[Released] Pokémon Academia [Demo: v0.2.0 - 4 Gyms & 4 Dojos available]

pkmnacademia · Mar 8, 2024

[PokeCommunity.com] Pokémon Academia [Demo: v0.2.0 - 4 Gyms & 4 Dojos available]

Made using Pokémon Essentials v20.1.

v.0.2.0 demo now available
play through Gym 4
(10-20 hours of content)
DOWNLOAD

Discord server
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Story

After a mysterious mass extinction event, Pokémon in the Cyniir region were sparse for centuries, with very few remaining indigenous species and a general lack of trainer culture entirely, outside of ultra-rich circles. But recently, after the dictator Supreme Leader Gharal took power, he enacted Operation Migration, sending his Pokémon Rangers across the seas to other regions in order to bring hundreds of species to Cyniir for the first time. With the operation brought to a standstill due to increasing tensions with Paldea, he has other plans for the second phase…

Because of the new influx of Pokémon in Cyniir, there's never been a better time to study them. So as top of your class at the Naranja Academy in Paldea, you've been selected to assist Professor Ginkgo to help him develop a Pokémon lab. The biggest questions he seeks to answer: what caused the Pokémon in Cyniir to go extinct? And could it happen again?

Discovering seemingly endless floors beneath your new lab, Ginkgo decides to turn the lab into a service hub to generate income that will fund his scientific endeavors and bring life back to the town of Bismuth Village. But rumors say the town is cursed, and there may be more secrets hiding deep beneath the lab…

Features

910+ Pokémon available; all through Gen 8 (plus some Hisui, Gen 9, and Fakémon evolutions), start the game with a National Dex; Mega Evolutions and alternate forms available (~425 in v.0.2.0)
New region with 8 Gyms + 8 Dojos, using challenging custom movesets and a tough Elite 4, plus rematches for them and most trainers (4 Gyms + 4 Dojos in v.0.2.0)
Reputation system, 4 factions that affect the plot and your rewards - work with the anarchist Team Autonomy, the communist Team Unity, the capitalist Team Fortune and/or the fascist Pokémon Rangers of Cyniir's government (and there may be another secret faction lying in wait...)
Recruit system to build out a gargantuan hub and home base for shops and services, inspired by Suikoden and Legion Saga; upgrade it in a variety of ways; unlock deeper and deeper basement floors of your Research Lab as you progress, renovate them, and populate them with 40+ recruits (15 available in v0.2.0)
Crafting system with 100+ unlockable recipes (50 available in v0.2.0); many Pokémon hold (and drop) crafting items
Study system that provides your character with new perks and other benefits the more you learn and experience in the world, ex. expertise in Hacking lets you break into computers, Negotiation gives you a word up in negotiation events, Botany gets you extra Apricorns, Finances gives you access to investment machines, etc.
Built-in task log to keep track of loads of quests and side quests (84 completable in v0.2.0, many more to come); some have multiple solutions (ex. unlock a locked door for a heist by bringing a Klefki or a Pokémon that knows Thief, crafting a Lockpick, or negotiating with the person holding the key)
Combat updates including Z-Moves, new Mega Evolutions, and Strong and Agile Styles, and statuses from Hisui
A variety of useful Pokégear apps to discover, including ones that show type matchups, track available wild encounters, and access a portable PC
Every NPC has something to offer, no more useless one-liner NPCs - my least favorite quality of all RPGs!: get usable advice, quests, items, Pokémon, crafting recipes, new mechanics, Pokégear apps, faction reputation, recruits for your lab, eggs, battles, clues to get ahead in negotiations, information to help solve quests, and more; if an NPC seems like they provide nothing, they'll likely offer something later (or you've made a choice that's closed them off from you!)
Interacting with items that normally gave nothing of substance may now provide new benefits (ex. books, TVs, sinks, fridges, binoculars, etc.)
Choices matter; many different decisions you make will affect the plot, your standing with the four factions, who considers you an ally, how tough your battles are, and what rewards you'll earn, as well as how well you make it through negotiation events
100 TMs, 100 TRs, and 100 SMs to customize your movesets even further, with revised eligibility so more Pokémon are able to learn more moves; SMs are all former signature moves that were previously usable by only one or very few Pokémon
Reworked HM system; some obstacles only require an HM Device, but others require consumable HM Charges, offering limitations to HM field moves but without requiring HM slaves or entirely blocking progress
No day/night system; no more limitations to when Pokémon can be caught or evolved, play whenever you want
New ways of acquiring shiny and other different-colored Pokémon
An assortment of QOL upgrades (quicksave, multisave, and autosave, egg groups in the UI, new evolution stones for easier evolutions, name randomizer, IV/EV indicators, unlockable happiness tracking, text skipping, in-battle move and stat change details)
Legendary breeding (with plot-related reason), new Natures and moves, a Berrydex, and numerous other new concepts and features!

