Journey From a Pokemon's Perspective

So, one or two of you in the Skype have suggested I try my hand at GM'ing a game, and I had a vague idea I'd like to discuss: Imagine a Journey RP, where the characters travel across the land, fighting Gym Leaders and acquiring badges, but instead of Trainers, you play Pokemon.

On the surface, this may sound similar to an old thread known as Pokemon Captured Version (which was a fun game with some lovely people in it), but I'd make some changes to avoid that game's unfortunate pacing issues. It wouldn't be a traditional journey game, instead combining elements of a journey and a mystery dungeon.

In a world where Pokemon live in the wild, with no humans or cities, a great legendary beast has awoken, leaving destruction and death in its wake. The beast was sealed away in the past with the power of a magic wand, which has been passed down the royal bloodline for generations. But the wand has lost its power, and must be recharged by visiting eight shrines scattered across the country. The Princess holding the wand must go on a journey to these shrines, accompanied by her guardians. Along the way, they will face the minions of a villain who wants the wand for himself, so he may control the beast and gain supreme power. A second group of villains, who worship the beast, seek to destroy the wand and ensure the beast remains free.

It would mainly be event based, with the journey taking us from one set piece to the next, and maybe a few sandbox events so you can explore and play. The combat system would be very loose, where instead of levels and lists of moves, Pokemon attack using their natural powers (Charizard has claws, breathes fire, and can fly; while Machamp has super strength and four arms), similar to the manga or Pokken.

Any thoughts? Is it a bad idea? Anything you'd like to change? Maybe you'd like to join one of the villain teams? Maybe it'd work better as a generic fantasy world instead?

Pokemon Captured Version! That is how you and I met <3

I worked on an idea where pokemon lived in cities and in the wild (there were no humans) as either Modernists or Wildeners (?). The basic plot was that teenage pokemon bonded together in teams of 2-4 and battled together to conquer gyms and enter the pokemon league. Underlying themes of racism would appear, since some pokemon obviously have a harder time conforming to modern ways with houses and machines because of their physique, and that could lead to very interesting serious antagonists (think first season of Korra maybe).

Since I don't have energy or confidence to GM this, you can take stuff from that idea too if you need c: But a fantasy journey sounds pretty fun!

Hmm, normally I wouldn't join something like this, but...its a pretty good idea I think.

Seems pretty similar to other mystery dungeon roleplays out there, but I like the plot. If you do make this, I think I might join.

I too like the idea of this. I have found that I enjoy doing things from the Pokemon's perspective a bit more when it comes to journey-like RPs. If you decide to go through with this, I will definitely look into it.

Also, being able to join one of the villains' sides would be an intriguing aspect to look into though it could make things a bit more complicated/difficult to GM.

Yes. More Pokemon. Arylett wants to be more Pokemon. Especially since her roleplays are dead right now. When I do a story like this, I usually play the princess rather than the Guardian. But I think it would be interesting to try my hand at something like that. My character could be a kind of... kindred spirit to her. Like a little sister. :3 Although if you're open to somebody being the princess, I think that role is right up my alley too. And don't worry, I am VERY active and I will not leave. No job or school to interfere. All up to you though, GM man.

I basically just love this concept and think it's great as is. As a premise, it's totally simple enough to work, and it can be expanded upon later by more planning and events. But I would only join on one condition: If I could start as an evolved Pokemon. Kind of tired of being a little silly creature for this RPs. I'd like to be a Braixen in the beginning.

My little idea is starting to gather some interest, I see. Discussion and support make it more likely to happen, so thank you all for the feedback.

@adventure: I like your idea of Modernists and Wilders. It makes more sense for there to be a royal family if there's a central community, after all. It might limit the number of playable Pokemon if I limit choices to just Modernists, but I like the thought of the Princess accepting guardians from all walks of life, so I doubt I'd limit your choices.

@STARDU5T: Admittedly, it has little to set it apart from Mystery Dungeon games. I've never actually played a Mystery Dungeon video game, so I'm a little vague on the specifics. Developing a unique identity for this game will be a high priority.

@FireSnow: To be honest, playing as the villains was never a serious consideration. For a story like this, I'd want to focus on the heroes. I was mainly gauging interest. You're correct that it would complicate things, and I doubt I'd want something too complicated on my first attempt.

@Arylett: While I appreciate you wanting to play a Princess, I would suggest branching out and playing a guardian. The main role of the Princess is to carry the wand, making her as much of a McGuffin as it is. Combined with her technically being the party leader, I feel that role works better for the GM, especially with her being the weakest party member (yet also the strongest, in terms of story). However, I would agree that you can play at any level of evolution (though I may discourage you from playing Baby Pokemon). Basic, fully evolved, or in between, all will be allowed.

