Castellia- A Fantasy Setting (Donphan! Celebi! Misdreavus!)

[Jabroniville]

Art by Tacimur & Blacknirrow.

GROVYLE
Role: Tree-Climbing Giant Lizard
PL 8 (95)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 8 (+12)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 11 (+7)
Perception 5 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 2, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [3]
"Natural Weapons (Bite & Tail)" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) [3]
"Thick Skin" Protection 2 [2]
Movement 4 (Wall-Crawling 2, Sure-Footed, Environmental Adaptation- Arboreal) [8]
"Arboreal Predator" Enhanced Skills 6: Stealth +6 (+11) (Flaws: Limited to While Arboreal) [2]

"Elemental Creature"
"Vine Whip" Blast 5 (Feats: Accurate 4) (14) -- [15]

• AE: "Mega Drain" Weaken Strength 6 Linked to Healing 6 (Flaws: Limited to Self, Limited to Amount of Health Drained) (9)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Natural Weapons +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Mega Drain +10 (+6 Weaken, DC 16)
Vine Whip +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +7, Will +6

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Lizards cannot speak to humans, nor use their claws to easily manipulate objects.
Weakness (Cold-Blooded)- Reptiles are cold-blooded- that is, their bodies are the same temperature as the air around them. As such, they are slow & sluggish in cold temperatures, and will die quickly if left in winter-like conditions. They must warm up before they are any good.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 14 (95)

-Among the more powerful predators of Castellia's forests are the Grovyles- as large as Komodo Dragons yet capable of climbing trees and clinging to walls as well as much tinier lizards. This is because they are imbued with magic, which becomes clear as they age and their limbs start to sprout large leaves. With elemental power, they can whiplash out at great length, making them excellent predators. Like most reptiles, they tend to be slow-moving and eager to rest, but will lash out at blinding speed with vine whips coming from beneath their leaves. Their preferred prey is large herbivores, but anyone invading forests should beware- they are not territorial and will only attack if hungry or provoked, but they are more than a match for most solitary adventurers. Their power makes them quite popular guardian animals for Wood Elves and Faeries- though largely impossible to tame, they can be relatively docile if kept happy and well-fed, and can be directed at adversaries by those who can communicate with animals magically.

-Grovyles begin life as tiny gecko-like creatures born in clutches of around a dozen eggs, quickly growing to the size of a housecat. After a few years they reach the size of a grown man, then grow even larger- most adults are over 500 lbs. That such a large predator can hide in the treetops is very unusual, and what makes them so dangerous.

Jab's Notes: The Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile line fills out the remaining Starters in Generation III (Ruby/Sapphire), and I feel this one is perhaps the least original and stand-outish. It just looks like another bipedal lizard but with some leaves attached to it. Grovyle & Sceptile are also barely different (like Ivysaur & Venusaur, who also share this problem). Trying to make it a bit different, I made it an arboreal predator with focus on accuracy over the powerful Venusaur and venom-related creatures. Ash kept his Treecko for a heck of a long time- it spent the most time as Grovyle, the middle evolution- 95 episodes!

[OwOMotaros]

Art by Tacimur & Blacknirrow.

GROVYLE
Role:[/b] Tree-Climbing Giant Lizard
PL 8 (95)

-Among the more powerful predators of Castellia's forests are the Grovyles- as large as Komodo Dragons yet capable of climbing trees and clinging to walls as well as much tinier lizards. This is because they are imbued with magic, which becomes clear as they age and their limbs start to sprout large leaves. With elemental power, they can whiplash out at great length, making them excellent predators. Like most reptiles, they tend to be slow-moving and eager to rest, but will lash out at blinding speed with vine whips coming from beneath their leaves. Their preferred prey is large herbivores, but anyone invading forests should beware- they are not territorial and will only attack if hungry or provoked, but they are more than a match for most solitary adventurers. Their power makes them quite popular guardian animals for Wood Elves and Faeries- though largely impossible to tame, they can be relatively docile if kept happy and well-fed, and can be directed at adversaries by those who can communicate with animals magically.

-Grovyles begin life as tiny gecko-like creatures born in clutches of around a dozen eggs, quickly growing to the size of a housecat. After a few years they reach the size of a grown man, then grow even larger- most adults are over 500 lbs. That such a large predator can hide in the treetops is very unusual, and what makes them so dangerous.