Notes

This is a one-person project, and I don't have a strong eye for design. This may not be the game for you if you're looking for exceptional graphics or mapmaking; there are mismatched sprites and some bad recolors, but my hope is that it's feature- and content-rich enough to make up for what it's missing in visuals. I'll continue revising maps and graphics to the best of my ability as I work more on the game.

I'm not currently looking for additional dev team members, but I may be open to that further down the line.

There is a lot of additional content planned - and giving every NPC something to do takes extra time - so it'll be a long while until this is in its finished state.

Your feedback!

I'd love to hear any feedback that anyone has to offer, good or bad. Especially if you find any bugs!

Some specific questions I'd like players' opinions on:

Are there any OP items you think you got too early?
Are there areas that are too easy or too hard?
Did you get bored and drop out? What was missing?

If you get stuck anywhere, want to know something about the project, or want any specific guidance toward completing tasks/catching Pokémon/finding Crafting Plans/etc., let me know here or join the Discord!

Spoiler: Changes to Pokémon

Spoiler: Credits

pkmnacademia · Mar 16, 2024

v0.1.1 has arrived with QOL updates, bug fixes, new features, new areas, and more!

v0.1.1 - Update #1 - 3/16/24
New content:

Added a Speed Up function - press Q to change game speed
Added IVs and EVs to Summary screen, removed previous IV grades
Added Silicon City Training Grounds, west of Silicon City, available after beating Gym and Dojo
Added ability to check XP for each study in the Studies section of your PC
Moved Schoolhouse from Silicon City to Selenium Town with updated content
Added cutscene to Schoolhouse
25 more available Pokémon (includes evolutions)
7 new trainers
2 more completable quests

Balance:

Rebalanced levels of Pokémon and trainers in all areas
Slightly decreased overall XP gain
Decreased rate of Color Variant Pokémon
Adjusted encounters in Route 402 and Antimony Woods
Changed the TM available in Route 402
Removed ability to purchase Lucky Egg in Terbium Crossing
Decreased encounter rate in Bromine Mountain
Slightly decreased the difficulty of the Silicon City Gym puzzle

Graphics:

Updated colors and format of Summary screen
Updated Controls menu

Fixes:

Made various text edits and fixes
Fixed empty map areas in Bismuth Village and Selenium Town
Made QOL tweaks to Studies menu
Fixed bug where Rhodium Dojo quest would not complete
Removed warp tile from B2 of the lab
Fixed warp tile from B2 to B1 of the lab
Fixed double battle in Bromine Mountain F1 that wasn't working properly
Fixed flower graphic clipping in Silicon City
Fixed crash in Silicon Crafting Club blocking quest progress
Fixed 2 trainers in Silicon City that were causing crashes when talked to
Fixed Rancher that gave unlimited tries to bribe him in Terbium Crossing
Rewrote Terbium Crossing strike script to ensure all outcomes work properly
Fixed Route 404 healer to remove Poké Center glitches
Fixed the movement speed of some Silicon City citizens
Fixed tree graphic clipping in Silicon City
Removed AI plugin for compatibility issues

Misc.:

Moved NPC from Terbium Crossing Poké Center to Selenium Town
Moved School from Silicon City to Selenium Town and updated associated quests
Moved items in Bromine Mountain
Removed some purple rocks
Made rocks broken by Rock Smash Charges permanently stay broken
Added the beginning of a new quest in Silicon City
Made it easier to break into Lucius's shed in Silicon City by adding another entrance to his garden

Known issues:

Rematches have not been rebalanced yet and may be extra difficult
No colorblind fix for the third gym - DM me if you need the puzzle solution for now
A couple invisible tiles that you can bump into near the lake in Silicon City - I have no idea what's causing this

pkmnacademia · Sep 28, 2024

v0.2.0 is finally here!
Lots of new content, updates to old content, bug fixes, and general gameplay changes. Thanks to all who provided early feedback, which helped inform some of the changes.

Join the Discord if you have questions, feedback, or bug reports.

Lots going on in my personal life right now that's taking time away from development, but I'm hoping v0.3.0 will be ready in Spring 2025, which will take you all the way through the fifth Gym and Dojo.

