é mon game (for fun) and recently nailed down my concept for a main villain. As a refresher, the game would feature a region called Pascadia, based on the Pacific NW area of the United States. Concept art for my protagonist and Pok é mon professor here: www.deviantart.com/silvarebel/… I was thinking about my ideas for a fan-made Pokmon game (for fun) and recently nailed down my concept for a main villain. As a refresher, the game would feature a region called Pascadia, based on the Pacific NW area of the United States. Concept art for my protagonist and Pokmon professor here: www.deviantart.com/silvarebel/…





In developing this character design, I also developed some world-building for the "game's" setting. Heads up, as it's a little dark.







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The story takes place in a future, dystopian Pok é mon world that is being destroyed by a massive corporation called Iron Fist. In exploiting the planet's resources, the corporation has been uprooting people's economies, ravaging the environment, and endangering the survival of humans and Pok é mon alike. However, there is one region that seems to be a safe haven from Iron Fist's wrath. Pascadia, a region that is owned, controlled and safeguarded by a mysterious competitor, an "eco-friendly" corporation called Corporo-Green. Pascadia is the one region left in the entire world with a pristine environment, clean drinking water, breathable air, and thriving ecosystems for Pok é mon. Many nickname Pascadia "Paradise", because of its reputation as a safe eco-topia. Many travel on an arduous journey to reach this place and escape the nightmare of the rest of the world - only to find that the region maintains a strict border and policy on who is allowed to immigrate...





You, the player, however, are born inside Pascadia, so you don't have to worry about that. Your mom, Professor Evergreen, is a Pok é mon habitat conservationist, and she gives you the opportunity to assist her research and gain work experience as an unpaid intern. Your mom's livelihood and research is funded by a generous grant from Corporo-Green.





Speaking of Corporo-Green, you actually begin your gym challenge when your other mother, President Verda, attempts to reconnect with you (who needs a missing dad when you can be adopted by two moms instead?). Evergreen and Verda have a distant and...complicated relationship on the verge of a divorce, leaving you in an awkward place in the middle. It doesn't help that Verda rarely makes time in her busy life to see you. However, Verda seems that she wants to correct this and rebuild her relationship with you - starting with encouraging you to take on Pascadia's gym challenge. Being the child of the region's richest woman has its perks, and she gives you your first Pok é mon and purchases a Pok é mon license for you so that you can legally train Pok é mon to challenge the gyms.







Yep, something striking about this region, despite its seeming paradise, is the unusually...oppressive presence of capitalism. It's not free to be a Pok é mon trainer. Trainers must purchase a digital license, which inhabits a bracelet that trainers must wear at all times. Without an active license, pok é balls will literally not work in your hands. Corporo-Greens pok é balls are specially designed to function when they receive a signal from a registered trainer. The justification Corpor-Green gives for this law is ecological sustainability - the Pok é mon habitats here in Pascadia rest in a delicate balance, and only qualified (but actually, rich) citizens are allowed the responsibility to be a Pok é mon trainer. This does not stop some people from trying to train and bond with Pok é mon without a license and without pok é balls, though Corporo-Green refers to them as "Pok é mon Poachers". There are severe penalties for being caught (so to speak), including massive fines and even jail time. The only exception currently given is to the Native communities that live on the margins of Pascadia. They have traditionally worked together with Pok é mon and trained them without tools like Pok é balls. Because of this tradition that the Native communities have fought to keep alive, Corporo-Green has allowed a degree of leniency to citizens living on a reservation. However, they are an oppressed minority in Pascadia who don't take anything for granted, and are constantly finding their rights and legal protections at risk...





Pok é mon Centers also cost money to heal your Pok é mon. If you're lucky and have plenty of money, this is no more inconvenient for you than buying some full restores at the Pok é mart. For the child of Corporo-Green's President, you and your team are 100% covered by your mother's insurance, so you never have to exchange a single coin with the nurses.





Another troubling sight is the prevalence of houseless people living on the streets in major cities. Pascadia's media (and general public opinion) belittles these people for "deserving" what they get for "failing" as a Pok é mon trainer. After all, "if they actually won some battles, they'd be able to afford a place to live!" Never mind that apartments and houses is oddly expensive in Pascadia... thankfully for the player, you can check in to about any hotel and they will just bill your mother.





As you continue your journey, raising your Pok é mon and challenging the gyms, more and more things about Pascadia starts to bother you, the more that you see of the region. If this place is a paradise, why are so many people struggling to survive? ...But at least it's eco-friendly, right? Better than out there, in the cross-hairs of Iron Fist.





Try as you might to ignore these troubling questions and ignore these problematic implications, you're going to have to make a choice on your journey. Will you walk the path of least resistance as a Pok é mon Trainer, and just challenge the Pok é mon League, complete your Pok é dex, and be the very best? OR... do you reject the system, and risk the safety and normality of your life, to do what seems to be the right thing?





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I envision this "game" having a thought-provoking story line, three-dimensional characters, and at least two alternate paths/endings for the plot, depending on your choices. Your mother would give you a "tutorial" app early on that she trusts you to watch at your own leisure, so the game would have little to no hand-holding. HMs would make a return, but as a key item rather than a move you have to teach your Pok é mon, and you would earn an HM whenever you beat a gym leader, which opens up more paths for exploration. The trainer AI would also be more advanced than the most recent Pok é mon games, and gyms would specialize not necessarily on Pok é mon types, but on specific strategies.







But, I mean, even if this never becomes "a game", like, ever, because I don't know how to make games and I don't want to be hit with a DMCA, I've been having a fun time entertaining these ideas and concepts. What do you think?





