Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Jig
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This was gonna go in Advanced, but I figured it might get on better in Casual. Holla at me if you're up for this and if I get a few people I'll stick up an OoC. :)

Welcome to Pokemon: Indigo Version.

This is an adult, darker take on Pokemon set in a somewhat dystopian society. The shady NeonCorp dominates the region and democracy is a joke. This is a world of red-light districts and barren wastelands where people and Pokemon get hurt. This is not happy-clappy anime land where ten year-olds befriend hulking monsters and talk about the power of friendship. The real world is somewhat rougher.

Critics, though few and far between, have always wondered if the Scarlet Conference, a huge yearly tournament, was just a distraction from something more important happening. Of course, their communications have to be subtle, before they are silenced.

Exactly what is NeonCorp up to?
More importantly, whose side are you on?


There is a bit of plot to this, but I'm looking for the RP to be player-driven. If the players drive the plot in a direction different to what I have planned, I will go with that and either change the plot or use it as a backdrop to whatever unfolds. There's a buttload of information below. Don't feel obliged to read all of it, but it's a backdrop to the RP so it will come in handy. If you simply want to sandbox in the world I've created, I'm well on-board with that.









Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Archmage MC
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If it wasn't such a tiny island it would probably be fun.

Try putting it in a landlocked landmass? Orre was such a place and it was much like what your going for.

also personally I'm not a fan of actual pictures for gym leaders. anime ones would work better.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by OtomostheCrazy
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I'm up for this!
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Jig
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This isn't anime. This is realistic - or, realistic as far as Pokemon goes.
If you want anime, this isn't for you.

I went for a tiny island because I thought a tropical environment would be a bit fun, Orre has been done, and the tininess is deliberate. Chances are, we aren't going to explore the whole thing and I'm not designing an enormous landmass to then stay in one city or two.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Archmage MC
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Jig said
This isn't anime. This is realistic - or, realistic as far as Pokemon goes.If you want anime, this isn't for you.I went for a tiny island because I thought a tropical environment would be a bit fun, Orre has been done, and the tininess is deliberate. Chances are, we aren't going to explore the whole thing and I'm not designing an enormous landmass to then stay in one city or two.


I'm just tired of almost every pokemon game being on an island instead of a continent. lol.

How realistic do the attacks get? And how creative can you get with how they work? DnD levels of creativity or what?
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by OtomostheCrazy
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Wait, if this is as realistic as I think it is, does that mean we won't be able to use ghost-types?
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OtomostheCrazy said
Wait, if this is as realistic as I think it is, does that mean we won't be able to use ghost-types?


Ir'll probably also mean no smart psychics. Gardevoir could just rupture the organs of its opponent or something and there is no way to save yourself from that outside of super cellular regeneration.

And most psychics could just give their oppoents an aneurism.
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OtomostheCrazy said
Wait, if this is as realistic as I think it is, does that mean we won't be able to use ghost-types?


I would say, as a general rule, that types are kind of immaterial in this. There's no really good reason that a normal-type should be weak to a karate chop and not a headbutt, so types are getting binned. Ghosts are a slightly different case - I would say that a few of them, on a case-by-case basis, would have intangible forms so physical attacks wouldn't work, but, equally, that would reduce their own utility and generally increase their frailty against elemental attacks. That said, I don't see any reason why most of them shouldn't be able to be punched.

Archmage MC said
I'm just tired of almost every pokemon game being on an island instead of a continent. lol.

How realistic do the attacks get? And how creative can you get with how they work? DnD levels of creativity or what?


See the Common Sense rules in the OP. Creative is fine, but things like "Haha, I just used Swords Dance and set up a Substitute" aren't really a thing because stats are getting thrown out as a decider in battles. Imagine slightly more high-powered cockfighting. That's what we're talking. I don't know DnD, so, shrug.

Archmage MC said
Ir'll probably also mean no smart psychics. Gardevoir could just rupture the organs of its opponent or something and there is no way to save yourself from that outside of super cellular regeneration.And most psychics could just give their oppoents an aneurism.


No Gardevoir for you. :P
That's very true, and not something I'd taken into account. As a result, Psychics, on the whole, will be getting a big ol' nerf.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Imperfectionist
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:) This looks like it could be interesting! I especially like the idea of televised Gym battles and trainer superstars and all that. It sounds almost like UFC fighting (or pro wrestling), you know?

