FAQ

Q: When will the game be released?

We are aiming to release a demo in 2017. This will be Episode 1 of the game. Subsequent releases will be announced at a future date. Read more about why this fan game takes time.

[H2]Q: What will Pokémon: Phoenix Rising be playable on?[H2]

We are officially developing for PC, and working on a native port for Mac users also. Further down the line we will be considering ports to other devices, however we are not ready to confirm whether or not other systems will be possible.

Q: Will there be other languages?

We are focusing on English for now, but we will do our best to translate to as many languages as possible.

Q: Do you need translators?

Not just yet, but when we do we'll be sure to let you know!

Q: What is this game being developed with?

We are creating Phoenix Rising using the RPG Maker XP program, which uses RGSS as a scripting language. We use a multitude of programs to create our assets such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and more. We are also using the Pokémon Essentials engine upgraded to RGSS and heavily modified by our team.

Q: Can I join the team?

We are always looking for talented help to volunteer with us. Pixel Artists, Concept Artists, Muscians - whatever your skill, shoot us an E-mail at [email protected] [H2]with proof of your ability[H2] and we might just have a spot for you.

Q: How much is the game going to be?

The game is *absolutely free* and always will be. If someone is asking you to pay for it *you are being scammed*. At no point will we ever ask you to pay for Pokémon: Phoenix Rising. We are also not accepting donations.

Q: Will there be Fan Made Pokémon?

We will be including new Mega Evolutions and other forms that we design ourselves, however we will not be adding brand new Pokémon aside from that. You can read more about our decision here.

Q: Will you please add Mega _____?

While we appreciate your feedback, ideas and input - we are not taking "requests" for new Mega evolutions. Once the game is fully released, we will add even more if we can.

Q: How can I download this game when it is released?

We will be offering a free download link for you to access once the game is released. Once downloaded all you need to do is open the game folder and open the game file to play. As easy as that!

Q: How many Pokémon will there be?

Initially there will be over 200 in the main game. We are hoping to add many more with further expansions to the game. These expansions however rely on the main game itself being a hit, if you guys enjoy it, we'll add more!

Q: Will there be online features?

Previously we have announced online features, however since games have been taken down by Nintendo and online functions have been one of their issues with those games - we are curbing our plans on those for now.

Q: In terms of the possibility of Nintendo shutting the project down, what is your response if they try to do so?

Admittedly, we would be extremely disappointed and bewildered if that were to be the case. The project is created because we love Pokémon, and as fans of the franchise we are simply expressing our admiration for it. We are using the brand to learn how to develop games and deliver a free, fun, game for people to play. Nothing malicious is intended and we completely respect that the Copyrights and IP that Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Game Freak hold over their work. However we have zero interest in stepping on any toes and if a compromise can be made we will do our best to do so. We are doing our best to keep to the Fair Use policy, and are doing our best to use as little assets from the official Pokémon games and franchise as possible.

We also have a strategy to avoid a "C&D" which includes:

• Not taking donations
• Removing the trademark "Pokémon" from our branding and name
• Removing online functions from the game
• Being less present on social media where possible
• Not having a website which can be contrived as seeking hidden revenue

As per our research, we have taken into account what issues with previous taken down games have been and are attempting to respond to that as best we can.

Q: Will there be a competitive element to the game?

Yes, as much as we can feasibly add in terms of a competitive and balanced experience we will be adding. We are adding difficulty settings, and will be adhering to competitive standards put forward by Smogon and other metagames as best we can. We love competitive battling, so we hope that we can show that love in Phoenix Rising for those who want it. This does not imply that we're adding an online battling functionality however due to reasons mentioned below.

Q: Can I play as a boy or girl?

We have two base characters to choose from when creating your character at the beginning of the game: Alto & Aria. We're not defining them as any gender. They are simply two styles to choose from initially which you can customise equally. You can wear the same outfits regardless of what your base character looks like. That is our goal.

Q: Is there a Discord Server?

Our server will become public close to the demo release!

Q: Is there a mailing list

Yes, you can join it here.

Thank you for reading, please put forward any questions you have below!

This is incredible , glad to see this back up & running, beyond excited to play. The game looks phenomenal.

It's good to see that you are giving this another go. The screenshots from this game are among the most impressive of any fangame for me and the music is without a doubt a favorite of mine. In fact I frequently listen to it when I am working on my own fan game. I hope we can get some playable content in time. No rush, of course.

wow, very nice, looks like this game will be very good

So glad to see this project back!!!

aaaaaaaa i thought you'd abandoned this forever. good luck!!

ruvidonia town theme is my fav

^same, but it's wonderful that you decided to come back to it! it's such an aesthetically beautiful game, i can't wait to play it.

Wow, I am so excited to see this coming back!
This is honestly one of the best looking games out there, and I'm really looking forward to it's release!

I'm not much of an RMXP-er, but if you're ever looking for people to help test the game, I would love to be one of them!

I never lost faith nor will i its looked good since day 1 and looks even better now!
Cant wait for a demo this game is seriously the best one ive seen

This is one of the best fan games I've ever seen ever, I'm so happy to see that you're still working in the project. I can't wait to see new updates.
ps. Congrats to the music composers because the ost is amazing!

That OST is amazing. I can imagine epic battles against that Team Chance. Great work.

Such a beautiful looking game my eyes are very pleased.

Thank you for all your kind comments so far guys! Today I just want to share a quick article with you regarding "Fakemon". It's a post I made over on our Reddit page regarding our choice not to use fan created Pokémon in Pokémon: Phoenix Rising. Hope you find it to be an interesting read. As always, have a great day!

