Just caught up with this quest. Looking absolutely wonderful. Has anyone had any thoughts about themes? I'm kind of wanting to use "evolves twice" as a theme, since it leaves us a
lot of leeway. And given that we're apparently on the edge of the territory of a Nidoqueen; which means that there are likely Nidoran♂/♀ to be found; and at their earliest stage they also fit into a "cute" aesthetic. Another possible theme could be "agile" pokemon? If only because I wanted a Meowth as a starter (and they're shockingly versatile mon, especially with the Technician Ability). Actually,
@ReverendSwing how are abilities working here? I don't think it was really covered.
Pretty much what
@Edgedancer said regarding themes, the lesson on it is incoming either next update or in case it runs a little too long (as is looking pretty likely) the following one. I think it should cover why I consider "evolving twice" or "has a mega" as kind of loose, but at any rate I'll be more present in the aftermath of that one to handle questions !
As for Abilities... Knew I forgot to add something to the lore/mechanics post. Right, I'll put a more detailed bit in there in a sec, but for now you can basically work on the basis that abilities are just in-game representations of aspects of a pokemon's species that can't be covered by moveset alone. For example, since I have their pokedex pages up, Mareep are stated to build a static charge in their fur, and Seadra to have poisonous spikes on their fins. In-game, that means they respectively have Static and Poison Point as possibles Abilities, but in this quest that's just things they have. For species with multiple abilities, having one doesn't have to mean not getting the other. That said, unless they're just the consequence of certain biological features, they're almost universally things you'll have to train your pokemon in order to develop and/or better.
As I said, more detailed blurb incoming !
EDIT: Wait shit I thought your username was familiar
@TempestK and I just realised you were the QM for Skywalker for Champion ! Loved that quest, and it was one of the things that gave me the idea to turn this kind of AU of sorts I'd been noodling with for years into a quest format. Pleasure to have you around !
@ReverendSwing I went looking at Mereeps evolutions, how would building a theme around her wool (soft, fluffy, insulated from temperature, padding to absorb physical hit) work when she ends up losing all of it?
Right, first thing : Eviolite exists. If your entire fighting style is built around something which absolutely requires one of your pokemon not evolving, it's always an option, though I will point out that using it is a non-reversible choice, so be very sure that's what you want and probably clear it with the pokemon in question beforehand.
Second thing, and the actual answer to your question : Ampharos
can grow wool, as gloriously illustrated by its Mega form. It gets a nice little woollen coat in similar areas to Flaaffy during the winter months, which it sheds pretty much as soon as the spring days return. That said, I imagine that's not looking very practical, so let's talk solutions which allow it to use what you'll have taught it year long. Yeah, it makes your life a bit more complex, but there's two things you should keep in mind.
The first is that any training which involves using her wool alongside any kind of energy manipulation will never be fully lost, because no matter the changes to the body, the pokemon keeps the pathways it's used to funnelling energy through in memory, so to speak, and that's always usable in
some way.
The second is that there's always an answer if you're creative enough. I know at least two answers I worked out with a quick look at its wiki page back when I was making plans for possible directions you might take Marigold in, and I think one in particular is at least fairly obvious (though I'll grant you having the benefit of knowing how the whole system works helps). Frankly, I think it'll become fairly self-evident if you do focus on going down that route.
