The World of Pokémon

Welcome to The World of Pokémon!

Pokémon is a popular franchise spanning many video games, more than one anime series, and several manga series. The central concept of the franchise is the existence of fantastical monsters called Pokémon. Most wildlife takes the form of Pokémon, which can be anything from animals with elemental powers, animated plants, inorganic objects, or even ghosts and spirits.

Each Pokémon usually embodies one or two elemental Types, which range from traditional elements such as Fire and Water to more esoteric ones such as Ghost and Psychic or even animal types like Dragon and Bug. These Types have weaknesses to certain other types and are strong against others. These strengths and weaknesses are an important part of the Pokémon world.

Additionally, most Pokémon can Evolve. This refers not to the slow process of change over generations but a quick metamorphosis in which a Pokémon turns into energy and changes into a new form. Evolution can be triggered by many methods, ranging from simply gaining experience in battle to using Elemental Stones or other rare items.

Pokémon Trainers

People known as Pokémon Trainers capture Pokémon in small spherical devices called Poké Balls that can turn them into energy and store them in stasis. Many Trainers simply collect Pokémon, whether as a hobby or for research, but the most popular use of Pokémon is to battle them for sport.

This might sound horribly similar to underground dog fighting, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in Pokémon. It’s an established principle of the setting in the Pokémon universe that Pokémon almost universally enjoy battling and have evolved to be skillful fighters. Trainers develop strong bonds of friendship with the Pokémon they raise to fight for them, and Pokémon battling is a widely televised sport around which much of the world’s economy revolves.

Many technologies are at least partially replaced by Pokémon. Electric Types may be used to power generators, Pokémon are often ridden in lieu of using vehicles, and even tasks like construction are made easier with the aid of Pokémon.

The Pokémon League

Pokémon battling is governed by an organization known as the Pokémon League which sets regulations for Trainers. Beginning Trainers usually receive their first Pokémon at a young age from a Pokémon Professor, a researcher who’s been put in charge of getting new Trainers started. They also often are given a device called a Pokédex which is like a smartphone with a digital encyclopedia on all the known Pokémon species.

Trainers often battle each other for fun or for small wagers as they journey, catching new Pokémon in the wilds and training their team as they go. Rivalries are an important part of the Pokémon franchise; childhood friends or siblings may battle each other many times over the course of their Pokémon adventures, testing each other and improving together.

Many institutions exist to support and encourage Trainers as they travel. Pokémon Centers are medical facilities that offer free treatment to Trainers’ injured Pokémon, and most shops in town carry a variety of Trainer-centric items, from the all-important Poké Balls to medicines and vitamins for Pokémon or advanced machines that can teach them new battle moves.

Trainers who seek out non-violent ways to train and show off their Pokémon often compete in Pokémon Contests, which are performance acts much like dance or musical competitions for people.

The Pokémon League sets up a structure of Pokémon Gyms in the cities of a region or country which act as benchmarks for Pokémon Trainers. These Gyms are run by Gym Leaders who usually specialize in a single Pokémon Type, making it important for Trainers to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each Type in order to improve and grow. Trainers who defeat a Gym Leader earn their Gym Badge.

Upon earning a certain number of Gym Badges, usually eight, a Trainer qualifies to take on the Pokémon League Tournament, which is an annual event that pits all qualified Trainers against each other for pride and glory. The winner, or sometimes the top few participants, win the right to challenge the Elite 4, a set of truly masterful Pokémon Trainers who embody the best the Pokémon League has to show. The champion of this tournament wins a lot of fame and recognition, not just within the Pokémon League but within society as a whole.

Post-League Challenges

Where do champions of a region’s Pokémon League or other top-ranking Trainers go after they’ve reached their peak in their home region? Many of them simply take on the Pokémon League challenge in other regions, traveling all around the world in pursuit of new experiences, exotic new Pokémon to capture, and stronger Trainers to battle against.

Alternatively, some regions have parks called Battle Frontiers specifically to cater to these elite Trainers. Oftentimes, Battle Frontiers are privately sponsored rather than part of the Pokémon League, though they are usually recognized by the League regardless. In practice, they are similar to a cluster of Pokémon Gyms, though the challenges within are much more challenging and often more involved than battles against Gym Leaders.

Frontier Brains are the equivalent of Gym Leaders in the facilities in a Battle Frontier. While Gym Leaders and even Elite 4 members often align themselves with a particular Type of Pokémon, even if only for the purpose of their challenge, the Frontier Brains tend to use much more varied teams that require more complex strategies to take on. Not only that, but they also tend to have multiple tiers of challenges and reward successful challengers with medals, prints, symbols, or other Badge equivalents that come in Silver and Gold varieties depending on the tier of the challenge completed.

Highly accomplished Trainers may move away from competitive battling entirely and dedicate their lives to other endeavors, or at least take a break. Some will seek out Legendary Pokémon, incredibly rare species of Pokémon that appear in mythological tales. Others will commit themselves to Pokémon research or competing in Contests. It is also not uncommon for Trainers to never challenge the League and dedicate their lives to these activities from the start of their journeys.

Law and Order in the Pokémon World

Just as many technologies and institutions are built around Pokémon, much criminal activity centers around the creatures as well. Poaching, outright theft, and abuse of Pokémon are common crimes in the Pokémon universe and are the focus of law enforcement.

Traditionally, in the Pokémon franchise, each major region in the Pokémon universe houses a large criminal organization that names itself as a Team.

Team Rocket is simply a criminal syndicate seeking to steal and exploit Pokémon for money and power, and their modus operandi is to infiltrate the Pokémon League itself and plant high ranking executives as Gym Leaders or members of the Elite 4.

Team Magma and Team Aqua on the other hand are ideologically oriented criminal organizations that seek out the power of Legendary Pokémon to expand the land or oceans of the world respectively.

Criminal Teams tend to be flashy and have iconic uniforms in the Pokémon world, and they are the center of organized crime. Fighting against them are the International Police or Pokémon Rangers associated with a given region. While the former fight organized crime, the latter focus on Pokémon poaching, crimes in the wilderness, and other activities more suited to being dealt with by a local force. Pokémon Rangers also have the task of patrolling the wilderness for Trainers who have run into trouble during their travels and lending a helping hand. They must be familiar with the wilds in their jurisdiction and be on good terms with local Pokémon populations.

Supernatural Elements in Pokémon

Pokémon themselves are magical creatures, of course, but there are certain supernatural elements in the Pokémon world that warrant a specific note.

Psionic powers are the most common of supernatural powers that can be associated with Trainers and not just Pokémon. They range from telepathy to telekinesis and are usually inborn traits.

Aura is the spiritual energy in all living things in the Pokémon franchise. Particular Pokémon and Trainers can perceive or manipulate Aura, which lets them peer into the emotions of others or perform supernatural feats. It can be considered similar to the concept of Chi and is closely associated with the Fighting Type.

Ghost Type Pokémon are not given much of an explanation in the main franchise, and we don’t take a stance on their nature in PTU either. Simply put, they may be impressions left by the memories of the departed, the literal souls of the dead, or simply creatures closely associated with death. It’s up to the GM.

Finally, the Pokémon world is filled with ancient ruins that may house relics of civilizations past, Legendary Pokémon, or magical artifacts with fantastical effects.