Pokemon Village Quest

[ayleid]

As the sun sets, you watch your people set up their tents, tiredness enforcing a sullen silence over the camp. You turn and behold the landscape, catching a glimpse of your patrolling partner. The twilight makes shadows dance among the trees and crags, a flock of bird Pokémon disappears over the horizon, and a thought occurs… this could be it!

"Berry for your thoughts?"

You turn and barely catch, in fact, a thrown berry. Your best friend gives you a cheeky smile before turning more somber.

"No Pokémon attacks today, but I don't like old man Takeshi's cough. He's not getting better, and the only reason there was room in the cart for him is that food's getting low."

"Yup… food's getting tight, so why do you have a spare Oran berry?"

"Don't think I missed you cutting your hand on that rock! Eat it, pal, we need our backup scout at 100% tomorrow! Hope you don't expect me to pitch your tent for you though."

You think about arguing but your hand is in fact still smarting under your glove and hasty bandage so you let yourself enjoy the medicinal berry. That's dinner sorted out, you guess. You'll even let the 'backup scout' comment pass. You are number one and everyone knows it!

"Seriously though, what's with that face you were making? Trouble? Anything specific?"

"No, no… Actually, quite the opposite. I think we've arrived. This could be the spot. Our new home!"

That gets you a raised eyebrow. "Well, someone's enthusiastic. There's water here, and no Pokémon nest, but I wouldn't call it perfect."

"No Pokémon nest, and few animal tracks, so it's not a hunting ground either. There's good forage around but not right here so the Pokémon shouldn't immediately attack if we set up and fortify. No berry trees, but with a little work the land will be good for crops. Room to set up, and even to expand eventually." You frown. "'Sides, is there such a thing as a perfect spot? Is it near enough we can get to it? We're all tired. Here is good enough and better than anything I've seen in a while."

You turn back to the sunset. Besides you, your friend thinks a long while on what you said, turning this way and that and eyeing the resources and features that caught your eye. They take long enough that you end up going down the hillock you used as an observation point to pitch your tent next to theirs while there is still some light. A few lanterns are set up to illuminate the obvious approaches to the camp and you really hope the designated sentinels will not have to wake you and your partner up tonight. Nocturnal Pokémon usually shy away from such organized groups, but one never knows.

Having a Pokémon each places you and your friend in a strange position in the informal hierarchy of this migration. Pokémon engender greed, wariness, and fascination. There is authority in having a magical beast taking orders from you, but also suspicion and a deep-seated fear. Pokémon partners have sometimes turned on their trainer or other Humans. Their utility cannot be denied however, and legends tell of ancient cities where Pokémon walked freely and peacefully among Humans.

The both of you -four with the Pokémon- are the designated pathfinders and scouts and are expected to be front and centre if something goes wrong, though few expect you to actually pacify hungry wild Pokémon like you did your partners. Humans cannot defeat the most powerful Pokémon, but such forces of nature are rare and even they cannot expect to take your supplies entirely without injury. Dissuasion is the best defence against Pokémon and your partners are a great help for that. This gives your voice weight, and the elders had been wondering for a while if it was not time to settle down. There have been more promising spots along the road, but competition would have been stiff to settle them. Pokémon and defence are your expertise, and you do not think anybody will really want to argue if you tell them that here is defensible enough.

As you finish setting up, footsteps come up behind you. You turn and are greeted by a more hopeful smile than you have seen in a while from your friend.

"You know… I think you're right. This is where we were meant to be. This is our home now!"


[This is a writing exercise for me. I will strive to update every 2-3 days, though a voting upset may lead to a delay.]

Initial vote

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Please vote for a plan. Elements of the runner-up may be chosen to substitute for an option incongruent with the rest of the plan. If there is much interest in the future, I may switch to asking you to upvote plans instead of re-posting them.


Where are you? [Choose your starting location; the names are references to help voters, you are setting up in an unclaimed place and may develop it in a completely different way than canon.

[ ] (Pallet Town) A wide meadow by a bay into which runs a small river, framed by forests and plains. Forage is good and access to both timber and the sea will be very precious, but Pokémon presence is on the heavy side. Expansion and farming are sure to incite constant aggression. The location is also quite exposed and the convenience of its natural harbour and resources is sure to attract some passage, both good and bad.

[ ] (Olivine) Cliffs and woods frame a prairie transitioning into wide beaches, irrigated by a river. Expansion will require some effort to tame the area, and there is a reason you did not set up in the plains up North: territorial herds of Pokémon will not accept interlopers, especially permanent ones. There is potential for farming there, though. In the meantime, the beaches and shallows offer fishing opportunities, though the reefs may prove problematic for bigger ships. They do mean less dangerous sea Pokémon attacks.

