Pokemon XY: Alternative

[machomuu]

Hey guys, machomuu here with an idea that I've been throwing around in my head for a little while. Could just keep it there or on a document, but I felt like writing it down on here because it'll give me some form of motivation for it. The name's pending but for now I'm going to call it:

Pokemon XY: Alternative

Hack of: FireRed or Emerald​

Story

Red. Kris. Brendan. Dawn. Toko. Rosa.

These were names that time would not soon forget. They were heroes, but they were far from normal. They all managed to defeat powerful organizations threatening the land, and even the world, all while taking on the equally unspeakable feat of challenging and defeating the Elite Four. These children were chosen, capable of flights of bravery, talent, and skill that no ordinary person was capable of, despite their efforts.

In Kalos, a new chosen child was born. She would go on to be named Serena, and as foreseen by the Council of Mastery, she grew up to become a Pokemon Trainer capable of awe-inspiring achievements. Once the time was right, the Council approached her to inform her of her "Destiny", as they called it. That soon she would inherit the right to unlock the secrets of evolution (likely Mega Evolution) and protect the world from a great threat that would soon arrive. Knowing that she was chosen, however, this hardly gave her even a single chill. She was confident, and what was more, she had a group of friends that was there to support her, and they looked up to her, even. Her cards were better than most of the other chosen children, and she wasn't going to let that go to waste. And she didn't, until she met a boy named Calem.

Like most of her friends, Calem was her rival. There seemed to be some sort of fire in his eyes that the others just didn't have, though, and battles with him were always harrowing and close. Still, the two were close, and as he insisted, she called him "Bro", along with everyone else in the group. Calem really brought the group together, and in a lot of ways he really was like the brother that she never had. As for why he was so strong, it wasn't any particular surprise. He wasn't a chosen, but as with famous rivals of the past who helped nurture the chosen, such a Green, Silver, May, and so on, he grew stronger simply by having this insurmountable mountain in the way of Serena to work up to. And she couldn't be happier. The group was like a strange, dysfunctional family.

Eventually the day came that the five of them reached the Tower of Mastery, where the Mega Ring was to be given to the chosen so that she could take on the threat that was Team Flare and protect Kalos from whatever Lysandre was plotting. As expected, when asked by Gurkinn if anyone would like to challenge Serena for the ring, they all abstained, because it was her life's goal- they weren't going to take that from her. None of them save for one blank-faced Calem. The group is shocked by this, and Serena stunned, but she agreed, saying that her, being chosen, couldn't lose at a point where her Destiny pointed to her winning.

And despite this, they battled, and she lost. This is where the game begins.

Having won against Serena, Calem is instead deemed the true chosen one and is granted the gift of Mega Evolution. This splits the group. Shauna and Tierno side with Serena, devastated that Calem would take what was essentially everything from Serena, who was left near catatonic by this. Trevor, on the other hand, decided to stay with Calem, interested in seeing the lengths that Mega Evolution could be taken to.

Concepts

• This game is actually meant to be the first entry in a series I've been planning for years now that's something of a deconstruction and analysis of the Pokemon games. An idea that's horribly outdated and grossly written by the name of Pokemon Glory (currently in the process of being rewritten from the ground up) takes place later in the same continuity.
• You will play as Serena. I considered making two versions, one called Calem's Side and one called Serena's Side, because their stories are very different, and that's not particularly out of the cards. However, Serena is sort of the focus of this idea, so she'll be the playable character here.
• This taking place in Kalos does make it something of an XY demake. I prefer not to call it one, though, since it doesn't encompass the whole game and takes place under different circumstances, as well as various other changes.
• The theme of this hack is "Boundless Evolution." And it teems through several aspects of the game.
  • One particular instance of this is, of course, Mega Evolution. Calem isn't evil, and he has about as strong and as quick a growing relationship with his Pokemon as any protagonist. Through relying on Mega Evolution and overcoming its previously known limitations, he learns that by forming a stronger bond and resonating with your Pokemon, Mega Evolution, too, will become stronger. This would probably include going above initial Mega Evo forms, being able to control more than one Mega Evolved Pokemon at once, potentially being able to retain their mega evolved forms, and eventually not needing a Mega Ring at all.
    
