P.E.D. DirectCast/Pokémon Obsidian & Amethyst Versions

Note: This page will include the actual DirectCast and a follow-up blog that was made to round up some more info on the subject matter.
=DirectCast=
So here I am with another DirectCast for you guys, in the middle of all these name change announcement blogs, this time over my newest Pokémon project - though it is a reboot of an older project under the name of my first ever Pokémon game, it's still got plenty of new content just the same. Some new, some old, which fits in perfectly with the main theme of the region the game is set in (old and new clashing in noticeable contrast).
With that said, let's get into the DirectCast spotlighting Pokémon Obsidian & Amethyst Versions, my Pokémon project rebooted.
==Regions==
So as with any new generation of Pokémon games, it takes place in a brand-new region, which some of you may be familiar with as Nexulia, the region where retrofitting is the name of the game; the old and the new are seen together in a sort of imperfect harmony, with the ruins of old Nexulia and the modern developments of new Nexulia often sitting right next to each other with the difference easily noticable. Towns and cities can vary between old, new or be a mixed bag of both.
Some of you might wonder what the geography of Nexulia is based off of; well, that's actually a funny story: originally what is Obsidian & Amethyst now (and Uprise and Downfall was originally) was originally was a crossover between Batman and Pokemon and as a result the region was based on a map of Gotham City; well, even though I rebooted the project under Uprise and Downfall and now Obsidian & Amethyst, I liked the geography of the map I used, so I ended up keeping that for the most part.
This is the one I used, and is what Nexulia looks like in the grand scheme of things; the journey starts on Founder's Island, then goes to Miagani and Bleake before heading south toward Heartal and Summit Islands then works its way through the mainland to the Pokémon League HQ (Arkham Island). I have yet to fill in all of the gaps in the region, so to speak, but when it's done it'll probably be the biggest region in the world of Pokémon.
And yet somehow that's not enough as after the Pokémon League is beaten, the player has the option to visit Alola! Granted, it's different and the only area that doesn't return from Gen 7 is Aether Paradise, which is closed off to the public for the time being; but there are plenty of areas to see in the island region, and plenty of brand-new locales available via... well, I'll get to that in the next fes sections.
==New Mechanics==
So as with any new Pokémon game, there's brand-new mechanics to go along with it:
*Pokémon System - The regional gadget for this iteration, the Pokémon System (Poké-System for future referrence) is an elaborate multi-part gadget with nanotransformatory capabilities, that is capable of being upgraded with several other parts and upgrades obtained later on in the game. The Poké-System is made up of 5 distinct pieces: a helmet with goggles/visor, a plug-in tablet, a backpack that acts as both a hard drive and storage for items, a wristwatch device of kinds and a set of safety padding for added protection. This is basically a merged version of all the past gadgets, carrying over all kinds of functions from past gadgets: Match Call (which doesn't interrupt the game this time like in Emerald and Gen 2 games and can even happen during battles without disrupting the flow of the game), Pokétch apps (which are available as a side function and function the same as in DPPt), DexNav, the Pokédex (which acts as it did in Gen 7) and many other functions that are obtained later on in the game.
*The Gauntlet - A source of power created in ancient times, the Gauntlet is a mysterious artifact; no-one knows how it was made, but it has both a Z-Stone (used in Z-Rings for triggering Z-Moves) and a Key Stone (used to trigger Mega Evolution). This baffles most scientists, since Z-Power and Infinity Energy commonly trigger an explosion when they are combined. Let's just say it'll produce a new twist on a classic method, when the Poké-System gets a new upgrade.
==The Ancient Guardians & Celestial Pokémon==
Perhaps the biggest plot elements are the two new categories of Pokémon that tie into the lore of Nexulia: the Ancient Guardians and the Celestial Pokémon, both of which are vital plot elements to Obsidian & Amethyst.
First up are the Ancient Guardians: basically, think of the Totem Pokémon from Gen 7 mixed with the Tapus and Ride Pokémon; they're 8 Totem-esque Pokémon (in that they're a larger, more powerful variant of regular species of native Pokémon) that, in ancient times, guarded the region from any potential threat, including Celestial Pokémon. By the time of Obsidian & Amethyst, they've been in stasis/hibernation for quite a long time; but when the threat of Team Quantum rises, the player will have to reawaken the Guardians, earn their trust and unite to stop the villainous team from releasing potentially dangerous Pokémon on the region. Luckily, upon awakening and earning the trust of a Guardian, you can use a new key item called the Guardian Summoner to call the Guardian to you, and they act as basically Ride Pokémon, clearing obstacles and acting as other familiar mechanics; a couple of fun facts about the Guardians: all 8 of them parallel the 8 "core" HMs (Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Flash, Rock Smash, Waterfall and Rock Climb) and the 8 Gyms of Nexulia are typed after each of them.