Godzil said:

@Arylett: While I appreciate you wanting to play a Princess, I would suggest branching out and playing a guardian. The main role of the Princess is to carry the wand, making her as much of a McGuffin as it is. Combined with her technically being the party leader, I feel that role works better for the GM, especially with her being the weakest party member (yet also the strongest, in terms of story). However, I would agree that you can play at any level of evolution (though I may discourage you from playing Baby Pokemon). Basic, fully evolved, or in between, all will be allowed.

Click to expand...

I thought that'd be the case. No worries, mate, I can do that too. Just glad to see a Pokemon RP where you aren't forced to start from the first form. It's a bit too common.

@Elwood: While being sent out to fight is an integral part of Pokemon, choosing one player for a specific scene is precisely the pacing issue that I'm trying to remove, as it led to the downfall of Captured Version. Like you said, it yields major activity snags that I've seen firsthand.

As for tying them to the wand, I personally feel that it removes a lot of free will from the players. They should choose to go on this journey, and their choices should matter. I don't want to just give them orders, otherwise I'd write a fanfic, not a roleplay. That said, perhaps I could allow slight bunnying of the Princess, so each player can write her giving orders to their character. However, if we're all Pokemon, it seems unnecessary. Why should this one Pokemon get to order all the others around, especially if it's in the middle of a large conflict?

I do kind of like your idea off the top of your head, though. If it's a quest to prevent a barrier from falling, rather than to reseal an escaped entity, it both adds a sense of urgency and removes a lot of needless tragedy. And the beast can send bits if itself out through the "holes" already forming. I might do something with that, actually. Perhaps the wand, even drained of its power, can purge the corruption from possessed individuals. After they've been defeated in combat, of course. They don't pose much threat if the Princess just blasts them and they're cured!

@everyone: I think the story is coming along nicely! I just need to hammer out the technical details and I could start writing. I still need to get all the players lined up, though. I do have a couple questions.

Like, who is the Big Bad? Giratina's looking promising, or perhaps I could create a new villainous Legendary just for this region.

What species is the Princess? I envision the Royal Family being descended from Mew, so perhaps a Psychic or Fairy type. I see her as a Clefairy or Kirlia, but what do you all think?

Godzil said:

Like, who is the Big Bad? Giratina's looking promising, or perhaps I could create a new villainous Legendary just for this region.

What species is the Princess? I envision the Royal Family being descended from Mew, so perhaps a Psychic or Fairy type. I see her as a Clefairy or Kirlia, but what do you all think?

Click to expand...

Hm. I think it'd be better to just make it a pre-existing Pokemon. Giratina is always a good bet, it is appropriately satanic and bad guy-looking. Although honestly, if we're trying to prevent a beast from being freed, it would make more sense if it was something like Yveltal, since its awakening in the canon has some very scary implications.

Kirlia seems more... Princessey in my opinion.

@Arylett: Yveltal was my first choice, but I backed down after realising I'd never played Y (I have X) and didn't know enough about it. I'll look into it again, though.

Kirlia does seem more regal. And feminine.

This would absolutely be something I'd be interested in joining... If I had the time. Dx I like the idea of a Mystery Dungeon-esque game where it's much less about the missions and/or dungeons, and more about the plot.

I think Elwood did bring up a good point though. How would these so-called "guardians" have been chosen, and what keeps them tied to this mission and the Princess? Are they like knights, born from nobility and trained for loyalty? Soliders? Or are they just Pokemon the princess herself chooses and/or trusts for whatever reason?

It'd be cool if you could devise it so that new players could join in on the journey partway through, perhaps to replace the players that will inevitably fall into inactivity or disappear altogether. Not just for selfish reasons, because I would love to join this if I got more time, but because that's one of the ways I've found that you can keep things rolling and keep the RP from stalling or feeling stale. Plus idk I like the thought of accruing party members like in a traditional RPG, and if you implement the "purifying corrupted creatures" you could let players play as a Pokemon that was corrupted, and after purification they could tag along on the adventure~

@Sweet: Quite honestly, "guardian" is an informal term I'm using to describe the Pokemon who choose to accompany the Princess. They could come or go as they wish, and new guardians could join at any point, like in an RPG. Of course, I may put a cap on how many players can join, to keep things manageable, but it'll probably be around 10 players max. Not that I expect that many to join, so it's more of a formality.

As for why they join? Motivation is up to the player. Maybe they want to help protect the Princess, or want to see the shrines, or just want to fight and see this as a good way to meet bad guys. Perhaps they were purified by the wand and want revenge, or want to repay a perceived debt. She'll won't care why they join, she'll just be glad they did.