Could I conceivably transplant Pokémon (the creatures, not the storylines or worlds) into an otherwise more or less serious fantasy world without turning it into absolute nightmare fuel?
I think most of them make up an interesting batch of monsters that would switch things up from the standard orcs and dark elves. It's just that the implications of having weird little elemental demigods running around can get out of hand pretty quick.
>>48192098
Stage 1 Pokemon are the common ones, so, for example, Charmander is basicallly your grunt-type of enemy in the dungeon. Charmeleon would be a dungeon boss, or at the very least higher level encounter. Charizard is the final dungeon boss, incredibly tough and with flames that easily melt rocks and roast a knight in his armor (Quite vulnerable to a sneakily thrown stone though).
So basically, you'd want to keep the higher evolutions for special bosses or encounters, and make them feel special. If you have a monster that can fuck over whole mountains, you wouldn't want it to just roam around, I guess.
>>48192098
Pokémon aren't just creatures, they're the central mechanic around which the games and setting revolve. Pokémon are caught in PokéBalls bought at the PokéMart and brought to the PokéCenter for healing, so you can go out and catch more Pokémon or have Pokémon Battles to advance yourself in the game. Pokémon are very setting-specific because the rules by which they behave don't mesh very well with other settings. It's possible, but you might as well just use their fantasy equivalents, and many are based off fantasy creatures already.
The Monsters in Monster Hunter are also very setting-centric, but those monsters are much more transplantable because your engagement with them isn't too out of place in other settings. In Monster Hunter, a PC fights monsters for resource gains and advancement. In Pokémon, a PC uses monsters to fight and capture other monsters which can be used for fighting for resource gains and advancement.
Part of the reason Pokémon operate so differently is because they're much more like Shinto spirits than actual monsters. You'd also have to justify why cleaving through dozens of fully-sentient beings is okay, given that they've all shown a capacity for reason, empathy, and a huge depth of understanding on-par with the humans who work with and train them.
>>48192098
>Could I conceivably transplant Pokémon (the creatures, not the storylines or worlds) into an otherwise more or less serious fantasy world
yes
>without turning it into absolute nightmare fuel?
nope
>>48192098
I think making a realistic pokemon campaign would be a good idea.
See Arvalis and his realistic pokemon project and The Game of Champions by Lamora
>>48192215
>Pokémon aren't just creatures, they're the central mechanic around which the games and setting revolve.
Well, yeah, but my players and I have human minds. We're capable of taking element X out of game Y and putting it into fundamentally different game N.
>Part of the reason Pokémon operate so differently is because they're much more like Shinto spirits than actual monsters. You'd also have to justify why cleaving through dozens of fully-sentient beings is okay, given that they've all shown a capacity for reason, empathy, and a huge depth of understanding on-par with the humans who work with and train them.
My players don't feel especially guilty about cleaving through sentient creatures, if they pose a threat.
>>48192296
At that point, why call them pokemon?
Still, no reason you can't do it.
>Pidgeot: This Pokémon flies at Mach 2 speed, seeking prey.
What.
>Heracross: With its Herculean powers, it can easily throw around an object that is 100 times its own weight.
They weigh 119 pounds on average.
>Haunter: its tongue is made of gas. If licked, its victim starts shaking constantly until death eventually comes.
Suffer and die.
>Cacturne: If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, CACTURNE will follow in a ragtag group. The POKéMON are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving.
Gnashing Pokémon teeth.
>Raticate: A Raticate's front teeth are incredibly powerful; it can destroy a two-story house with them in 5 minutes.
Fuck yo house, nigga.
>>48192334
The word Pokémon probably wouldn't be used in the campaign. Pokéballs might be a bit too high-tech, so they wouldn't be actual Pocket Monsters.
It's more about using the concepts than the names. Electric rats, actually burning salamander dragons, pink blob-like shapeshifters, some of which are intelligent enough to communicate and cooperate with humans.
>>48192098
>transplant Pokémon (the creatures, not the storylines or worlds) into an otherwise more or less serious fantasy world
Yes. They'd be fantastic monsters.