Thanks for playing!

Full changelog:

v0.2.0 - Major Release #2 - 9/28/24
New content:

Added Route 405, north of Rhodium City
Added Radium Garden, east of Route 405
Added Xenon Cliffs, north of Route 405
Added Tin City, east of Xenon Cliffs
Added Titanium Cave, east of Tin City
Added Move Maniac to Selenium Town Schoolhouse and Heart Scales in various places
Added a basement floor to Bromine Mountain
Added Z-Ring and Z-Moves
Added new Ice Smash HM Device
93 more available Pokémon (includes evolutions)
32 more trainers (most with rematches)
4 new recruits
29 more completable quests
10 more Crafting Plans
Added Rhodium City Dojo and Gym rematches
Added 1 new floor to lab
Changed Silicon Gym puzzle and added a colorblind-friendy option
Added new bonuses for expertise in breeding, fossils, astronomy, geology, and history
Changed Signature Records to Signature Machines and added 50 new ones - now usable repeatedly but difficult to acquire (most not yet available in this build)
Replaced the Jukebox Pokégear app with a Types Pokégear app, as a reminder of type weakness/resistance changes
Added 4 moves (Ice Smash, Psyshield Bash, Twin Beam, Hyper Drill)

Balance:

Increased prices of purchasable Vending Machines
Changed order and time in which Vending Machines are purchasable
Increased prices of HM Device Charges
Buffed Training Grounds trainers
Rebalanced hacking encounters
Removed Lucky Egg as a potential random fridge item
Changed Mega Stone rewards offered at Silicon City Dojo
Nerfed Rhodium City and Terbium Crossing Gyms and Dojos
Buffed Silicon City Gym and Dojo
Nerfed all rematches
Moved some wild Pokémon from Bromine Mountain F1 to B1
Removed starter Mega Stones as rewards for beating the Silicon City Gym and Dojo
Buffed the stats of 15 Pokémon
Buffed one Rhodium City trainer

Graphics & Sound:

Updated type icons
Added sounds for learning clues and changing reputation status

Fixes:

Fixed bug that crashed the Pokédex when looking at any Pokémon's info
Fixed multiple bugs that made held Snack items work improperly, removed Shalour Sables entirely
Fixed bug that made the Wandering Salesman disappear improperly after recruiting him
Fixed tree clipping in Potassium Park
Fixed quest blockers in Rhodium City Dojo and Silicon City Dojo
Fixed issue where you couldn't start the final Berry Maniac quest
Fixed issue where certain parameters skipped part of the strike quest
Fixed bug in Silicon City Ranger Outpost that caused issues with hacking
Fixed bug with hacking that gave you unlimited Data Sticks
Fixed bug that blocked Caliban's house in Selenium Town
Removed a trainer in Route 402 that was causing rematch errors
Fixed quest blocker in Mood Reader quest
Fixed bug in Route 403 that moved trainers where they shouldn't be
Fixed bug in Silicon City that prevented the noisy neighbor quest from completing
Fixed bug causing some alternate forms to float in the air in battle
Fixed missing tree in Antimony Woods
Fixed mapping error in Silicon City house

Misc.:

Changed crafting components for Potion, Ether, and Full Heal
Updated rewards for Berry Maniac quest
Added a variety of NPCs to early areas
Updated Comfey quest to trade Comfey for Zangoose instead of for an Eviolite
Expanded explanation of Study benefits in intro and Studies menu
Decreased the size of Rhodium City, Terbium Crossing, and Silicon City
Added more Professor Ginkgo phone call hints
Reworked some story beats
Completed region map
Made some Pokémon learn Exhaust Powder, Brittle Powder, and Ice Smash naturally
Added extra step to Headbutt quest
Started adding Pokémon beyond the original 898 (some Hisuian, Paldean, and Fakémon evolutions)
Reduced number of crafting ingredients needed to craft Balls
Reduced encounter rate in Bismuth Lab, Rhodium Junkyard, and Bromine Mountain
Increased length of time taken before trainers want a rematch
Made it possible to overwrite HM moves

Testing:

Type rebalances
- Ice now resists Water
- Fairy is now weak to Bug
- Water is now weak to Poison
- Steel no longer resists Psychic or Ice
- Poison no longer resists Fighting
- Psychic now resists Fairy

Enderchuu · Sep 29, 2024

This looks very neat, looking forward to seeing this develop.

