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dino--draws · 1 year

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How to Play Pokemon Without Dishing Out 60 Dollars: a Guide to Pokemon as a TTRPG

I thought this would be a fun thing to do, as I’ve been a part of three ttrpg (D&D eqsue) pokemon campaigns and both use a similar set of rules for how its done (I helped co-create this specific system for how it works to begin with). So this is going to be a long post about the mechanics of running a Pokemon D&D/ttrpg-style campaign! Since this is going to be one HELL of a long post, I’m putting it below a read more!

Alrighty, let’s get into this shit!

First and Foremost

Resources that will make your life SO MUCH easier:

https://pokemondb.net/ (Literally going to be your best friend. Use it.) https://rolladie.net/ (Or any dice-roller website (or actual dice), this is my go to because you can put custom values into it) https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page or https://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml (basically any pokemon wiki that gives you access to item info, shops, areas and maps!) A calculator of some type, weather digital of physical (you will need this, trust me)

Stats

Pokemon have... a lot of stats and it involves a lot of numbers, and the aim of this is to reduce the amount of math needed to be done as much as possible. So there are 4 stats that actually matter to us when it comes to this guide, and those stats are: Health, Defense, Special Defense and Speed You can find all of these specific stats for every pokemon on the Pokemon Database (first link under Resources)

Speed will determine the turn order during a battle, just as it does in game. This stat remains static no matter the level of the pokemon, and only can change with evolution or an fed item that can increase the base stat in game.

A pokemon’s base health stat is exactly that, it will be their base health. With each level, a pokemon gains usually 2 HP. To calculate the health of a higher level pokemon you can do the following formula:

Base Health + 2(Level)

This will give you the base health of the pokemon. This stat can change with evolution so sometimes a recalculation is required.

Defense and Special Defense only truly matter if they are HIGHER then the pokemon’s base health. If a pokemon’s base health is lower then one of its defense stats, the defense stat becomes the new base health. This is so that more tanky pokemon retain this.

Leveling Up

The leveling system is also simplified. A pokemon requires only 100 XP to level up each time, making the meter look more like this:

0/100 XP

The XP yield from battles is determined by the DM, just go ham there doesn’t exactly have to be rhyme or reason to it, if you have a plan for the levels of each area/story beat, try to manipulate the XP drops to keep your party on level.

Wild Encounters and Catching Pokemon

The Wild Encounter system for this is pretty simple, pokemon have designated areas that wild pokemon spawn in, aka the tall grass. Have your players roll a varying number of d20 (depending on how big the grass patch is) and if they roll a number that is above a 10, they are given an encounter.

Utilizing one of multiple pokemon wikis, you can find the spawn rates of pokemon within specific areas, usually the pages for the Routes contains this information! From there you can create a table of sorts, and with that table your players can roll a 1d100 to see what exactly their encounter.

To catch a pokemon, one must, of course, utilize a pokeball. When a pokeball is thrown, the pokemon must do a 1d20 saving throw against the player. If the player rolls higher then the pokemon, then the catch is a success. Modifiers do apply to catch rates.

If a pokemon’s health is very low, their roll can be subtracted from by a number the DM can determine. If it’s high, their roll can be added to. Different pokeballs have different modifiers for their catch rate, a great ball can add a +2 modifier, a ultra ball a +5, for example. The DM themselves can determine the modifiers.

A pokemon’s gender is determined upon capture, for the most part you can just flip a coin for the gender.

For fun, you can also include a shiny percentile. This can be done by rolling a 1d100. If a player rolls a nat 100 after catching a pokemon, that pokemon is shiny. (The campaigns I’ve played in usually go for 95 or above as shiny)

Battling

Alright here’s where a LOT of the math comes into play. Get out your calculator y’all. As you probably know, all damaging pokemon moves have a Power Level, and this power level will determine the hit-dice (aka the amount of dice you roll for damage) that the move has. The power level functionally becomes the highest amount of damage that the move can do.

