NewCharGuide
From Pca Central
Contents |
[edit] The Official PCA Character Guide
[edit] THINGS YOU CANNOT DO, EVER
Even with all the openness and creative freedom available in making a PCA character, there are still some things which are flat out Not Allowed. These things either don't fit with the theme or run in direct contradiction of it, or simply would not work with a player character without being highly disruptive. Consider the following things non-allowable, and non-negotiable.
- NO HYBRIDS. While it is allowable to alter a character's physical traits to an extent by way of "species influence" (see the Physical Appearances section below), taking the major parts of two (or more) completely separate kinds of Pokemon and combining them into a hybrid character that supposedly has all the types and movesets of the combined species is not permitted.
- NO FAN-CREATED POKEMON. Maybe that one you came up with is pretty awesome, but there's almost 500 species to choose from and introducing non-official Pokemon into the setting would just open up a whole hornets' nest in terms of trying to make sure they're not overpowered or just plain broken. This also includes "glitch" Pokemon, as they aren't official species and many don't even have a functioning moveset.
- NO HUMANS. AT ALL. This also includes Mystery Dungeon-style "I'm a human who was turned into a Pokemon mysteriously" types. Nobody really knows for sure if humans ever really existed in the PCA-verse, and frankly the world at large really doesn't care either. If anything, humans only exist as the silly rubber-suit monsters in cheesy old science fiction films.
- NO CHARACTERS OF INAPPROPRIATE AGE. For student characters, the general age range is 14-19 years old depending on what grade they are in. Teachers and other faculty characters are adults, age 21 at the minimum (usually older). A 25 year old junior or a 13 year old move teacher really doesn't make any sense at all.
- NO DELTA POKEMORPHS. This is a concept first introduced by the Pokemon collectible card game, which involves Pokemon that are a different type than their species normally is (like a Steel-type Pikachu, for example). Since this is essentially a hybrid of a non-physical nature, it's not allowed. The only way this could work in the PCA-verse would be to give a Delta another species moveset, and that essentially defeats the whole purpose of even choosing a specific species to begin with.
- NO SHADOW POKEMORPHS. First introduced in Pokemon Colosseum, Shadow Pokemon have had their emotions completely blocked out in an attempt to make them extremely efficient fighting machines. In the PCA setting Shadows are present, but their existence is shrouded in a lot of misunderstanding and rumor to the point that most consider them to be exaggerations, or even just unfounded myth. Since they have the potential to be extremely dangerous if not handled properly, no Shadow characters are being allowed.
[edit] Species
As of the time of this writing, there are currently no major restrictions on what species of Pokemon a student can be, with one exception: Pokemon species that have been revealed as part of a future game are not permitted until the game is actually released. This is mainly because until the species has a confirmed moveset, creating a battle academy student based on one is a bit pointless since there's no knowing what they can actually learn yet.
One thing that should be kept in mind however, is the "Nobody's Perfect Rule": These are students, not gods, not the pokemon from the movies, cards, games, or anime, just students. They should have no special powers above any other student or pokemorph. Something to remember in creating a legendary, well, any character for that matter, is to think of how they would interact with others, how their existance would impact the setting the other characters and players in it. (Written by Intruder, August 2009)
In other words, no one is considered to be any more or less important in this setting just because they happen to be a specific species of Pokemon. While a "legendary" species may attract a little more attention for the simple fact that they're not quite as widespread as other species, they're not automatically better than everyone else around them (individual opinions of the other students notwithstanding, of course). They'll have to prove themselves just like every other student at the school.
[edit] Gender
- Species which would normally be genderless in the games can be either male or female. No switching between the two though, it's either one or the other. Ditto characters are an exception, as the ability to use Transform makes it possible for them to take on the physical traits of either gender (externally, at least).
- Non-Ditto species that can somehow learn Transform, such as Smeargles, don't change gender when the move is used. It's still up in the air how exactly this move works on a Pokemon that isn't naturally a squishy malleable blob, but suffice it to say they wouldn't be able to produce an exact duplicate of whoever they're copying.
- Species which only have a single gender are limited to that gender. Even if it doesn't entirely make sense in some cases, this is an issue that has caused a lot of controversy in the past so we're staying with the official game canon. Not to mention certain cross-gender species like, say, a male Nidoqueen, would just be really confusing and silly.
- Hermaphrodites, while not forbidden, are strongly discouraged. Even though the PCA-verse is a fairly open minded place (it has to be with the massive amounts of diversity present), keep in mind that the majority of characters present are high school students, who would probably find such a thing to be rather creepy and gross. Ask yourself if you really want your character's life to be made extra-difficult by having to deal with this on a day-to-day basis.
[edit] Physical Appearances
Hybrids are not allowed in this setting, but characters are allowed to have a certain degree of what it referred to as "species influencing", which involves tweaking or slightly altering certain physical traits to resemble a different species. In this way not only can characters stand out more from others of the same species, but it can also be used to show off any kind of special family heritage they may have. With so many different species of Pokemon present in the world, it can easily be assumed the genetic borders might get a little blurry after a few generations.
The general rule of species influencing is "if the changes are entirely cosmetic and don't add or completely replace any body parts, it should be okay". For example, changing the shape of a Staraptor's wings or crest somewhat to resemble a Ho-Oh's would be acceptable. Attaching a pair of Ho-Oh wings to the back of a Riolu would not be allowed, regardless of how totally badass that would probably look. Making a Leafeon's forehead leaf angled and more pointy to resemble a Rapidash horn is fine, actually replacing it with a Rapidash horn is not. As long as the changes are just for looks and not too far out there, there most likely won't be an issue with it.
If you do plan on doing some species influencing though, be prepared to give a little explanation on why your character looks the way they do. Not only will it explain their unique appearance, but it also adds depth to their background and generally makes them more interesting to others.
There is less restriction where is comes to colorations, since these can be altered by a number of artificial or natural means. While most Pokemorphs are usually the normal or "shiny" colors of their species, there may also be albino versions present as well as those who dye or paint themselves to further change their colors or patterns. Of course there's no accounting for personal taste sometimes, so if a Lucario wants to dye their fur to resemble a Raichu then that's entirely their choosing (even if passers-by might be shooting them some strange looks every day).
[edit] Special Exceptions For Moves
With Pokemorphs having some distinct physical differences than their video game counterparts, certain rules have been bent a little to allow some more creative freedom regarding certain moves. These changes are meant only to follow certain lines of common sense and logic, or to give certain species with very limited movesets more options to keep them from being short-shafted.
- Thunder Fang, Ice Fang and Fire Fang may be swapped out with their respective ______ Punch counterparts if desired. It only makes sense that since the moves are functionally the same and since the majority of species who can learn these moves have arms and hands in this setting, they might want to make use of them rather than go around biting everyone. Of course this is entirely optional, if your character is the bitey type then that's their business.
- Beldums are also allowed to Thunder Punch and Ice Punch (which would be able to be learned by Metangs). In addition, Beldums may learn Bullet Punch without having to evolve to a Metang first. This falls into the "you have hands so use them" clause, as well as compensating for Beldum's extremely limited moveset.
- If a character has learned Hidden Power then it is entirely your choice what type it will be. However, once that type is decided it can't be changed.
- Since Pikachu that know the moves Fly and Surf are rather easily obtainable now, these moves aren't restricted. But in the interest of showing some restraint you should only choose one or the other, and think up a decent explanation for how they came to learn these moves.
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