The New Kids on the Block.

Introduction:

Hi there, Pokecommunity! I'm AceDragonite and I'm posting this thread to showcase a fangame that I've been working on for some time and conceptualizing for much longer, Pokémon Dioptase (2016). I had followed and in some cases participated in the fangame scene from around 2009-2011, but this is the first actual project I've showcased. I've been a fan of the Pokémon series for over 10 years and I've had the desire to make my own Pokémon game for what feels like forever. Anyways, a bit about the project: the Pokémon Dioptase I'm showcasing today is being made with RPG Maker XP and is the product of an extensive revamp of older game concept that I was working on. The events of Pokémon Dioptase take place at the same time as the events of Pokémon Black/White, however the game takes place in the Teiho region, which is much closer in proximity to the Kanto and Johto regions.

The Teiho Region:

Pokémon Dioptase essentially offers a look into the happenings in the landmass of Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh while the series itself moved to observing the faraway Unova, Kalos and Alola regions. The Teiho region, while in common interaction with the nearby Kanto and Johto regions, it maintains a culture all its own.

In addition to this, Teiho has its own Pokémon League Championship, The Evergreen League. Trainers who collect 8 badges from the gyms of Teiho are allowed to compete in the Evergreen Conference. The winner of this massive tournament gains the right to face the Elite Four and incumbent Champion in hopes of taking the Champion's title. Perhaps that trainer could be you!

Pokémon Dioptase also seeks to add more depth to the games in three areas: the environments, the characters and the storyline. Pokémon Dioptase will offer a host of interesting environments, many optional and great for exploration. Many of the towns, cities and landmarks in the game will have interesting histories and traditions which the player will learn about through interacting with NPCs during the game.

Screenshots:

Storyline - Teiho Region Lore:

The following pieces of the game's storyline are myths that and serve as somewhat of a "history book" for the Teiho region. They don't deal with the present-day events of the game, so skip down to "Storyline - Game Synopsis" if you want to know about the immediate events of Pokémon Dioptase's plot. If not, then feel free to read them and perhaps learn a bit about the Teiho region's rich history.

Southern Libra Myth
Told as a folktale in the southern part of Teiho

In ancient times, there existed an empire of great prosperity. This empire was said to be the most powerful in all the land, far more advanced in matters of technology, architecture and strength than its neighboring civilizations. This great power was due in part to the blessing of the legendary Pokémon that resided within the empire's capital city, a heraldic beast to which the citizens of this empire worshiped and made gracious offerings to.

The empire was ruled by a kind emperor, one who sought to expand the nation's borders and provide for his people. With the legendary Pokémon offering its strength to the forces of this empire, they were able to conquer and colonize many surrounding territories with their overwhelming might. These new territories then assimilated into the larger empire allowing them to benefit from the empire's resources in exchange for loyalty.

The empire's success and prominence drew the ire of a number of surrounding civilizations, however. An alliance was later formed with the hopes of conquering the empire and reaping its wealth, waging a war with the empire in order to accomplish this goal. The legendary Pokémon's blessing would have assured the empire's eventual success in this war, but a traitor within the empire's capitol bestowed upon the legendary Pokémon, a mysterious liquid, as an offering. This strange concoction caused the legendary Pokémon to fly into a blind rage, destroying entire cities at a stunning pace. Both forces were no match for the enraged legendary Pokémon, but a young soldier from the force of allied nations stepped forward to take it on.

After a long and arduous battle, the legendary Pokémon was calmed down and shortly afterward, materialised into a small, glowing stone. Though the battle had ended, the empire had been effectively destroyed. The few who remained chose to seal away the stone thought to contain the legendary Pokémon and moved away from the ruins of the once-great empire.

Northern Libra Myth
Told as a folktale in the northern part of Teiho

In ancient times, there existed an empire of great prosperity. This empire was said to be the most powerful in all the land, far advanced in matters of technology, architecture and strength than its neighboring civilizations. This great power was due in part to the blessing of the legendary Pokémon that resided within the empire's capital city, a foreboding beast to which the citizens of this empire worshiped and made gracious offerings to.

