What would make a good Pokemon Journey RP?

I'm participating as a player in a journey RP now that's really successful, in which it's helping me learn a lot about how to properly GM and such (like not go active hehe), but I still have to wonder: what do you think would make a Pokemon journey RP great in terms of, well... the actual journey, mechanics, Pokemon, culture, etc etc.?

the best journey rps i was in were WoPC regions lmaooo

personally I like a schedule, an active gm who plays NPCs rather than a protagonist, simple but efficient mechanics, a condensed/limited pokédex, and uhh... other players who are interested in making the game fun, i suppose!

and really, i think it's most necessary to have at least two of three:
- a promising plot
- a new/significantly altered region to explore
- an unusual pokédex

and most of all, i do not want to play the games in written form. i'll just go pick them up on my own if that's the entire concept lmao

Aquacorde said:

i do not want to play the games in written form. i'll just go pick them up on my own if that's the entire concept lmao

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As I understand them, that's what "Pokemon journey RPs" are, at the most basic level. Right? You're playing a story RP that follows the same basic Pokemon journey as the baseline series games?

No. That's what they absolutely shouldn't be. That's boring as hell. Those RPs die, because nobody wants to just rehash the games. I already talked about what is better than that, and how a journey RP can achieve success, so I'm not gonna rehash it.

Aquacorde said:

No. That's what they absolutely shouldn't be. That's boring as hell. Those RPs die, because nobody wants to just rehash the games.

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I mean, I agree with you, but in my (limited?) experience, that's what the "journey" RPs I see actually are. Unfortunately.

Yes, that's why we're discussing what would make a good journey RP.

Excuse my lack of accented e's.

Definitely w/ Aqua & Star on placing emphasis on exploration, as well as the roleplay having a separate identity from the games.

Important for me, too, is developing the setting. There should be world-building on the GM's behalf. Pokemon doesn't have much of a consistent lore regarding how Pokemon are actually integrated in society, and then how humans conduct themselves on top of that: social expectations, work force, government, education, etc. Obviously, people can make up how their characters got educated and at what age, but when certain aspects of the world aren't constant, individual players will bring in separate interpretations of the Pokemon world.

This has occurred in pretty much... every journey I've participated in. The worst result is that meaningful interactions between player-controlled characters is practically nullified, and characters feel paper-thin. No one has individual lives; their existence as characters is in-the-moment because that's the only aspect established! There's nothing for them to talk about because there's no real setting. There's no such thing as "life experiences" that have molded who the characters are today; characters have history, but it's without a foundation, and thus is without impact.

It's common knowledge that setting is important in fantasy 'verses, and this should be applied to Pokemon roleplays too. And I adore world-building in the Pokemon 'verse because things are so vague and unexplored; you can do anything. Creating an opportunity for that would make for a fantastic roleplay!

(And since the common consensus is your character gets a 'starter' for these types of RP's:) The less limitations on starters, the better, and I personally hate restricting the starters to the Grass/Fire/Water ones from the games.

Junier said:

Excuse my lack of accented e's.

Definitely w/ Aqua & Star on placing emphasis on exploration, as well as the roleplay having a separate identity from the games.

Important for me, too, is developing the setting. There should be world-building on the GM's behalf. Pokemon doesn't have much of a consistent lore regarding how Pokemon are actually integrated in society, and then how humans conduct themselves on top of that: social expectations, work force, government, education, etc. Obviously, people can make up how their characters got educated and at what age, but when certain aspects of the world aren't constant, individual players will bring in separate interpretations of the Pokemon world.

This is a very good point, and the type of setting you create and the social rules you embrace will help set the tone of the adventure. Tone is very important to establish early on, and it gives players an idea of what they may be in for. I'm not saying that a darker tone is better, because that's not always true. However, I always found that some sort of peril helped keep me on my toes and made things more realistic and more interesting. Unless you're running an RP for younger crowds, being completely immune to any lasting negative effects makes things a lot less engaging.

This has occurred in pretty much... every journey I've participated in. The worst result is that meaningful interactions between player-controlled characters is practically nullified, and characters feel paper-thin. No one has individual lives; their existence as characters is in-the-moment because that's the only aspect established! There's nothing for them to talk about because there's no real setting. There's no such thing as "life experiences" that have molded who the characters are today; characters have history, but it's without a foundation, and thus is without impact.

