The Pokemon Delta Project: Pokemon Retyped

[Sunstruck]

Let's get this show on the road.

So quick disclaimer: it's not like this idea is entirely original; it's been attempted before, but never seems to have come to fruition, which I found immensely disappointing. So, I decided to step up and make my own hack based around this concept. Originally, it was more of a personal project, but I figured I may as well share it for people who might enjoy this concept as well.

The Concept:​

I'm creating a hack in which every Pokemon has been retyped. And no, I'm not just talking about simply changing their typing; I'm talking about giving them complimentary new forms, much like Alolan Pokemon. The difference between Alolans and these Delta Pokemon are that these are more akin to re-imaginings of Pokemon, rather than different variants.

Almost all Pokemon will have entirely new typings replacing any of their previous ones, with the exception of some Bugs and birds who would change too much if I removed their Bug or Flying types. (Though those will at least have one type changed/added) Now, what I mean by re-imagining is that when I'm deciding their new typings, I'm still taking them as Pokemon into account. My goal is to find a healthy mix between new and old; for the Pokemon to still be recognizable while also being re-imagined as a different Pokemon.

I make sure to try and be reasonable with my retypings; I don't arbitrarily assign a Pokemon a new type and then think of a design to reflect that -- both the design and the Pokemon typically need to have some kind of origin or basis, just like regular Pokemon do. Sometimes I re-imagine Pokemon as something that was relevant to their previous form, such as the Fire-type Clefairy based on a shooting star/comet. Other times I choose new typings based on what a Pokemon is already based on or what a Pokemon already looks like, such as the Fairy-type Dratini and Dragonair given their cute/elegant appearances. There is no set way I go about it, and I will be the first to admit that some are a stretch, but rest assured that I'm not randomly tacking new types onto Pokemon because I think they would look cool with it.

Sadly, this game will not have a new story. This hack is similar to hacks such as Touhoumon and Moemon in that they stick to the original plot of the game, not really changing up any events or too many scripts. However, that doesn't mean this'll be your typical Pokemon journey either, because I'm changing up the dialogue. Yes, this can't create an entirely new story, but the purpose of this is to make it more 'veteran-friendly' as I like to put it. No doubt anyone playing the hack will have gone through FireRed (my base for the game) countless times, and probably has some of the lines memorized by now. I can change this by doing things such as dispensing with pointless introductory or explanatory dialogue, and instead replacing it with more entertaining or funny dialogue that a Pokemon fan avid enough to find this game would appreciate more. I can also give characters entirely new personalities, as well as have the player character speak. While this doesn't make up for a real storyline, I believe it's enough to make the game a new experience when combined with various other features.

Also -- for now, I don't plan on retyping anything beyond what's already in the game: the initial 386 Pokemon. However, this decision is subject to change. I plan to mostly work on this project myself, at least unless people want to help me with it and it turns out it's pretty popular. As such, I don't want to be too ambitious and say I'm going to retype all 721, even if it is possible to add them into the game. It's simply too much for one person to handle, and I'd only ever aim that high if I or a team led by me managed to finish all 386 and had time and energy to do more.

Also, since making each Pokemon is time-consuming, I'm handling the first 151 and any connected evolutions/pre-evolutions first. That's because those are the ones that appear in FireRed by default, so they are top priority. After all 386 have been retyped, it'll become a 386 hack.

Now, with that out of the way, let's move onto:

Features:​

• Fairy Type, Phys/Spec Split, updated type chart/moves: Naturally, as I'm using MrDollSteak's rombase, all of the general stuff you've come to expect from hacks have been implemented. Except mega evolutions. Why? I do not feel that Mega Evolutions are necessary to enjoy this game, and really it's as simple as that. You've already got 386 new forms of your favorite old Pokemon to look at, what's the point of Megas anymore?
• A New Type: For a hack based around the concept of assigning new types, I felt it was only fitting to add an actual new type into the mix and spice things up. And so this game will feature a Cosmic type.
• Changes to Pokemon: As you might have guessed, Pokemon's movepools and abilities have been altered to suit their new typing, designs, and origins. (Some Pokemon whose abilities still match their new forms may keep one or both, though. Same with some moves) Likewise many of their names, species names, and even their Pokedex entries have also been changed to match.
• New Gym Types: All gyms, along with the E4, will be changed to specialize in new types. Thus gyms will have new layouts and puzzles, while leaders will have new appearances, and names (given how their names are usually a reference to their specialty) to match.
• Easter Eggs and Rare Evolutions: The game will be chock full of easter eggs, almost always relating to Pokemon fandom, lore, and what have you -- things an avid Pokemon fan might know about, to enhance the veteran-friendliness I talked about earlier. The reason this is important is because it's the reason behind some rare evolutions, which just means a Pokemon turning into another Pokemon it was previously unrelated to. Being able to re-imagine Pokemon allows me to connect previously unconnected Pokemon through evolution, but I don't do this without very good reason -- in particular, I don't do it unless it's a reference or an easter egg. This is why they're called Rare Evolutions; only a handful of Pokemon in the game are going to have this, and in each case I assure you it'll be reasonable. And of course, stats and typings will be changed to match the new evolutionary connection.

