🦌Pokemon

Not sure what these Pokemon things are? Here's a brief explanation.

Preface

Now, do keep in mind that Pokemon is a franchise that's older than I am... and it certainly wouldn't do it justice if I tried to explain it in a one-page wiki article.

This Nintendo website is a good start and goes into more depth than this wiki will, but again, it's just some light reading in comparison to over twenty years of hard work, passion and innovation.

If the premise of Pokemon sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend trying out one of the games on a free GBA / DS PC Emulator. Ruby was my first, and it's what shaped my passion in game design and narratives.

The Pokemon Universe

The Pokemon Universe is much like our own, except its populated by Pokemon, animal-like creatures that live in the wild. Frequently, these Pokemon have superpowers depending on their "type" -- for instance, some can breathe fire, some can generate electricity.

Naturally, Pokemon are a huge focus of the world's culture. Some are revered as Gods, some are used in everyday life as guard dogs, working animals, pack mules, rides, etc. Humans who dedicated themselves to catching, raising and training Pokemon are called "Trainers".

Each region differs in culture, but generally, once children reach a certain age, they are encouraged to pick a "starter" -- their first Pokemon -- from a set of three region-unique Pokemon.

With this starter, they venture out into the world to explore new regions, encounter and catch new Pokemon, as well as battle other Trainers' Pokemon to grow in strength and experience.

Catching Pokemon

Pokemon can be caught by throwing a Pokeball (or one of the Pokeball variants) at a wild Pokemon.

This can be done with or without weakening the wild Pokemon in question with your own Pokemon, although weakening it (i.e. inflicting damage, status effects, etc) can greatly increase the chance of capture.

Stronger and rarer wild Pokemon are generally harder to capture, and have a greater chance of breaking the ball being thrown at them. To increase the chances of capture, better Pokeball variants can be used, such as the Great Ball, Ultra Ball, etc, as pictured above.

Training Pokemon

As mentioned, in this universe, many make a career out of raising and training Pokemon. Trainers often competitively battle their Pokemon against each other in glamorous tournaments and competitions.

Among others, Pokemon have a "level" stat which starts at 1, and can be raised up to 100. In order to "level" a Pokemon, they must battle other Pokemon, whether a trainer's or a wild one, and win the battle. Naturally, as they get stronger, they can take on stronger Pokemon, etc.

In Pokemon games, the trainer's goal is usually to defeat the "Champion", who is known as the strongest trainer in the region. Before they can do this, they have to battle the Elite 4, a series of consecutive battles with the next 4 strongest trainers of the region.

As they prepare themselves for this fight, there are "Gyms" scattered across the map for trainers to test their strength at. Gyms are led by one strong "Gym Leader" of a specific type, and when defeated, will give the trainer a badge to prove their worth. To battle the Elite 4, and after that, the Champion, the trainer must collect all the badges in a region, usually 8.

In PechaCraft, you're taking on an 18 Gym Challenge to earn the right to fight the Elite 4 and Champion, both of which consist of powerful and experienced real players.