Where
Bent Blade Island, a large volcanic island with lots of problems.
The island's populace is old, and the town is barely hanging on.
There are reports of Team Rocket cargo ships in the area.
The island's wild areas are rife with new species of Pokemon, violently attempting to adjust to an unfamiliar environment.
And just recently, the town's lone Officer Jenny was caught in a violent explosion, barely surviving.
The town's Gym is abandoned, and its Leader long since passed, with no one to carry on its traditions. Without that economic boon, the town had nothing to offer, and so tourism and industry dried up - leading the younger generation to move away.
Team Rocket has been using the island as a stop-over before bringing their smuggled weapons and equipment to the mainland.
Every so often, a few Pokemon sneak aboard the ship, or are taken aboard by the Rockets as a bit of side-business. Many of these Pokemon escape into the island's wilderness. Now, they are in conflict with the native species.
Officer Jenny discovered that the town's abandoned Gym was being used as a weapon storage depot by Team Rocket. While she was able to destroy most of the weapons (using Team Rocket's own explosives), the Gym was totaled - and the explosion nearly took Officer Jenny with it.
The players can help by routing out the smugglers, bringing peace to the island's Pokemon population, and by exploring it and discovering its secrets. Doing these things helps rebuild the Gym, which the players can then challenge.
OFFICER LIECHI JENNY (Policewoman): A dedicated police officer, but the island's only law enforcement. Normally, this isn't a problem - the island village is small and tourists are few, so her job mostly consists of picking up trash, settling disputes, or otherwise just keeping a cool head. When the smugglers came, though, she had to spring into action. She discovered that they were using the Gym as a storage site for their Pokeballs and other illicit goods, posing as construction workers. She stopped that part of the plan, but it ended up blowing the gym sky-high. She knows that didn't stop the smuggling plans dead, but she isn't in any state to do anything about it.
KENDO MASTER CAHAYA (Gym Leader): A young woman with bright orange hair. She came to the island to pursue her true dream, training in the place where great masters once stood. When she arrived, she found the dojo in shambles and its last owner long dead. She vowed to restore the dojo's glory, and then improve on it, but it's been a hard, slow slog to do so. And just when everything was going well, the dojo explodes... She turned down an invitation to the Battle Castle for this?
CAHAYA'S POKEMON - She only has three; a Sceptile, a Gallade, and a Haxorus. They're all well-trained, but older than the Kendo Master is. Right now, they're working on defending the town directly, afraid that the Smugglers will take the opportunity to try and sweep them into the sea. Haxorus was heavily injured in the gym explosion as well.
ROCKET BOSS YAGO - A ruthless businessman and war profiteer. For him, the island is conveniently located and relatively underpopulated - meaning he thinks he can run roughshod over everyone. he's trying to be stealthy, of course, but that seems to have already gone out the window with Officer Jenny's interference. It's also put him behind schedule...
ROCKET SUBCOMMANDER KUO - He's the one catching wild Pokemon overseas and bringing them over to sell, for 'a little action on the side'. He figured, if he releases enough wild Pokemon on this island, he can cut out the middleman, let them breed among themselves here, and sell them without having to make the sea-voyage to get new ones. Enjoys setting traps and luring his targets into places of weakness.
ESCAPED SMUGGLED POKEMON - An eclectic mix of Fakemon, those with high intelligence. Some Hallowmon, some of mine, some of hers maybe. Taken from many different small-scale operations and brought to the island to be sold and distributed to the many nearby regions, they were able to escape and band together in a kind of haphazard, makeshift society. However: their living situation is precarious (since they're currently living in the Ash Desert), their resources are short (the oasis they huddle around couldn't support half their number, long-term), and tension is high (Hallowmon live and govern differently from Shigon, for instance). They want to seek revenge on the Smugglers, but if their anger boils over, this may change to "all humans".
LIECHI JENNY'S POKEMON - A Feraligatr, and longtime companion of Officer Jenny. Loyal but prone to rage. Its Outrage attack is enormous, and is at least part of what caused the gym's explosion.
