How to Play a Pokémon RPG (Pen and Paper)

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather your group of friends to play this game with.

   After all, you can’t play alone! Playing in a group will enhance your playing experience making the game interesting and fun.
   
   It’ll also ensure that no one plays the game dishonestly. , A Game Master is a kind of Supreme Authority in your game.
   
   He doesn’t play the game, but controls the game, handles data, takes fair decisions, create a world for the players to play in, and ensures that no one is being dishonest or cheating while playing the game.
   
   Give this role to someone who possesses the qualities of creativity, impartiality, honesty, loyalty and leadership., Digest the rules and get familiar to them.
   
   Don’t forget to apply them during the game!, Only do this is your are the GM.
   
   A good source is Bulbapedia.
   
   Watch Pokémon.
   
   Plan the game.
   
   Planning the game is important.
   
   Jot down the names of the trainers who are playing, their starter Pokémon, etc.
   
   Plan the stories that the trainers will undertake., Follow the map of travelling for that region., Indicate the following things.
   
   Name Money Pokeballs         Trainer TXP        Trainer AXP         Starter Pokémon ,, Roll two dices, add the values and multiplying it by
   10., Every trainer starts with 5 Pokeballs (they’re used for catching Pokémon)., Every trainer starts with 10 Trainer TXP (Total eXperience Points).
   
   TXP shows how strong the trainer is.
   
   More is the TXP, it means more trainer battles the trainer has fought., Each trainer also starts with 10 Trainer AXP (Available eXperience Points).
   
   They are used for buying special abilities for the trainer.
   
   NOTE:
   AXP CAN be spent, but TXP CAN’T be spent.
   
   Once earned, you can’t spend or decrease your TXP.
   
   However, you can increase it by winning more trainer battles.
   
   NOTE:
   Trainer TXP and AXP can only be earned by winning trainer battles and not just any battle, for example, a wild battle. , Choose on of the starters available in the generation you decided to play.
   
   If not all trainers get a starter Pokémon, the GM can give them a substitute starter Pokémon of that generation., In fact, whenever you catch a Pokémon, be sure to create a Pokémon Sheet for it.
   
   Write the following informations:         Species:          Nickname (if any):         Type:         Level:         Main Stats:
   Attack: (defines how much damage you deal to the opponent) Defence: (defines how much damage you’re able to defend) Speed: (defines how much you can dodge the attacks) Special: (defines how much damage your special move does to the opponent) ·         #*Other Stats:
   Pokémon TXP:
   Pokémon AXP:
   HP:          Moves:       _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ ,,,, For stats of any wild Pokémon, look at the section “Catching a Wild Pokémon”.
   
   You have to distribute 20 points between the 4 stats for your starter Pokémon.
   
   According to the Stats, the ‘Level’ of the Pokémon is decided.
   
   For example, if all Stats range from 1-6, then the Pokémon is ‘Level 1’. 7-12 = Level 2         13-18 = Level 3         19-24 = Level 4         25-30 = Level 5         31-35 = Level 6 , The Pokémon TXP and AXP is 10 in the beginning.
   
   It’s much like Trainer TXP and AXP, however your Pokémon can earn TXP and AXP by winning any kind of battle, be it a Gym Battle, or just a Wild Battle., The formulae for HP is (Attack + Defence) x
   5.
   
   The HP can't exceed
   350., Your Pokémon can buy moves with its Pokémon AXP.
   
   This will help it in becoming stronger., If the number rolled is even then you’ll encounter a wild Pokémon.
   
   If you encounter a Pokémon, the GM will decide which Pokémon you’ll encounter.
   
   Also, the GM will fight for the Pokémon., The Level of the wild Pokémon will the same as the Level of your first sent Pokémon., Roll the dice 4 times and according to it note the corresponding Stats.
   
   The Stats will range according to the Level.
   
   If the wild Pokémon is Level 1, the Stats will range from 1-6.
   
   Do the same for the remaining Main Stats.
   
   For HP, apply the same formulae, Attack + Defence x
   5., The Pokémon with higher Speed will move first.
   
   An exception is the move Quick Attack, the Pokémon using that move will always attack first, regardless of their Speed., Roll the dice 2 times and multiply their sum by your Attack or Special depending on the move.
   
   This is the power with which you’ll hit., Do the same as the attack.
   
   But instead of multiplying by your Attack multiply by your Speed to determine whether the move hits you or not.
   
   If your Speed is more than the Power, you successfully dodge the move.
   
   If the move hits you, do the same and multiply the sum by your Defence.
   
   Now subtract the Defence by the Power to calculate the Damage., Continue this system by attacking turn by turn until a Pokémon loses, i.e. its HP reduces to ‘0’ or less than ‘0’.
   
   Or, throw a Pokeball to catch it., To determine whether you’re affected or not, let both the players roll a dice, if the attacking player rolls more, then the defending player is affected, if the defending player rolls more, then he isn’t affected.
   
   Once affected, keep the particular Special Condition for a few turns, around 3-5 turns.
   
