Setting

Wish Upon A Star is set in an alternate universe to Pokemon, much closer to the real world. In this universe, Pokemon are a rare sight and analogous to cryptids or fairies with the exception that their existence is widely accepted as fact. Pokemon-related technologies such as Pokeballs and potions have not been invented, at least by human beings, and not much is known about them since they hold a deep distrust for humans and are capable of breaking out of most any human-made restraint.

Also there are magical girls.

### AU notes

* As in PMD, Pokemon rarely have names and refer to each other with species names.
* For movesets: any combination of moves and ability, as long as it is possible to obtain in the latest main series game, is legal (TMs are ok, egg moves are ok as long as there's a possible combination of parents that would result in them, hidden abilities are ok, etc).
* Moves work the way they do in the first of these things that they have appeared in: anime, mystery dungeon, main-series games. The exception is if they have appeared in the anime but involve switching out/otherwise interacting with Pokeballs (e.g. Whirlwind), in which case ask me or default to PMD rules.
* Berries exist and have the properties they do in-game, but are similarly rare; Pokemon can eat each other, animals, and real plants.
* The Legendaries form a celestial bureaucracy, which is to say to arrange a meeting with one will probably require you to fill in gigantic folders of paperwork and go through a thousand-year queue. Considering several members of the pantheon can manipulate time, this is probably more because they don't care about mortal affairs than any real scheduling issues. Diancie is one of the few exceptions to the rule, although she's famously paranoid and you'll probably still have to jump through a bunch of hoops.

## Hillside Heights

You are a high school student in the small town of Hillside Heights (population ~30,000), notable only for its incredibly inaccurate name - the elevation varies by maybe three metres at most and the nearest hill-like structure is a half-hour’s drive away. It's neighboured by several cities that are significantly larger and more important than itself. The school(and yes, it is called Hillside Heights High)'s town pride campaign assures you that there were hills here back when the town was named, but that's almost as hard to imagine as anything interesting ever happening here.

The existence of HH is, frankly, a bit of an embarrassment to most of its residents; there's a small but constant trickle of tourists passing through on their way to somewhere more important, wanting a cheap deal on a hotel, and the town tries everything to get these people to stay. Considering their limited funds, it's almost painful to watch. The entire city was planned with a sleek, minimalist theme in mind, full of right angles and identical rows of everything from flower boxes to apartment buildings, but it falls just short of interesting and goes into bland territory instead. Still, it's a nice enough town. The weather is mild, if a little chilly during the winters, and though it's undeniably boring, some people find enjoyment in that kind of tranquil peace.

### Important locations include:

* **Hillside Heights High** - the one and only high school in the area, “Triple H” as most people call it is a drab two-story building with identical classrooms only distinguishable from each other by the number on the door and the teachers’ liberal application of motivational posters to the walls. Window seats are highly prized and occasionally used as a currency between students.
* **The empty lots** - a series of building lots near the centre of town surrounded by fencing and KEEP OUT signs, supposedly reserved for an outlet mall that will attract many more visitors to the town once it’s built. The problem is, it’s been “coming soon” for as long as anyone can remember. It’s a popular hangout spot for less rule-abiding teenagers, to the silent disapproval of most responsible adults.
* **Library** - although the town library is well stocked, it’s more of a prowling ground for Mrs. Fitzgerald, the resident grumpy librarian, than a storage for books. There’s a cafe on the first floor for people who want to bury their faces in books or do research for school projects without being glared at for making the tiniest sound.
* **Hillside Park** - one of the town’s many attempts to present itself as a quirky tourist town, the park is a patch of greenery gently squished into an acre of land. There is an elaborate fountain set in a stone-paved square at the centre.
* **Pleasant Cliff Hotel** - perhaps the only place in town with a less accurate name than the town itself, the hotel is yet another tall rectangular building in HH's entirely uninteresting skyline. It actually sees quite a bit of business due to being much cheaper than its competitors in nearby cities.

### Minor locations:

* **The Ring Octopus** - the only seafood restaurant in the town. Its specialty are onion rings, and the mascot is a blue-ringed octopus, featured in its neon blue sign. Its well known for its ridiculous local commercial where an overenthusiastic teenager in the mascot costume dances to some acoustic music. Frequented so much by Lady Pawdiva there are official rules regarding her.
* **Hillside Pawadise** - the local animal shelter, a non-profit organization that runs mainly on donations and volunteer work. A large, simple one-story building with a C shape, with the front entrance on the right, the rest being employee-only. The front entrance leads to the lobby, and on the right wall there's a huge pin-board with various animal-related notices and services. Due to the fact that some pets like to roam around the town unsupervised, there's a section of the board specifically to show their photos so they don't get mistaken as strays (most of it dominated by the Lyel cats). Staff includes the director, the manager and three veterinarians (one is also in charge of the volunteer coordination, and another of the preparations for adoption an the adoption itself).