I know what you mean; it's like the NPCs were place there just to serve a tiny purpose, and nothing more. They have no ambitions, fears, hopes, or anything beyond helping/hindering the main cast. Flat villains are the absolute worst for this, and in a genre where evil teams are everywhere, having an uninspired one hurts the story a lot. This is even more true if a big part of the adventure hinges on ruining their operations and taking them down.

It's common knowledge that setting is important in fantasy 'verses, and this should be applied to Pokemon roleplays too. And I adore world-building in the Pokemon 'verse because things are so vague and unexplored; you can do anything. Creating an opportunity for that would make for a fantastic roleplay!

I think this is a huge draw for the creative fandom in general; you can make almost any type of character and have some control over the setting, but without the need to make something from scratch. I can be a chaotic good Ranger helping after an ebil team left the region half-destroyed. I can also be a research assistant, going on a journey to find where the regional Prof. is, as they vanished months ago without a trace. Or, I could take the role of a shy, meek character who wishes to become a top co-ordinator, but who freezes the second they step on the stage. Giving the RPers some choice in what their characters choose to pursue is another thing I'd recommend.

(And since the common consensus is your character gets a 'starter' for these types of RP's:) The less limitations on starters, the better, and I personally hate restricting the starters to the Grass/Fire/Water ones from the games.

Totally agree. Heck, in the manga, many of the protagonists have non-starter Pok?mon before meeting with the regional Prof. and getting their dex. It does give more room for creativity as well.

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Comments in bold.

YoOoOoOo

Tone is also not there, in my experience. There are totally journeys whose GMs have written set-ups beyond "Here's the first route," but they're not a commonality; they should be, set-up posts are important!

Great point with tone being crucial for realism, too. I've always felt that, since "Redux" where I wrote a cocky performer, I've isolated myself tonally from other players in journeys. (I think it was most excruciating in "Rainbows"; looking back, in "Yet Another Pokemon Story," I more so expanded on/planned to expand upon previously-established elements, like having a missing Kimono Girl being a kidnap victim, so it wasn't that bad.) It's all from world-building in the manner that I'd like to without having any pre-established elements to ground myself. As a result, it becomes hard for me to connect with other players.

And yeah, NPCs too certainly suffer from... let's call it Ill-defined Setting Syndrome. A lot of the times, there's the ability to integrate NPCs into characters' personal narratives; I've tried to breathe some personality into the professors especially, namely Birch in "Hoenn Hard Mode" and Elm in "Past of the Past" ("THE SARCASM OF TRAINING").

I actually haven't participated in a journey RP that's lasted past the first badge, never mind introduce a major villain! Even though you probably shouldn't wait to introduce an overarching conflict, just for activity's sake...

Yes, there's so much variety in Pokemon! And this ties into the starters too, but individualizing a character beyond a teenager and a beginning Trainer with the endless possibilities introduced is one of my favorite parts about journeys! I do like teenage characters though. Favorite unrealized potential was Professor Gooseberry, the Pokemon expert with a grudge against the League, investigating who writes the Pokedex entries, anyway, but then getting tricked into receiving a license to keep him from harassing Birch. He was 60+ and flamboyant and I never got to write him, what a damn shame. He even had a sadistic Alolan Meowth sidekick. Named Sylvester. Like, come on.

Lol, now I want to hear about other peoples' favorite Trainer characters. You've been in some type of journey RP, right, Star? What'd you think of your Trainer?

Junier said:

He even had a sadistic Alolan Meowth sidekick. Named Sylvester. Like, come on.

Lol, now I want to hear about other peoples' favorite Trainer characters. You've been in some type of journey RP, right, Star? What'd you think of your Trainer?

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That is awesome. Just is.

Oooh, it's been SO long since I was in a proper journey type RP. I mean, it's been years. Maybe four or so?