   If the player uses an item to remove that Special Condition remove it.
   
   Here is what to do in particular condition:          Poison:
   Subtract 5 HP each time the affected Pokémon attacks.         Burn:
   Subtract 5 HP each turn.         Paralyze:
   Both the players roll a dice each time you attack, if the affected Pokémon rolls more, the move will work normally, if not, it won’t be able to attack.         Frozen:
   Same as Paralyze.         Confused:
   Same as Paralyze, but if the affected Pokémon doesn’t rolls more, it’ll end up doing itself damage of 15 HP.         Asleep:
   Both the players roll a dice each turn, if the affected Pokémon rolls more, it’ll wake up.
   
   If not, he’ll keep sleeping. , After a defeating a wild Pokémon, each Pokémon which participated will earn 10 Pokémon TXP and AXP., Reducing its HP will make it easier for you to capture it., Try to use higher form of Pokeballs for capturing difficult or stronger Pokémon., The defending Pokémon will roll the dice = HP / 10 times., The player with the higher value wins.
   
   If the wild Pokémon wins, it’ll run away and a Pokeball will get wasted.
   
   If the player who threw the Pokeball wins, Congratulations! He recently caught a Pokémon!, Its Stats will be the same with which it was fighting.
   
   The Pokémon which you used to capture the wild, will also earn 5 Pokémon AXP and TXP., You can even battle with trainers of your group to master the technique of battling, learn different strategies of playing, earn money or help you and your Pokémon earn experience.
   
   The GM can even take the role of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) to battle with the players and help them become strong.
   
   NPC Trainers generally are found on routes.
   
   The GM will also take the role of Gym Leaders., Generally, Trainers use 4-5 and Gym Leaders use 2-3., If the Gym Challenger wins, he’ll receive the corresponding badge., And, each Pokémon which participated in the battle will also gain 5-35 Pokémon TXP and AXP.
   
   This GM will decide how much the TXP and AXP the Pokémon will gain.
   
   If the Pokémon lost, without defeating any Pokémon, it’ll earn only 5 TXP and AXP.
   
   If it defeated 1 or more than 1 and fainted, it’ll gain 20 TXP and AXP.
   
   If it did not faint until the end of the battle and defeated 1 or more Pokémon it’ll gain a massive 35 TXP and AXP! If it was alive and didn’t defeat any Pokémon, it’ll not earn any TXP or AXP.
   
   The GM will also reward the winning trainer with $30. , Battle all the wild Pokémon that you may encounter in between., All the stories and quests are created and run by the GM while the players participate in it and try to find the solution.
   
   It’s the GM’s choice whether he’ll develop a story for a city or not.
   
   But stories are highly recommended to make the game interesting and full of adventures., Get the official Gym Badge to participate in the Pokémon League at the end of your journey.
   
   As this is a trainer’s first priority., A GM can conduct Local tournaments, which are conducted in a city’s gym and all the trainers in that city can participate.
   
   The GM can develop his own rules for the tournament (which should be fair), can follow already made rules in the Pokémon Anime Series, and has to play the roles of NPC Trainers.
   
   In a Domestic tournament all the players playing the game (under a particular GM) can participate.
   
   There are no NPCs.
   
   The GM has to develop rules in such a way that each player should have battled all the players at least once.
   
   Conduct a Domestic tournament only if the game has more than 6 players. , You can increase any of the four Main Stats by 1 each day for an AXP cost of 1-6.
   
   Higher is the Level of Pokémon more is the cost of increasing a Main Stats by
   1.
   
   The AXP cost for increasing Main Stats is equal to the Level of the Pokémon.
   
   You can also increase up to 5 HP per day.
   
   The amount of AXP you pay, that much HP will increase.
   
   For example, if you pay 3 AXP to increase your HP, your HP will increase by
   3., The AXP cost of the move is the Level at which it learns the move.
   
   For this type of information, search Bulbapedia.
   
   For accuracy reducing moves, reduce the Attack and Special Attack.
   
   Also while using any move which reduces Main Stats by one stage, reduce the Stats by
   2.
   
   For any move that reduces sharply, reduce by
   4.
   
   With every stronger move the GM can increase its damage.
   
   For example, as a Pokémon learns stronger move, it’ll do +20 damage.
   
   Whatever the damage be, 20 will be added to it.
   
   If the damage is 30, in this case it’ll do 30 + 20 = 50 damage.
   
   The damage increased will be the Power in the games /
   2. , A Basic Pokémon will need at least 300 TXP to evolve into Stage
   1.
   
   And, a Stage 1 Pokémon will need at least 600 TXP to evolve into its max evolution.
   
   Remember TXP can’t be spent.
   
   So you don’t have to reduce your TXP after evolving., For example, Pikachu needs Thunderstone to evolve into Raichu., Remember, in some cases the GM may not allow.
   
   If the GM thinks that the Pokémon is not eligible or the trainer isn’t experienced enough to handle a powerful Pokémon, he can reject the request.          A Basic Pokémon's Main Stats can only go till 15, Stage 1’s can go till 25 and Stage 2’s can go till
   35.
   
