New Valkenburg is a very large city, on a coast, on the other side of the world from many Pokemon regions. It has a harbor, skyscrapers, parks, more cultures than you can shake a stick at, museums, festivals nearly every week, and every corner you turn may lead to a new adventure - or at least, a new place to eat.
We'll be using PTU 1.04k.
This is primarily because our community is using it for other campaigns.
Obviously, this page is only a very brief overview of the town. I intend to expand on it significantly in the time to come, but in the end, there's only so much I can make before it's time to let the players come in and help shape the world. To that end, and to inspire ideas, I will note that New Valkenburg is based, pretty strongly, on New York City. As such, taking details from that actual place, and modifying them to fit the Pokemon world, are a good bet for good ideas.
If you create big new places, things, or events in your backstory, please talk them over with me first, though. By working together, we can make those ideas more awesome - by helping them fit into this shared world, and by generating even more cool ideas.
From the survey, it looks like people are best able to play Sunday evening, so we'll go for that. I'm currently looking at something likeSunday evenings, 8 PM Eastern US.
Of New Valkenburg's 8.5 million citizens, just over one-eighth (1.2 million) are considered "hybrids" - wherein at least one great-grandparent is of Human descent, and one great-grandparent is of Pokemon descent, or the rough genetic equivalent.
About an additional one-tenth (750,000) are "card-carrying Pokemon" - Pokemon who are intelligent and invested enough in the civic process to gain an official measurement of citizenship or naturalization. Card-Carrying Pokemon and Hybrids are uncatchable, and are able to register for Trainer licenses, just like any human being. Most Card-Carrying Pokemon have, in fact, already 'caught' themselves, keeping their Pokeball either on their person or safely hidden at home; this prevents any ne'er-do-well from throwing a Pokeball and capturing them.
However, immigrant Pokemon may be too poor - or too fearful of immigration services or other authorial attention - to do this, leaving them vulnerable. While there is a public program in place to help these Pokemon, wherein they may enter any Pokemon Center and request to be caught for themselves, this has not entirely solved the problem. Problems still persist, wherein less-than-kind humans will offer immigrant Pokemon protection, and then hold that Pokeball over their heads as a means of control.
Roughly a full third of New Valkenburg's population - just over three million souls - are immigrants, born elsewhere, who have come to New Valkenburg for a new and better life. Not all of them achieve it, of course, but those that do become beacons of success and hope in their communities and ethnicities.
What follows are the most basic generalizations of the Districts of New Valkenburg. You're liable to find a little bit of everything, everywhere - art showings in Thinbrook, a small skyscraper in The Horn, or a festival blocking off a street in Zaanstad. Still, the following descriptors should give you a general idea of what each District is like.
The proverbial melting pot, Zaanstad is where everyone and everything that's "coming to Valkenburg" is actually going. All of the large corporate offices are here, located in glass-fronted buildings designed by famous artists, or in hundred-storey skyscrapers that dominate the horizon. in fact, for almost a hundred years, the "world's tallest building" was located here, though the title changed hands many times as taller and taller skyscrapers were built in Zaanstad.
Zaanstad is also where the people of New Valkenburg go to experience foreign cuisine and goods, as many fine restaurants and grocers have made their business' home here. Food from every Region is available, and usually at a four- or five-star dining experience. Of course, getting in to such an establishment is a lot harder than just smelling the air, even if your heart might not wish it so.
When people think of the highest-end New Valkenburg shopping, food, and workplaces, they are invariably thinking of some place in Zaanstad.
If Zaanstad is where business lives, then Monnix is where the Arts live. Museums, cemeteries, and art galleries all make their home here.
Monnix is also where wild Pokemon live. It features numerous Zoos, each with different collections of wild Pokemon, kept for research purposes and to allow the public to see these Pokemon in their natural habitats. Monnix also has many parks, big and small, where wild Pokemon still freely roam through tall grass.
Finally, Monnix also has many shopping plazas, nouveau specialty shops, and malls. Whatever you're looking to purchase can probably be found here, and if it can't, you can find someone willing to import it for you.