SHINAI MASTER APENTU - A wizened old master of shinai making, who regrets never having had an apprentice. He's gone into the woods to live out his golden years among the bamboo trees he's known his whole life.
HEALER MELATI - A woman with blue hair, and one of two young people left in town (the other being Touca). She serves as the town's healer, descended from the healers that served the town in generations past. Though her ancestors shirked modern medicines like Potions, she is pragmatic enough to use whatever she thinks will work best - though the island's supplies and situation mean that she doesn't necessarily have those medicines at-hand.
This is just a rough listing; I need to write each up as an adventure or mini-adventure, basically.
Excepting the Introduction, these adventures can be completed in any order. The players are free to pick up a given quest and follow it through, or try to complete several at once.
INTRODUCTION - Welcome to Bent Blade Island
This is just the introductory portion of the module, where the players arrive at the town and get the low-down. They have an opportunity to speak to the locals, to shop, hear some worldbuilding, and settle in.
ADVENTURE A - REGAIN THE GLORY OF THE GYM
Even before it exploded, the Bent Blade Gym was in disrepair. While Cahaya was working on repairing it, it was slow and arduous work, and now she's suffered a major setback. Helping to repair the Gym would put you in Cahaya's good graces, and she'd let you be first in line to challenge her - once everything else has settled down, of course.
(This is more of a crafting and skill-based adventure than anything else: obtaining materials from other parts of the island, and using them to repair the gym. It's also intended to progress while the players act on the other, more pressing adventures: they can pick up those supplies as they wander about, and can perform a few crafting tasks every time they bed down in the village (in lieu of usual downtime activities).)
ADVENTURE B - MENDA LOVIN' CARE
The Officer Jenny who protects the island, Liechi, was seriously injured when the Gym exploded. She's stable, but not getting any better. The town's healer, Kebia, is using Menda Berries to heal her, but Liechi's wounds are too severe, and her supplies are dwindling. She needs more Menda Berries - be they found in the wild, or grown by the players directly.
ADVENTURE C - THE BITE OF THE BLUE
Officer Liechi Jenny is accompanied in her duties by a lone Feraligatr, Sgt. Chompers. But when the explosion occurred, the good Sergeant was unable to stop his Trainer from getting hurt. With her bedridden, and there being nothing he can do to help, he's gone off into hiding - to contemplate his failures. Getting him back on the job would make the town feel just a little bit safer, and might put Liechi in a better state of mind, too.
(Adventures B and C should influence one another - completing one helps you complete the other.)
ADVENTURE D - PIRATE LAGOON
The weapon smugglers are still on the island, even though one of their main stockpiles have been destroyed. Their ship is being refueled and provisioned in the Lagoon that's tucked into the island. The Rockets plan to get back on their feet as soon as possible, going to fetch weapons to sell from their suppliers overseas as soon as possible. Destroying their ship would be a major blow to their operations - one that they might not be able to recover from quite so quickly.
ADVENTURE E - RESTOCKING SHINAI
The Bent Blade Gym is intended to focus on Kendo and swordplay, but lacks many of the accoutrements a proper dojo requires - first and foremost being shinai, a kind of flexible practice-sword. Master Apentu used to make all of the shinai for the island's people, but when the gym closed shop, so did he. He lives in the bamboo forest now, but nobody's seen him since the explosion. At the very least, someone should go make sure he's alright. Ideally, maybe he can get started making shinai for the Gym! And if you're really lucky, maybe you can buy some for yourself, too.
ADVENTURE G - HOT SPRING HOTFOOT
Even if the Gym opens up, the island's going to need more than that to recover from its economic doldrums. There's a hotspring up in the mountains that used to attract a few tourists, and maybe it could do so again. The path to the hotspring isn't a walk in the park, though, and hasn't been well-maintained since the Gym shut down. Clear the path, make sure it's safe for visitors, and maybe enjoy a relaxing soak once you get up there.