For example, tackle is a 40 power move. This means it would utilize 2d20s as the hit dice. The number from that roll would be the damage. A 100 power move like Spacial Rend would utilize 5d20s as the hit dice, as 100 damage would be the maximum.

For the moves a pokemon can learn, utilize the Moveset from the most recent pokemon game. This can also be found on the Pokemon Database.

Accuracy is usually not calculated for unless it is an intrinsic part of the move, such a Sheer Cold of Guillotine. These moves would require the rolling of a 1d100, and if the number lands within the percent range of the attack’s hit chance, then it lands. (However, if you wish to include accuracy, use a 1d100 and if you roll below the accuracy number, then it hits). If a pokemon is attacking out of battle, and for this example we will use attacking a trainer, they must roll a 1d20 for their aim. The one they are attacking must roll a 1d20 against this attack. If the attacking pokemon rolls higher then the target, they hit and now its time to do the damage calculations. If the target rolls above their attacker, they dodge. Human character’s HP can be determined by the DM, but 100 HP is always a good number to use.

Similarly, a moves PP (Powerpoints) are also not calculated for the most part. The only exception it the signature move of a legendary, or one that specifically has a PP level of 5 due to its power.

Super Effectives and Resistances work as normal. A normal super effective hit does double damage, while a resistance takes half the damage. A quad super effective if 4xs the damage, and a quad resistance is 1/4 the damage. If you don’t feel like memorizing a typing chart, or keeping track of multiple things, resistances can be expunged and only super effectives kept if one needs additional simplification. This is all up to personal preference of the players and DM.

Mega Evolution increases the health of a pokemon by 25%, and adds a +20 to their damage output. Undergoing mega evolution requires the player trainer to have a keystone, and a corresponding mega stone for their pokemon.

If one wishes to give their trainers an extra challenge, operate on some of the Nuzlocke rules! You can add extra tension or stakes by making pokemon killable. With these rules, if a pokemon hits 0 HP, they must roll a 1d6 saving throw. If they roll above a 3 they live but are in critical condition and fainted. If they roll below that the pokemon is dead.

Example of a Pokemon’s Information + Template

An example of how a pokemon’s information can be set up is as followed:

Eclipse Female Charizard (Shiny) Fire-Flying Type Level: 45 (20/100 XP) HP: 168/168 Moves: Flame Burst (3d20, 1d10 burn (fire)), Wing Attack (3d20, (flying)), Fire Fang (3d20, 1d4 for burn (1d6 damage) (fire)), Flamethrower (4d20 + 1d10 (fire)) Ability: Blaze (Increasing fire-type moves power by 50% when below 50% health)

And here is a blank template for your own use:

[Nickname] [Species] [Typing] Level: (0/100 XP) HP: Moves: Ability:

The World Around You (NPCs, Shops, Items, the Map)

The use of NPCs (especially trainer NPCs) will really depend on what you’re doing for the campaign’s story. If it is taking place in a pre-existing region, then you can utilize any pokemon wiki to see what trainers are in specific areas, and see their team and moves! You can utilize the multitude of NPCs that exist. If you’re doing something completely original, or in a fan-region, the DM will have to set up all of the NPCs on their own. And of course, you can use this to play around with the characterization of pre-existing pokemon characters. Have fun with em!

Shops and Items are relatively straight forward. You can utilize the prices from the most recent games for items as a way to price them for purchase. (For example, pokeballs across almost all games cost 200 pokedollars) Pokedollars can be given to players are post-battle rewards, quest rewards, or just in general found items (or stolen if you want smh).

The Map, Route, and World your players explore once again heavily relies upon what your campaign is. If its within a preexisting region, you can access the map and routes from any of the pokemon wikis and work from there. If its a fan-region, then the map and routes can be custom made. And you are always free to add or take away things! You do not have to fully adhere to everything.