Jab's Notes: The Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile line fills out the remaining Starters in Generation III (Ruby/Sapphire), and I feel this one is perhaps the least original and stand-outish. It just looks like another bipedal lizard but with some leaves attached to it. Grovyle & Sceptile are also barely different (like Ivysaur & Venusaur, who also share this problem). Trying to make it a bit different, I made it an arboreal predator with focus on accuracy over the powerful Venusaur and venom-related creatures. Ash kept his Treecko for a heck of a long time- it spent the most time as Grovyle, the middle evolution- 95 episodes!

I guess I can sorta agree that the Sceptile line's kinda basic in terms of design. Still a cool design, and Treecko was cute enough for me to stick with a base form for the first time in a run. I like geckos, ok? I really like your setting's interpretation, but I'm a bit shocked you didn't include their formerly signature move, Leaf Blade.

[Jabroniville]

I guess I can sorta agree that the Sceptile line's kinda basic in terms of design. Still a cool design, and Treecko was cute enough for me to stick with a base form for the first time in a run. I like geckos, ok? I really like your setting's interpretation, but I'm a bit shocked you didn't include their formerly signature move, Leaf Blade.

Oh, I didn't know that was a signature move at all. As I think I stated before, I was a "Blaziken Main", lol. So I probably never saw a Leaf Blade in use at all!

[OwOMotaros]

I guess I can sorta agree that the Sceptile line's kinda basic in terms of design. Still a cool design, and Treecko was cute enough for me to stick with a base form for the first time in a run. I like geckos, ok? I really like your setting's interpretation, but I'm a bit shocked you didn't include their formerly signature move, Leaf Blade.

Oh, I didn't know that was a signature move at all. As I think I stated before, I was a "Blaziken Main", lol. So I probably never saw a Leaf Blade in use at all!

All three of the Gen III starters got signature moves (at least, they were when they were introduced). As said, Sceptile got Leaf Blade, Blaziken got the not-Rider-Kick-based Blaze Kick, and Swampert got Muddy Water, a variation of Surf with accuracy-lowering side effects.

[Jabroniville]

Fanart by TwardA8.

AMPHAROS
Role: Electric Sheep
PL 6 (63)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+0)
Perception 3 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Lightning) 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Power Attack

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]

"Electric-Type Magical Creature"
Immunity 10 (Electrical Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]
"Static" Affliction 3 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Reaction +3) [12]
"Lightning" Blast 6 [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Static +6 (+3 Affliction, DC 13)
Lightning +6 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Ampharos cannot speak to humans.
Weakness (Water & Plant-Based Damage)- Ampharos's creature type leaves it vulnerable to certain types of attack.

Total: Abilities: 18 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 30 / Defenses: 6 (63)

-Ampharos are yellow sheep-like creatures with large amounts of wool when they start life, but unusually take on a bipedal, hairless form as they age, sporting increasingly powerful electrical magic at the same time. This is concentrated in two large striped cones over their ears- the creatures also have bright red, light-bearing jewels on their forehead and the tips of their tails. These are believed to be for signalling to each other across long distances, but the light being visible through even fog makes them very handy for lighthouse keepers, who often keep several as pets. A rare color variant is lavender with dark blue gems. Their young are typically blue-skinned with yellow wool, but turn pink, then yellow as they get older.

Jab's Notes: Ampharos is one of many "Like a regular animal, with something more" and was oddly given three evolutionary steps in the Gold/Silver generation- increasingly-bare sheep Pokemon until what was left resembled a long-necked lizard on two legs more than a sheep. The whole thing is believed to be a reference to the sci-fi novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", as well as sheep's wool gathering static electricity in real life. I was never a big fan of the "Like a regular animal but slightly different" stuff, but Ampharos is pretty decent compared to the earlier evolutions.

[OwOMotaros]

Fanart by TwardA8.

AMPHAROS
Role: Electric Sheep
PL 6 (63)

-Ampharos are yellow sheep-like creatures with large amounts of wool when they start life, but unusually take on a bipedal, hairless form as they age, sporting increasingly powerful electrical magic at the same time. This is concentrated in two large striped cones over their ears- the creatures also have bright red, light-bearing jewels on their forehead and the tips of their tails. These are believed to be for signalling to each other across long distances, but the light being visible through even fog makes them very handy for lighthouse keepers, who often keep several as pets. A rare color variant is lavender with dark blue gems. Their young are typically blue-skinned with yellow wool, but turn pink, then yellow as they get older.

Jab's Notes: Ampharos is one of many "Like a regular animal, with something more" and was oddly given three evolutionary steps in the Gold/Silver generation- increasingly-bare sheep Pokemon until what was left resembled a long-necked lizard on two legs more than a sheep. The whole thing is believed to be a reference to the sci-fi novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", as well as sheep's wool gathering static electricity in real life. I was never a big fan of the "Like a regular animal but slightly different" stuff, but Ampharos is pretty decent compared to the earlier evolutions.

