Throwing Stories into the Wind

[Darius_Oak]

We're people, we're writers, we have an absolute ton of ideas. A lot of them are things we ultimately decide wouldn't work in the context of our games, don't fit our style, or are simply difficult for us to write. The thing is, we usually still like them. So if we were to throw those ideas into the throng of other creators, odds are that some things would stick.

Throw them into the pot! Maybe someone will take up your scrapped story, maybe someone will join you in writing, or maybe you'll be introduced to new things that inspire you to take up the mantle again.

My own ideas - I love introducing more grown-up themes into my games, so they're substantially dark. I may decide to continue with these at some point, but if some group decides to pick them up, I'd gladly join them as a writer.

• An older idea that I had in my teen years was a game that took place in a Costa Rica region and consistently featured the villainous team as the main threat, and a very real and dangerous one. Their motives and operations are simple, but incredibly harmful and efficient, occasionally actually changing area maps. At the same time, the Pokemon League is gaining a lot of attention because the Champion has decided to withhold his identity until he is reached for the first time... and it's been three years.
  • Note: This idea has the whole story written out, but since it's so old, I'll probably be editing things heavily in due time.
• The idea that I've been poking at for the past week or so has been a game that takes place in Pokemon's ancient past. The initial plot would be that you're a young scholar who is intent to travel the region and complete what the PokeDex would be at the time, which is really just your own handwritten notes. Conflict? Nothing on that yet. Also the issue of Pokemon ownership becomes complicated when you realize that there's nothing but ancient technology - no balls, no PCs, no nothing. Been trying to work that out before actually committing to writing for it.
• Also been thinking of bastardizing Pokemon Emerald for funsies. Hit me up with some good resources to hack them ROMs, know what I'm sayin'?

A like to a post is a like to the ideas, so be generous!

 

[Radical Raptr]

Here's some features:

Having multiple secret bases hidden throughout the region, with one pc that stores all the stuff, but not only one base - being able to have a radio that changes the music in that base, and being able to fly to it also! (that and being able to get a healing machine and pokemon PC)

Being able to choose between 3 gender options, male, female, and other - and in every dialogue where there was a pronoun, it was determined by a variable that is chosen at the start, if you choose male, or female, they are adjusted accordingly, but other allows you to type whatever you want, so you can add in w/e gender pronoun you feel comfortable with, or nonsense for memes. It's a super simple feature that adds accessibility and a lot of fun for no cost or hassle.

A final thing I had was a plot element where you were actually dead, but plot twist not really, it was a thing where you had unnaturally extended your life, but you currently didn't know about it, and it only happened because of timeline mumbojumbo because you in the future affected the past (because there was a time travel mechanic) which caused you to change events and what not, so you were being chased by an inevitable (from dnd)

 

[Djaco75]

Meh.

• A team that wants to merge two Pokemon's DNA to create a completely new Pokemon. Using Deoxys, I don't really know.
• Having a more advanced World Tournament that is actually part of the story (something like the Pokemon League with Uranium)
• A really dark plot in which your parents are kidnapped and you have to travel around the region to find them. You battle them as elite four and Champion in the Pokemon League, possessed by the power of a Legendary Pokemon.

Just a couple of ideas that occurred to me at one point.

 

[kirlial]

I had this idea of a 'trapped in the game' story where two characters accidentally get stuck inside a Pokemon game and have to beat the game to get out/find the distortion world to escape. I thought it'd be a nice platform to poke fun at the formula of a Pokemon game while using it to it's full extent. I also had the idea that you begin with gen 1 graphics but once you make progress it updates to gen 2 then gen 3 so overtime the game becomes more detailed. A potential conflict would be that your rival would be happy to stay in the game as they begin to enjoy themselves while you want to leave. (It could be eventually solved by pointing out that the post-game isn't ever very exciting.) This would be set on its own region but it would resemble the canon ones.

Anyway, I doubt I'm ever going to attempt such a project so I thought I'd share it.

 

[rainefall]

A while ago, I had the idea to make a game around the idea of the 'Perfect Kyurem'. The game never happened, but maybe it could be an interesting plot idea. Perhaps someone wants to obtain the perfect form of Kyurem and take over the world! I don't know what anyone would do with it.