I do recall a character I used in a forum game that grew into using many journey tropes (earning badges, pwning Team Rocket, catching Pok?mon, ect). The character I used in the first arc was a girl named Moon, who ended up kidnapped and brainwashed by TR. She managed to start shacking it off and escaped, blowing the base up in her escape. The heroes found her staggering around and she *spoilers* joined them. Her character from there focused on trying to redeem herself, regain her memories (they became spotty because of the aforementioned brainwashing), and become a worthy ally for the heroes. And falling in love with the guy destined to destroy the continuity, btw. There was also the part where she ends up rescuing the soul of a person she ordered killed while with TR, watches her love spiral downwards, and is killed when the continuity ends (she went through a lot of emotional torment, poor dear). She appears in the sequel, and communicates with my other character, Luna, who was mute. Luna joined TR out of misguidance, so it was an interesting dynamic. Sadly, I poofed before I could pull my master plan off, but yeah.

The story was quite dark, obviously, and allowed the tragic characters to work well with the setting and tone. I think it helped that the other RPers were active, which allowed us to craft a flowing narrative, and kept the adventure moving along fairly quickly.

Also, there was Shelly, the overprotective Wartortle. She was awesome, and kept giving the love interest dirty looks and getting between them when they got too close for her liking. I need to make a Pok?mon in her vein sometime, haha.

And I word-walled, but yeah. I can't really remember more casual journey RPs, because my brain got fried from University and College.

I've played as many a trainer in journey RPs- in that RP past of the past, and The Pokemon Z RP I'm trying new ideas. In Z I'm playing as a idealistic detective who obsesses over superheroes and comic books, and in past of the past, I'm RPing as a trainer who's a master thief secretly. They both have potential, imo! I think that's part on how I'm getting more invested in these RPs.

Those all sound like super fun ideas to write, Star & Dragon!

I played a comic book nerd in my first RP on the site, Hoenn Hard-Mode, though Connie was otherwise a normie. Though, her dynamic with her unresponsive Slakoth starter had potential.

I deleted my last post, because it was confusing I think. And I wasn't clear at what I was saying, so let me try this again.

It is really hard to know what makes a Journey RP. I have been in a few and they haven't lasted very long. I really don't know why either. They start good, but fall a part when people have to start interacting a lot.

What I personally think is people need to have stuff to do, but at the same time, I think it should be a Sandbox RP. Having people following the same route, but don't interact has always annoyed me. And it isn't good to have more than 4 people in a JP. So having everyone one in a single JP, can be a bad thing.

Along with that, I think there should be missions every, but not a ton. These missions should give Key items and Money, not items. Because this because a pain. You have people passing up missions because it isn't something they want or need. Money, Pokemon Eggs, or Key items, I think would convince people to do them more.

There obviously needs to be a plot. Something different, but not drastically different. A lot of Journey RPs, tend to cater toward the Gyms, but not everyone wants to battle a gym. In most rps with gyms, if you don't battle a gym, it feels like you are being left out.

Currently I am working on a fan made region. In this region, people can do sports with pokemon, battles, gyms, contests,showcases, catching contests, races and even cooking. Even with the vast difference between things, they're all work toward the same goal. You don't have to do 1 thing to continue, you can do all sorts of things.

Also in a journey RP, I really don't think there should be a ton of people. I'd say 5 or 6 should be the limit. Having more than that tends to become very confusing and an overload of work for the GMs. Maybe it could reach to 8 to make a full basic tournament bracket if a tournament will be involved.

I also don't think there should be a limit on how many pokemon someone can catch, but you can't just catch everything you see. There has to be a balance. I don't think there should be a set amount of starters. I think you should be able to choose your own starter. As long as it is reasonable. So you aren't going to start with a fully grown pokemon.

One thing that has always annoyed me about most Journey RPs, starter pokemon are set in stone and can be very random. And people tend to only go with current pokemon. And Kanto Pokemon are really over used. I love more than just those pokemon. I would love to start with a Piplup or a Trapinch, even a Gible. (Although Pseudo Legends could be overbored.)

You could also use eggs. People would choose an egg and eventually it will hatch. This could be randomly chosen and if it is a reasonable pokemon, then re do it till you get a reasonable pokemon. Although I think this would be more for a story.

Player need to have a choice. They need to have room to grow. It is also unlikely that so many trainers would start in the same town at the same time. I understand RPs are to interact with other people, but some people don't really like to interact, but they want to build a character and then maybe interact with one or two at a time. So they don't get overloaded.

