Frequently Asked Questions
The World of Pokémon
01
Why is the world shaped like that?
It's just our best guess, you may re-shape it if you like.
02
Can I travel to another Region?
You may, at Storyteller's discretion. Travel to the another region and register for the League Challenge in there. The Regional Pokémon League may take into account the badges you already have so you don't have to star over.
03
Can I catch "X" Pokémon in "Y" Region?
You may, at Storyteller's discretion. As we said in the book, some Pokémon are rare in certain regions but extremely common in others.
04
What happens if I carry more than 6 Pokémon?
The moment you catch the 7th Pokémon, the Pokéball is transported to a secure location. You may access all Pokémon you've caught by booting a Pokémon PC, there you may store or withdraw your Pokémon.
System
05
Will my Concept/Nature affect the Attributes/Skills of my Character?
Not really. Your concept is entirely free, and you may choose any nature you want and increase any attribute you choose. If you want a strong but timid ballerina or a dexterous grandpa, you are totally allowed to have it.
06
Can I have other Skills and Specialties besides those written in the book?
Yes, you can, and your Pokémon too. Trainers have a section in their Character Sheet devoted to this. They can be bought at their normal cost. Some examples of Other Skills/Specialties may be: Pokémon Breeding, Drive, Law. See if your action fits another Skill, if it doesn't, write down your own. Remember that Pokémon may not have Knowledge Skills, unless they are exceptionally clever (Smart 5 may not be enough).
07
Can I play as a Pokémon?
Yes, if it fits the story. The system works on that setting as well. You may not, however, be a Pokémon when all other Players are Trainers.
08
Can I train my Trainer?
Yes. You may go to the gym, to school, take lessons to improve your skills, etc. The storyteller may give you extra experience at the end of the game session if you do. Just remember you have to train constantly; you can’t take swimming lessons a single day and expect to surf your way to an inhabited island.
09
I want my Character to have psychic powers, how do I get them?
You can’t, but some Trainers pretend they do. Get a Pokémon with Telekinesis, Future Sight and Mind Reader and work together with your Pokémon to trick everyone. Remember, your Pokémon are your powers.
Pokémon
10
11
Mega Evolutions?
Plot Device. Ask your storyteller if they'll be part of the story.
Why is HP based on size?
As we explain in the book, it's because injuries that could cause severe harm to a small creature may not be worrysome for a larger Pokemon. How menacing would an 8m (28ft) Rock snake seem if it only had 5HP?
12
Why some Moves have zero experience cost?
This means that the Pokémon is easily capable or naturally able to do those moves without needing to train. That doesn't mean they learn them all at once, though. A recently evolved Pokémon may be able to obtain a great number of Moves for free, but it may take a few weeks or even months to finally learn them all.
13
My Pokémon evolves by trade. I want it to evolve but I don't want to lose its Loyalty and Happiness, what should I do?
The Pokémon Trading Machine emits a strange type of energy during the trade that triggers evolution in some Pokémon. That doesn't mean the machine is the only way to find this energy, it is simply the most convenient. Ask your Storyteller and work out a solution. Remember that the stated cause of evolution is only the info the Pokédex provides, not the only way to do it. Do not limit yourself.
Items
14
What should I do if there's a Held Item I want but it's not in the book?
The list of Held Items in Pokémon is pretty extensive, we did not include all of them simply because most of them are not that useful or popular. Talk to your story teller about the effects you would like for your Held Item and if he allows it, you may have it.
15
Escape Rope is not in the Item Section. How would it work?
It’s an extremely long rope that you tie somewhere at the entrance and you can follow it back to exit the cave.
Battles
16
Can a Pokémon give orders to another Pokémon?
In theory they might, if they are smart enough, but it is prohibited by the League.
17
Does my Trainer counts as a Normal Type?
No. Your Trainer cannot control any kind of energy, thus it is typeless. You do not have any immunities, weaknesses nor resistances.
18
Can I punch Ghosts then?
You can't punch ghosts. You may punch Ghost-Type Pokémon, though.
19
If I challenge someone to a Battle, but his Pokémon are
badly hurt already, can I cancel my challenge?
Yes, you can, but only before the Battle starts. Good trainers care about the health of all Pokémon, even if they're not their own. Grunts and Thugs may not be so caring.
20
What's the meaning of "Ready to Fight"?
