Pokémon: The Gathering

Me and [member='karatekid770'] are going to make an insane Pokémon ROM Hack, which will completely blow you away! We're doing this for a school project, and we can work on it until the very end of the school year, so there's plenty of time to convert our great ideas into reality! I will use this thread to list the ideas we currently have planned for the game, so that you can all get excited for it! Later, once we start actually creating the ROM Hack itself, we will post screenshots and stuff here. Here's what we currently have in our minds:

• All regions (Kanto; Johto; Hoenn; Sinnoh; Unova) available in one game! (We can't put Kalos in because of the 3D difference)
• The regions will have some big changes, really separating them from the originals, with many new areas to discover!
• All 721 Pokémon available in-game! No trading required!
• A massive new plotline, in which all the evil organizations come together to form one ultimate team! Better and more intense as ever before!
• No more annoying HM's!
• New, epic secret bases, scattered throughout all the regions! They will be more awesome as you've ever seen them! Examples are: Sky Base, Oasis Base, Ice Cave Base, Volcano Base, Factory Base, SPACE BASE and many more!
• Mega Evolutions! (Not fully sure, as Mega Evolutions are a Gen VI feature)
• Better, more realistic NPC's, with cycling dialogue and more interesting quotes!
• A post-game too big to finish in your entire life!

That's all I could come up with from the back of my head, but expect the list to grow soon. I should note that, as unbelievable as it may sound, this ROM Hack is actually going to happen! It is not some kind of crazy idea that will never be executed, this will become a thing! Anyway, leave your opinions about these ideas in the comments below, as well as any other suggestions or ideas you'd like to see in the game.

Thank you all for your help!

 

You point out some very good aspects, which we already thought of earlier. The EXP thing was a big issue for us at first, but we think we have found a decent solution. It is quite difficult to explain, but allow me to try:

You start the game on a central island, from where you can access any of the other regions. At any point in the game, you can return to the main island and head for a different region. This adds a lot of freedom to the game, as you are free to decide where you want to go next. In order to avoid horribly overleveled Pokémon, we decided that, although you can switch regions at any time, your Pokémon can not.

So, for example, you played through the Johto region up to badge 6. However, you feel bored with the Johto region, and you would actually rather go to Unova. All you have to do is save your Pokémon on the Johto PC Box, and return to the main island. From here, you can access Unova, where you will start over with an empty team. Don't worry, your Johto Pokémon are still safe, but you can only get them back if you go to Johto. Once you've beaten the Champion in both Johto and Unova, you unlock a special transporting system, and you can now carry your Johto Pokémon over to Unova, and vice versa.

This mechanic, although not completely perfect yet, should solve the EXP problem. The issue about the HM's you mentioned is indeed an important factor as well. Now, you are absolutely right in that the HM's serve as a barrier to protect you from much more difficult areas. I can't promise that the HM mechanic will completely disappear from our ROM Hack, but I want to remove the annoyance of the mandatory unforgettable moves. Nobody likes that aspect of HM's, which is why I want to remove it.

Finally, the trading problem is not a huge deal. I'm not entirely sure how we will fix it, but it's more of a minor, easily solvable problem. I don't think we'll have much trouble with that.

Thank you for your feedback!

 

Do not fear! The Pokémon available in our ROM Hack will be mixed up a lot! Gen V Pokémon will appear in Kanto, Johto Pokémon will come to Hoenn, and Vulpix might very well be available in Sinnoh

 

We're not completely sure about that. One option would be that certain NPC's would offer these trades; however that means you could only obtain those Pokémon once, which I hope to avoid. Otherwise, like other ROM Hacks have done before, I could modify these Pokémon so that they evolve by other means. However, if possible, I'd prefer to leave the Pokémon as they are. The third option is that we make a special machine that serves as a trader. If you put a Graveler in it, the machine will activate and evolve it into Golem. Some Pokémon will only activate the machine while holding certain items. Of course, a few exceptions are inevitable (Karrablast/Shelmet trade), but we'll think of something for those Pokémon

 

The problem with Mega Evolution is that it only exists in Generation VI. There are a ton of pixelated sprite of Gen VI Pokémon out there, so that's not the issue. However, the animation for a Mega Evolution, as well as the entire mechanic of an in-battle transformation like that has to be programmed from scratch, which is more difficult as it sounds. I will absolutely try to put Mega Evolutions in the games, as it would be really cool to have, but I can't promise anything. Also, for now, I will not be adding any Fakemon or Fake Mega Evolutions. Maybe that's something for later.

 

This is right now the only major problem that I don't have a solution for. I haven't looked into it much, but I hope that there's a way we can avoid this problem. It is definitely one of the most important issues, and we will already encounter it right from the beginning. We'll be sure to keep this thread updated with the solutions we find!

 

True, but that would actually change the way how a Pokémon evolves. By using a machine that serves as a trading device, you don't change anything about the Pokémon, which I personally prefer