    The last thing in particular is, after some discussion with some other PC members, something from Origins that I think very well fits in the games and complements what I'm going for very well. This idea that bonds are an operative part of both evolution and mega evolution and that, assuming a bond is strong enough, it really doesn't need that catalyst, is a fun idea to me, especially when used by someone who is painted as an enemy or a traitor or like.

Features

• No Mega Evolution!
• Unobtainable Pokemon
• More once I really get this down pat

Notes/Trivia

• In this continuity, Hilda's known as Toko. This is because I'm not particularly a fan of Hilda in regards to her, as it really doesn't fit, so I just went with her Japanese name.

 

[Blah]

Neat idea, I like how it's story driven and actually has an interesting lore by most standards. I'm not exactly sold on having two different versions though, perhaps it'd be best to stick to the Serena ver. and make the second version depending on how well it's received and if you think it's necessary to complete the story.

I'm trying to imagine how the game would play out as Serena once she's lost her purpose in life. I'd imagine she'd be trying to redeem herself, and therefore there is a clear goal in defeating Calem to drive the story. The introduction of this lore inside the ROM would be a key factor. Something like a custom introduction to tell the story in an interesting cinematic would go very far to keep interest of people who just see a patch and download it without reading the thread through. Looks promising, good luck!

 

[machomuu]

Neat idea, I like how it's story driven and actually has an interesting lore by most standards. I'm not exactly sold on having two different versions though, perhaps it'd be best to stick to the Serena ver. and make the second version depending on how well it's received and if you think it's necessary to complete the story.

I'm trying to imagine how the game would play out as Serena once she's lost her purpose in life. I'd imagine she'd be trying to redeem herself, and therefore there is a clear goal in defeating Calem to drive the story. The introduction of this lore inside the ROM would be a key factor. Something like a custom introduction to tell the story in an interesting cinematic would go very far to keep interest of people who just see a patch and download it without reading the thread through. Looks promising, good luck!

Thanks FBI!

Yeah, I was a bit iffy on having a Calem side. His journey's going to be a fair deal different, but I think keeping that much ambiguous and watching how he changes through their various encounters and hear-say could be just as interesting as playing with him. It's a bit ambitious and overly optimistic, but I'd like to get to the sequels of this sooner rather than later.

And yeah, I think the introduction's a good idea. I'm debating how I'll do it, since I don't know exactly if I plan out all of Kalos or just the relevant parts (since, as Shalour houses the third gym, it'd still make for a pretty lengthy adventure regardless). But because it doesn't start from the beginning, I want to play around with some experimental ideas I had for using exploration and character interaction as prominent features...but that's up in the air for now.

I mean, despite all I say about wanting a non-standard Pokemon hack, the idea here is less intent on breaking the formula and more playing with ideas that could go well with it, because I think that's kind of necessary if I want to deconstruct the games. But eh, I'm rambling. The base's there, but I'm going to keep writing and see where I can go with this. There's a bit of canon being played with here, too, but I'll see how that goes over with people once I get that

 

[machomuu]

Hm...question. Should Serena talk? I've been thinking about this for a little while, because the implication is that Calem is the Main Character (having just moved in and being given a nickname). What's been stewing in my head is that Calem would remain silent and Serena would still talk, if only to drive home the theme that this whole game is based around. At the same time, I've also been considering something of a role reversal, having Calem talk and Serena sort of go timid and quiet thanks to her loss. Or they could both be silent, but I dunno about that. From a narrative perspective I don't really see how I could effectively tell the story that way.

 

[Hajima]

Hm...question. Should Serena talk? I've been thinking about this for a little while, because the implication is that Calem is the Main Character (having just moved in and being given a nickname). What's been stewing in my head is that Calem would remain silent and Serena would still talk, if only to drive home the theme that this whole game is based around. At the same time, I've also been considering something of a role reversal, having Calem talk and Serena sort of go timid and quiet thanks to her loss. Or they could both be silent, but I dunno about that. From a narrative perspective I don't really see how I could effectively tell the story that way.

Honestly this Idea sounds organized and well made. Although about the point of view of the story, based on my opinion, you should go with what you would want because that's what makes an Idea unique and interesting. But if you're unsure, you should probably add narration to this first part, like the intro or tutotial side. But then change it into the Protagonist's view later on.

Good luck! :)

 

[Xertified]

Interesting ey?