are not the only creatures who have types. Humans also have inherent types called Affinities. Affinities, unlike actual types, do not enable humans to perform attacks. Instead, they make humans more likable to pokemon whose types match their Affinity(ies), allowing them to command more of the pokemon's attention than normal, regardless of whether they actually own the pokemon or not.

As with pokemon, every human has an Affinity, sometimes even two, but Affinities are uncommon knowledge in the world in which these fanfics take place, and are pretty much limited to those in close association with the pokemon league. It can be tricky to identify what Affinity each person has due to the way they work. As each pokemon is unique, it can be hard to tell if a pokemon is being friendly with you because of your Affinity, or because it is a naturally friendly pokemon. Encountering duel-typed pokemon further complicates the identification process if you have not discovered your first Affinity. The best way to identify and verify your Affinity is to interact with multiple pokemon of the same types.

It's possible to theorize one's Affinity based on how that person acts. Affinities do play a role in personality, though how much depends on the person. Some can be so ingrained it is obvious what their Affinity is, even if you don't have a pokemon to help you. In others, though, they may only have a few traits that match an Affinity, and it is necessary to involve pokemon to confirm it.

In rare cases, Affinities can be "refined" to a point where telepathic communications with a pokemon can be established. It is unknown how this is performed, but evidence in the fanfic suggests building a strong bond with a single pokemon and having a very open mind. Studies within the world of Lola have theorized that extrasensory abilities, such as the kind seen in psychics, play a strong role, but this is unlikely given the fact that pokemon that are not Psychic type have established communication with their trainers.

Trivia

 * All Affinities have been identified and summarized in Catilena's Twitter . They are covered in more depth on the wiki.


 * Contrary to popular belief, the concept of the Affinities as created by Catilena predates Pokemon Conquest, which has a similar system in place.


 * Affinites were originally created for the fanfic, but managed to be implemented in an unrelated roleplay that Catilena owns.


 * Almost all members of the pokemon league only use pokemon that match their Affinity, or just one of their Affinities in the case of people who are known to have two. This is so that they can more easily formulate complex strategies in the heat of battle as well as maintain an advantage even over a challenger who knows of their specialized type ahead of time. Only Champions are excluded, and are permitted to use the team they used to become Champion so that they can be a full challenge.