And then there are the Celestial Pokémon, Pokémon that are from space or rumored to be from space; these Pokémon are typically powerful, mysterious and capable of all kinds of moves. Team Quantum is hellbent on controlling these potentially powerful Pokémon and using them to take over Nexulia, but the problem with that: powerful Celestial Pokémon are nowhere to be found; see, in ancient times, when people tried to misuse the power of Celestial Pokémon to their advantage, the Guardians and their 8 human champions basically severed the link that let the more powerful Celestial Pokémon come to Earth from deep space, deactivating the only known link and hiding the key to it, for the hopes that a new champion will find a way to bring them back in a more peacful Nexulia. Now Team Quantum is looking for a way to bring them back, control them and take over the region; later on, however, you can catch many of the Celestial Pokémon after the link is restored.
Despite the fact that they're tied into the region's lore, since the Ancient Guardians and Celestial Pokémon can be considered common, they're not Legendary; this makes Nexulia probably the first region in Pokémon that doesn't have Legendary Pokémon in it. What are the mascot Pokémon for these games, then? Well, I don't have particular Pokémon lined up for the mascot role, but I will have a coupld later on. Maybe a Celestial Pokémon with two different evoultionary lines a la Wurmple? I dunno.
Well, that's about all the info I can give for this DirectCast; if you want more, stay tuned for updates to the article itself, which can be found here. Please comment if you have thoughts and check out the page if you have time; see you guys next DC and at the Fantendo Fanon Feature Showcase coming this Friday. Darth Phazon, signing out and I'll see you next spotlight!
=Follow-up=
Since they weren't all completed by the time I finished my DirectCast, I've decided to dedicate a blog to them on their own. Pokémon Obsidian & Amethyst Versions introduce a new class of Pokémon that also act as a brand-new function in the world of Pokémon - the Ancient Guardians of Nexulia, chosen protectors that guarded the region in the days of old alongside their chosen Champions, most notably from the unpredictable Celestial Pokémon who can either be playfully mischievous or unexpectedly violent and destructive. They were 8 psuedolegendary Pokémon that were larger than their usual variation (like Totem Pokémon), common for the time period, and capable of giving their Champions rides to handle tougher obstacles.
But at the root of it, what are the Guardians exactly?
===1: Ride Pokémon===
Y'know how Ride Pokémon function as basically more useful HMs? Well, Ancient Guardians are like that, but have more uses than just one compared to before; after you obtain the Mysterious Artifact and earn the trust of a Guardian for the first time, you can use the Artifact (renamed the Guardian Summoner afterward) to summon a Guardian to ride for a specific purpose; like HMs, Guardians are primarily situational, having uses depending on which one you have, and in fact Guardians parallel the HMs - hence why there's 8 of them.
Not only are Guardians used as basically HMs, they're useful in traversing enviroments that you normally wouldn't be able to get around in; some Guardians are closer to HMs than others, but stand out from HMs in their own ways enough to be different.
Take the Guardian Aelaterios, for example; despite it being a massive bug Pokémon, you can ride it - and it's capable of lighting up even the darkest dungeons (like the HM Flash; darkness is a legitimate obstacle in this, so it's pretty much required), briefly and rapidly flapping its wings to clear out any dust or ashes on potential secrets (in some dungeons or areas, it's required to find a specific staircases) and can coat the player in a type of spore that repels wild Pokemon briefly (which doesn't work in rainy weather, for obvious reasons, unlike Repels, and it has the same potency of standard Repels, so it has limits).
Guardians can be considered HMs in some regards, but there's some instances where Guardians act as an entirely new mode of transportation or a familiar mechanic seen in a previous game. The Guardian Tricondor, for example - it can fly from town-to-town quickly starting off, but after you obtain the X-Suit (a suit made for extreme enviroments, like high in the sky) you have the option to soar in the sky (like in ORAS) with Tricondor sometimes giving you Wing items after landing (from either method of flight).