Bonus points if you're able to go a whole campaign without players realizing they've been running into pokemon.
>>48192398
>The word Pokémon probably wouldn't be used in the campaign. Pokéballs might be a bit too high-tech, so they wouldn't be actual Pocket Monsters.
The anime suggests magical monsters (that's how they were called prior to the invention of pokeballs).
>It's more about using the concepts than the names. Electric rats, actually burning salamander dragons, pink blob-like shapeshifters, some of which are intelligent enough to communicate and cooperate with humans.
Maybe you should look into Megami Tensei for ideas.
>the party encounters a shedinja
>>48192619
Fairly intimidating, though two of the things it is immediately defeated by, cleansing fire and underhanded tactics, are standard parts of most parties' arsenals.
>>48192098
What system are you using, first off?
Charizard could pretty easily be a type of 'lesser' dragon; perhaps it was created through a breeding program from an ancient empire.
Charmeleon could be pretty easily explained as a magical evolution of a type of dinosaur, a la the destrachan from D&D, especially if you make them look like pic related. Have a pack of those bastards hunting your PCs through the torched remains of a forest for a memorable encounter.
Muk and Grimer are oozes, plain and simple. No need to explain further, although I could see them being protected by druids as a type of creature adapted to subterranean life.
The Roggenrola line are pretty easily explained as elementals: maybe your players could take the crystals on their bodies for some extra gold, but the Roggenrolas have an extra defense in the form of a sonic shriek from their ear-hole-thing.
Exploud and its line are good mountain monsters: combined with their sonic attacks, they also bring the very real threat of an avalanche.
Pangoro and Pancham could be the spirits of righteous druids or monks reborn in the bodies of mighty beasts to better defend their woods.
Rattata would basically be the rodent version of kobolds: they're fucking everywhere, they breed like mad, and everyone hates them. Maybe Raticates could be dire rats crossbred with these guys by kobolds or something.
Ariados could be the beloved pets of some kind of surface-dwelling drow that lives on the dark floor of a rainforest, using them to catch prey in the brighter canopy.
The Regis could be gods of different regions or golems of immense power.
>be me
>lv5 fighter
>walking down road with my party
>suddenly very fucking hot out
>like being engulfed in a house fire
>then we see it, just up the road
>a slug-thing, composer of magma, insane heat is radiating off of it; the forest is ablaze
>we break off in a sprint, trying to escape our doom at the hands of this insane evil
>don't get more than a hundred feet before we spot another one
>Trafendil bursts into flames almost immediately, the rest of us follow him soon
Such is the life of adventure in Hoenn
>>48192098
There are some really need redesigns for pokemon being more monstrous or "realistc" that would make decent monsters. You'd just have to ignore basicly any flavour text that has numbers in it, or treat it like it's written by 10 year olds, which it probably is.
You probably want to use a system with element based magic, boiling things down to maybe 6-8ish properties for the creatures and player spells.
>The BBEG puts his throne on top of a Metagross
>>48192859
ON the other hand, some artists get really carried away with being "realistic"
>yes I know this is supposed to be a parody drawing.
>>48192945
>muthafukin Sun Wukong
They're already nightmare fuel.
>>48192945
Some people just draw a decareted version of the animal the pokemon was based on. That's probably pretty useful when you don't want your players to notice that you're using pokemon.
>>48192983
>>48192994
>>48192991
And that's okay when the Pokemon is clearly based on a real life animal. It's just when you turn Trevanant into a squid or geodude into a frog or something that shit gets stupid.
>>48193021
>get yer ice cream!
>>48192357
>Magcargo's body temperature is approximately 18,000 degrees F. Water is vaporized on contact. If this Pokémon is caught in the rain, the raindrops instantly turn into steam, cloaking the area in a thick fog.
It's fucking hotter than the sun.
Some pokedex entries shouldn't be taken literally.
>>48192983
>>48192994
>>48193004
how edgy can you get
>>48193066
It's not THAT extreme compared to some other entries. There are chemical reactions that cause temperatures at least more than half as hot, so it's exaggerated, but not something I'd find too absurd in a fantasy setting.