Thinbrook is largely composed of middle-income housing, and the various sights that the people who live there want to go see. Plenty of museums - based around science, or teaching children, or accessible public art - are located here. There are also playhouses, movie theatres, and outdoor amphitheatres, including one along the water.
Thinbrook is also, classicly, the home of the press in New Valkenburg. The New Valkenburg Hyper Voice is headquartered here, as are the local TV and radio stations.
If Zaanstad is where people go to get their hands on high-end food from other cultures, The Horn is where the people who cook that food live. Humans, Hybrids, and card-carrying Pokemon all live in the Horn; you could walk two blocks and hear five languages being spoken.
The Horn has a thriving nightclub and music scene, where the youth of New Valkenburg get to experience the latest in artistic stylings. Of particular note are those styles that spring from Pokemon-Human collaborations; currently, these fall under the genres of rap, R&B, jazz, and trance.
The Horn is also where New Valkenburg's main sports stadium is located. It hosts major football, baseball, and soccer events, as well as horse-races during the spring.
Technically a subsection of The Horn, Splicetown is unique for its population: The vast majority of people who live there are Hybrids. It's rare to find someone who is purely Human, or purely Pokemon, who isn't just shopping there or passing through.
Rather than a matter of law of social segregation, this enclave exists primarily to satisfy its occupants' unique needs. Only in Splicetown could you purchase a scratching-post meant for human-sized hands, or find a stall where the proprietor can intelligently speak about the tastes and mouthfeel of wood. The Pokemon Center in Splicetown is considered one of the finest for hundreds of miles, too, in the art of caring for Hybrids.
Harlan Island is a place of many souls: Along one side is the Boardwalk, a place of neon lights and flashing bulbs, dominated by carnival rides and arcades. At one tip, a historical re-enactment village, depicting life as the region's original settlers found it hundreds of years ago, when the town was a Kalos mercantile port. Both places seek to entertainment the visitor, and perhaps part him from his cash.
The island's other soul is wild and free; about 62% of Harlan Island's surface area is a natural preserve for wild Pokemon. Trainers are occasionally let in to capture or study the Pokemon therein, but the general public is kept out as a rule. The exception is the fishing spot: an interconnected series of wooden docks where Trainers and the general public alike can come and fish.
Harlan Island also, technically, contains several smaller islands in an archipelago, including the Statue of Philia, representing the bond between man and Pokemon. It shows a human Trainer, with a Pokeball held high in his right hand, and a Potion held low in his left, with his back to a Gardevoir, who similarly has her right hand raised in using the move Flash, and her left hand ready with a Wish.
Outside of New Valkenburg are numerous other small townships, and further out than that, open farmland and forests. To residents of New Valkenburg proper, this is known as "the country". Rich folks will live that far out, to get the most space possible for palatial estates, or to get away from the perceived crime and filth of the city. Since New Valkenburg's subway system doesn't get out that far, it's nearly required that anyone who wants to travel from the country to the city either own a motor vehicle, or have a Pokemon capable of Flying the distance.
See also: Television in New Valkenburg
Unlike the faraway regions of Kanto, Johto, et al, Trainer licensure is not necessarily an expected event in a person's life. New Valkenburg has strict standards for who can become a Trainer, in large part due to the city's growing non-human population.
Pokeballs are harder to own. Again, not everyone is certified as a Trainer - while the average citizen might have one or two Pokemon as pets, and those Pokemon might have Pokeballs, they aren't allowed to purchase Pokeballs or challenge Gyms without a License. Pokemarts will check Trainers for Licenses before selling them Pokeballs of any stripe. You can also go to a Pokemon Center and ask for a Pokeball, which will then be applied, by either the Pokemon itself or its human caretaker, under careful circumstances, after an interview with both caretaker and Pokemon.
Becoming a licensed Trainer takes far more effort than in other regions. There's a test involved! This testing is far more rigorous than that of other regions, and comes in three parts: Written, Oral, and Demonstrative.