I did actually make a sprite for 'Origin' Kyurem (as I called it), if, for some reason, you want it.

 

[Maruno]

Like so many others before you, you're going on an adventure! You've been given a Pokémon and a Pokédex by the Professor, you've tightened the laces of your running shoes, you've just finished recharging your Pokégear, and away you go!

Unknown to you, though, the Professor had an ulterior motive for encouraging you to head off on your trip around the region. The Pokédex he gave you is special, for he had secretly hidden inside it the fabled Ninth Badge: the All Badge. All Badges have special powers, but this one makes the others pale in comparison. The Professor knew that his enemies would soon return, seeking it, so he sent it off with you as camouflage. After all, who would suspect that a kid heading out on a fun adventure of capturing and raising Pokémon would be the unwitting bearer of the gravest of secrets?

The Professor's enemies soon become yours as well, and you find yourself caught up in a clash between two factions, each seeking to use the powers of the All Badge. Who is on the side of good? Who is evil? Is there a difference? Is there another way?

The Professor must have had faith that you would fare well on your journey, for once your Pokédex is completed, it opens up to reveal that which lies inside...

 

[Tomix9tomix]

Bit of a weird idea...
You start of in a smallish town and are visited in a dream by the prof telling you to visit him and tell him 'apples'. When you visit him he reveals that 'apples' is the code word he will receive from his future self telling him when his current build of a time machine is safe. Hearing these words and the fact that the prof. told you them gets him excited to finally have a go at it. Sending you in to a few minutes in the past with a dream machine to manipulate your past self's dreams and to tell your past self 'apples' (complicated, I know, and not in a good way).

This ends up going wrong and the whole lab ends up time travelling 50 years in the future and into a mountain. It is now your goal to travel home. Once travelling some way across the region to find your starting town you find a monument, dedicated to all those who died in the explosion that was caused by the time machine.

However another conflict is presented. With you not actually going back in time your past self will never hear the key work 'apples' setting off this chain of events, creating a paradox. The prof. explains that this will leave you and the prof. in Limbo, in the universe's attempt to fix the paradox you have created.

The prof. is growing old and a time machine has finally been created, leaving you with a choice offering you two endings. Go back in time and set off this chain of events that have ruined many lives, or do nothing and have the universe remove your existence as you walk in limbo forever.

I think it is fairly obvious why I didn't continue to use this plot, it is a tad complicated and a bit generic with time travel and limbo and all.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Two subplots that I dropped to keep things from being overcrowded-

Those people that run the daycare really do know where Pokemon eggs come from. And they are protecting something, but it's not the player's innocence-it's a storklike Pokemon that creates the eggs! One resides in each daycare, and given its frailty, that's often the only safe place for it. (Its powers aren't required for Pokemon to reproduce, but it can pass potential, moves, and hidden abilities in the eggs, a very useful talent for trainers. Wild Pokemon can also benefit from its powers-eggs are more easily transported than a newborn, and Pokemon that hatch from eggs are more prepared for battle than those still developing.) The player has made their way to the day care of their region, but the new owners aren't quite experienced with the Pokemon-and it's flown off somewhere! The owners are reluctant to explain why they need it back so badly, but the information begins to slip out of them as they look for it.
(The main reason I thought of this in the first place was because I wanted to have a Pokemon be the explanation for eggs, but explaining all that is more of an infodump than a story. So, if you use that, try to space it out and give it more of an adventure)

My other plot was intended to be a spooky twist on the ol' chasing down a legendary plot. One character (or perhaps several) is very intrigued by legends of a mysterious, powerful Pokemon somewhere in the region. As the game progresses, their behavior becomes a little more erratic, and they begin to obsess more and more over the Pokemon. When the player finally does find the Pokemon, it is revealed that the Pokemon has actually been manipulating humans to come into their lair-though what purpose isn't quite clear. (I think my original idea was a Steel/Psychic mechanical spider Pokemon-its webs were "cool to the touch" and could provide quite a prison. It was behaving just as a predator normally would, as it hadn't fully adapted to the fact that it no longer needed to eat.)

Neither of these are very easy plots to incorporate into an existing game, since a Pokemon's at the center of both of them, but they can be changed to suit others!