Now Machamps entry from yellow on the other hand states this:
"One arm alone can move mountains."
THIS is serious bullshit tier, as any single one of Machamps arms would have the energy of several nuclear weapons.
>>48193465
Remember, Pokedex entries are not filled in until the player character - a ten year old - has one in their possession, where they then proceed to hype up their cool new beasty.Red rather obviously thinks the Indian elephant is the mightiest non-pokemon lifeform.
>>48193530
Now I'm imagining an actual zoology organisation in the pokemon world trying to fight the misinformation spread by kids with absurdly strong pets without pissing them of said kids.
>>48193530
>pokemon trainers fill in the pokedex themselves as they encounter new pokemon
>it works a bit like wikipedia, with users generating the information
>pokedex information relating to pokemons' power is wildly exaggerated by braggart children
>this is why so many pokedex entries contain absurd information
Head-canon accepted.
>>48192098
I think it could work pretty well if you divorced most of the Pokemon franchise from the Pokemon themselves.
Lots of Pokemon would work well in an AD&D style world where you already have owlbears. I'd use them as inspiration personally. I think direct transplantation could work if you ignore the pokedex, but more players are more likely to notice what you've done.
>>48193673
>>48194403
Professor Oak is sending 10-year-olds out to die of exposure and he doesn't give a flying fuck.
>>48194430
His own grandson, too. What a heartless bastard.
>>48194430
Who?
>>48194452
I meant this guy. Anyway, are you a boy or a girl?
>>48192733
>slugma used lava plume
>there were no survivors
It's so cu-
>Whenever Pikachu comes across something new, it blasts it with a jolt of electricity. If you come across a blackened berry, it's evidence that this Pokémon mistook the intensity of its charge.
Oh god.
>>48192994
>>48193004
I hate these so much. >>48192983 is at least kind of tongue in cheek and creative.
>>48193041
It's hilarious because of how half assed the "realism" is. They are still floating around. Not to mention the climate.
>>48192098
They already exist in fantasy worlds, they are called Yokai.
>>48194706
We both know the differences are relevant.
>>48194687
Jesus Christ, its head is almost as large as the child. Pokémon is a story about reckless child endangerment.
>>48194744
How are they relevant or different?
Ho-oh is literally Fenghuang, there is an actual Kitsune/Nine-tails in Pokemon, and many of the creatures are spirits and demon like.
>>48194744
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakeneko
Meowth, that's right.
>>48194794
>>48194794
>>48194816
Congratulations, you've found some similarities. 'Pokémon = Yokai' is still about as useful a statement as 'Pokémon = Animals'.
>>48194848
That's excellent! Considering plenty of Yokai are animals.
>>48194848
>mythological animals, spirits, and monsters that roam the Japanese countryside and come in a variety of forms with supernatural powers
>THEY'RE JUST SIMILAR TO POKEMON, NOT IDENTICAL
>many of them are literally identical to Pokemon
>>48194403
But... everything here is wrong!
>>48194949
Pokémon roam the entire world in their setting, and mystical monsters with supernatural powers aren't exclusive to Japan.
>>48194966
It's right about many things.
>>48194105
>>48194687
feraligatr is such a sweet pokemon
>>48194105
Tumblr plus go...
Anyways, I think taking the basic structure of certain Pokémon and making them into monsters is a knarly idea. Rats that can devour houses in minutes? Plants that can swallow people whole? Fuck huge jellyfish? Giant rock snakes? Definitely doable.
>>48194949
You clearly don't know much about Pokemon if you think it's just Japanese animals and spirits.
>>48195518
Literally written by a man with alzheimers.
>>48195614
So comfy.
>>48192098
Considering how many pokémon are based on or tied to modern technology (Rotom, Porygon, Mewtwo, that one that looks like a keychain...) I wouldn't do a complete transplant if you're going for medieval fantasy. I could definitely see it working, but I also imagine it being would really jarring if you tried to mix 'mons with regular creatures and wildlife.
Pokémon can definitely work without the usual staples of balls and centres and potions and marts, though. Just look at the Mystery Dungeon spin-offs, they managed to have pretty decent plots for what they were.
