Right answer: combine them.
But
finally, thank you, some probability of activity, save my soul
A) A pokemon journey RP of sorts, but not something that you might be used to from the norm of them.
It's a Pokmon journey in space.
The objective for this idea would be to promote a more complex argument surrounding Pokmon while, presumably, also stimulating the same appeal of a traditional journey RP, correct? Questioning the nature of the Pokmon universe has always been a humongous draw for me even in roleplays that never attempted to develop this world initially; any roleplay that's more upfront about the nature of its world I'd be elated to see. I also appreciate you directly connecting your idea to major themes"finding... self-worth" and "self-discovery" on the players' behalf, arcs inspired by "revolution, "pride and glory"as that in itself focuses the concept, perhaps not as a "game", but undeniably as a
narrative, and you stated that was your goal!
I feel also as if this idea, presented in this manner, can target many of the ailments that hold journeys back. Personally, I always feel like journey RPs rarely invite casts of inventive, interesting characters that play off some of the franchise's world-building details, when it does decide to present them. Requiring these same Trainers, often teens
with inexplicably white-American first names and incredibly Japanese last names, to do more than run off a handful of empty personality traits but to develop a
perspective of the world around them will promote depth rarely encouraged before and create memorable characters that anyone could become invested in. Most importantly, in my opinion, is the fact that being able to develop a viewpoint of the world around you requires there actually
be a world in the first place. I'll reiterate my suggestions for
Trumpets:
Pokmon is the sort of series that you interpret everything yourself and other players only enter the equation for battles and trading and the like; it's very independent, which, as I see it, is counterproductive in the context of a roleplay. When writing, story runs deep, so interactions between characters will only be surface-level in such a vague universe. In my experience with journeys like 'Rainbows' and 'Yet Another Johto Story', the only fun I was having came from me and not from others since I liked how I personally interpreted the Pokmon universe. There was some interaction between players in 'Rainbows' but it never went anywhere aside from acknowledging that the other characters existed. The encompassing world wasn't strongly-established enough to encourage deeper conversation and, as a result, deeper character development. For example, in our world we could bring up politics or a stupid commercial we saw when talking to a close friend, but does the Pokmon world even have a government? Would the brands we have in the real world carry over or would people in the Pokmon world have no use for them even in parody form? Would people in the Pokmon universe share our social expectations and such, even? Because there's little common ground between players regarding how this universe functions, character isolation is unknowingly propagated because everyone will see things differently. Don't rely on player prior knowledge because Pokmon's lore... really isn't there. Like, has it ever been explained how Pokmon even work? How they can be transported electronically and fit into capsules many times smaller than themselves? And what happens inside of those capsules and inside of those personal computer boxes to keep the Pokmon secure? You may want to leave some questions purposefully open but, in general, address Hoenn like an original fantasy world in order to keep players on the same page.
Essentially, you can't inspire meaningful conversation between characters or a consistent interpretation of the setting if the setting is as vague as Pokmon's is and will remain. Sun/Moon did include some added details on the relationship between people and Pokmon but ultimately the Alola region feels like a self-contained universe whose logic is malleable depending on a player's imagination. Overall, I strongly support you developing this concept more but assert you will
have to put your back into it. You can't toss acrylics on a sketch and expect a Starry Night in seconds, you know?
ALSO, SMOL LEGENDARY POKEMON, FIIIINALLY, CAN I GET ME MY HOOPA, MY RIGHTFUL HOOPA BABY CHILD, FIIIINALLY, BLESS I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED
Meal Bowl Challenge - Rated M
I've always been on the sidelines with Persona but, at the same time, looking in with mild interest, especially at the prospect of
Mara exploring the nature of human psyches. Demonology and tarot cards are also pretty sweet themes. So is shooting yourself in the head... or ripping off a mask welded to your face. Recreating our only little Persona story just sounds satisfying in itself so I'd totally want to see this come into fruition.
I do think the arcanas could inspire claimable character roles which I'm a staunch advocate against (i.e. the idea of restricting players to one of seven provided constructs) as I see them as limiters that dictate a character either subvert the construct or play it straight; there's no real "out-of-the-box" character-building. Of course, this all stems from my limited understanding of the franchise, but maybe consider assigning arcanas to finished characters.
I'll be frank though: I'd heard you were developing a Persona RP, Dragon, and my immediate thought was
"OKAY, BUT CAN I BE MONA THO." Every Persona game has an animal-esque mascot/sidekick, right? There was Teddy in the last major game.
Could I actually be that animal mascot? PLEASE? I'd make her CUTE, I swear.