[Pokémon Tropico] - Pokémon Essentials with Gen IV style (Large Project)

[juancgutro]

Thank you for checking out my post!

My name is Juan - I am working on my dream Pokémon Fan-game project called Pokémon Tropico.

What are we looking for?

• Programmer: Pokemon Essentials, scripting, events
  
  
• Sprite Artist: Pokemon front/back, overworld (follower), and party sprites for ~120 mons
  
  
• UI/UX Artist: Menus, buttons, battle UI, textboxes, party UI, pokedex UI, pokenav UI
  
  
• Character Artist: Trainer sprites, overworld sprites, back sprites, battle start animations
  
  
• Overworld Artist: Spritesheets, assets, nature, buildings, etc
  
  
• Overworld Designer: Map design, routes, cities, towns, caves, forests, jungles, etc
  
  
• Item Artist: Custom items, custom pokeballs, custom icons for bag, dex, etc
  
  
• Writer: NPC dialogue, in-game lore writing (books), pokedex entries, etc
  
  
• Team Lead: Work coordination, resource management, team management, etc
  
  
• Creative Advisor: Ideas, proposals, fleshing out mechanics and such

What is Pokemon Tropico?

Pokemon Tropico is a fan-game I started working on in 2020. It started as a small creative exercise and quickly turned into a full-fledged Pokemon region with ~120 fakemon (including original creations, regional variants, unique evolutions, etc). The project itself strives to remain faithful to the Pokemon formula but adding enough features and QoL improvements to bring the nostalgic structure to the current age of fan-game development. Here are some quick stats (subject to change):

• Region name: Akuna Region
  
  
• Region theme: Tropical (lightly based on Latin America)
  
  
• Region size: Full size (8 gym leaders, elite four, champion + battle frontier post-game)
  
  
• Pokedex size: Currently ~350 between Akuna originals and existing Pokemon
  
  
• Game style: Gen IV (HG/SS and Diamond/Pearl) with features from every gen
  
  
• Story: Not heavy but more fleshed out than Gens I-IV (around B/W level)

Unlike other games that might also be based in Latin America, I'm aiming for Pokemon Tropico to be lightly inspired by the region rather than a blatant showcase (not that I find that approach wrong). This means the game will have some hints of Latin American culture, lore, and terrain without feeling forced. A balance between games that came before it (Ruby/Sapphire and Sun/Moon) for the tropical and nature-heavy vibes but with that little pinch of Caribbean influence.

Concept & Story

The Akuna region is geographically compact but ecologically dense, reflecting real-world parallels with regions like Costa Rica. It includes a wide variety of natural habitats — rainforests, coastal mangroves, volcanic mountains, cloud forests, and savannas — each home to distinct Pokémon species and evolutionary developments. This diversity directly informs the region's mechanical and narrative identity.

A major gameplay feature in Pokémon Tropico is the emphasis on branching evolution. Rather than a single linear evolution for each species, many Pokémon in the Akuna region evolve into different forms depending on environmental factors, items, stats, gender, or other in-game variables. This mechanic encourages exploration and experimentation, reinforcing the idea that biodiversity is both mechanical and narrative.

The regional Professor, Professor Cyrilla, specializes in branching evolution and serves as the player's main point of scientific insight. She is also researching regional variation and gender-based form differences, which are common in the Akuna Pokédex. This approach allows the region to feel alive and complex without overcomplicating gameplay mechanics.

Overall, the goal is to make Akuna feel like a region where variation is the norm, and where evolutionary diversity reflects the real-world principles of adaptation and environment-based development.

But Akuna's beauty is also fragile — and that's where the story kicks in.

What Features are Planned?

• Mega Evolutions: In my opinion the best "gimmick" introduced in the newer titles
  
  
• Day/Night Cycle: With unique encounters and events happening in each
  
  
• Pokemon Variety: From many regions, their variants, and new fakemon designs
  
  
• Customizable Experience: Difficulty modes to appeal to everyone
  
  
• Modern Features: PKMN Center/Mart combo, DexNav, min-maxing opportunities, etc
  
  
• Apricot Pokeballs: Returning from Gen 2!
  
  
• PokeGear: Hoenn's finest communication and navigation device!
  
  
• Safari Zone: Fixing and simplifying something GameFreak always seems to miss
  
  
• Battle Frontier: Challenging post-game area full of surprises
  
  
• Following Pokémon: One of the reasons why HG/SS are praised
  
  
• QoL improvements: Portable PC, re-chargeable party heal, shiny hunting tools, etc
  
  
• Quests: A simple but effective system to find tasks mid-adventure
  
  
• Plenty of Rivals: Friends and foes alike with unique personalities and storylines
  
  
• Streamlined & Engaging Story: Borrowing elements from multiple games
  
  
• Beautiful & Diverse Landscapes: A nice mix and balancing act of visual diversity
  
  
• Returning Cast & Rematches: Featuring fan-favorite characters from other games!
  
  
• Post-game Content: New Pokémon, new areas, new challenges, etc
  
  
• Legendary Hunting: Bringing some legendries from other games for the post-game

Work Done so Far

• Region Mapping: A detailed map of the region's structure and progression
  90% ■■■■■■■■■□
  
  
• Pokedex: Including existing Pokemon, Akuna original Pokemon, and variations
  95% ■■■■■■■■■◧
  
  
• Region Lore & Story: New legendaries and how they fit in the game's story
  90% ■■■■■■■■■□
  
  
• Fakemon Design: Illustrations or general ideas for what they look like
  50% ■■■■■□□□□□
  
  
• Evil Team Design & Motivations: Their role in story and impact to status quo
  75% ■■■■■■■◧□□
  
  
• Early-game Story Beats: Intro to main characters, and call-to-action trigger
  80% ■■■■■■■■□□

Showcase

 

[DeltaX414]

How do I go about applying to help with this?

 

[juancgutro]

How do I go about applying to help with this?

You just did, bud.
DM me on Discord!
User: juancgutro

 

[mathisol3]

Hi, I would like to apply as a relatively new artist. if that's possible of course.

 

[juancgutro]

Hi, I would like to apply as a relatively new artist. if that's possible of course.

Sure thing! I'd love to see some of your work.

Add me on Discord: juancgutro