idea Proactive-er protagonist?

[Chase]

The narrative thing about the player holding a grudge against Meteor blowing up the train station could make sense - but it would have to be after changing their motive from simply wanting to go on a Pokémon journey. Unlike the player, who gets access to Amethyst overseeing a somewhat inhumane interrogation involving a Torkoal, the protagonist doesn't know who bombed Grandview Station until Julia informs the player of Meteor's plan to blow up her Gym and is asked to come along. This already comes after the player has decided they are going to take on the League for other reasons - so the vendetta against Meteor seems to be a drop in the bucket.

 

I would LOVE to see the player act as a proactive protagonist. It's the main reason I've been watching this thread, because after a certain while, some of the narrative events feel like player intervention would be DUE, let alone cool to see.

 

• Overworld traps would be fair - particularly in antagonist domains if the player finds the things needed to set them via exploration. The first Aster/Eclipse fight is probably the first gut check in the game (unless you didn't pick up the Normal gem and the potion before picking a Pokémon, then Victoria has a chance of making you sweat.) and it would be cool to have a particular edge in the fight. Tampering with some of the machinery to turn the sprinkler system on, for example, would cause the rain effect in the factory, shutting down Magby and Solrock a bit and helping out Fern (you know, before we lose all desire to narrative-wise) in being a better partner.
• Overworld Quick Time Events - styled somewhat after games like 'Until Dawn' could be pretty neat. For example, you can deflect the blow Amaria would receive from Garchomp by sending out the first Pokémon in your party with a single keystroke to take the attack (resulting in a fainted Pokémon in your party, and an unharmed Amaria.)
• Opportunities for the player to persuade other characters and win verbal arguments with characters.
• Using Pokémon as our overworld tools ourselves (moving Meteor grunts/Orderlies/Cultists out of the way with a large Pokémon like Cain does.)

---

I have to say I am completely opposed to the notion the trainer needs to focus their attention on the opponent's Pokémon in any way. If you want to Pokémon battle, most of your items are covered by Pokémon learnsets already. The Trainer is a bridge between the overworld and the battle screen - and we already have TMs that get us places in the overworld. That should be the basis for allowing our protagonist to act - with our Pokémon partners - who function as our partners and are most effective weapons against the world around us - as our main go to. Sidearming should only be done when other humans are involved.

 

I do respect your wish to avoid making the Protagonist a murderer, and I agree that it doesn't have to go quite that far - but we can talk pain, coercion, and other methods of making our Protagonist not so much of a reactionary mute and more of an active member of the protagonist alliance.

[Dragoknight]

Wow.... that's one of the most interesting topics I've heard of when it comes to Pokemon. However, I can't say that I agree with your ideas, as Pokemon is a game about capturing powerful beasts that you befriend and train in order to overcome various challenges and "become the very best, like no one ever was." I feel relying on such uncouth methods in order to win simply goes against the very foundation that Pokemon is built on.

That being said, I do see the merit of items such as your bucket, being able to directly influence the field, much like the use of items to directly influence your pokemon's stats (which in my mind could be greatly improved upon) is a very resourceful and unique idea. As long as such items are kept in balance with the rest of the game (such as temporary effects that can also be taken advantage of by your opponent), I feel it could make an excellent addition to the future of Pokemon gaming.

 

Finally (and I'm just ranting at this point), in the theme of a more active protagonist, what if there were instances in which you were able to use some of these items (and in turn, your pokemon's moves) to directly affect the world and the story you experience? There are several instances in which your allies (mainly looking at you Titania, that Aegislash is pretty badass),  your enemies (Team Meteor), and even yourself in that one puzzle with the teleporting pokemon, were able to manipulate the world outside of a pokemon battle. What I am saying is, what if there were objects lying around (much like the trees, rocks, and boulders that require hm's) that can you can interact with and affect your story progress? These occurrences, whether you utilize them or not, could alter several key concepts of the story and would bring a more interesting and immersive feel as you progress.

Now I do understand some limitations need to be put in place (simply murdering everyone outright isn't very nice), but I always felt it would be cool to have my Blaziken bust a hole out of a cell, or  my Pidgeot swoop down to get something or someone. I'd prefer if such instances didn't require hm's (mainly because I'm not much of a fan of hm's in the first place), but they would occur very similarly and I think would be awesome to have in the future.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Dragoknight