Story, Plot, all that Jazz

The story and plot is all up to you as a DM! Are you running a campaign that is the same as the plot of one of the pre-existing games? Are you modifying a pre-existing game to change the story? Are you throwing it all to the wind and using your own fan-region and fakemons? Are all your players characters friends about to embark on the gym challenge, only to be swept up in the dark plot of an evil team? Is it a band of guild pokemon going on an adventure Mystery Dungeon style? The sky is the limit! Have fun with it! :D You are not constrained by much of anything plot wise! You can make it a fun and silly adventure with friends in a fantastical world, or it a dark and tragic tale full of bloodshed and perseverance through world-ending catastrophe. Or like... both. Both is good too.

And that, everyone, is how you play pokemon with friends without actually buying a pokemon game! And hey, this time its multiplayer!

If you have ANY questions, hit me up and I’ll be happy to answer you!

#pokemon #pokemon roleplay #pokemon rp #pokemon d&d #d&d #dungeons and dragons #long post #ttrpg #pokemon ttrpg #dino screams asmr #THIS HAS BEEN IN MY DRAFTS FOR TWO YEARS IM GONNA SHIT MYSELF I KEEP FORGETTING TO POST IT

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pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 3 months

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The Ecosystem Trio (Xerneas, Yveltal, & Zygarde) and the Wheel of Reincarnation

The Wheel of Reincarnation is the fundamental force of the universe that cycles and recycles souls into and out of the physical plane to experience life, death, and rebirth for all eternity. There are Seven Facets of the Universe or Stokes Of the Wheel that keep the universe functioning. The first three are more obvious: Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, who deal with life and death directly, and who are tasked with maintaining balance in the physical plane. The next three are the Creation Trio: Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. They handle the balance of the universe at large, the non-life, the things that keep the universe flowing and running correctly. These three, paired with Arceus itself, are the other four facets of the universe, who will be discussed in a later entry.

Xerneas (#716)

Abilities: Fairy Aura

General Information: Xerneas the Life Pokémon. It is one of the embodiments of the universe, or even a facet of Arceus, however one wishes to interpret it, and is the Deity of Life. It has two “forms” it’s neutral state, the one it exists in when it is not using its powers, and its active form, the one most depicted in legends and seen in battle.

Xerneas is 9’10 ft (3.0 M) tall and weighs 474.0 pounds (215 kg)

Divinity: Eldritch Being

Heritage: Arceus

Divine Role: The Deity of Life

Place in the Wheel of Reincarnation: In every universe that Xerneas (or its dimensional counterpart) exists in, it is the one responsible for reincarnation and thus is the one who brings souls back into the physical plane to experience life anew.

Should Xerneas be destroyed, no new life would be born, and the universe/Arceus will exert its power to create a new one to return balance to the world as soon as possible. However, birthing Xerneas or any of the Eldritch Beings is exhausting, and the powers that be would need to rest for an unspecified period of time.

Personality: Xerneas is kind and gentle, and sees no difference in worth between the flowers, the Pokémon, and the people that inhabit the world. Often, Xerneas is in a hibernative state, where it spends time watching over the world from the astral plane and tending to its facet of the Wheel of Reincarnation there.

Role Amongst Humanity: Xerneas is the Bringer of Life, the Forest Walker, He/She/It/They Who Brings the Flowers, Revered One, Life Bringer, and many more variations of this. Humanity have known about Xerneas for eons, and have beloved it for the role it plays in the world. It’s hard to name any particular examples, when Xerneas is so prevalent in countless ancient and modern cultures, that there is no example greater than another. This is to say, that specifics are left to the needs of your campaign.

Special Rules:

1.) As an Eldritch Being, Xerneas is entirely incapable of being caught through conventional means, ie: no Pokeballs (not even Master Balls). This does not disclude un-conventional means, such as the Red Chain or other such magical entrapments, nor does it disclude Pokémon Rangers from being able to use their stylers to calm or befriend Xerneas.

2.) Should Xerneas be destroyed, life will cease to be born until Xerneas is itself reborn.