When a Pokémon switches in, it suffers huge penalizations to its actions until it stays in the field from the Begining of a Round to the End of that same Round.
At that time, the Pokémon is finally "Ready to Fight" and those penalizations go away.
Some Moves like Volt Switch and U-Turn say "Choose another Pokémon... it will be ready to fight on the next Round", this allows the next Pokémon you send to switch in "Ready to Fight", or in other words: without those penalizations.
Be careful with these Moves because you won't have a Pokémon until the next Round. You may be alone and unprotected.
21
If I send my Pokémon at the middle of a Round, will it be "Ready to Fight" the next Round?
No, it won't, remember it must be in the field from the Begining of a Round to the End of that same Round.
You may send a Pokémon at the Beginning of a Round.
22
If my Pokémon fainted, will my next Pokémon be "Ready to Fight"?
Yes. When your Pokémon faints your turn is over. You may send your next Pokémon at the Beginning of the next Round and it will be Ready to Fight.
23
What's the meaning of "Out of Range"?
When a Pokémon is out of range, it is unaffected by attacks and Moves of any kind. As always, there may be exceptions depending on the situation.
24
If my Pokémon moves away during its turn, is it still in range of the foe?
Yes. Fight's are not static, people and Pokémon don't stay rooted the whole scene exchanging blows until someone falls unconscious. Pokémon Battles are dynamic, everyone is constantly moving even if they're not explicitly saying so. If you decide to run away, the Battle may end.
25
How do I run away from a Battle?
Roll Dexterity + Survival + Athletic against your foe's Dexterity + Survival + Athletic. If you score more successes than your foe, you run away.
For Battles with multiple enemies or multiple allies, always use the higher dice pool among your foes and allies.
26
I want my Pokémon to attack along with my partner's Pokémon, can we do a combo attack?
Yes, but only if all of you hold your action to go at the same time in the initiative order.
It will resolve virtually the same as if you had attacked separately, the only difference will be that the foe will have a small penalization to its evasion at storyteller's discretion and if one of the attackers scores a Critical Hit, all the attackers will get the bonus to their damage pool as if they had scored Critical as well. Can't be done more than once each Round.
27
I ordered my Pokémon to attack but the foe used a priority Move to attack me first, can I change the order into an Evasion?
Yes. As long as your Pokémon wasn’t able to resolve its original action, you may order it to do something else.
Pokémon League Rules
28
If I'm battling more than one Pokémon at the same time,
can I use more than one Pokémon?
Yes, you can use two. If you use three or more, they will have penalties and you may even receive a sanction from the League.
29
If my life is in danger, why would the League sanction me for using more than one Pokémon at the same time?
Because you're are endangering the lives of your Pokémon as well. A single trainer can't pay attention to many Pokémon at the same time; neither can Pokémon understand a trainer who's giving orders left and right to other creatures beside themselves.
30
Let's say a criminal is trying to hurt people and everyone is at risk, would the League sanction me for breaking some rules trying to stop him?
It would and it will. Yes, the criminal could have broken the law; but if he didn't use more than a Pokémon at the same time, then, the League's hands are tied.
Don't mix the Police with the League. You may be rewarded by the Police, but you may get an infraction on your Trainer's License.
Moves and Abilities
31
Can the Moves/Pokémon be a different Type?
No. There's almost one thousand Pokémon and hundreds of Moves already. If you want a Move/Pokémon of a certain type choose one that's already in the book.
32
Two of my Pokémon have the same Ability, do they stack together?
Abilities with the same name do not stack with each other, even if the Pokémon are different.
33
Can Protect, Detect, Wide Guard, stack with each other?
No.
34
Can Fire Pledge, Grass Pledge, Water Pledge, be evaded?
Those Moves target everyone, including Allies and the field. The damage portion of the Move can be evaded, but the Added Effects will always affect everyone in the field.
35
Is it possible to extend the duration of effects such as Rain Dance or Lucky Chant?
Yes, at Storyteller's discretion. If the User spends a certain amount of time performing the same Move (with a duration) and a point of Will, it may extend the duration for double the time spent or even a day. The effects, however, will stay rooted in that same place. It won't rain wherever you go, just in the place you performed the Move.
Weather and Status Conditions
36
I'm at an enclosed location, can I use Weather Conditions?
Yes, but it may not be the same as if you were outside. It may be just enough to give you the benefits but it might be restricted at the Storyteller’s discretion. Use common sense.