The empire was ruled by a wicked emperor, one who sought to conquer any and all nearby civilizations to drain them of their resources and horde them himself. Nevertheless, the forces of the empire, as well as the legendary Pokémon, remained loyal to the emperor. The legendary Pokémon caused any civilization the empire set his sights on to fall into ruin, allowing for the empire's forces to conquer it easily. . These new territories then assimilated into the larger empire in order to satisfy the emperor's lust for power.

A group of insurgents eventually formed within the empire; they later allied with a group of surrounding territories and waged a war against the wicked emperor's regime. The legendary Pokémon had also become seemingly disillusioned with the emperor's thirst for power, eventually refusing to answer any of his requests for the legendary Pokémon to lend its power to his empire's military. When the insurgent forces reached the capital, however, the flurry of violence startled the legendary Pokémon, causing it to fly into a frenzy, destroying everything in sight. The legendary Pokémon's rampage continued even past the capital, and it appeared that it would raze the empire entirely. However, a member of the wicked emperor's own forces chose to take on the beast in order to salvage what was left of the empire and protect anyone who may be hurt by it.

After a long and arduous battle, the legendary Pokémon was calmed down and shortly afterward, materialised into a small, glowing stone. Though the battle had ended, the empire had been effectively destroyed. The few who remained chose to seal away the stone thought to contain the legendary Pokémon and moved away from the ruins of the once-great empire.

Storyline - Game Synopsis:

The game starts with the player sailing to the Teiho region from his native Sinnoh, after agreeing to undertake a research internship with a man named Dominic, the owner of the Pokemon observatory in Springshore Town and an old friend of the player's father. While you have only been to Teiho once, on vacation while you were still very young, your father worked there as an archaeologist, before his untimely disappearance 10 years ago. Accompanying you to Teiho are your mother and your little sister, Kimi. After you told them of your desire to take on the research internship, your mother decided that the family is due for a change of scenery and worked on purchasing a house in Springshore Town. Perhaps her concern for having a child live so far away played a role as well. Regardless, the three of you make your way to Teiho and leave life in the Sinnoh Region behind.

After you go to sleep on the night of their arrival in Springshore, you report to Dominic's observatory. Dominic expresses his delight in having you as a research assistant and offers you a Pokémon to help you protect yourself against wild Pokemon when researching in the field. He gives you a choice of three rare Pokémon given to him by the regional professor, Professor Spruce: the Grass-type Loxeed, the Fire-type Pintorch or the Water-Type Aquawn.


As the first assignment with your new partner, Dominic asks you to go find his daughter Sarah, who is out researching on Route 51, as he has something to tell the both of you. You eventually find Sarah, who introduces herself and agrees to go back...only if you can beat her in a Pokémon battle! You eventually defeat Sarah and she agrees to go report to her father, along with the player. Before this, however, you find a strange-looking, translucent conch shell lying on the nearby shore. When the player picks up the shell, you can hear a girl's voice coming from it, one that cries out the words "Help!". Mystified for a moment, you nevertheless go back to the lab along with Sarah.

Sarah explains the strange situation to her father, Dominic, but he doesn't have much to say on it. He does announce, however, that he'd like you two to conduct field research for him all over the Teiho region. He tells Sarah that she's old enough to leave tiny Springshore Town and notes his confidence in the player as well. Dominic tells the both of you to take the boat to Daisyglen City and visit his friend Professor Spruce at his laboratory, citing the professor as someone who will be of great help to your field research. You eventually leave Springshore Town for Daisyglen and as a result, embark on an adventure of an incredible magnitude, full of learning, intrigue, suspense and achievement. You will meet great allies, fight against formidable foes and engage with a pernicious organization that hopes to impose their drastic vision on the Teiho region.

Characters:

Protagonist (Connor/Grace): The Male/Female player character of the game, they move to the Teiho region to work on a research internship with their father's old friend. While they are silent like past protagonists, the player is sure to experience an exciting adventure with Pokémon.

Dominic: Dominic is a biologist who owns a Pokémon observatory in quaint Springshore Town. Dominic is warm and jovial, but at the same time holds a stern sense of authority. He was good friends with your father and has known you since you were little.