These aren't the best examples of new mechanics, so I'll give probably the best example of all the guardians: Guardian Mountail. With Mountail being a giant whale Pokemon (basically what happens when an underwater mountain gets mixed with the blue whale), it being able to traverse the open sea is a no-brainer; but it's the only one that can handle the rough tides of the open seas, and once the player gets the X-Suit, they can dive beneath the waves with Mountail to explore the depths of the Nexulian Sea.
===2: Basically Legendaries===
Since in development I wanted Nexulia to lack Legendary Pokemon (to be different from other games on the wiki that undoubtedly use Legendaries at least once or twice) to give it something to stand out from other regions, I thought of many ways to circumvent the inclusion of Legendaries, including just outright not having them to making the Celestial Pokemon basically Legendary in everything but name; but I figured having no Legendaries would give the game no lore to develop it, so I circumvent it by basically mixing the Totems, Ride Pokemon and Island Guardians (all seen in Gen 7) together and tying them into the lore of the region and also using them as the backstory for the formation of the Nexulian Pokemon League.
What makes them basically the Legendary Pokemon of the region?
#Like I said, Ancient Guardians are part of the lore of Nexulia.
#Their pseudolegendary stats are formidable to face.
#They're typically very rare and hard to get in other methods (something Legendary Pokemon are known for).
#They faded into myth and obscurity in later years (much like Legendary Pokemon do in the games).
#And the player needs them on their side to stop the villain of the game (much like Gen 7's Legendary Pokemon, Solgaleo and Lunala).
Cap that all off with them having the hidden abilities of their species and that they have an aura when you eventually battle them (after a long journey to earn their admiration and respect, long story), and you have this generation's powerful equivalent of Legendary Pokemon.
===3: Story-Related===
By seeking out or awakening the Guardians in the player's travels, the story can progress in ways not seen before: having to either earn the trust of, help out or defend a guardian from something can result in them giving a Summoning Stone to the player (one for each guardian), allowing the specific Guardian to be ridden which allows the player access to areas not previously available.
The first guardian befriended in the story, for example, is Nexulian Kommo-o, who allows the player to traverse calm inland waters on its back, break rocks in the open water (after the X-Suit, so as to not suffer from potential shrapnel damage), and climb Waterfalls that aren't too bad. But since inland water isn't very common on the main islands (not seen until locations that are unavailable until after the 2nd badge), don't expect a whole lot of areas available when you befriend one.
===4: Usable in Alola, Too===
Just because the Guardians are Nexulia's protectors doesn't mean they abandon their Champion when he visits a new region; Guardians were taught to follow a Champion even to a region halfway around the world, so they can be ridden and used in Alola, too.
===5: They get "Upgraded" Later===
Now, all the potential uses of a Guardian aren't available right when they're unlocked, as the player can't do some feats that the Guardians can do, as the player is inequipped for the depths of the sea or safely shielded against shrapnel from large boulders, despite having riding gear. That's where the key item the X-Suit comes in: a Team_Quantum-developed suit that protects the character from extreme enviroments, like the deep sea, a volcano's crater or even potential shrapnel from large boulders. This unlocks new ways of exploration that weren't available before despite the Guardians having the ability from the beginning.
*Guardian Chimerarak can burrow into deep pits beneath darker sand, getting to caves that were beneath it.
*Guardian Tricondor can soar in the skies (like the Mega Latis), performing a powerful dash as well to help speed things up in the air.
*Guardian Mountail' can dive into the deeper and deepest seas of Nexulia and Alola, allowing for areas not seen before in most Pokemon games.
*Guardian Craggmasaura can now traverse volcanic and ultra-heated areas without the fear of the player overheating from the intense temperatures.
*Guardian Aelaterios can now emit a powerful light that unveils nearby Mega Stones or certain Z-Crystals.
*Guardian Saberang can now crash through walls of solid ice and progress through the harshest of blizzards.
*Guardian Nexulian Kommo-o can break sealocked boulders without the fear of the player getting hurt by resulting shrapnel.
*and Guardian Möratherium can donkey-kick obstacles, either breaking them or knocking them over.
The Guardians' natural fear of the safety of their rider prevents them from using some of their more powerful modes of transportation, which I feels offer a more personal aesthetic to what's basically another version of Ride Pokemon.
And with that said, that covers another aspect of Pokémon Obsidian & Amethyst Versions that I couldn't handle in a DirectCast at the time of its unveiling.
Category:P.E.D. DirectCasts