Also, for those who are interested, the Cosmic type effectiveness:
Supereffectively Hits: Ground, Ghost, Fairy
Not-very-effective against: Ice, Psychic, Rock
Half damage from: Fire (immune), Ground, Ghost, Water
Supereffective damage from: Psychic, Dark, Grass, Flying

I don't have any more concrete ideas for features that I really think would be necessary, but I have some that I'm unsure about. I'd really like feedback on whether or not to implement these ideas.

• New Look: I've been considering changing the tiles of the hack to give it a new look. However, if I did do this, I would need to either use an existing tileset or employ the help of a few artists. While I certainly think it would be a good addition, I don't think it's vitally necessary to enjoy the game. That said, the invitation to artists is open, as I would much prefer to have custom tiles if any, and if someone did decide to work with me on them I would definitely implement them.
• Trainer/OW Sprites: Aside from the player character, whose look I think I should change up just to reflect the whole hack's theme, and gym leaders/E4, who will need new sprites to reflect their new typings, I'm not sure on whether or not I should change sprites throughout the game. This includes both battle sprites and overworld ones -- I could revamp them, or I could simply give them an overall more interesting/alternate look, I don't know. It's worth noting that if I do decide to change the tiles, though, the OW sprites would almost definitely have to change with it. I always thought the disconnect between new tiles and old FireRed OWs was a bit disconcerting.

That's it for now, though these lists will be updated with time as I make more decisions about what direction to go.

Development​

So far, I've created and implemented 11 new Pokemon, along with the Cosmic type. (No custom Cosmic moves yet though) Progress is slow-going, in part because I'm deciding what to do and in part because of just life. But without further ado, this is the part where I finally show you the screenshots:

Spoiler:

Cleffa and Clefall + Cosmic Type:

(Clefable, or Clefalley as it's now called, is to be added as a Fire/Cosmic type)

Cubone and Maroward:

Haply, Soother, and Gengoro:

Cyclett and Tortrio:

Grenorb:

(Alternate Electrode to be added, same type and general concept)

Mizuni:

(Dragonair and Dragonite to be added, though it's worth mentioning that Dragonite is going to undergo drastic changes to make him match his pre-evolutions better)

Conclusion:​

And yeah, that's my idea. Any suggestions and comments are more than welcome, as well as any offers to help. I'm still unsure of how much of this I want to do by myself, and how much I want to assign to potential team members, but I have one job in particular open should anyone like it. I'm relatively new to spriting, and so a lot of my sprites aren't as good as they could be -- I'd like for them to appear professional, rivaling their original game sprites. It would help a lot if someone with experience in spriting would help touch up my sprites -- I wouldn't be asking anyone to make me anything original, only for them to help add finishing touches, tweaks, and maybe offer input on what kinds of designs to make or how to go about making them -- it would be great to have someone else to discuss those ideas with!

I'd like to know what you all think about this idea. While I don't have any concrete plans to form a hacking team quite yet, I probably will if this gains a lot of support, since then it'll have extended beyond just being a personal project of mine. If not, I'll still be working on this anyway -- really I just want it to exist, and it's a question of how it should exist.

 

[JesusIsAVespiqueen]

I really like Cubone/Maroward's design. These sprites look better than some Fakemon games honestly. Ever since Sun And Moon was announced I was hoping for some one to implement alternate forms of Pokemon into a hack, so I'll be looking forward to this

 

[esperance]

I'm not a huge fakemon fan usually but you've done a great job with your forms here. They all look very well sprited. I especially like Cleffa/Clefall.

Also, the amount of thought you've put into this is impressive and I'm sure if you can keep up the motivation you'll be able to go far.

Given than you're making all these new forms, I think the idea of a new type like the "Cosmic" type you're using could work well. However, the amount of strengths/weaknesses for this type are almost too varied. I can't really see how the type you've described fits into the existing type chart.

 

[Crizzle]

Some of these forms are pretty cool. Others not so much, but I still think this is a great idea.

 

[Sunstruck]

I really like Cubone/Maroward's design. These sprites look better than some Fakemon games honestly. Ever since Sun And Moon was announced I was hoping for some one to implement alternate forms of Pokemon into a hack, so I'll be looking forward to this

Funnily enough, I began working on this before Alolan forms were ever announced, haha. That's why Maroward is a Ghost-type, like the Alolan Marowak. In the future, I'm going to stay away from the typings of Alolan Pokemon, since I don't want to be a copycat.
But anyway, thanks for the kind words. :)

I'm not a huge fakemon fan usually but you've done a great job with your forms here. They all look very well sprited. I especially like Cleffa/Clefall.

Also, the amount of thought you've put into this is impressive and I'm sure if you can keep up the motivation you'll be able to go far.