Sarah: Sarah is Dominic's daughter, the same age as the protagonist. Your memories of each other are a bit hazy since you've only met once during your vacation to Teiho as a child.. According to Dominic, you and Sarah competed with each other at everything during the vacation, though the protagonist apparently came out on top most of the time.

Sarah already assists Dominic in field research and serves as the player's rival, similar to May from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. She's generally polite and respectful, as Dominic raised her to be, but she's also notoriously competitive and prone to getting jealous and resentful, an attitude she often seems to carry around the protagonist.


Professor Spruce: Professor Tobias Spruce is the regional Pokemon Professor, based in Daisyglen City. He is an expert on Pokémon Behavior and Psychology, observing Pokémon in the wild to learn about their patterns of behavior and the potential adaptive reasons for Pokémon carrying a given trait. His data are used by many companies to assist in product development, including region technology juggernaut Primo INC. Despite his wealth of scientific knowledge, he's a bit green as far as regional professors go; Spruce is also notorious among colleagues for his atrocious organizational skills.

Sherwood: Professor Spruce's assistant, a boy who's the same age as the player and has a great fondness for science and technology. While he lacks the pedigree of a strong and experienced trainer, he raises Pokémon with care and battles with an attitude of optimism. Despite his friendly personality, he's been known to be somewhat weak-willed and lacks the conviction to stand up for himself or his beliefs.

Hector: Hector is a fairly well-known trainer from the Johto Region, one with a stylish aura and an incredible command of his Pokémon. He achieved impressive top 4 finish at Johto's Silver Conference, traveling to Teiho to hopefully build upon this success in Teiho's Evergreen League. While he seems to treat his Pokémon kindly enough, he has an intense aura about him and often acts cold towards most people, looking down on many trainers and even admirers and fans. The protagonist bumps into Hector many times during his/her journey and surprisingly develops somewhat of a rapport with him, with Hector slowly beginning to acknowledge your potential as a trainer.

Team Delta: A philanthropic group in the Teiho Region, whose aim is to make the world a more peaceful and equitable place...or so they claim. Their motto is "Spare some change for the world" and they have become increasingly popular with Teiho's younger residents, with many new recruits joining each day as disillusionment with modern society grows. Despite all this, there have been reports of Team Delta engaging in dubious activities such as theft and extortion. What could be their true aim?

Companionship System:
Pokémon Dioptase will also feature a new way to communicate and battle with characters within the game - a Companionship system. This is essentially what will be a charged-up version of the "stat trainers" from Generation IV. Pokémon Dioptase will feature 6 companion trainers (3 male, 3 female) which the player will be able to interact, ally and compete with. These characters receive more attention in the game than garden variety NPCs, with the player gaining the ability to journey alongside and genuinely get to know these characters.

Pokémon:

Pokemon Dioptase will offer a whole host of new Pokémon and you can find out more about them in this section. Expect it to fill up in the future!

Planned Features:

+ A new, yet familiar-feeling region, full of interesting areas to explore and discover
+ Over 100+ new Pokémon
+ Exciting new moves and abilities, as well as minor mechanics changes in order to make battles more enjoyable
+ Deeper, more meaningful interactions with characters through the Companionship system
+ A rich storyline, full of mystery and intrigue
+ Various side quests in order to earn valuable items and perhaps Pokemon
+ Challenging, yet fun battles, including the massive Evergreen Conference tournament in Strelitzia City
+..... And perhaps more!

Development Team:

Current Team Members:
AceDragonite

I'm currently looking for help in developing this fangame. If you're willing to help and would like to join the development team, just feel free to send me a PM about joining, just make sure that you include:

-Your username
-Role being applied for (Writer, Artist, etc.)
-Proof of work for the role you are applying for

I'm willing to accept help for pretty much any position right now, so feel free to apply if you're interested and feel you have something to offer.

Additionally, if you want to show your support for the game in another way, feel free to include this banner in your signature:

Credits/Thanks:

-Pokémon Essentials: Poccil and Maruno (Thank you!)
-Game Assets [arts/sprites/various]: Full list here
-Additionally, I'd like to give a special thanks to Cilerba for helping in so, so, so many ways and teaching me the ropes of game development. This game would literally not be possible without him, so thank you, Max.
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