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| Trainer Battles in a "Complete the Pokedex" Campaign | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 1 2016, 01:31 PM (1,598 Views) | |
| Inanimate | Feb 1 2016, 01:31 PM Post #1 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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I'm planning a campaign with a friend who wants to live out the dream of completing the Pokedex. This is all well and good, but the problem is - in a tabletop campaign, where the story isn't on-rails - there's no reason for her to fight Gym Leaders or the Elite Four or anything like that. She can just focus on exploring and catching Pokemon. Yet at the same time, I love making up trainers to fight, whether they be villains or rivals or whatnot... And I don't want my friend to JUST be fighting wild Pokemon all the time, since I'm sure that'd get stale. And since her only goal is most likely going to be collecting Pokemon for her Pokedex, I can't guarantee she'll care about the troubles of random towns she comes across (though she most likely will), so a lot of the anime-style "character of the week" episodes aren't guaranteed to catch her interest, unless they're actively blocking or hindering her journey... which is something I probably can't do too often. I do have ideas for Trainer battles in such a campaign, of course. But I just feel like I don't have enough variety among my ideas. She can fight poachers; enter a contest she needs to win for some reason; duel a Trainer to prove her worth to gain access to an area; and compete against someone to catch a Pokemon first. But beyond that, I'm starting to run thin on ideas... I can't think of much more. Is this as big of a problem as I'm imagining it to be? Or is it alright to just have her traveling and exploring, fighting and catching wild Pokemon with trainer battles few and far between? Edited by Inanimate, Feb 1 2016, 01:31 PM.
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| Professor Scamander | Feb 1 2016, 02:06 PM Post #2 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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I mean, if you feel like you need to include other stuff (which you don't have to, so long as your friend is enjoying the game then its fine), you can make it so that each gym leader 'guards' a certain dangerous area near town where x number of species are exclusively found. You need their gym badge to enter. They do this a) to protect from overcapturing of pokemon that are already rare in the wild, and b) to make sure that trainers don't die going somewhere they aren't prepared for. It'd be a way to build gyms into the goal of pokedex completion using the very framework of the world you built. Of course, if your player is totally happy with exploration and fighting wild Pokemon, then you may not need to change anything (unless you're getting bored of course). If you both are happy with how the game is going, then you're doing it right! |
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| Inanimate | Feb 1 2016, 02:33 PM Post #3 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Yeah, of course if she's not looking for more Trainer fights or anything, then I don't need them. Even looking to the anime's first season (for example) it's mostly about capturing Pokemon under interesting circumstances and traversing through cool places. And I'm pretty sure it'll take quite a while for it to get boring, and that I won't need to mix in many Trainer fights. I just want to ensure I have some plans in mind for more variety in case if I find myself needing it, that's all. I like the idea of Gym Leaders guarding dangerous areas with exclusive Pokemon to ensure there's no overcapturing and that Trainers prove they have the ability to traverse that area. I was considering having similar sorts of challenges occasionally - "duel a Trainer to prove her worth to gain access to an area" - but just lumping those under a category of Gym Leader would prevent it feeling too repetitive and forced, since there'd be a natural reason for that to happen often. |
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| castfromhp | Feb 1 2016, 02:40 PM Post #4 |
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Mawile Ace
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Something else you could always do is, if you like the mechanical side of Trainer battles and how they can give Pokémon more variety and depth, then you can give some wild Pokémon Trainer Features and run the fights similarly to Trainer battles. Ex: Your friend has spent time tracking down the secret lair of some Dragon Pokémon in a cave, but it's watched over by an ancient Dragonite who doesn't want just anyone to barge in and capture the Pokémon there. Rather than fight the Trainer itself though, it chooses a number of champions from among the cave denizens (let's say, 4-6 of them :P), and challenges the intruding Trainer to a series of battles to prove their worth. And then you give them Duelist, Ace Trainer, whatever Features that they use from the sidelines. |
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| Inanimate | Feb 1 2016, 02:43 PM Post #5 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Mhm! That is indeed a good idea castfromhp, and one I hadn't thought of. Great idea! I'm actually more into the flavorful side of Trainer battles. I like having a person behind the team, both because they have a backstory and a personality, and because they can have a fun theme to their team. (Like a Circus trainer, or an Archaeologist trainer, or whatever) It just feels more interesting to have a Trainer versus a Trainer, each leading a Pokemon, towards different ends. |
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| Birdy51 | Feb 1 2016, 08:25 PM Post #6 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Let's see what I can think up of... Different Organizations tend to flock to Pokémon of a certain type. For instance, Silph Co. is well known for being the creators of Porygon. The Dragon Trainer's of Blackthorn are masters of an extremely rare niche type of Pokémon. Dojos are notable for only using Fighting-Types. The B-Button Club love their Feebas and Magikarp. Perhaps that might be a good place to look to for inspiration. If Pokémon are associated with a certain type of trainer, then they might be willing to part with one of their wards if she can do them a favor of some kind. Trainers who are too old to take care of their younger or Ghost Pokémon might be another idea. In exchange for a favor of silencing their noisy neighbors, they might be willing to part with a rarer Pokémon that the player has been aching to capture. Finally, there is always the consideration of abandoned Pokémon that want to prove themselves to their ex-trainer. While battling isn't the main thing, if you give Pokémon a motive in itself, that might push your player into wanting, if not begging to take a shot at the really pompous trainer who gave up on it. Edited by Birdy51, Feb 1 2016, 08:25 PM.