3.) Xerneas is indeed capable of bestowing immortality, but this is done seldomly, for it distorts the balance of the world when done too often.

Yveltal (#717)

Abilities: Dark Aura

General Information: Yveltal the Destruction Pokémon. It is one of the living embodiments of the universe, and the Deity of Death. It is 19 feet long (5.8 M) and weighs 447.5 (203 kg).

Divinity: Eldritch Being

Heritage: Arceus

Divine Role: Deity of Death

Place in the Wheel of Reincarnation: As the god of destruction, Yveltal is the natural counterpart to Xerneas, who wields the power of death over the ecosystem as part of the grand balance of the Wheel of Reincarnation. For every soul that Xerneas rebirths into the world, Yveltal balances it with another death. In the grand scheme of it all, Yveltal came second to Xerneas, for death cannot exist without there first being life. Its role in the Wheel of Reincarnation is simple yet heartbreaking: to reap souls back into the cosmic cycle of death and rebirth, where they may undergo transformation to become something new all over again.

Should Yveltal be destroyed, all death would cease until the universe is capable to rectify this. Be warned, this means that those caught in the throws of dying, will continue to suffer, and the consumption or destruction of other lifeforms, no matter how small or large it may be, will cease.

Personality: Despite the nature of its existence, Yveltal is not an unkind being, though it has been known to be ill-tempered at times.

Role Amongst Humanity: As the Deity of Death & Destruction, Yveltal is feared and revered by humanity, and more than one person has sought to destroy it and failed. It is truly the Harbinger of Death, the Wings of Oblivion, Death Incarnate. In times past, Yveltal was sometimes seen flying over battlefields to reap the souls of the deceased. In some depictions, Yveltal is a great kindness to those who suffer, though these depictions are far fewer than those that describe it as a merciless death god.

Special Rules:

As an Eldritch Being, Yveltal is entirely incapable of being caught through conventional means, ie: no Pokeballs (not even Master Balls). This does not disclude un-conventional means, such as the Red Chain or other such magical entrapments, nor does it disclude Pokémon Rangers from being able to use their stylers to calm or befriend Yveltal.

Yveltal has the power to take away life from any non-immortal being, no matter what stage in life or condition its in. Not only this, Yveltal is fully capable of permanently destroying a soul from existence, a counter to Xerneas’s Immortal Life, Yveltal can cause Immortal Death.

Yveltal ultimately gains power from death. When it hibernates, it rests in a cocoon state.

Zygarde (#718)

Abilities: Aura Break, Power Construct

General Information: Zygarde the Order Pokémon and the Deity of Balance. To most of the world, Zygarde is the being most relevant to them and their lives. Life and death come in cyclic patterns, but the ecosystem at large is vital for balance. Zygarde is effectively the supervisor for Xerneas and Yveltal, the one who observes and ensures that balance is maintained, and is there to strike back, should something occur to off balance the world or should something happen to either of its counterparts.

Zygarde is a unique being, an entity composed of 5 separate “cores”, ie: brains, and Cells. The Cells and Cores are all physically independent from each other, but the Cells are entirely at the command of the Cores, who function as the leader of the brains of a hive mind, utilizing the many Cells at its disposal to observe the ecosystem in many different places at once. There are an unknown quantity of Cells, but each Core is connected to a proportionate 1/5 of the entire population of Zygarde of Cells… ish. It gets a little weird when combining into larger forms, but effectively Cores are able to lend Cells to each other for the purposes of powering up, and the fusion of Cells and Cores into a larger Zygarde form also serves to transfer knowledge to the other Cores. Because all Cores and Cells are part of the same being, this mutual cooperation is easy to achieve.

When the Cores need to fuse into larger forms, there are three main forms that Zygarde can achieve:

10% form is a dog-like form with 1 core and 10% of its Cells. This is the form that a single Core can achieve on its own without calling for help from the other Cores. It is 3’11 ft (1.2 M) tall and weighs 73.9 pounds (33.5 kg). This form is capable of running over 60 mph, and specializes in close-quarter combat. It likes to sink its fangs into an opponent’s chest.