Anyway, I'll add to Otomos' question about ghosts: what are the types of pokemon you believe would be realistic partners for most trainers? Are there any examples besides pseudolengendaries of species that would never work with trainers?
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Well if you can work out the limitations of psychic pokemon, I'd like a gardevoir :P.

Also whats the say on mega evos?
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Okay, but how would explain ghost types? Like, if I wanted to use yamask, would it hold the soul and memories of a person? Or would that Dex entry state it as some sort of rumor or myth?
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OtomostheCrazy said
Okay, but how would explain ghost types? Like, if I wanted to use yamask, would it hold the soul and memories of a person? Or would that Dex entry state it as some sort of rumor or myth?

On the whole, I'd say to take the Pokedex entries with a heap of salt. Magcargo is not 9,000 degrees C (or whatever it's stated to be). That would melt the whole bloody island. This one could go either way, but I don't really think you could actually necessarily tell. It can't talk to you. You can decide either way on something inconsequential like this, but my idea would be that it is a rumour that your character could believe or not.

Imperfectionist said
:) This looks like it could be interesting! I especially like the idea of televised Gym battles and trainer superstars and all that. It sounds almost like UFC fighting, you know?Anyway, I'll add to Otomos' question about ghosts: what are the types of pokemon you believe would be realistic partners for most trainers? Are there any examples besides pseudolengendaries of species that would never work with trainers?


That's exactly the vibe I was going for. It's celebrity sport star culture, with a good helping of cruelty to animals thrown in.
My instinctive reaction would be that the majority of Pokemon, if raised from young and/or well enough, would be trainable. If you catch a Teddiursa and work on it, it'll still be friends even when it can sit on you. If you catch an Ursaring and try to play fetch, it will just... sit on you. Assume that most are allowed, but the bigger and the nastier it is, the harder you'll have had to work on it.

Archmage MC said
Well if you can work out the limitations of psychic pokemon, I'd like a gardevoir :P.Also whats the say on mega evos?


Off the bat, I'd be saying a Psychic type should specialise in the thing it's Psychic about. That is to say, Hypno will do more hypnotising and mind control than Xatu, who will use precognition, while the Gardevoir and Alakazam types will be throwing shit around with the power of their mind. There might be some overlap, but specialising in given fields appropriate to the species seems the best nerf to me, if you follow my drift. The only reason to nerf Psychic is the potential invisible unlimited range insta-kill you pointed out to me.

Mega evos will not just be a thing in this. If there's appetite for it, I can build them into the story, but I'm not just gonna hand out mega stones like sweeties from the start. There was something similar to Mega-Evolution (but not quite the same) on the cards for the plot but it can be Mega-Evolution if that's what's wanted, I guess. I'm ambivalent, beyond how they've completely warped the metagame and presumably would do the same to this.
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to be fair, Mega evos didn't warp the meta, more so make it less stale. Besides giving into popular pokemon and giving them mega evos (Blazakin, Lucario, whos megas are banned), or giving a top tier pokemon mega evos (Gengar/Alakazam which are usually banned), Mega evos help low or bottom tier pokemon become relevant. When was the last time you saw a Mawile or Gardevoir or Pinser in any team that wasn't NU? It gives the devs a way to make a pokemon relevant again by removing its ability to use items.

And since its tied to an item, a tourny can just ban mega evos outright if they want to.
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Archmage MC said
to be fair, Mega evos didn't warp the meta, more so make it less stale. Besides giving into popular pokemon and giving them mega evos (Blazakin, Lucario, whos megas are banned), or giving a top tier pokemon mega evos (Gengar/Alakazam which are usually banned), Mega evos help low or bottom tier pokemon become relevant. When was the last time you saw a Mawile or Gardevoir or Pinser in any team that wasn't NU? It gives the devs a way to make a pokemon relevant again by removing its ability to use items.And since its tied to an item, a tourny can just ban mega evos outright if they want to.


I don't play Smogon. I just play Manz that I like that aren't sacks of crap. While it's true that they haven't completely warped the metagame, you can guarantee that in any non-Smogon battle, you -will- see one of the twenty or so Manz that can go mega. That and Talonflame. Obviously.
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Hmm. Making Pokemon battles realistic in a satisfying manner is... very problematic, now that I think about it.