I also think "Being chosen to become a trainer" is a bit overused. Make something happen that pushes them to leaving. Let a mysterious group come out at the start of a fair. Make it air on tv. Destroy towns. Do something instead of just saying, "Hey you have been chosen, come get your pokemon."

Don't restrict everything to a system, but make it reasonable if a pokemon is goign to evolve or learn a new move. A level 5 Squirtle with Hydro Pump.... that is bad.... that shouldn't happen, but don't restrict everything to a system.


Have a big region or even multiple regions. If its an old region, make to towns, cities. Do what the anime does. Make new mountains... Parks something.... Example, put a big island to the southeast of Sinnoh with a few towns. Let everyone spread out and start where they want. Don't put levels on routes. if someone wants to start in Sunyshore City in Sinnoh, let them. Don't lock routes, because if one person does post, or the GM has to set up a new route, it slows down the RP.

In most cases, a set time would be nice. But in a journey RP, I don't think it works well. Just say something like 'No more than 3 months has past since the journey started' This would allow people to do night posts when they want to or rain posts when they want to. I usually like having a set time, but it is hard in a Journey RP unless everyone is right on top of each other.


But there has to be an END GAME. Or otherwise everything would go on forever.

Just a few things that popped up for me, not a huge and detailed reply.

Having people following the same route, but don't interact has always annoyed me.

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I've always used routes as sort of an abstraction. I don't see them as how they are in the game, a single road between each city. There are many ways to get from point A to point B, especially by walking. You already mentioned the problem with large JPs, but forcing too much interaction just slows things down, in my option. Sometimes I just want to sit down and knock out a post without having to wait for someone, and JPs can be frustrating if you and the other writers have different paces.

I also find it kind of interesting talking about DM overwork when accepting more than six characters, but also list all the things your custom region has. Gyms are easier and I do see the occasional contest, but that seems like a lot. Adding a new method of play entirely is a whole lot more DM work than adding a new player, especially if you have to make options for a playstyle that only has one person in it.

You could also use eggs. People would choose an egg and eventually it will hatch. This could be randomly chosen and if it is a reasonable pokemon, then re do it till you get a reasonable pokemon.

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Interesting, but ultimately seems like a worse version of here's a list of starters. I think freedom of character is more interesting, and getting a pokemon I don't really like but it was better than what I rolled prior isn't too interesting.

Then again, I'm picky on Journeys.

Don't restrict everything to a system, but make it reasonable if a pokemon is goign to evolve or learn a new move. A level 5 Squirtle with Hydro Pump.... that is bad.... that shouldn't happen, but don't restrict everything to a system.

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I've seen this more often than not. And systems can be interesting if done right. Steady progress and a well defined next goal can help prevent a sandbox from becoming a desert of choices.

Have a big region or even multiple regions.

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I think being too short isn't a complaint really anyone has about a Journey. Also, having a whole lot of people on different route both kills cooperation if someone starts across the region (unless they teleport or skip an unspecified amount of time), and is always more work for the GM. Unless this is some kind of GMless Journey, which may be interesting.



As for my own thoughts, Journeys tend to die because they tend to be both slow and content starved. Going route by route kills any sort of quick development, and you're stuck until people post and the route moves.

Overall, I think it needs some kind of twist to make it different. Something that sets apart your Hoenn/Sinnoh/Johto RP from the pile of decaying carcasses behind it. A unique system to keep people wanting to post, though I am not a person who can create something like that off the top of my head, so no examples.

Plot is also a key part. Do it early, do it often. The death of a Journey is when the GM says "I have a great plot in mind" and then sets up the first event in the third city. Actions can't survive without some kind of feedback. Let the players get drawn into the conflict from the get go, and show them they matter in the plot. Just because the games don't kick off until the fourth gym doesn't mean the players will be happy waiting.

Hit the nail on the head with plot involvement. Waiting for something to happen in a story is never a good idea, and even sandbox RPS aren't exempt from that!

I see many good points here. Not too many players, room for plot involvement so that you don't feel redundant. Creative, vivid setting is something I should have worked better with in my own journey RPs, I feel.