Ah, Ampharos. A classic line, to be sure. I can agree, its kinda basic, but I love this little guy. And its fabulous, DRAGON-TYPE Mega...

[Jabroniville]

Ah, Ampharos. A classic line, to be sure. I can agree, its kinda basic, but I love this little guy. And its fabulous, DRAGON-TYPE Mega...

Ampharos? More like AmFABIOs, am I right?

[SolarOracle]

It's still really wild how Ampharos went from absolute trash to a meta staple in UU and OU due to its Mega form, having the ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS base Sp. Atk stat of 165, the highest among both Electric and Dragon types at the time (until Mega-Rayquasa came along and broke the meta so hard they had to create a new tier just to contain it). Mega-Ampharos was a really good defensive special attacker, having decent HP and Defenses and a great moveset as a tank, getting access to Rest, Sleep Talk and Volt Switch, all of which paired insanely well with how much damage it could cause. Its only real downside was having Mold Breaker, as it didn't get much use out of it as an ability compared to the absurd Abilities other Megas were getting.

Fun trivia, it gained Dragon type in its Mega form as a nod to its Japanese name, Denryu, which literally translates into "electric dragon". I still have no clue what a huge mane of hair has to do with that tho, LOL. Nice going with this take on it, Jab!

[Jabroniville]

It's still really wild how Ampharos went from absolute trash to a meta staple in UU and OU due to its Mega form, having the ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS base Sp. Atk stat of 165, the highest among both Electric and Dragon types at the time (until Mega-Rayquasa came along and broke the meta so hard they had to create a new tier just to contain it). Mega-Ampharos was a really good defensive special attacker, having decent HP and Defenses and a great moveset as a tank, getting access to Rest, Sleep Talk and Volt Switch, all of which paired insanely well with how much damage it could cause. Its only real downside was having Mold Breaker, as it didn't get much use out of it as an ability compared to the absurd Abilities other Megas were getting.

Fun trivia, it gained Dragon type in its Mega form as a nod to its Japanese name, Denryu, which literally translates into "electric dragon". I still have no clue what a huge mane of hair has to do with that tho, LOL. Nice going with this take on it, Jab!

LOL I didn't even find its movelist on the Bulbapedia site so I wasn't sure about the Mega-Evolution.

The MEs are really weird to me, though- like what was the thought process there? Just add 100 new images to the game? Find new uses for the "Main Eventer" Pokemon to emphasize the important ones? Or to "Fix" un-used, broken ones? Because all the obvious ones got Mega-Evolutions (Starters, Pikachu, etc.) but there's some odd choices in there, like I think Parasect and this guy.

[SolarOracle]

The MEs are really weird to me, though- like what was the thought process there? Just add 100 new images to the game? Find new uses for the "Main Eventer" Pokemon to emphasize the important ones? Or to "Fix" un-used, broken ones? Because all the obvious ones got Mega-Evolutions (Starters, Pikachu, etc.) but there's some odd choices in there, like I think Parasect and this guy.

Probably a little bit of both. You had a lot of fan favorites who already occupied a good place in the meta gaining Mega forms, like Mewtwo, Scizor or Tyranitar, but you also had a lot of low-tier borderline garbage Pokémon gaining them as well, which made them into actually usable pokémon, like Manectric, Absol or Ampharos. Considering GameFreak didn't really like changing already established base stats and movepools in-between games, it was a pretty nice way of going about it all things considered, like how Hidden Abilities added in Gen V helped redefine its meta. There's a reason why the fanbase as a whole embraced Mega-Evolutions as a brilliant mechanic, as it gave a lot of us the chance to see our favourite pokémon actually be competitively viable.

It kind of annoys me that Pokémon seems to have taken the wrong lesson out of this tho, as each new generation since has added a new throwaway gimmick to define the meta around, which ended up creating an awful metagame, LOL. It's what drove me away from the competitive aspect of the game in Gen VII, and one of the things that drove me away from the franchise for good in Gen VIII.

[Jabroniville]

What was garbage about Absol and the others? Bad stats or moves?

I recall a lot of Ground/Rock types were murdered by the early metagane, which is why THOSE stopped.

[SolarOracle]

In most cases, bad movepools, stats or abilities, or simply just being outdone in their niche by other better pokémon. Absol, for example, was too slow to be an effective sweeper or revenge killer, and was outdone by other Dark-types on that role, who had better suited stats or abilities. Gaining a Mega form allowed it to actually be decent as a sweeper by gaining better stats, which allowed it to make much better use of its movepool.