 

[Marin]

Is it an idea to allow certain two species to breed into a whole different species? For example, if specificly Bulbasaur and Charmander breed, there's a 10%? chance for a Squirtle. That's dumb obviously, but would the mechanic be interesting?

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Is it an idea to allow certain two species to breed into a whole different species? For example, if specificly Bulbasaur and Charmander breed, there's a 10%? chance for a Squirtle. That's dumb obviously, but would the mechanic be interesting?

I think it depends on what species are involved. With most Pokemon, I think it'd seem a little strange-it's not like crossbreeding in real life results in a purebreed of another species, after all-but there are some cases I think it could work. There's the obvious example of Type: Null, but there's some other Pokemon it could make sense with, too. Like what if you bred a Chansey and a Driftblim to get a Jigglypuff? (Course, you'd have to move the egg groups around for that)
___________
This week's discussion got me thinking of different gym themes someone could use instead of types, and I got two ideas I thought could be interesting-

• A Pokemon League with each gym based around a certain planet. With the removal of Pluto (sorry, bud), it lines up perfectly with the eight-gym formula, and there's lots of cool ways you could get types or stats to apply to a planet! (Venus could be Fire/Poison, given its toxic fumes and status as the hottest planet, Jupiter could have a lot of tanky Pokemon with high HP, etc.)
• A Pokemon League with each gym based around a Pokedex Color. There's ten, so it's not a perfect match, but I figure black, white, and grey could be combined into a final gym.

 

[Mozart]

Concept: A Gym that is Poison type-centric, but themed after Victorian times/styles, since they were all about the poison and death by poison in those days.

Mozart really likes family based narratives concept:

-Your sibling (most likely the gender option that wasn't picked in start up for ease) is your rival
-Your grandpa is the professor
-Your grandma is the champion, coming out of retirement specifically to test your skills
-Your dad is the stay at home parent, he occasionally sends care packages from home like healing items, rare candies, etc
-Your mom is the first gym leader to test your willingness to go on this journey

 

[Vin_Prism]

This was an old storyline of mine called Pokémon Timeless Journey. As always, I'm sorry for any mistakes you might find while reading :P

"Despite its title, the flowing of time in this adventure is more than relevant. The story is set in the gorgeous Mythos Archipelago, a beautiful land made up from nine islands. Each island is dedicated to one of the ancient Greek Muses: Clio, Tersicore, Melpomene, Talea, Urania, Polimnia, Euterpe, Erato and Calliope. Leading this mosaic of cultures is the Mythos Council, which the eight gym leaders and the Pokémon Champion are part of. Suddently though, the Pokémon Champion went missing. And thus the villains of this story decided to grab the moment and try to persuade the members of the Mythos into joining their side.

The two villains had opposite ideals, thus making the choice even harder: on one side, a woman, governor of the ancient island of Erato, proposed to capture the mythical Pokémon mentioned in the Mythos folklore with the ability to revert the flowing of time, and project the archipelago into a peaceful past. She leads Team Vetust hoping to achieve her goals. On the other side, a man, governor of the technological island of Melpomene, proposed to catch the opposite mythical Pokémon: that who has the ability to accelerate the flowing of time and project the archipelago into the future, and making it the most advanced place on the planet. He leads Team Ventur hoping to achieve his goals.

Both leaders are obviously lying about their true intentions. Catching the two mythical Pokémon that control past and future was just a mean to achieve their personal wishes. Team Vetust's leader is actually a fox demon: when she was young, she was cursed by a Ninetales and became immortal. She could continue to exist as long as people believed in her existence and the legends sorrounding her appearance. As technology advanced though, more and more people began to be skeptical of the ancient folklore, and her existence was threatened. By reverting the flowing of time, Team Vetust's leader actually wants people to believe in legends again and let her continue to exist.
Team Ventur's leader used to be a head scientist in Technethia City but due to an accident with chemical substances, he was infected with a terrible disease that greatly reduce his chances of survival. By accelerating the flowing of time, Team Ventur's leader actually wants to make scientific progress advance to the point it would have been finally possible to heal his deadly disease.