WildShiro · Oct 1, 2024

Really liking what you have so far, I do wish there were even more books/tvs etc to interact with but understand why you have it limited(especially since the ones you can interact with serve a purpose) I do know I hate rng right now because even my high accuracy attacks, and statuses, miss more times than they don't and enemies seem to role crits every pokemon, but I've survived so far. I do like the details of all the different factions you have right now. Did notice two bugs, one of the colored smashable rocks instantly respawned after I destroyed it wasting my charge(on way to the cave before Silicon city), and the guy that gives you the 5 question quiz errors if you get all questions correct. I do like the roster of pokemon found so far as well although I wish there were more on the new natures in game since it's easier for me to remember when a npc says something about it. Thank you about the rematches, if you want to add more npc interaction without having inane conversation you can have them talk about what kind of rare spawns occur near them. Also found a random space that acts like an object is there.

pkmnacademia · Oct 2, 2024

WildShiro said:
Really liking what you have so far, I do wish there were even more books/tvs etc to interact with but understand why you have it limited(especially since the ones you can interact with serve a purpose) I do know I hate rng right now because even my high accuracy attacks, and statuses, miss more times than they don't and enemies seem to role crits every pokemon, but I've survived so far. I do like the details of all the different factions you have right now. Did notice two bugs, one of the colored smashable rocks instantly respawned after I destroyed it wasting my charge(on way to the cave before Silicon city), and the guy that gives you the 5 question quiz errors if you get all questions correct. I do like the roster of pokemon found so far as well although I wish there were more on the new natures in game since it's easier for me to remember when a npc says something about it. Thank you about the rematches, if you want to add more npc interaction without having inane conversation you can have them talk about what kind of rare spawns occur near them. Also found a random space that acts like an object is there.

Thanks for the feedback and the bug reports!

I've addressed all the bugs you mentioned for the next update. I've been thinking about ways on how to better communicate info about all the Natures in-game. I may add in a Nature Guide as an item or a Pokegear app in the next build.

WildShiro · Oct 2, 2024

Don't know if it is an error, but after beating the final gym of the demo the guy blocking the cave disappears allowing you to enter it but it goes to a back screen(not an error since no error message pops up) I figure it's because the area doesn't have a map yet, but you might want to make sure the guy blocking it remains until it is actually accessible. Still playing because there are many side quests I know can be finished and others that may or may not be possible to finish for the current demo.

pkmnacademia · Oct 2, 2024

WildShiro said:
Don't know if it is an error, but after beating the final gym of the demo the guy blocking the cave disappears allowing you to enter it but it goes to a back screen(not an error since no error message pops up) I figure it's because the area doesn't have a map yet, but you might want to make sure the guy blocking it remains until it is actually accessible. Still playing because there are many side quests I know can be finished and others that may or may not be possible to finish for the current demo.

Hmmm, that's very strange. There is one more area inside that cave, but there are some major glitches in there that I'll have resolved in the next build, so it's not a huge deal to stop before going in.

But you should still be able to go inside though. Other folks have reported to me that the area is available, and I'm not seeing what might be causing that issue. If "Map120" is in your Data folder, it should work.

Did the black screen happen multiple times?

WildShiro · Oct 2, 2024

pkmnacademia said:
Hmmm, that's very strange. There is one more area inside that cave, but there are some major glitches in there that I'll have resolved in the next build, so it's not a huge deal to stop before going in.

But you should still be able to go inside though. Other folks have reported to me that the area is available, and I'm not seeing what might be causing that issue. If "Map120" is in your Data folder, it should work.

Did the black screen happen multiple times?

Every time I try to go in. Map120 is in the data folder so it isn't that. Also, randomly these guys are just standing outside the ranch, but aren't actually out there (they're really inside just have a copy stuck outside). Like I said there is no error message, music still plays it just doesn't load in I guess.

pkmnacademia · Oct 4, 2024

WildShiro said:
Every time I try to go in. Map120 is in the data folder so it isn't that. Also, randomly these guys are just standing outside the ranch, but aren't actually out there (they're really inside just have a copy stuck outside). Like I said there is no error message, music still plays it just doesn't load in I guess.

Thanks for the update - I've fixed the ranch guys for the next build.

Still haven't been able to recreate the cave issue, but I'll keep trying to think what might be happening there.

G5Pokefan · Feb 25, 2025

I was enjoying the game up until the 1st Gym challenge. Cant seem to get past it. The difficulty is too much

[Released] Pokémon Academia [Demo: v0.2.0 - 4 Gyms & 4 Dojos available]

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