Utter nonsense. Your post is incredibly insightful, and this RP will definitely be better for it. I appreciate you taking out the time to write this up.
Ms. Disclosed already made the point of Pokemon seeming to be tacked onto what was otherwise a free-standing steampunk world, and I'd like to touch on that some more despite that you've already assured us all that it's a work-in-progress. The best time to shed new light on a thing is while there's still time to take that light into account, after all, ah? And just to throw it out there, you can always drop the Pokemon aspect of it if you find it too hard to incorporate: not every RP has to involve Pokemon, and this one already stands strong without them.
I'm aware of that possibility! But this world was actually built from the ground up with the basic idea in mind being "Pokemon journey in steampunk setting!" It was originally going to follow player characters in their journey from being a newly-licensed professional trainer into--wherever that premise normally leads. And then I started working on the worldbuilding, and my interest shifted from a simple, straightforward gym-to-gym journey, as you aptly put it, to something that in my mind is much grander; hence the espionage POV that the RP takes up. The point I'm trying to make here is this: the Pokemon aspect of things isn't tacked on. It was already an integral part of it from the get-go, and I fully intend to make that much clearer come RP time.
Now, in regards to your licensure of Pokemon ownership: you said there are professional Trainers? What is it they do in society? I personally think of something along the lines of a professional athlete when I'm presented the term, really. And "Pokemon past a certain power level" encompasses most anything that's fully-evolved, I would assume, given the sheer volume of species capable of firebreath, electricity, or any other flavor of disaster-waiting-to-happen. With that in mind, what happens if a Pokemon evolves from a free-game species into one that needs licensing? Or are all the pre-evolutions of such things also banned? But then, what wouldn't be banned?
Professional trainers are, in essence, snake charmers, the only difference being that their snakes are powerful, multi-functional beasts capable of immensely helpful feats. The trainer's job is to mold their captured Pokemon into something that would best fit their future role in society; the Pokemon is normally then rented to a company or individual that request their services. Most of the proceeds go to the Ministry of Pokemon Administration, who will then devote resources into looking after the Pokemon's welfare over the course of its lifetime. The trainers are normally paid about a quarter of the Pokemon's earnings (or a one-time lump sum upfront, depending on the work contract), and a bit more for conducting maintenance work, as it were, from time to time.
The above is true for beasts of burden, industrial/transportation Pokemon etc., but there's another, arguably more exciting avenue for trainers to invest their time and resources in: warfare.
Given the level of power that Pokemon could achieve, it would only be natural for governments and individuals alike to exploit their glaringly obvious combat applications, yes? Pokemon trainers are a specialized type of military unit; the Pokemon don't really do most of the heavy lifting, because a Level 90 Charizard isn't as easily replaced as a soldier with a revolver, but they definitely see daylight in times of war. Pokemon of this caliber are also often owned by private sectors or individuals, such as sky pirates, mercenary guilds, security companies, etc.
On the subject of "power level", in my mind it would be an actual number spit out by a Pokedex-like device. The bar separating the wheat from the chaff, as it were, is relatively high: an area normally unreachable without a moderate degree of combat training. Seeing as Pokemon battles aren't quite as prominent in this world as it is in others, it would be very hard for a domesticated Pokemon to accidentally find its way into this area, as its fighting experience--Exp. Points, if you will--is essentially static throughout its entire lifetime. (As an added effect, it is also rare for a domesticated Pokemon to undergo evolution)
(This is also a response to the "what you could do with the Pokemon element" paragraph, though I do quite like the exclusively-for-battling license idea. I might take you up on that if I decide I don't like my system after all.)
Moreover, where do these Pokemon prowl? Yes, you mention them strutting the streets alongside people, but are these the wild ones or the caught ones? There are certain urban species, yes, but particular species like Cryogonals or Carbinks may seem out of place if they maintain breeding populations in these urban areas, and then it is only to be presumed any banned Pokemon species aren't allowed to just wander about. I apologize if I've misread it, but it strikes me as a quite heavily-industrialized world, although that admittedly
does not by itself preclude more wild areas elsewhere, it is only how I interpreted it.
Answered your own question with the bolded statement.
Though the world is indeed largely industrialized, the world's population levels aren't quite as high as our world, nor the humans so expansive. The world map is something like a choco chip cookie, with the chips being human settlements, and the rest an expanse of wilderness for Pokemon to freely roam. Think steampunk'd Unova (with an increase in city size thrown in for good measure).
The Pokemon present in an urban setting are indeed normally caught Pokemon, but much like an abandoned home would attract vermin, so too do areas of the city lacking in human population usually become a habitat for Pokemon. Examples include disused Steam Hollow factories, Alms back alleys, sewers, etc.
And do remember: this isn't set up like your standard Journey RP, where the power ramp comes from progressing from Gym to Gym. In this one we're assumed to be top-notch even though we're new, because new as we might be we're still a part of the strong arm of the law that's so exclusive it only has under fifty members. With that in mind, the power ramp has to be considered differently to avoid contrivance: picking up a Goomy may make us less noticeable to anyone watching, but we can't realistically be expected to combat gunmen, bombardiers, or non-steampunk aggressive Trainers with something like that until it evolves. And to be straight, an organization of this caliber would likely opt not to wait for evolution and prefer things like Pinsir or Absol, which have a much more level power ramp. Again, just thoughts.
You might be top-notch agents, but you are equally inexperienced in the art of Pokemon training/battling as the main series' MCs (though, being highly skilled adults, you'd likely make much more educated decisions than ten-year-old Ash Ketchum would). And why do you start out with an unevolved, probably Lv. 5 Pokemon? The reasoning behind this, much like the reason you're tasked with a mission to train a Pokemon at all in the first place, is not disclosed to you. Characters might find themselves wondering this to themselves over the course of the RP, but as professional agents of the Citadel Seraph, you do as you are tasked! And you ask no questions.
this one's got me drooling on the keyboard (quite literally, I ashamedly admit)!
{XD} I'm honored.
And don't be concerned about the OP going on too long: it's the OP, after all, it sorta
has to be long to establish what it needs to. And if we're talking honestly here: if someone doesn't at least
skim the RP for its main points, are they to be expected to be particularly committed to its participation to begin with?
Very fair point, that, but I do have a bad habit of getting
veeeerrryyyy carried away when writing premises and such (case in point:
this 31347-word behemoth of an OP that's still unreleased). Worry not though, I'm not planning on skimping out on the details of Sanctum; not at all. Instead, I plan to periodically create a series of posts (titled Worldbuilding Notes or smth to that effect) describing a certain aspect of the world, for immersion if nothing else. Hopefully my long-windedness is less of a bother when taken in small ingestions, haha.
Personally, Mr. Parivir, I would look forward to joining whether or not you decide to keep Pokemon as an inclusive aspect (all things weighed, you always have the option of dropping them, after all), and I very much hope to see your idea come to fruition. I'm afraid I can't promise my participation--after all, who knows when it'll be ready; I could well be ... well, I could well be
unable to participate at such a time--but I wish this RP the best of luck, regardless, and hope to see a beautiful world built for and by it.
And I look forward to having you! Hopefully? Here's hoping for the best.