(kinda sloppy sketch but I wanted to show the apparances of the two)

The main character arrives in the Mythos Archipelago in the city of Neonizia in order to meet his dad, who works as the secretary of the Muthos Council in Technethia and has to deal with all the madness caused by the disappearance of the Champion and the rivalry between Team Vetust and Team Ventur. Back in Neonizia the player encounters his/her old friends Vince and Naomi.
Vince is a bookworm, and is passionate about the history and traditions of the Mythos Archipelago, while Naomi is an Internet-addict and runs a fashion blog, despising everything that is old and dusty. Even though in the first part of the adventure the two go along well, they will start to argue when facing the opposite ideals of Vetust and Ventur: and in particular, Vince will support the ideology of the past, while Naomi will support the ideology of the future. Before the player even notices it, he/she will be involved in this crazy game of alliances and betrayals, while exploring the nine islands of Mythos, challenging hesitant Gym Leaders and uncovering the truth on the two Legendary Pokémon of the Archipelago. Maybe the key for solving this tangle lies in the disappearance of the Champion..?"​

Hope you liked it :P

 

[DestinyBond]

I think it depends on what species are involved. With most Pokemon, I think it'd seem a little strange-it's not like crossbreeding in real life results in a purebreed of another species, after all-but there are some cases I think it could work. There's the obvious example of Type: Null, but there's some other Pokemon it could make sense with, too. Like what if you bred a Chansey and a Driftblim to get a Jigglypuff? (Course, you'd have to move the egg groups around for that)

I personally think that, rather than breeding two Pokemon together to birth a per-existing species, it should give birth to a new fakemon, just like how breeding a Lion with a tiger results in a Liger

 

[monkeyboy6]

I personally think that, rather than breeding two Pokemon together to birth a per-existing species, it should give birth to a new fakemon, just like how breeding a Lion with a tiger results in a Liger

This is just some artwork I've found online that I really liked, but what if breeding a Pokémon with other species created different crossbreed fakemon like so:

 

[Taq]

This Is something idw how to use but here ya go:

A villian team was growing in the region and became strong enough to take full control of the league before you reach it or the region lacked one and they created it.

Another is to maybe have your starter (if still in the party) or your head pokémon in the party come out during some events I guess.

Oh! And also: A villian team is trying to bring the pokémon version of Atlantis back from the seas using the two pokémon that caused it it in the first place.

 

[Vendily]

I've hinted at having an idea file on my computer, and it's gotten bigger, though I still haven't used any of the ideas. So, I'll share.
(I use xe/xir/xirself, just replace that with the relevant pronouns.)

Spoiler: Game Ideas.txt

Story/Game Ideas
-PC gets trapped in an era different from xirs own.
-PC must disguse xirself during the course of the plot.
-PC's family/friend is kidnapped (must establish conection before kidnapping)
-PC/family/friend gets turned into a pokemon (perhaps by evil team?)
-Team [NAME] is trying to manipulate history.
-People can fuse with their pokemon.
-Entire species of pokemon are disappearing.
-Going extinct
-Forcibly captured
-Never existed, because time travel shenanigans
-Left, because climate changes
-Team [NAME] split into factions (extreme and subtle?)
-Pokemon are digital constructs unleashed on the real world. -A school for students to enter a certain field (maybe trainers don't want to commit to a future?).
-A plot set far in the future or past.
-Team [NAME] is set on reviving an ancient pokemon.
-A powerful Pokemon is on rampage.
-Team [NAME] is forcing Pokemon to evolve.
-Team [NAME] succeeded with their plan.
-PC wasn't enough to defeat Team [NAME].
-The region's climate is changing without explanation (cold climates get warmer and vice versa).
-People are popping out of existence.
-The region is slowly sinking into the ocean (à la Atlantis).
-The PC has a mental disorder or physical disability
-Pokemon are refusing to take commands.
-A legendary is going to destroy the region.
-Team [NAME] infiltrated a building trainers frequent.
-PC or other characters have been trapped in an alternate dimension.
How the PC gets their starter
-From the professor.
-From an egg (gifted or found).
-From a family member or older friend.
-An injured wild Pokemon.
-Inheritance.
-From the rival? (A hard one to pull off.)
Setting ideas
-A small island.
-A volcano.
-A laboratory.
-A huge city.
-A mountain village.
-A area above the clouds.
-Underwater.
-A school/academy.