37
Do Trainers receive damage from Sandstorm or Hail Weathers? Is it possible to cross an area with said Weather unscathed?
Trainers will receive damage unless they take cover from the weather. Ways to pass through such an area would include: using a vehicle, wearing resistant clothing, or having a Pokemon immune to the weather covering your body as you walk.
38
Can Paralysis get my Dexterity to zero?
Yes it can. But only if you have 2 points or less on your Dexterity Attribute. If you have 3 or more your opponent cannot reduce you Attributes to less than 1 point even if they're using moves such as Scary Face or Rock Tomb. Having zero dex only means you cannot move. Your Pokémon may still try to attack using only its Skill score as a Dice Pool.
39
Since Status Conditions stack, can my Pokémon have Burn 1, 2 and 3 at the same time?
No, it will suffer only from the higher Burn level. Let's imagine your Pokémon has just been afflicted with the Burn 1 condition; and before it could get rid of it, it was afflicted with Burn 2. This will reset the extended roll to extinguish the fire and by the end of the Round it will only receive the damage from Burn 2.
Fainting and Death
40
I fainted and only my Pokémon are there to help me,
Can they use Medicine on me?
No. Unless your Pokémon were smart enough to understand what medicines are and have received extensive medical training. They can, however, stay by your side defending you until you regain consciousness; or they may try to find other humans and guide them to you.
41
My Trainer died, what will happen to my Pokémon?
Well, first of all, our most sincere condolences. It's very sad you had to go through that!
Regarding the question, that is up to the Storyteller and the other Players. You may create another Character, but the Pokémon of a deceased trainer may be released, adopted or surrendered to somebody else.
42
My Pokémon died, can I bring it back to life?
No. Death is final. You should be very careful to prevent this from happening and your Storyteller shouldn't treat a Character's death lightly.
Storyteller Section
43
How can I represent Loyalty scores accurately?
Loyalty 1: The Pokémon will obey you, but as soon as it gets hurt, roll Loyalty or it will flee or stop obeying. The Pokémon values its own safety over the Trainer's.
Loyalty 2: The Pokémon will keep protecting its Trainer, but if it receives Lethal damage or it's about to faint, you will need to roll Loyalty, or it may flee or stop obeying.
Loyalty 3 The Pokémon will stay by your side even in life-or-death situations.
Loyalty 4 The Pokémon values your life over its own. If it had to choose, it would choose you.
Loyalty 5 Plot Device, There is nothing the Pokémon wouldn't do for its Trainer.
44
I made a Pokémon for my Players to Battle that was very strong,
one of them catched it and now I fear for the balance of my Story.
What should I do?
First of all, you may have prevented this from happening by increasing the willpower score of the Pokémon.
Accidents happen though, and now that it is caught, there are a couple of things you could do:
Add Disobedience score. A disobedient Pokémon is not agreeable to its trainer and it's almost impossible to train.
Low Loyalty and Happiness. If the conditions of the capture were not ideal, the Pokémon may even try to escape on its own.
Finally, The League. A Trainer who shows signs of not being capable of handling a Pokémon is disqualified immediately from tournaments, contests and other official matches.
45
How can I make the environment more challenging for my Players?
Here are some ideas:
Falling Damage
If a fall would end up hurting a Character, roll from 1 to 10 dice of damage, minus the Character's Vitality. If a Character falls from a height that would result in someone normally dying, don't roll damage, the Character simply would lose its life. Some Pokémon and Flying Types might receive falling damage, but not die from the fall.
Situational Damage
Follow the same principle as Falling Damage. Roll from 1 to 10 dice of damage. If the situation would result in someone normally dying, don't roll damage; the Character simply would lose its life.
Just as some Moves or Abilities ignore Defense and Sp.Defense, some situations may ignore the Character's Defenses, inflicting from 1 to 10 damage automatically.
Underwater Fighting
If the body of a Pokémon is not built to live or fight underwater, they might get in huge trouble suffering the following handicaps:
-Physical Attacks inflict 2 less dice of damage.
-Physical actions get a -2 Penalization.
-Ranged Physical attacks have their ranged greatly reduced.
Also,
-Fire Moves do not work.
-Ground Moves might not work.
-Abilities like Swift Swim, Hydration and Water Absorb are triggered just as if the Pokémon were under Rain Weather, including all other benefits from Rain.
Use common sense when determining if something would work underwater.