[ ] (Blackthorn) An isolated plateau among tall peaks. Runoff streams and falls feed a series of clear pools and the access points are easily defensible. Stone is not the only thing in abundance: these mountains are filled with interesting minerals. The natural hot springs could alleviate the lack of timber for heating. The plateau is well-sized, and while you hope to one day expand to the point it will feel constraining, the adjacent valleys and plateaus will give you options eventually and forage for the time being. Food is the issue here, and the reason few Pokémon seem interested in the place to begin with. The soil is fairly poor and the terrain is hilly. It will take some work to feed your people, let alone new arrivals. Hunting and fishing weaker Pokémon and mundane animals will help, but while the plateau itself is barely contested there seem to be powerful Pokémon around. Best keep your head down…

[ ] (Fallarbor) In the forested foothills of a chain of mountains cutting you off from the sea, a series of clearings has grabbed your attention. Abundant runoff streams, timber and forage will make things easy in the short term. The looming volcano in the Southeast is a hazard, but not an immediate one: it is too far away for lava flows to reach you. On the other hand, the volcanic ash makes the whole area downright luxuriant! There is a lot of potential for farming. The peculiar environment is home to some very weird Pokémon however, and they may not take kindly to deforestation.

[ ] (Shalour) A striking seaside location, the main feature of which is a peculiar island that is connected to the mainland beach by sand banks during low tides. Few Pokémon seem to be interested in the island itself, perhaps viewing it as a trap. However, you see the potential to fortify it to make it safe from all but the most powerful land Pokémon, and the shallows will put off the bigger seaborne ones. The woods of the mainland will offer plentiful timber though transporting it will require some ingenuity. Once some of it is cleared up farming will be possible, with fishing and foraging tiding you over in the meantime. Water might be tight though. Rainwater lingers in pools on the island -which could be expanded into actual cisterns- and in the peculiar cave to the south -which is unfortunately a Pokémon hotspot. Otherwise all you see are minor, unreliable streams and ponds.

[ ] Write-in (no desert or other environments where access to forage and water cannot be assumed, however you may choose a location where there never was canonically a settlement)]


Who are your people? [Where did your settlers come from and why are they here?

[ ] Refugees: it is a harsh world out there. Natural disasters, Pokémon rampage, war… It is not uncommon for entire settlements to be razed, their survivors scattered in the wilds. Your people are one column of such refugees, your best having already sacrificed themselves to give their loved ones this last chance at survival. Hope has been rising of late though. You did survive, and made your way to relative safety. It will be hard but you know that you can rebuild. You must, and you will! (Bonuses: +20 children, 'Code of laws' technology. Maluses: discontent will be rising and morale falling until you have had time to give proper due to the dead)

[ ] Outpost: your hometown has grown big enough to gather the resources and people necessary to set up a distant trade outpost. These eager colonists are ready to settle in a new area to build what will be hopefully a thriving new settlement. Some of them are glad to keep ties to their greater hometown, and of the safety net this provides. Others relish their newfound independence, and will balk at attempts to establish the roads and trade agreements that were the original point of your endeavour. (Your hometown will quickly know where you are, speeding up technological and economical exchanges, however they have expectations of your settlement being subordinate to theirs. Bonuses: 'Hunting tactics' technology, good preparation means more food and enhanced rolls against initial hazards. Maluses: victory cannot be achieved unless you surpass your hometown in both size and renown)

[ ] Shipwreck: the expedition was proud and hopeful, a scientific endeavour aimed at mapping a bit of terra incognita. But a freak storm has tossed you around and slammed you on unknown shores. Experienced seamen and inventive scholars have managed to cobble together a convoy out of the remains of your ship but your trek has revealed that you are far from home indeed. Finally, your homesick people have accepted the frightful truth: they are stranded in these wild lands and must now settle there. (Bonuses: 'Wind and water' technology, 'Full status of women' technology, future research on low-tier Engineering and Society technologies will be faster, less constraints on your starter Pokémon. Maluses: lower initial productivity and general health, both you and your best friend start with the 'stressed' affliction (-1 Stewardship, Intrigue and Health; -10% fertility, -10 on combat rolls))

[ ] Write-in (bonuses in such will be a suggestion only, I will have final say)]


Who are you? [Write-in for name, gender, appearance, age (older will give more bonuses according to background, younger has more room to grow) and background (I will assign an Education Trait based on it). Choose for yourself at least two CK2 virtues (Chaste, Temperate, Charitable, Diligent, Patient, Kind, Humble) and one compatible sin (Lustful, Gluttonous, Greedy, Slothful, Wroth, Envious, proud); up to two additional virtues can be selected at the cost of selecting an additional sin for each. Be aware that while circumstances can change them, your character will not act in contradiction to their traits so you may be trading initial optimization for roleplaying flexibility.]


Who is your Pokémon? [Vote for a first stage Pokémon, the more powerful single-stage Pokémon lines such as Skarmory or Absol may be disallowed, as well as any pseudo-legendary lines and Psychic- or Dragon-types; nickname possible but not mandatory. Assuming a Pokémon repartition roughly similar to canon (with some leeway for Bug-types), it must be somewhat plausible that a pre-industrial kid ran into the Pokémon: no Tauros in Hisui]


Who is your best friend? [Write-in for name, gender, appearance, age and background (background must be at least somewhat coherent with yours); choose one virtue and one sin, the rest of their traits will be rolled for or chosen in accordance with their background; their Pokémon will also be chosen semi-randomly]