 

[Aki]

far as the story for my fan game goes, it IS a bit dark, but not horrendously so...

i wont spoil anything more than that, other than you will have your own choices to make during your adventure, ones that may very well determine the fate of the world, or the fate of Pokemon on a grand scale.

It sounds like you're still using this idea. This thread is for sharing things that are alright for other people to pick up an recycle; if you're looking for a feedback thread to post in, maybe try the Sandbox?

 

[TheGamingPaladin]

It sounds like you're still using this idea. This thread is for sharing things that are alright for other people to pick up an recycle; if you're looking for a feedback thread to post in, maybe try the Sandbox?

oh yeah, i think you are right... this is why i SHOULD NOT COMMENT when tired... thank you for that.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

My post over in the inspiration thread suddenly made me really want to see podcast premises "Pokemonified".

The Bridge is a podcast that takes place in an alternate timeline. There are various minor differences in this history, but the most striking one is that a massive bridge was built across the Atlantic ocean. Formerly a major tourist attraction, the Bridge has since become a bit run down, in part due to the number of sea monsters, ghosts, and other spooks lurking in the waters. Seeing how a similar Bridge would play out in the Pokemon world-especially with Lugia and Kyogre residing below-could be quite interesting!

In Spines, Wren's first memory is waking up in an attic, suffering from amnesia and in the middle of a cultist's ritual. Now, settled into more of a life, Wren is hoping to track down the other victims she escaped with and find answers, but she discovers they're wreaking havoc on their town with their strange abilities. (Sorry, harder premise to sum up)
Just switching "the victims have powers" to "the victims have legendary Pokemon helping them" could, in my opinion, offer a new and unique story. The appearance of multiple legendary Pokemon in one city is bound to attract a lot of attention, which you could use to bring in new characters. And what about how the protagonist deals with the legendaries? Do they make them faint (stopping them, but perhaps also throwing nature out of balance) or capture them (growing stronger while also attracting more attention)?

Behemoth is a podcast about a girl traveling across America with a massive cryptid. I haven't yet started this one, so I can't clarify more on the story, but the premise already works great in a Pokemon context-what might you see following a legendary Pokemon across a whole region? How different would your journey be when lead by the whim of a mythical beast instead of the regulations of the Pokemon league?

 

[TechSkylander1518]

This thread is six years old but where else are you gonna throw out random ideas, huh?

I was playing through Shattered Dimensions recently, and (spoilers for that) there's a part where an NPC speculates that the heavy snowfall is caused by a Pokemon. When I saw the alternate dimension was sunny, I thought that it was going to turn out that in one dimension, there was a stand-alone legendary like Heatran causing the snowy weather, and in the other, a different legendary that fit the same role in the story but with a totally different legend and powers. I got to thinking about what that might look like with some of our canon legendaries!

• Mew/Mewtwo - Switch their roles with Arceus and the Type: Null line! Gladion escapes the Aether Paradise with a grumpy cat in a clunky helmet, who evolves and can learn every move through the M.E.W.v2 System, while in Cerulean Cave, a horned creature with the ability to change types hones its powers... (And if you believe in the "Ditto is a failed clone of Mew" theory, maybe Cinnabar Mansion has curious little deer scampering about with Color Change as their ability)
• Legendary beasts - Three Pokemon were killed during the creation of the Brass Tower - a Grass-type, as wood was cut to build it, a Ground-type, as the foundation was being set, and a Steel-type, as the brass was being melded. It's said their spirits still haunt the tower's floors, though the tower's guardian manages to keep them confined within...
• Eon Duo - Maybe a submarine/torpedo inspiration instead of their jet plane idea?
• Regis - Five artistic Pokemon collaborated together on a masterwork, a mosaic-like golem with traces of each creator within.
• Lunar Duo - A lunar trio, with a gibbous, a half moon, and a full moon Pokemon! (not sure what they'd represent - non-REM sleep, maybe...?)
• Lake Trio - Three Steel-types based on Asimov's laws of robotics - one for obedience, one for self-protection, one for protecting humans.
• Swords of Justice - A Dark-type group based on some famous villain team instead!

(I guess this isn't really "fitting the same role in the story with different powers" so much as "having a different story entirely", haha)