Given than you're making all these new forms, I think the idea of a new type like the "Cosmic" type you're using could work well. However, the amount of strengths/weaknesses for this type are almost too varied. I can't really see how the type you've described fits into the existing type chart.

Thank you! Cleffa and Clefall are some of my favorites too, to be honest. (Clefalley is being a pain to sprite though Dx)

As for the Cosmic type, I can explain my reasoning behind the strengths/weaknesses, though I can see how it might be confusing. I'm open to changing it if anyone has any better suggestions, or sees a flaw in my reasoning.

Spoiler:

So I tried to think about what types were in need of weaknesses, what types needed resistances, etc. based on the ratio of type advantages/disadvantages they already had, as well as other factors such as whether it made thematic sense for a Cosmic typing.
Ground needed to be hit by something and needed to be resisted by something because it supereffectively hits five types, only has a weakness to three, and its moves are some of the most powerful/common in the game.

Ghost and Fairy needed weaknesses because Ghost only has two, one of those being itself, and Fairy only has weaknesses to two defensive types which have only a few real offensive moves at their disposal. It may seem unfair to have Ghost hit two types effectively and for three to attack it effectively, but another thing to consider is the fact that Ghost is immune to both Normal and Fighting, two of the most common and powerful types offensively, while it only has two things that resist it. This is also why Ghost is resisted by Cosmic but Fairy is not; Fairy doesn't need something more to resist it given it resists 3 types (plus Dragon but we all know why that is) and is resisted by three. Ghost, meanwhile, ought to be resisted by something other than Dark and Normal, to balance it out with its four resistances/immunities.

Cosmic takes supereffective damage from Dark and Psychic because both of these types take more damage than they dish out. Dark only supereffectively hits Ghost and Psychic, while Psychic supereffectively hits Poison and Fighting. I figured adding a third type to both of them would match it up with their three weaknesses, resistances, and what they do little damage to. This is also why Psychic resists Cosmic but Dark does not; because Dark already has three resistances, but Psychic has two. Now each of these types stands at three of each.

Ice and Rock resist it because both of these types were in need of a little defensive buff imo. Ice should be obvious; it only resists itself. As for Rock, I figured it should at least have the same amount of resistances as it does weaknesses, considering it was one of the most defensive types before the advent of Steel. It also has weaknesses to many common typings, making it a lousy defensive choice -- and while this doesn't exactly fix that for either of these types, it gives it a little extra edge at least.

Cosmic resists Water and is immune to Fire because Fire has six resistances, and is strong against four types, while only being resisted by another four -- one of which is just itself -- and only being hit by three. I didn't think it was enough to add another weakness to Fire, because Ground and Water are already common and powerful types, so I simply had Cosmic have an immunity to Fire to make it lose its offensive edge a little. As for Water, it's only hit supereffectively by two types, while being strong against three and resisting four. In exchange for its defensive edge, I figured I should curb its offensive edge just a bit.

And lastly, Grass and Flying. Grass is... offensively sad. It can only hit three types while being resisted by 7, and only resisting four -- one of which is itself. I figured it needed something else to hit, just to give it a little bit more of an edge offensively. As for Flying, it's a pretty balanced type overall, but apart from Ground it only really resists types that it can hit supereffectively. I thought I might give it a type that it can hit supereffectively but which it can't resist, though I admit this logic here is somewhat shaky. I might remove the Flying weakness, to be honest.

Wow, sorry that this post turned out so long, I had to put it in spoilers. You don't have to read, but if you or anyone else is up to it I'd be interested to know what you think. :P

Some of these forms are pretty cool. Others not so much, but I still think this is a great idea.

Thanks for your input~ I suppose it's a question of taste, but I'm glad you like the idea.

 

[Zervais]

I'm in love with some of these redesigns; the lore you've implemented behind Clefairy is sound and she even receives a lovely coat of blue flames and the new typing, which suits her. I'd be intrigued to see who else gets the Cosmic typing though, as I cannot think of any Pokemon which might be deserving of it.

Cubone and Marrowak are nicely designed too, a little on the creepy side, but ghosts should be. I would recommend changing typing to Ghost/Ground though. I don't know why but I'm not fond of Ghost/Dark types. The typing always seems to similar to me, even if they have different weaknesses.

The 'Haply' and its evolutions confused me. It took a Google search of the pokedex number for me to realise it was supposed to be a revamp of the Gastly line. It just looks too much like a fakemon rather than a different form. Maybe change it to fire type, if you were willing to redesign.

Diglett and Dugtrio's tornado forms are brilliant. Their names are very well thought out too.

Voltorb's new design looks more like a rock typing, I actually thought it was Geodude at first.

Finally, Dratini's is super cute. I would have that little pink dragon on my team without a question. I'm looking forward to seeing Dragonair and Dragonite too.

 

[LovetheJello]

Nice Project, Hope I could finish it one day!