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| Horror | Feb 2 2016, 04:15 PM Post #7 |
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Giratina branded, Mother approved
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What you could do is introduce a Team Rocket type group. Rumors could spread through town that they're trying to capture specific rare pokemon. Your player would end up having to fight them along the way. It would be a kind of accidental hero adventure. |
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| Inanimate | Feb 8 2016, 07:15 PM Post #8 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Hey everyone! I just had the character creation session with my player. She was a bit daunted by all the choices, but also had quite a fun time. She agreed that she's eager to do trainer battles, fight Gym leaders, have a rival, and indeed, even do contests - she actually is a Coordinator alongside Capture Specialist, and is a PokeResearcher. But as I suspected, she is completely uninterested in the affairs of other trainers, instead preferring to focus on her own quests. Luckily, she's much more interested in the affairs of Pokemon. To use her words, "Team Rocket stealing Pokemon from trainers isn't my business - that's Officer Jenny's business, you know? But dealing with Team Rocket stealing or hurting wild Pokemon, then it becomes my business." So it sounds like there'll be plenty of opportunities for trainers. Also, I've been reading the manga, and it's really emphasized that you don't need a Trainer to have a good fight. Wild Pokemon can be quite interesting on their own! So, I had her pegged pretty well, I gotta say. And luckily this means a lot of your guys' hooks are absolutely perfect. Thanks for the suggestions.Birdy51: The idea of specialized types is real nice, and I love an older Trainer being willing to give up a rare Pokemon to our hero for doing them a favor. That's a lovely quest, right there. In addition, your last idea is superb - Pokemon choosing to accompany our hero but only if she helps them accomplish something related to their ex-Trainer, that's just storyline gold! Horror: Yes, I've increasingly realized I want to have a major antagonistic force. I think I'm gonna tone it down a bit from Team Rocket or some other criminal organization, and maybe go more like the Manga a bit... a small group of highly skilled individuals, like the Elite Four in the Yellow arc, or one central villain with lackeys, like the Mask in Gold/Silver/Crystal arc. |
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| Dark Shadow | Feb 8 2016, 07:49 PM Post #9 |
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Reploid
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One thing you might consider is a jerkish rival who actively seeks to capture all the Pokémon that the player wants. Even from right under their nose. Have them only back off after being defeated in a battle. And if the player loses... well, then they get to have the drive of having the Pokémon they wanted being used against them. That probably is enough incentive to not have it happen more than once or twice.
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| Inanimate | Feb 8 2016, 10:32 PM Post #10 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Luckily, she's eager to have a rival, so I'm not too worried about forcing her to fight her rival. However, I'm definitely planning on having her rival be competing with her to catch rare Pokemon. But I'm thinking I'm gonna specialize him - perhaps he's only going to pursue rare Pokemon, and not worry about the more trivial ones, which he considers beneath him. That way they end up in conflict sometimes, but not ALL the time.
Edited by Inanimate, Feb 8 2016, 10:33 PM.
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1:30 AM Jul 11
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Pokéball created by Sarah & Delirium of the ZNR





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And luckily this means a lot of your guys' hooks are absolutely perfect. Thanks for the suggestions.
1:30 AM Jul 11