The Islands are a new Region, having recently broken off from their oppressive colonial country. They've formed the barest government, and are looking to become an official Region recognized by the others of Pokemon Game fame - "Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh," with Unova and Kalos as friendly allies to that group. (Thought: Call it the Ransei League?)
To do this, they need to get a proper Pokemon League going. That includes getting an actual, recognized Gym Circuit up and running. Many towns in the region have a potential Gym, and some even have more than that; however, in the end, only eight can be named proper Gyms.
To that end, the players have been brought in, to serve as a kind of secret shopper. They're to journey through the region, challenge the Gyms, and then come back with recommendations for who should and should not be made real Gyms. They get to keep the Badges they earn from whichever Gyms make the cut, too, so they'll be in a prime position in a brand-new League, where many of the competitors are low on experience.
Each player comes in with at least one "ulterior motive". This could be something innocent, it could just be business, or it could be something sinister. It shouldn't be something that asks them to just leave the group behind, but it should help give them context to their actions, as well as additional adventures and rewards.
The region is new, so it also needs help building up its infrastructure. This means that many places won't have proper Pokemon Centers or Pokemarts. Cell phone and wifi coverage will be spotty at best outside of towns (so that the PC Network still works, but you can't just call for help any ol' time).
The region will also have a wide variety of other Trainers wandering around it. They'll probably group up and adventure off on their own, only occasionally crossing paths with the players.
The players will be somewhere in the middle of the pack - not the first group to set out, and not the last. This means they can deal with Trainers stronger than they, and also help mentor younger Trainers once they get some experience under their belts.
The region has a long history of being conquered by other nations. Besides its latest oppressors - a small, rich Region from far away with a large Navy - they've also been conquered, in part or in whole, by other civilizations in the past. This means you can find artifacts from groups such as Ransei, Almsbarrow, other local regions like Kanto or Johto, maybe even older civilizations like Rome or its equivalent.
The region is non-linear - that is, you start from some roughly-central point, and can island-hop as circumstances allow.
Each island is a distinct 'adventure location'. They're usually big enough to have:
A Town
Some other Point of Interest
A Route or Two (often inland, but could be reefs or shoals as well)
Maybe I'll only include the 'significant' islands on the map, hm? Smaller one-off islands can just happen to be around.
The islands vary in climate; temperate forests, jungles, icy mountains, whatever. Maybe there's a logic behind this.
"Pashmir" - should the leaving colonial region be called this? Or this region itself? Hrm. Whichever name this gets stuck to, a definite Indian flavor will follow.
How much variation do we want in our Pokemon?
Slight changes
Type Syncs
Hybrid 'mon
Full-on Fakemon
Anthro (aka half-human) Pokemon
This isn't an actual collection of rules yet; more a consideration of the things i might take from one ruleset or the other (PTU or AEB).
AEB:
Pokemon with Skills system? I may actually want to tone it down slightly, though - it does seem like people always have a handy skill at-hand. Hrm.
Items that level-up through EXP. It's a handy thing to throw around late-game, since it gives progression with a lessened power curve.
PTU:
I like the relative simplicity of it.
I kinda like the number of classes it had. While having a wide variety of classes has its charm, I do feel like AEB has simply gone overboard - and that a wealth of options can actually lead to a dearth of imaginative builds and flavor. I'd still work with people who had a unique concept, though.
I'd probably stick to Core PTU - no Blessed/Damned, no Porygons Dream, maybe Game of Throhs.
Unsure:
I may want to give a real comparison of the rules for things like grappling, et al.