   So to increase your Stats after your limit, you have to evolve your Pokémon. , What is basically happening? Why and How is it happening? Creating a plot first will help you go into sub-plots later.
   
   Be as much creative as you can., How the trainers will solve the problem? Try to create multiple solutions., They have to make different choices given by you during the story or quest.
   
   Narrate it in this manner:          Prologue:
   How everything was before the problem arrived…         Introduction:
   Introduce the players to the problem.         Body:
   Let the players find the problem.         Solution:
   Give the players hints on how to solve the problem and let them solve it.
   
   Let their actions make way for different endings.         Epilogue:
   How is everything after solving the problem? Basically, this is the end of the story. , When you have enough money to buy a particular item, go the PokeMart and buy it.
   
   PokeMarts are available in almost every city.
   
   Tell the GM before you buy any item.
   
   The price of the items depends on the GM.
   
   He can set it as much as he wants.
   
   But it should be reasonable.
   
   All the items in the Pokémon games are available with their corresponding effects. , The different types of balls with their Catch Rates are written below:          Pokeball:
   CR = 3, Price = $30 Great Ball:
   CR = 6, Price = $60 Ultra Ball:
   CR = 10, Price = $100 Master Ball:
   Captures the Pokémon instantly, Price = $1000 (you can buy only 2 Master Balls in your whole journey)
2. 2

   Step 2: Decide who will be the Game Master (GM).

3. 3

   Step 3: Understand the rules of the game.

4. 4

   Step 4: Gather information about Pokémon from everywhere.

5. 5

   Step 5: Choose the generation/region you’ll play in.

6. 6

   Step 6: Prepare your Trainer Sheet.

7. 7

   Step 7: Note down your full name.

8. 8

   Step 8: Decide the Money you’ll start.

9. 9

   Step 9: Pick some pokeballs.

10. 10

    Step 10: Gather some experience.

11. 11

    Step 11: Gather more experience.

12. 12

    Step 12: Choose a starter Pokémon.

13. 13

    Step 13: Prepare a Pokémon Sheet for your starter Pokémon.

14. 14

    Step 14: Note the species of the Pokémon.

15. 15

    Step 15: Give it a nickname if you want.

16. 16

    Step 16: Note its type.

17. 17

    Step 17: Decide your stats.

18. 18

    Step 18: Set the experience of your Pokémon.

19. 19

    Step 19: Calculate and note down the HP.

20. 20

    Step 20: Buy moves.

21. 21

    Step 21: Roll a 6-sided dice to determine whether you’ll encounter a wild Pokémon or not.

22. 22

    Step 22: Check the Level of the Pokémon you sent out to fight.

23. 23

    Step 23: Determine the Stats of the wild Pokémon.

24. 24

    Step 24: Check the Speed of both Pokémon.

25. 25

    Step 25: Attack the Pokémon.

26. 26

    Step 26: Defend you.

27. 27

    Step 27: Subtract the Damage from your HP.

28. 28

    Step 28: Apply a Special Condition (if any)

29. 29

    Step 29: such as Paralyze

30. 30

    Step 30: Poison

31. 31

    Step 31: Claim your reward.

32. 32

    Step 32: Fight the Pokémon and reduce its HP.

33. 33

    Step 33: Use an empty Pokeball.

34. 34

    Step 34: Roll the dice as many times equal to the Catch Rate of the Pokeball.

35. 35

    Step 35: Calculate the sum of all the values and compare.

36. 36

    Step 36: After capturing a Pokémon

37. 37

    Step 37: make its Pokémon Sheet as mentioned above.

38. 38

    Step 38: Find a Trainer/Gym Leader to fight with.

39. 39

    Step 39: Decide the number of Pokémon to use in the battle.

40. 40

    Step 40: Try to beat your opponent.

41. 41

    Step 41: For defeating every trainer

42. 42

    Step 42: you gain 30 Trainer TXP and AXP.

43. 43

    Step 43: Roll the dice 20 times to complete a route.

44. 44

    Step 44: Try to complete a story or a quest in a particular city.

45. 45

    Step 45: Try to defeat the Gym Leader in that city.

46. 46

    Step 46: Participate in the Local or Domestic Pokémon tournaments.

47. 47

    Step 47: Use the Pokémon AXP to increase Stats.

48. 48

    Step 48: Use Pokémon AXP to learn stronger moves.

49. 49

    Step 49: Check the amount of TXP you have.

50. 50

    Step 50: Check if the Pokémon needs any supplement.

51. 51

    Step 51: Take the permission of the GM and evolve it when your Pokémon is eligible for evolving.

52. 52

    Step 52: Create the main plot of the story or quest.

53. 53

    Step 53: Decide the solution of the story.

54. 54

    Step 54: Narrate the story to the players participating.

55. 55

    Step 55: Check the amount of money you have.

56. 56

    Step 56: Buy good balls to capture stronger Pokémon.

Detailed Guide

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