Pokémon Obsidian & Diamond

[D3L3T3D]

NOTE--I know there's already a Pokémon Diamond. I'm not changing the name, end of story.

A little side project of mine, I wanted to give game making a stab. Unfortunately, the game would likely follow in the same vein as most--
same old journey-from-the-start types.

However, I wanted to add a twist. I wanted to take everything from the canonical series, tear it apart, and reuse it. I also wanted to follow a similar storyline as the Pokémon Adventure comics--at least in part. All that being said, here's O/D.

Setting--In the RBYG-era; large region-state Karoko. Largely hilly landscapes with scattered forests and lined in sandy beaches. Scars of mountains cut down the middle of the state; small island volcanoes on the east coast.

Story--Obsidian and Diamond follows the stories of either a male or female character, pre-named Red Akai and Midori Verde, respecively. These young students embark on their spring semester Trainers' Leave from school to study Pokémon abroad, encountering a myriad of dangers and adventures on the way. Ultimately, they want to return in the fall as legends--revered among their peers.


A few story elements from the series have been tweaked. Primaily, you've already seen--a concept tpyically introduced in the comics--Trainers' Leave. Students with a particular grade point average can choose to take a semester off of school to continue their work in Pokémon studies, many choosing to travel the region and train.

The remaining, unchosen character becomes the second rival in the game--and yes, there will be two.

WARNING--If you support the idea so far, you may want to stop reading, as the rest of the tweaked story elements reveal major plot points in O/D.

Spoiler:

Team Rocket has a greater purpose in the game.Originally started to combat certain trade and capture embargos, Team Rocket, like the mafia it was based off of, ended up descending into worse crime, including racketeering, illegal gambling, trade of illicit substances and Pokémon, and even murder. Recently, it's been rumored that they dabble in gene splicing, cloning, and other types of DNA research and alteration. This tweak comes from the comics' explanation of Mewtwo, and the inclusion of Mew.

Spoiler:

Mew plays a legitimate role in the game, and is, in fact, the primary legendary Pokémon. At the beginning, Professor Oak is studying it, but a break in the fence of Mew's pen allowed it to escape.

Mew then makes various cameos in the game, especially in respect to Mewtwo's creation. Mew are also mentioned to be heavily revered in ancient culture, making it apparent that they were, at one point in time, an abundant species. Ruins in the forests of Karoko depict Mew as agents of the Gods.

Mew has seriously been nerfed, no longer able to learn any ability. However, it can learn a multitude of others, making it, by far, the most versatile Pokémon in the game.

Spoiler:

The legendary birds make a triumphant return as agents of nature. A powerful storm takes place before the game, altering the paths that the player can take (and lending credibility as to why they must conveniently take the long way around). As a result, for the GSC-era game, Karoko will be affected by their absence, due to the players capturing them.

Additionally, I had considered having the player capture each of them for a scientist in the game, and then forcing the player to choose between them. The remaining birds would go to the rivals, the type advantage over the player given to the "Gary".

Spoiler:

Championship combat would be entirely different, and truly in championship form. This is another idea lifted from the comics.

The player would have to work their way tot he top, much as in Battle Tower fashon.

3 Weak Trainers ---> 2 Strong Trainers, Gender Rival ---> Elite Four & "Gary" Rival

Arrows indicate a break period, mainly for saving and story elements. Story events occur at the tournament, one of which, involving Team Rocket. Afterwards, the player is considered the CHAMPION, and sent to the credits and back home to Gravel Town, given a slight foreshadowing of the next game beforehand.

Previews


Male Player Sprites (Edited from Marnic's GSC Hero)
Heavily based off of a fanfiction character (see sig) who, in turn, was heavily based off of Pokémon Adventures Red and Red from FR/LG. The GS remake in the link was perfect for a mostly-premade set of Red Akai sprites.

Small details to note on the larger selection and battle sprites--
--The hair. Bright blue, in contrast to the character's costume and name. Note the back-turned hat. Originally, the character wore a bandanna. (edited GS battle sprite and TCG overworld.)
-The white stripe on the pants. This is a minor detail, but in the fanfic, it contained a magnetic strip on each leg that could hold PokéBalls to it.
-The sweatshirt. It looks like a vest/long sleeved shirt combination, but the jacket is meant to be a sort of jacket similar to high school letter jackets.



A preview of the first route, Route 16, showing off my mapping abilities. :p
In the middle is a squarish brown tile next to the road--I plan to sprite a fallen tree and place it there, forcing the player to walk AROUND it, through the grass.


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Give me feedback, as long as it isn't a name change. That WILL NOT HAPPEN.

[Wichu]

But isn't there already a Diamond for DS?
Interesting concept, although yeah, you are kinda nerfing Mew. Smeargle will overshadow it for versatility (if it's obtainable).
Nice story, I like how it's a manga-like plot, not like the countless anime-based games. In my opinion (and probably a lot of others') the anime's story should have been that of the mangas, since the mangas have the best story in my opinion (out of manga, anime and games).

[D3L3T3D]

Yes, there Is a Pokémon Diamond--which is Why I requested that no one ask me to change the name. O/D was the name of my fangame WAAAY before D/P was a gleam in Nintendo's eye. :p

Yes, Mew's getting slightly nerfed, simply for the fact that he's obtainable in the main storyline. I beleive Celebi could also learn every TM, and as it's unobtainable, that's its right. Mew's power and TM versatility is slightly decreased to make his usage a bit more fair.

Besides, thinking realistically, would you FLY or SURF on the back of a skinny pink cat no larger than a child's backpack? I doubt it.

More story/gameplay elements to come. Keep 'em comin'.

[Yuoaman]

Awesome, the story sounds just awesome. It seems like one of the better ideas, I cannot wait to see you begin progress.

[D3L3T3D]

Male trainer sprites are now up.

[Mitchman]

yeah nice way of breaking up the poke-league

[D3L3T3D]

Thank you. I specifically remember reading about the Indigo League being more like a knockout tournament (which also added game-scenes to portray the pokemon on the big screes in the arena--an uber cool function), but the Adventures series also portrayed the Elite Four as an extension of Team Rocket.

This ensures that a trainer can't just blaze through the tournament. They can fight three trianers at first, yes, that are mid-level, just around the same zone as those on Victory Road.

However, after the story/save break, the skill level jumps up as tougher trainers at about the player's level (where the player SHOULD be, anyway) take the arena, including the rival of the gender you DIDN'T choose.

Finally, the Elite Four are truly that, testing your battle abilities tot he fullest until the final story break between them and your final challenge--a higher-level CHAMPION that is your prime rival throughout the game. I remember how tough Gary was in the RBYG era, and I wanted that.

This way, neither the tournament aspect of the League, nor the Four, are forgotten.

NOTE--I'm looking for a custom set of the GSC-era female trainer. I found one before, but lost it with the death of my old computer. If someone could point it out to me, I'd be eternally grateful. I would prefer a version similar to Marnic's silver (pictured above), featuring the gender selection, battle, AND overworld sprites. Thanks!