The Written section is a test of knowledge. Pokemon type match-ups, proper first aid technique, surviving in less-hospitable habitats, and dealing with ethical quandaries are all tested.
The Oral section involves a prospective Trainer interacting with a Pokemon. These Pokemon are specially coached and selected to be a challenge for Trainers to communicate with. The Trainer is given free rein to interact with the Pokemon (barring dangerous activity), and he or she is observed by qualified proctors, who analyze the interaction for psychological or sociological problems that might occur.
Finally, the practical exam is simply a Pokemon battle, again with a qualified proctor. Both the proctor and the applicant are given a specific, hand-selected team, to provide a fair matchup that the applicant can win. The applicant must show quick thinking, sound strategy, and battling acumen to succeed. The battle is not necessarily pass/fail; it is again analyzed by other proctors to determine if the performance was sound enough.
Due to the prevalence of card-carrying Pokemon in New Valkenburg, it's generally considered rude to throw Pokeballs at wild Pokemon without having some kind of reason to suspect they're truly wild. Bonking a Pokemon on the head while it's just trying to take in its dry cleaning is generally not appreciated, though some Pokemon will shrug it off more easily than others.
However, out in the wild, or in designated Pokemon Preserves, it is expected that Trainers will be throwing Pokeballs with abandon. It's recommended that card-carrying Pokemon wear bright orange, reflective-striped vests or other clothing if they're in the area. If a Trainer hits a card-carrying Pokemon here, and that Pokemon is not wearing a reflective vest, then it's the Pokemon, not the Trainer, that is considered rude.
"Near-Future."
Pokeballs are regulated for societal reasons, but the technology is common; TMs, Potions, and similar items are widely available, if with limited selection.
Cell phones are small and powerful, and are often fitted to glasses, earrings, or other adornments, though these are both ostentatious and expensive. Computers are beginning to enter into the realm of true AI, though these are similarly rare, generally only found in universities or in the basements of geniuses.
Move Tutors will often set up shop and sell their services to whomever walks in their door. Many of these live in or near Splicetown, either because they themselves are part-Pokemon, or because of the increased range of clientele.
Bio-engineering is a burgeoning field of study, and the Nurse Jenny / Officer Joy program is its most public and most successful initiative. Jenny and Joy mingle with humans and Pokemon alike with equal ease, and their traits have been perfectly chosen for their designated fields.
Although they look human, Jenny and Joy are more a perfect blending of Human and Pokemon genetics; human phenotype and intelligence, with Pokemon-level variation, endurance, and Moves. The two species consider themselves neither human, Pokemon, nor hybrid, but just 'themselves' - though they maintain good relations with all parties, having been designed for a congenial affect.
Of course, some small percentage of Jenny and Joy rebel against this; it's to be expected, though never truly appreciated. The few Jenny and Joy who rebel against their chosen fields are typically released into private life with a "good luck" and little other support, except from those other Jenny and Joy they remain in contact with from their old lives.
Supernatural phenomena are acknowledges, but rare. Most people may never see a human with psychokinetic powers in their lives, but their existence is considered relatively unremarkable next to Hybrids - it's hard to tell a 'pure human' with psychic powers, from one whose great-great grandfather was a Kadabra.
Legendary Pokemon are rare but generally not considered divine. The exception is Graukei, the only Pokemon known to be truly native to the far-off region of Tohoku; those who follow the Night Mother consider Graukei to be divine in nature, or at least powerful symbols of good fortune and protection.
Though not technically regulated, the sale of legendary Pokemon is frowned upon, unless the recipient has enough Badges to prove their capability as a Trainer. Trainers who sell overly powerful Pokemon to other Trainers too inexperienced to properly care for and command them may face negligence charges.
New Valkenburg is such a large city, that it has its own self-contained Pokemon League, complete with eight Gyms (see below).
In the New Valkenburg Pokemon League (NVPL), the Gym Leaders are not actually part of the civilian government, but are respected advisors to the Mayor and other officials. They also act as community leaders and organizers, providing good examples to children and setting up charity events for people to contribute to.