Mostly, what it seems to me that would do is make various types of Pokemon completely unbalanced. Psychics have already been mentioned and the nerf discussed, but what about Electric, or Fighting, or (god forbid) something like Onix or Steelix? How superpowerful do we make them? If they're all completely nerfed, it, ironically, makes the setting less realistic...

So, are we more married to realism, or to "fairness" in Pokemon battles? (Basically, lore vs. game mechanics)
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Imperfectionist said
Hmm. Making Pokemon battles realistic in a satisfying manner is... very problematic, now that I think about it.Mostly, what it seems to me that would do is make types of Pokemon completely unbalanced. Psychics have already been mentioned and the nerf discussed, but what about Electric, or Fighting, or (god forbid) something like Onix or Steelix? How superpowerful do we make them? If they're all completely nerfed, it, ironically, makes the setting less realistic...So, are we more married to realism, or to "fairness" in Pokemon battles?


I'd say a balance of the both, but the most powerful moves are simply impossible in this, which might make nerfs kind of natural. Non-legendary Pokemon aren't really capable of creating Earthquakes, nor can they summon thunderbolts from the sky. As far as elemental attacks go, we're talking about the elemental power equivalent of perhaps a Charizard breathing a plume of flame, generally speaking, as an upper-middle level of what they can do. Yes, the fire would suck, but they won't completely incapacitate battle ready Pokemans, and so we could say the same for most elemental moves. I imagine elements will primarily be used as augments to physical combat, on the whole. Fightings are therefore balanced by not having an elemental boost (generally) and are forced to outmanoeuvre or simply overpower the opposition. Flying Pokemon will generally be fragile but have the advantage of being airborne, forcing the opponent to defend and counter well. A lot of this stuff balances itself to my mind.

To be honest, the main reason for sorting this out beforehand is just to guarantee that nobody dickstorms in with a Pikachu and brings Ragnarok down upon us being all "But he learns thunder though". Fortunately, I trust that players in this won't just dickstorm and so balance and fairness will reign anyway. The idea isn't to prescribe every possible action and let the players choose: it's to make sure the players know roughly how this will work and let them be creative with it.

Imagine Onyx and Steelix would, indeed, but horrifying monsters to battle. On the plus side, their enormousness will probably make them rare in the wild, and so they hopefully won't turn up. If worst comes to worst, go for the eyes. :P

Not all Manz are made equal. Onyx and Steelix would be a solid choice for a Trainer if they could train one (doubtful, but hey) and probably steamroller untactical opponents while Sunkern doesn't really have anything to fight with, limbwise. Some Pokemon will be more suited to the battle aspects of this RP than others.
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Meh, Mega Waifu build owns a lot of stuff xD.

Or mega Mawile.... yeah.... that hits hard.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by OtomostheCrazy
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So...Any backstory on the gym leaders?
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Jig
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Certainly on the ones that I plan on being directly involved in the plot. Tomtom (ahem, Thomas Kiros) is Leon Kiros' son, and so one of the heirs to NeonCorp and probably my main PC. However, he's a bit of a playboy and waster and was shunted into the Gym path rather than actually being involved in NeonCorp directly. Marius and Maria are basically convenient demographic-pleasing pinups that have bought into the system quite happily.

Lin is outspoken against NeonCorp, but they're still courting her to get on-side because she polls well. Samuel was previously also a critic, but NeonCorp put a stop to that. Lissa is more privately opposed.

Ray and Bryson, I haven't decided about yet, but I'm sure Bryson will play a role.

Other than what I've said above, I'm leaving it open because I don't think they'll all directly be involved in the plot, so the openness can be afforded. Tomtom, Bryson, Lin and Samuel are probably going to be the most important but I'm working on them.
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Eh, I guess we can police it case-by-case, as long as we post our teams in advance and agree not to insta-kill everything we meet.

EDIT: What are your thoughts on someone playing a Professor-style character, instead of a traditional, sporty trainer? Someone who knows a lot about Pokemon, and probably has a partner for companionship or study, but doesn't compete against the Gyms or anything?
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