Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Who's That Pokemon?

The Pokemon of Pokemon AD are largely the same as those of the established Pokemon universe.

Largely.





With each new iteration of the Pokemon franchise new Pokemon creatures are introduced, at once expanding the setting and inspiring players to strive for the game's motto and goal of trying to 'Catch'em All!'.

As of this writing, there 802 Pokemon including mega-evolutions, 'ultra beasts', regional and other variants. This number may not completely represent the total number of distinct Pokemon. Very likely the official number is more like 720.

Now, here we are with Pokemon AD and a whole new area of the Pokemon world. The Canu Region (my original setting) will therefore bring with it a lot of all new Pokemon. At the same time, I don't know if I really want to introduce between 100 to 150 new Pokemon. Part of the fun of playing a Pokemon RPG is having your character go into battle with their familiar favorites, just like playing Star Wars lets you pilot an X-Wing or a Star Trek game lets you be a Vulcan.


Back when I was collecting the figurines I tried to get a hold of all the Pokemon based on or resembling dogs. I imagined it would be cool to encounter a Pokemon Trainer or Gym Leader that specialized in dog Pokemon regardless of what their Type might be. Pokemon Trainers specializing in Water Type, Grass Type, or Fire Type Pokemon are encountered often throughout the series but one focused on Bears or Cats is pretty uncommon. 


The Poke-Bear Necessities


Where was I? Ah yes...


The plan therefore is to add about 25 new Pokemon to a fairly select list of Pokemon from all the previous video games, with the option of introducing more later on if I feel it's needed, or if I get a lot of requests for a particular Pokemon I hadn't planned on using. 

Note that I just stated I would be using a 'fairly select list' of familiar Pokemon. Why?

The Canu Region that I am using as my setting is based on/inspired by my love of Canada. I want to use Pokemon that I feel are appropriate to the climate, terrain, and biomes native to that area of the real world. 

I intend to give more attention to this in an upcoming post detailing the Canu Region campaign setting, but suffice to say some of the tropical bird, fish, and jungle dwelling Pokemon of Sun and Moon's Alola Region (basically the Hawaiian Islands) wouldn't quite fit the arctic tundra, and boreal woodlands of Canu.

What then are my new, original Pokemon like? 

To begin with, I'll need to add a few more Grass Types that fit the region, more Ice Types for sure, fewer Fire Types in general, and perhaps a few that tap into local culture and folklore (Indigenous, British, and French). I have some great ideas (if I do say so myself) for three Legendary Pokemon that will tie into the meta-plot going on in the background.


The incredibly talented artist Darren M. A. Calvert (whose work I absolutely love) just so happened to post a series of Pokemon of his own creation not that long ago. Inspired by his own interest in the franchise (specifically his playing of the augmented reality app game Pokemon Go), and in honor of being a Canadian himself, his creatures homage and poke fun at his native Canada. 


Darren 'DMAC' Calvert's
Poutiny, and its evolution Poutitan!


What an amazing coincidence, no? It was Pokemon Go, in conjunction with Sun and Moon, that renewed my own interest and brought about my Pokemon RPG Gaming Epiphany. I decided on a region resembling Canada, did a search for 'Canada Pokemon', and found DMAC's illustrations. Perfect! They took my already jazzed attitude about the idea and sent it through the roof. 

Some of DMAC's Pokemon will most certainly be included in my Canu Region Pokedex. In addition, here are some others of my own invention that I am considering:

Pokemon #AD01 Cooljay

A Bluejay-inspired Flying/Ice Type Pokemon, and likely one of the Starter Pokemon of the Canu Region (see I Choose You! for notes on Starter Pokemon). 

The Bluejay is one of my favorite birds, as it has neat plumage, a distinct call, and a bad ass attitude for such a small bird. It is also a bird popularly associated with Canada thanks in no small part to the Toronto based professional baseball team.

I haven't decided on the names of its evolutions yet, but I am toying with #02 Cyanice, and #03 Falcold.

Pokemon #AD04 No Name Yet

Garter Snake-inspired Fire Type Pokemon. A Starter Pokemon for sure.

Believe it or not, Canada has the largest concentration of Garter Snakes in the world. I know. Snakes. Canada. It doesn't add up on the surface. However, the Narcisse Snake Dens of Manitoba, Canada see a gathering of as many as 75,000 Garter Snakes each year during the animal's mating season.

I intend to exaggerate the idea that Canada is cold, and snakes don't normally like that. With this Pokemon, their Fire-based nature keeps them warm, and active in the cold climate that would normally put them to sleep.

What do you think?

I intend #AD05, and #AD06 to be evolutions of this Pokemon. Any name suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Pokemon #AD07 Wolverip

A Wolverine-inspired Pokemon of the Normal Type, that evolves into a Normal/Poison Type, or Fighting/Poison Type called Clawrine (#08). Like a number of other Pokemon it might have only two forms, with no third evolution.

Likely another Starter Pokemon.