However, the NVPL does not have a typical Elite Four, though they do have a Champion. Every year, Trainers with all 8 Badges from the NVPL are invited to participate in a large tournament. The playing field must be narrowed down from the hundreds of Trainers who attend to a more manageable bracket, who then winnow themselves to a single Champion, who serves for one year. The Champion is expected to participate in charity events throughout the year, and is also offered numerous lucrative endorsement deals and television appearances. Those Trainers who place highly in this tournament, but not at the top, are more akin to other regions' Elite Four - they often sell their services as coaches or Trainers, to help others prepare for the next year's tournament... if they aren't going to try again themselves.
New Valkenburg is a large enough, populous enough city, that it has its own Pokemon League, complete with eight Gyms. Unlike the Gyms in other Regions, New Valkenburg's Gyms focus on forms of art, rather than on Types. As such, their challenges often incorporate elements of both Battles, Contests, and more typical tests involving their chosen art form.
Any Trainer can challenge any Gym; there is no prescribed order (though various websites, guides, and veteran Trainers will have their own recommendations). The Gym Leaders are responsible for making sure their challenges are of just the right difficulty - not too hard, not too easy - for any Trainer that comes their way; often, they do this by having different teams of Pokemon at different power levels, so that a new, badgeless Trainer will go up against a younger, less experienced team.
However, a Trainer can only challenge a Gym once a week - following any Challenge, win or lose, the Trainer is barred from challenging any Gyms in the NVPL until "six midnights have passed." This is an old law - over a hundred years old! - that was put in place when overzealous Trainers pushed themselves and their Pokemon to the breaking point in pursuit of glory and record times.
Each Gym has a number of Trainers in it, who are subservient to the Gym Leader; these are generally called Apprentices, even if they aren't in line to become Gym Leaders themselves. They can carry out Gym challenges in his or her absence, but typically perform most of the public duties of the Gym - charity work, organizing events, teaching classes, and helping to teach the up-and-coming Trainers their craft. In a pinch, the Gym Leader can mobilize these Trainers as a kind of small army unit, to respond to natural disasters or significant criminal events.
This Gym focuses on weaponry, swordplay, and martial arts. Probably the most 'typical' of Gyms, for those used to the Leagues of other Regions. When they battle, they tend to use Fighting and Steel-Type Pokemon, but any Pokemon, Hybrid, or Human that can throw a punch or a kick is welcome here.
Its Gym Leader is a card-carrying Lucario, who specializes in using her Honedge as weapons.
Focusing on digital art forms and video games, earning the Bit Badge can put Trainers through challenges straight out of video games... Or, it may give them a logic puzzle that can be solved with programming. It's always a flashy experience, though. When they battle, they tend to use Electric-type Pokemon, but anything with "game-y" effects can be found here as well - particularly randomized attacks and items, such as Delibird's Present.
The Gym Leader for the Bit Badge is a card-carrying Porygon-Z inhabiting an android body. While not emotionless, it is often calm and bemused at human behavior, and enjoys playing video games with them, both in its android body and directly wired into the game. On occasion, it gets into a fit of manic energy, creating reams of code - or epic practical jokes and pranks.
The Harmony Badge is focused on both dance and music, and combining the two into a stellar performance, both on and off the battlefield. Pokemon that learn Dance Moves, such as Lilligant, are common here, as are musically-inclined Moves, such as Sing and Grasswhistle.
Its Gym Leader is a Lilligant hybrid of South American descent. Not only a skilled dancer and dance teacher, she is also a skilled practitioner of capoeira martial arts.
The Curtain Badge is built around visual arts: television, theatre, painting and sculpting, to name a few. This makes battling this Gym wildly unpredictable, as Smeargle are common, but their Movelists are anything but. While not typically quite as flashy as the Bit Badge's Gym, you shouldn't be too surprised to see a Pokemon use a show-stopping Move like Explosion here.
The Gym Leader here is a human woman who dresses like a Dustox. A former soap opera star who then transitioned to broadway, she keeps a finger on the pulse of popular culture in New Valkenburg.