ADVENTURE X - OASIS VILLAGE
Of the Pokemon that've been released onto the island by the Rockets, some are more intelligent than others - intelligent enough to try and band together, and form a kind of makeshift society. These Pokemon have gathered around the Oasis in the middle of the Ashen Desert, hiding from both the native humans and the Rockets. However, the Oasis can only naturally support perhaps half the number of Pokemon that now live off of it, and the different species of Pokemon simply live and act differently enough that tensions among them are high. Some of their number wish to join the native humans... and some wish to drive all humans from the island, and claim it as their own territory. These Pokemon need both short-term aid, and long-term solutions.
(This only works if I have a number of INT 6+ Fakemon. The Hallowmon really are the best solution here. But, if need be, this adventure can be excised quite handily.)
The police officer who was injured needs care. Specifically, she needs special Menda Berries to recover faster.
The police officer's Pokemon are dejected and in hiding. They'd like to keep fighting, but they feel like they failed their Trainer.
The smugglers are still on the island, hiding out in the lagoon. They have a ship there, being repaired and restocked. The Jenny started it, but you should end it.
Some of the Pokemon the Smugglers were smuggling have gotten free. They're hiding in the Ashen Desert, and want nothing to do with any humans - but if they stay, they may not survive the harsh landscape, and trouble will arise between them and the town. Supplies would be good, and enable them to survive a little longer. Something sustainable would be better, and enable them to live permanently. But peace with the humans might be best - though they'll resist it.
The Gym was destroyed. It needs to be rebuilt, but they lack the materials for it. Chop down trees in the woods, plane them down, and get your hands dirty rebuilding the gym proper.
They'll also need new shinai made. An expert shinai-maker lives in the forest, but nobody's seen him since the explosion. Better make sure he's alright, and get him working again.
The Gym Leader says that a magical shinai resides in the ruins beyond the ashen desert. It'd be great to give it a place of honor in the Gym.
There's a Hot Spring up in the mountains. If people are going to go to the Gym, they'll need the place to relax - and the island's economy will need it as a destination, too. Clear the path of wild Pokemon and trees, to make it passable; clear the Hot Spring of the Smugglers using it as their own private spa.
Points of Interest!
Lagoon ------------------|
\ |
--------- Hot Spring Cliff Path --------- Ocean & Small Island?
| | Cave -/ |
Ruins Mountain Path -/ Forest
| | |
Acid-Ash Desert ------ Town ------ Forest Path
|
Docks
Current thinking: Canon Pokemon are the natives, while my Fakemon are the imports.
However, even the Canon Fakemon might have subtle differences (coloration).
Right now, just a list of my Fakemon, by environment I'd put them in.
Freshwater
Nommlin, Shigon https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1671989374
Ryooze, Ryoosh, Ryoom https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=14652650
Ocean
Helphin https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1432208476
Syroe, Naiaqua, Sirenade https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1482790584
Pyroxy https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=266847498
Forest
Budjay, Verdakeet, Midoraptor https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1337794032
Larfae, Crystalid, Kaleidofly https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=667437723
Katsunade https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1125912050
Farox, Arblizen, Arvulpa https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1659855369
Cave
Tiefee, Inferling, Succumbra https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=418942844
Imphire, Rovempire https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=834200527
Beezlegon, Lucivern https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1625638910
Mountain
Comblin, Warriork, Sorcerogre https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=244520415
Minigon, Brawligon, Combatigon https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=2001991790
Paramaga https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=309345564
Urban
Bandicoon, Wreckoon https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=283080807
Bansheek, Wenshreek https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=752721011
Desert
Sertep, Seraeus https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=1616289255
Patchypyre, Pyroderm, Infernephant https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1POZD3MszTbJSK2Ikya283QQYDULP6i53pLXmbQfXsys/edit#gid=307065066
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikura-jima - Mikura-jima serves as the original wellspring for this idea.
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Berry - Using Berries as the names of NPCs here. Because why not? Themes are fun.