[Discussion] "Essential" canon mons in fakemon games?

[Fabioman3]

So, me and the other people on our project have come across a dilemma, and nothing helps more in those kinds of situation than knowing how other people have dealt with it or would deal with it, so here goes:

I am making a fakemon game and it will be a whole new region with a complete new cast, no canon pokemon in it (It does take place in the canon pokemon world though, its just secluded, if knowing that helps with the context). I mean, "No canon pokemon in it" is what i thought until a friend of mine brought up a good point, that breeding would be fresh hell without Ditto. I thought i could just make one fakemon to fill that role (I even have a basic idea for it), but that friend said that creating a new pokemon for a role that is already filled makes it come across as too "Tryhard" to be original and that we should just have Ditto in the region. He followed it up by saying we should also have Audinos in the region, for level training, and not create a new pokemon for the same reasons as Ditto.

Now what i am wondering is, how do other fakemon fangames deal with this? You can talk about your own or even just some game you happened to play, i mostly just want to know how others deal with this, and its a bit hard to find by aimlessly searching. I personally think it would be a bit weird to have all new pokemon but keep some 1 or 2 canon ones. So, what do you think is the best solution? Create new pokemon to fill that void? Use the canon ones that already fill that role? Or leave that role empty? The third option sounds even worse than the second to me, but it is an option some may take nonetheless, and maybe i can even hear a good argument for it

Thanks for anyone who answers! And feel free to simply discuss the issue if you dont have a settled stance on the matter, just knowing others's opinions would help a lot!

 

[StCooler]

I think I played only one game with a whole new cast of Pokémon (in the first part of the adventure of Black/White) + I watched a let's play of Pokémon Solar Light.
Basically they didn't care about Ditto.

In my opinion: don't put Audino, but do put Ditto.
I believe most players will not understand if they see Audino in the middle of 200+ new cast, as Audino is the definition of the forgettable Pokémon (like, why Audino and not Blissey or anything else really?). If you reduce Audino to its high EXP gain + passiveness, there should be no problem in making a replacement.
Ditto is a special Pokémon and everybody is aware of its reproductive abilities. Besides, nobody will say: "I loved Fabioman's game but that Ditto ruined my uhmmersion, gotta put a hate comment on his Pokécommunity thread".

 

[AwesomeToadUltimate]

You could have a dex of mostly fakemon, but then a few official Pokemon lines, kind of like in Uranium

 

[Fabioman3]

You could have a dex of mostly fakemon, but then a few official Pokemon lines, kind of like in Uranium

One of my friends actually suggested that. Its a pretty solid idea for keeping some recognizable faces for anyone who plays it

I think I played only one game with a whole new cast of Pokémon (in the first part of the adventure of Black/White) + I watched a let's play of Pokémon Solar Light.
Basically they didn't care about Ditto.

In my opinion: don't put Audino, but do put Ditto.
I believe most players will not understand if they see Audino in the middle of 200+ new cast, as Audino is the definition of the forgettable Pokémon (like, why Audino and not Blissey or anything else really?). If you reduce Audino to its high EXP gain + passiveness, there should be no problem in making a replacement.
Ditto is a special Pokémon and everybody is aware of its reproductive abilities. Besides, nobody will say: "I loved Fabioman's game but that Ditto ruined my uhmmersion, gotta put a hate comment on his Pokécommunity thread".

Thats also a good point. I already have an idea for my Audino replacement even!

 

[silver-wind]

you could just have ditto as a static pokemon in the daycare, and let players leave a pokemon with it. you don't have to add it to the pokedex.
but generally, as much as I like fakemon, I personally prefer having some official pokemon available.
think about it from the player's side: adding a fakemon to the team is a gamble: not knowing whether it evolves, or when, will they like the evolution, will it change type, will it get good moves soon, etc. having a few familiar pokemon helps. I wouldn't force player to use only fakemon, at least not at game start.
if you're worried players will ignore the new fakemon, maybe only include weaker route01 pokemon like Pidgey, which players will wanna replace later on. let them fight the fakemon with a familiar pokemon, and get a "feel" for them- is it better than a pidgey? worse? does it know a good STAB move? etc. once they're familiar with a fakemon they'll likely use it.
I also suggest making a wiki page, with pokemon stats, level up moves and evolution line.

 

[Fabioman3]

you could just have ditto as a static pokemon in the daycare, and let players leave a pokemon with it. you don't have to add it to the pokedex.
but generally, as much as I like fakemon, I personally prefer having some official pokemon available.
think about it from the player's side: adding a fakemon to the team is a gamble: not knowing whether it evolves, or when, will they like the evolution, will it change type, will it get good moves soon, etc. having a few familiar pokemon helps. I wouldn't force player to use only fakemon, at least not at game start.
if you're worried players will ignore the new fakemon, maybe only include weaker route01 pokemon like Pidgey, which players will wanna replace later on. let them fight the fakemon with a familiar pokemon, and get a "feel" for them- is it better than a pidgey? worse? does it know a good STAB move? etc. once they're familiar with a fakemon they'll likely use it.
I also suggest making a wiki page, with pokemon stats, level up moves and evolution line.

Oh, a wiki page is a must. I have dropped romhacks before because i felt there was no way of knowing who evolves into what and when, or just general knowledge about the movesets

I do have some ideas on how to remedy that though, first, and most simple, i want to have a page in a pokemon's dex that shows their base stats (Alongside EVs and IVs too). And second, i want you to be able to call the local pokemon professor at any time and show a pokemon you have registered in the pokedex (One you have caught) and they will give a quick rundown of said pokemon, like further explaining their signature moves and abilities, and also telling you how to evolve it