Curiously enough, the Harmony Badge and the Curtain Badge share a history - they were once part of the Abstract Badge's Gym, which was founded back in the 1920's by Dadaists. The Gym was split into two in the 1980's due to incomprehensibility and changing popular culture, which is also when the Bit Badge was commissioned.
The Knowledge Badge is based around sciences, both hard and soft. Their Trainers focus on educating the public, in fields as diverse as geology, astronomy, psychology, and early-childhood education. In battle, they tend to use lots of TM and Tutor Moves, to show the power a proper education can bring.
The Knowledge Badge's Gym Leader is a card-carrying Whimsicott, who teaches meteorology, aerodynamics, and fluid physics. She particularly enjoys teaching children the foundations of these sciences, using her own ability to float about on the wind as a demonstration.
The Rose Badge's Gym is focused on romance and love, in all its forms - spiritual (agape), sexual (eros), friendship (philia), and familial (storge). They assist the public by giving relationship advice and counseling, helping resolve disputes, and raising awareness of domestic violence. In battle, they tend to use Moves that work off of a Trainer's bond with their Pokemon, or that create bonds between Pokemon in battle, such as Attract.
The Gym Leader of the Rose Badge is a handsome young human male. Kind and soft-spoken, he leaves a trail of swooning girls in his wake, through no fault of his own.
The Word Badge focused on the written word, and the beauty of language. They help Pokemon and Humans learn other languages, holding weekly classes that are open to all. They also help schools teach classic works of literature, and those that battle them may find themselves in a scenario from a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearean comedy.
The Word Badge's Gym Leader is a male human literature professor. Having quickly realized that students learn better through doing than being told, he tries to teach important aspects of literary works through his Gym challenges.
Only in New Valkenburg would cooking be considered a form of art, but this Gym helps prove that it deserves that recognition. They work to bring cultures together at the dinner table, and encourage understanding and education in the kitchen. In battle, they often use Berries, Leftovers, and the Pokemon that can further appreciate these treats, like Munchlax.
The Gym Leader for the Kitchen Badge is a male Bisharp Hybrid. He uses his cutting prowess to great effect in the kitchen, giving foods an incredible texture - even cutting grooves into meats and vegetables to maximize flavor absorption. He takes food - and pretty much only food - very seriously.
The newspaper of record for New Valkenburg, the Hyper Voice keeps tabs on all the city's happenings. You can see its daily headline here, as well as the day's coupons.
The paper will keep track of the game's real in-game date, events, and weather, among other things.
You are a newly-minted Pokemon Trainer, having just received your license through the typical New Valkenburg program, as described above.
However, during your test, something caught someone's eye. Perhaps it was a particular way you succeeded at something, or a way you failed at something. But your results were more than just pass/fail, they were interesting.
As a result, the town's resident Pokemon Professor has called on you. He's asked that you meet him at his laboratory, to receive your first Pokemon, a Pokedex, and a mission from him. The game will begin with you all at the subway station, making your way to his Lab, on a sleepy Sunday morning.
Greetings, Trainer! Welcome to the world of Pokemon.
I am Prof. Kousa Dogwood, and I study the interactions of Pokemon and Humans. As you can imagine, I have a lot of great material to study here in New Valkenburg! This city is full of Humans and Pokemon interacting, be it as friends, family, or a Pokemon and his Trainer.
One consequence of all those interactions is, of course, change. By living, working, playing, and training together, Humans and Pokemon change one another, in ways mental, physical, and perhaps something more. I find this fascinating, and I've begun a new project to study these changes. Of course, I must have some data to work with!
That is where you come in. Your job is twofold: First, I would like to study the interactions you have with your Pokemon as you begin your life as a Trainer. Second, I would like you to go out into this great city, and observe other Humans and Pokemon interacting with one another, as well as with yourselves - and to see what effect these might have on those individuals.
This project will last for six months. Should you agree, and should your research prove useful (as I trust it shall), I will be sure to include you as contributors in the book I plan to publish on the subject. Of course, you will receive other rewards. For one, a weekly stipend from me; for another, I have specially-bred Pokemon waiting for enterprising young Trainers such as yourself. Based on the results of your Trainer License test, I have already selected a Pokemon that I believe will be appropriate, useful, and generally "good" for you.