I can see this one clearly, including its personality. I am definitely going to take the opportunity to play on some of the stories told about this animal, as well as parodying a certain Canadian born, Adamantium boned, Marvel Comics Mutant. Heheh.

In addition to these I am working on the 'version specific' Pokemon unique to each 'game'. For Pokemon Astro, an Electric Type and a Psychic Type, and a Fairy Type and a Ghost Type for Pokemon Dwimmer.


Snowy Owl Noctowl
by DiegoGuilherme


Regional variants are also big on my list. I am planning on a Snowy Owl version of Hoothoot, and Noctowl, a Black Footed Furret, and a few more I am still pondering.

Any ideas, requests, or suggestions? Feel free to send them my way.

Gotta Catch'em All, eh?

AD
Barking Alien







11 comments:

  1. I think Wolverip should only be able to say "bub"

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    1. Ha! That's awesome!

      Pokemon usually only say their name as the noise they make, but it would be so cool to have Wolverip say 'bub' instead. LOL

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  2. Black-footed Furret is a great idea!

    What about a regional, fire Jigglypuff that is also flying? (Hot air balloon? Haha?)

    A Slowqueen to go along with Slowking?

    Adding to the Eeveelutions would also be cool! (Or, have your own monster that can evolve into multiple types...maybe with each being dual-type or something?)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the response, and interest Linneman!

      I like the Black-footed Furret too. :3

      I love the idea of a Hot Air Balloon Pokemon! A Jigglypuff variant? Hmmm.

      A Slowqueen for Slowking? Logical.

      I have an idea for a Labrador Retriever Pokemon - Labradog - which starts as a Normal Type, then evolves with exposure to various stones.

      It can become Labradawn (Yellow Lab - Solar Ability - Electric/Fire Type), Labradusk (Chocolate Lab - Grass/Rock Type), or Labradoom (Black Lab - Dark/Ghost Type).

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    2. That Labradog idea is great! You speak my language, sir. (Related but irrelevant: One of our dogs is a Labrador Retriever/Rat Terrier mix. We refer to her as...wait for it...a Lab Rat.)

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  3. Oh! And I hereby officially threaten to steal cool new monsters you post to make into Underground Elemental Beastfighting "cards" on my blog.

    Unless you don't want me to. Then I won't. But still, it's a threat.

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    Replies
    1. No problem! Please be so kind as to credit me for my creations and its all good.

      If you send my a link to your blog we can co-link, as it were. :)

      Delete
    2. Thank you! I will most definitely direct all credit where it belongs. (You can find my blog at monstrousmatters.com if you ever need to kill a rainy day...!)

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    3. Will do! Besides, I'm sure the rainy day had it coming >_<

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  4. Do you have a link for the works of Darren M. A. Calvert?

    Some real good ideas here!

    I've been running a 1 on 1 Pokémon RPG with my wife for several months now, playing once a week. I'm using 5E D&D as the base, with my own interpretations of the Pokémon from the Kanto Pokedex produced by Caniswolfman24:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/4xppyh/pokemon_conversion_full_kanto_pokedex/

    I've developed a Pokémon Trainer class and each Pokemon has its own racial class. Each level is equal to around 3 to 5 levels, topping out at level 20.

    While I mapped out my own region (Byoga, or "Artist" region, with cities and locales named after the works of Vincent Van Gogh, my wife's favorite artist), I chose to punt and mostly use Kanto Pokémon, though I have a variety of others from other regions as needed (and just adapt things using information from Bulbapedia).

    It works pretty nicely, though I think 1 on 1 works far better than a full-sized group. After all, in the original anime, with three on two (the Twerps versus Team Rocket) things got messy enough as it was!

    Anyway, I am eager to see what you develop! My wife is working her way through the badges, so I'll need to have a Canadian trainer to throw at her once she reaches the League Tournament! Maybe after that she will visit the Canu Region!

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  5. Thanks for the interest, and input!

    First I want to say that I love hearing about what other people have done with their own takes on one of these crazy projects of mine. It not only gives me ideas, it helps clarify ideas I already have, and shows me I am not alone in loving offbeat games after all.

    The second thing I want to point out, and thank you for, is identifying a potential problem I might run into before I even run into it.

    I need to carefully consider the fact that I may have to deal with large-scale Pokemon battles. I rarely run RPG campaigns with less than four players, and generally have five, or six PCs on the average these days.

    If I am going to have five PCs, and five, or more opponents, that is going to get really tricky to juggle really quickly.

    The 'Twerps vs. Team Rocket' is essentially 3 PCs vs. 2 NPCs. The NPCs in this case, Team Rocket, are generally less skilled and effective than the PCs, but sometimes get lucky.

    In the Pokemon Sun and Moon animated series the dynamic changes. Team Skull usually features 3 NPCs against Satoshi/Ash, and another trainer. The NPCs (Team Skull) are still less adept than the PCs, but the balance is more logical - Three mediocre NPCs against two talented PCs.

    Much to consider...

    I will be detailing the Canu Region a bit more soon, complete with a map of the area. Please let me know what you think!

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