Welcome to Pokémon: the Role-Playing Game! This is a book about building your own story to bring your characters and Pokémon to life in ways you've never imagined before.
A Role-Playing Game is comparable to being an actor in a theatrical play.
Picture it like the way you used to play with toys when you were a kid. You picked one of your dolls or figurines and made them talk through you, imagining they went through all kinds of silly and exceptional adventures.
It's the same principle.
The only difference is that this game will provide some basic rules so everyone knows what's allowed in the game and what is not. Finally, there will be a Storyteller in charge of setting the game and guiding the adventure.
As the name implies, they are the narrator of the story. They will write an adventure, make the setting, and place the spotlight on the players.
They're responsible for bringing this world to life through narrative and will act as the non-Player Characters in the story such as citizens, villains, and Pokémon.
It's a common mistake to think that a Storyteller is a God-like entity over the story and the players are but powerless pawns. That's not true; their role is more like the director of a play.
They still have to make the events plausible, but their most important duty is to make sure that everyone is having a good time with the game.
Pokémon are to this world what animals are to ours. They are the flora and fauna of this world.
However, they are creatures with amazing powers based on distinct types of energy.
Some of them are pets and others are wild and dangerous, but you can capture all of them to aid you in your story. Their most prominent feature, along with their powers, is their capacity to grow and Evolve into more powerful creatures.
Before the game begins, you'll have to make a new Player Character.
If the Storyteller is like the director of the play, Players would be the actors that will interact with what's being narrated and helping move the story along. Making a Character is creating your avatar for the adventure within game.
Your Character may be any way you want: tall, strong, smart, noble, childish, eccentric, etc. The best part is that you won't be alone. You will have the help of your friends, your Pokémon, and even non-Player Characters as allies.
This book will provide you with rules for creating stories, situations, characters, Pokémon, and basic information about this world as a basis for creating your story and determining how it may unfold.
However, remember that you can complement the marvelous world of Pokémon, as you and your players feel appropriate.
The primary tool for this game is your imagination; with it, you will be able to truly make the impossible possible.
Fly across the skies! Jump from moving cars! Ride on top of a Dragonite! If you can see it in your mind, you can make it come true inside the game.
The second tool you've got are Character Sheets. Use them to record the capabilities of your Character and Pokémon companions.
The last tool you'll be using are Dice.
Common six-sided dice (d6) are all you need. Your Character's capabilities will decide your fate within the game, with a little luck from the dice.
The people living in this world are not so different from you and me. They have families and friends; they want peaceful lives, riches, love, excitement, etc.
But the existence of Pokémon changes how a lot of things are done here, leading to obvious differences between our world and theirs.
In this world, many people travel the Regions looking for adventures, mysteries, and for the chance to be the very best like no one ever was.
There are a few truly big cities, but little towns scatter the land throughout all Regions. Some aspects of their technology are very advanced, while others may seem outdated.
This game, however, is not just about the people and places. It's also about the relationship they have with Pokémon.
Think about the relationship you might have with a pet. Have you ever felt like your dog would protect you from anything? Like even if all was wrong, your Fido would stand by your side, together, in good and bad times?
That's the true spirit of this game.
A journey with your loyal dog, your clever cat and your air-headed little bird.
This section of the book guides new players through the setting of Pokémon, explaining what Pokémon are and how they interact with people in this world, the different Regions, and even the evil-doers that exist in this world.
If you're already acquainted with all of this information, the next section, System Explained in p. 22 describes the general game rules.
These creatures come in many shapes and sizes and have inhabited this world since its creation. Some of them have already gone extinct, while others have only recently been discovered.
At the very beginning, the most ancient monsters ruled this world by commanding the forces of nature. Humans and these creatures had to coexist, first in fear and then in bonds of loyalty and friendship.
People learned how to catch these creatures within a pocket-sized device, available to be called out for aid at any time.
This technology led to the current name of these creatures: "Pocket Monsters" or "Pokémon".
Pokémon have affinity for different energy Types that exist in this world.
18 Types of energy have been discovered to this day:
With the varied powers of these Types no farther than their pockets, many people enbark on marvelous aventures. Some even dare to try to catch them all!
On top of their amazing power to control energy Types, Pokémon can go through a sudden and dramatic metamorphosis to become bigger, gaster, and stronger. This phenomenon is called Evolution and can happen to most species of Pokémon.
This change triggers via a varietyof reasons, the most common being the Pokémon reaching a specific stage of growth. But contact with special energy, nurturing care, or even a dire situation may trigger the Evolution of Pokémon.