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There is a question that gets posed to our team quite a lot. Or should I say questions. "Will there be any fakemon?" and "Why isn't there any fakemon?" being the two questions I hope to approach in this post.

I want to premise this by saying that I adore some Fakemon designs. An ex girlfriend of mine took to calling them "Fauxkémon", which sounds great when you hear it in person but doesn't quite translate to screen as well as "Fakemon" does. While that's an interesting tidbit of information you didn't particularly need, I want to press a point on the actual name people give this sub-genre of artwork. I never thought of these as "fake" in any way. Coming up with an original design of any sort is quite the opposite. Evidently some people create designs that don't stray too far from the official ones we see in the Pokémon franchise, however some designs are downright striking. I see these as fan art, inspired by the series and certainly not to be called fake in my mind. Fanmon might have been a better term (and in this article, that is what I shall call them from here on out), if you were to ask me, since just because something isn't part of the official series does not mean it should garner the prefix of "fake". It's a pet peeve, and I know most people take little notice of the term but I almost feel that in my heart of hearts; people deserve a better name for their pride in the series and the designs they create based on it.

With that slight rant aside, I want to get into the meat of things. My love for Fanmon didn't translate to Pokémon: Phoenix Rising and this disappointed a number of fans who follow the game. I've replied in staggered locations to queries as to why I didn't include them in the game. The primary reason is that I never took an interest in drawing Fanmon. While I would love to work on a game that includes fantastic Fanmon designs, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable creating new Pokémon.

For Pokémon: Phoenix Rising, I lead the project. I no longer really consider it "my project", because I honestly can't call it that. So many people have helped me bring it to where it is today that it's become more of a community effort than anything. I want anyone who has worked on it diligently to feel as if they own part of it. And when we see players react to the parts we created we can each get a kick out of it. We're all collaborating to create something awesome, and while we all have different roles it will be our project in the end. A game that we created together, and not a game we created for me. Those who play it will see that this was a team effort, and that's the impression I want them to get. With all that said, I want to have the ability to carry the bulk of the project on my own if I need to. If I were to add Fanmon I would have very little motivation to actually create and add those on my own. Scripting, Mapping, Writing, Spriting, and so on, I'll turn my hand to and will happily do so. Creating Pokémon of my own is just a spectrum I'm not sure I will ever have the desire to enter.

With all of that in mind, there's over 700 Pokémon to choose from as it is. Each time I play the official games, I fall in love with a new one and that's a special thing. I want Pokémon: Phoenix Rising to give that experience to the players. I want them to fall in love with the new Pokémon, the classics, the odd, the powerful. I want to weave stories with these amazing creations that have never been told before and give players an alternative view of a Pokémon that they have never seen before.

Pokémon: Phoenix Rising won't have fan created Pokémon. However we hope that we can give you a fresh experience even so. If you find a new favourite because you got it on Route 1 and played the whole way through the game, or play through a side-quest and think completely different about a Pokémon involved, then I think we've succeeded more than we ever could if we had "Fakemon"

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Darnit i was hoping for a few at least for some pokemon that dont evolve like a tropius pre evolution or at the very least mega evolutions for these poor pokemon that are seldom used because they dont evolve

I haven't played it yet, but you seem to have some very, very interesting ideas in terms of area designs. A lot of these areas look gorgeous, and I'm sure they hold many secrets to explore and discover. I'll definitely be giving this a play.

Every once in a while, when I'm browsing DA, I'll come across a few PR screenshots and think "man, too bad that's not active anymore." So I'm actually glad to see that this is back again. I've always thought this project had a great artistic style. I know you probably don't believe this, but I do genuinely want to see this succeed, and I really hope you stick to it this time. Hope to see more from this Gavin!

this looks pretty cool but it would be a much better idea to compile the ost into a youtube playlist rather than a lmgtfy

Sweeeet! It's back! I thought this was abandoned a long time ago. I wish I could help :p Too bad I suck at RUBY
Anyhow, if you need testers, I'm open. :p. Best of luck @seeker! Hope it will be finish this time. And oh, the graphics are AWESOME

Wow, that artwork... looks fun! Can't wait for this to go public!

amazing!!
So happy to see this back in the works!

That one screenie with the growlithe behind the glass is so cool and unique I love it!

It's back?! I'm so happy!!!!! Thanks Gavin!!

This actually looks really amazing.

Hey everyone, thank you for your comments once again. Your comments and support really keep myself and the team really motivated! Progress has been really good in recent weeks and should hopefully continue at the same speed. We're trying to hold off showing too much of what we're working on so that there's plenty of new content in the actual game so major updates will be done in the form of announcements and some staggered check-ins like today. Our next announcement is set to come within the next two, to three weeks. However we feel that it will be worth the wait and we are excited to show you some cool stuff that we've been working on.

We reached 500 followers on our Twitter page recently, and so we promised our fans that they would get to see some screenshots. So we've uploaded a group of screens from the previously unreleased tutorial area in Pokémon Phoenix Rising. You can see some information and screenshots below.

After the war of Hawthorne, the land was left barren. A Phoenix of great size and beauty flew over the country, and the people of Hawthorne seen it as a symbol of hope and prosperity. It wasn't long until this plant sprouted in desolate earth: the Hawthorne Tree. It is now looked upon as a reminder that even in the darkest moments, hope can prevail.

Wonderful color choices