If you agree, please come to my Lab, on ((date X)) at ((time Y)). I recommend taking the N-train, it should deposit you only half a block from my Lab. Once you've arrived, I will give you your Pokedexes - tools you can use to take notes, recordings, and scans of subjects - as well as your first stipend, and your new Pokemon.
Yours,
Kousa Dogwood,
Ph.D., Pokemon Studies
Again, we'll be using PTU 1.04k.
This is primarily because our community is using it for other campaigns.
Trainers begin at Lv. 1, with 0 TXP. They have 3,000 P$ in starting funds. Pretty much all Core Rulebook items are available for purchase, and all mundane Core Rulebook classes are available as well. Supernatural classes from the Core Rulebook are also available, but please notify the GM so they can help you work your supernatural affinity into the world more seamlessly. Classes from The Blessed and The Damned, Game of Throhs, and Do Porygons Dream Of Mareep are also available, but speak to the GM at some point - he'll want to find fun things for folks with those classes to do, and see about how they fit into the world. (This is doubly true for TB&TG!)
As part of your character creation, please incorporate the way in which your license test was "interesting", unique and different from the typical. This is the reason the Professor has sent for you.
Please also include a five-digit Trainer ID. Though not strictly required, it does allow you to claim prizes from the daily lottery, as displayed in the Hyper Voice.
Trainers do NOT begin with a Pokemon. Rather, Trainers will receive a Pokemon during their first few sessions.
However, this does not mean that you have no input on what Pokemon you will receive at the outset. Rather than allowing you to choose a species, nature, and all that, you will instead be allowed to choose a single variable, from the list below, that you may then specify for your Pokemon.
Type
Body Shape
Highest Stat (HP, Attack, Defense, etc.)
Access to a particular Move (within reason - Move must not be overly uncommon. Consult with the GM.)
Access to a particular Move Type
Nature
Coloration (not Shiny)
Background (w/ Skill ups/downs)
NOTE: You may not choose Species.
The remaining variables will be determined by the GM, based on random dice rolls, whims, and whatever seems like a good idea at the time.
...However, the Pokemon will be coming in at about roughly Lv. 5 or so, if you'd like to know.
Trainer Classes
Talk to me about homebrew! I may allow it.
Talk to me about Supernatural classes! I will probably allow it, but I'll want to help work it into the game.
Fakemon
Graukei
More to come, most likely!
While I can tailor the game to the individuals who enter it, based on their survey results, here're the overall results for all the questions:
It appears there's a strong push for a lighter, fluffier world - which is good, because that's what I like to play in, too! People also didn't seem to have too much of a problem with breeding shenanigans. Sexuality, hybrids, and alternative creatures started to fall away a bit. While I'm sure this is a section that will be heavily tailored to the people I run the game for, there didn't seem to be any overall winners or losers here.
There were definitely some clear winners and losers here. World exploration and PC / NPC roleplaying are clear frontrunners, so chances are a lot of the game is going to be walking around, talking to people, and just seeing what's going on.
So, despite the typo in the question, this one also managed to get some clear winners and losers. People had a strong affinity for rival trainers, with criminal teams, natural disasters, and mega-corporations coming in at a near-tie for second. No other foes came close!
This is out of ten respondents, so it's obvious that things like Type, Ability, and Color inheritance are interesting to folks for their starters. I'd say that only Move-Type, Egg Group, and Morphology really 'lost', and even then, it's only in a relative sense.
Here, the winners/losers were even less clear, though I daresay color inheritance came out to a surprising lead.
Another one with a clear winner, fitting into a nice bell curve: Having these events take about 2-3 weeks seems to be the plurality response.
This question really fit into a nice bell curve - every other session being plot seems to be the winner, but there's a strong voice for 1/4 sessions being either plot or non-plot. So while no one answer is the clear winner, there does seem to be a strong consensus that there should be some variance in the pacing.