50% form is a snake-like form with 2-3 cores and 50% of its Cells. This is the classical depiction of Zygarde, and often the state that it exists in to rest. As it rests, Cores periodically return to it and cycle back into the ecosystem, allowing Cores to share knowledge and for Cores to take turns resting. This form is 16’05 ft (5.0 M) long and weighs 672.4 pounds (305 kg).

100% form is the Ultimate Form of Zygarde, containing all five of its cores and 100% of its Cells. This is the form that emerges when Zygarde must correct a great wrong/threat to the balance of the ecosystem. It is 14’09 ft (4.5 M) tall and 1344.8 pounds (610 kg). This is the “Fuck Around And Find Out” form.

Divinity: Eldritch Being

Heritage: Arceus

Divine Role: The Deity of Balance and Order

Place in the Wheel of Reincarnation: Zygarde is not directly responsible for the birth, death, and rebirth of souls in the Wheel of Reincarnation, but it is responsible for what could be argued the most important: the balance of the ecosystem at large. Zygarde is the one who neutralizes threats to balance. Zygarde is the one who ensures that both life and death are protected. Zygarde is the one who acts when outside forces threaten the balance of the its world. Zygarde is the one who acts to birth new gods when needs emerge, such as Zacian and Zamazenta, or Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma. Zygarde is the one who emerges to defend Xerneas and Yveltal (especially Yveltal) when something happens to either of them.

Personality: Zygarde has a balanced personality with a deep-seated love and passion for its home world. It is also, perhaps, the most ruthless of the three when the time comes. Yveltal may be the deity of destruction, but it sees itself as doing a kindness and a performing a necessary act to allow life to flourish (ie: it doesn’t see the unfairness in death), and Xerneas is the benevolent bringer of life—Zygarde though, Zygarde is the maintainer of balance. Zygarde sees life and death as equally necessary, but understands that death feels like a cruelty to life, and equally that life can feel like cruelty to those who suffer in anguish. It recognizes the need for ecological and cosmic balance, and when it does kill, it kills knowing that death is cruel to the living, and acts of a sense of justice that Xerneas and Yveltal intrinsically lack. Zygarde will protect its home world relentlessly. But on the flip side, it loves its home world with passion and ferver.

Should Zygarde be destroyed, the universe/Arceus would act to create a new one.

Role Amongst Humanity: Zygarde is the Deity of Balance, Gaia, Mother Earth, and so many countless more. As mystical and fearsome as Xerneas and Yveltal may be, they have little direct impact on the functioning of the world at large, only existing to ensure that life, death, and rebirth occur—barring weird circumstances, of course. When epic and existential threats occur, it is Zygarde that humanity has always had to contend with, either on its side or against it.

Special Rules:

As an Eldritch Being, Zygarde is entirely incapable of being caught through conventional means, ie: no Pokeballs (not even Master Balls). This does not disclude un-conventional means, such as the Red Chain or other such magical entrapments, nor does it disclude Pokémon Rangers from being able to use their stylers to calm or Zygarde.

Each Zygarde Core acts independent of the other, which doesn’t typically mean much in terms of practical game play, but it does mean that in the 50% and 100% forms, each Core is independently capable of observing the battlefield and processing information accordingly. Most pressingly, the five cores in 100% Form are fully capable of acting independently of each other, meaning that five separate points of combat may be present—think like an action game with a Final Boss Battle with multiple heads that you have to kill, except the Cores aren’t heads they’re brains controlling different parts of the total body and can strike independently of each other.

Zygarde has two abilities, both Aura Break and Power Construct, so long as it is in any of its combined forms.

Rules for the Mythology Section: All Pokémon listed exclusively under the mythology sections are entirely uncatchable by conventional means. Pokémon Trainers are not able to catch these Pokémon because they are gods and eldritch beings. Only Pokémon Rangers have a chance at taming these beings.

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Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

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