[Jabroniville]

Art by Gnin.

MAGCARGO
Role: Lava Snail
PL 6 (99)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 9 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)
Ranged Combat (Lava) 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Power Attack

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
"Hardened Shell" Protection 4 [4]

"Semisolid Magma Creature"
Insubstantial 1 (Flaws: Limited to Non-Shelled Portions) [4]
Heat Aura 6 [24]
Immunity 12 (Heat Effects, Freezing Attacks 2) [12]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Sure-Footed) (Flaws: Limited to on Stone Surfaces) [2]
"Weak Armor" Enhanced Fighting 4 (Flaws: Source- Special Attacks, Side-Effect- Lowered Toughness) [2]

"Lava Spit" Blast 6 (Extras: Secondary Effect) [18]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 8)
Heat Aura +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Lava Spit +6 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +7, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Magcargo cannot speak to humans.
Weakness (Water-Based Damage)- Magcargo are vulnerable to attacks using water.

Total: Abilities: 14 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 65 / Defenses: 6 (99)

-The large, snail-like Magcargo are gastropods altered by proximity to magical fire and lava fields near ley lines. This causes them to grow much larger than normal, weighing a fair bit more than a man, with stone-like shells. Their bodies become semisolid magma, and they subsist on devouring rocks using their sheer heat. The heat they give off sometimes leads to flames sprouting from their shells. The creatures have spread across a few mountainous regions of Castellia, as they are durable, hardy, and breed slowly but surely (their young are born without shells in groups of 3-12). Stone Giants are sometimes known to use them as defensive creatures, though the unintelligent Magcargo aren't trainable.

Jab's Notes: Magcargo is another "like a regular animal, but with an element attached", in this case being a magma-like snail (Slugma has no shell). It's mostly a "filler" Pokemon, but at least stands out a bit- it appears infrequently in the anime. It's not a terribly effective Pokemon in the games, being a Fire/Rock-Type that is therefore weak to Water-Type attacks x4, as well as Ground-Type attacks. They have some of the more unusual "Shiny" colorations in the game, with Slugma being a pasty, waxy white/grey color, and Magcargo being lavender.

[OwOMotaros]

Art by Gnin.

MAGCARGO
Role: Lava Snail
PL 6 (95)

Jab's Notes: Magcargo is another "like a regular animal, but with an element attached", in this case being a magma-like snail (Slugma has no shell). It's mostly a "filler" Pokemon, but at least stands out a bit- it appears infrequently in the anime. It's not a terribly effective Pokemon in the games, being a Fire/Rock-Type that is therefore weak to Water-Type attacks x4, as well as Ground-Type attacks. They have some of the more unusual "Shiny" colorations in the game, with Slugma being a pasty, waxy white/grey color, and Magcargo being lavender.

Slugma & Magcargo are definitely one of the few Pokémon I'm neutral on, but they're still neat little guys. They're also another example of the pure bullshit that is the Pokédex entries.

Ahem, to quote the Pokémon Sapphire Pokédex:

"Magcargo's body temperature is approximately 18,000 degrees F. Water is vaporized on contact. If this Pokémon is caught in the rain, the raindrops instantly turn into steam, cloaking the area in a thick fog."

18,000°F. That's double the surface of the Sun. Now, I love Pokémon. I think they sometimes get undersold in terms of power, and people discredit a lot of Pokédex entries as being bullshit. This. This is the bullshit they're talking about.

[Jabroniville]

Art by MusicalCombusken.

SHUCKLE
Role: Adorable Water Turtle
PL 5 (57)- Minion Rank 6, Sidekick Rank 18
Normal Version: PL 8-9
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [3]
Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 3) [4]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Swimming 1 (1 mph) [1]
Insubstantial 1 (Flaws: Limited to Fleshy Body) [4]
"Amorphous Body/Hard Shell" Immunity 20 (Bludgeoning Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [10]
"Dissolve Rocks" Weaken Toughness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Rocks -2) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +5 (+2 Impervious), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Shuckles cannot speak to humans.

Total: Abilities: 14 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 8 (57)

-Another magically-powered Turtle, Shuckle is unusual because it can mutate its body to fit its limbs through the orifices in its shell in any combination- pushing the head out of any opening, for example. It can do this because its body is actually boneless- proximity to magical energy underwater has rendered the species able to be the only vertebrates with no spines. Unusually, they consume underwater berries (which they can easily reach as their heads and limbs can enter nearly any underwater opening), and are able to ferment leftovers within their shells. Intelligent aquatic races have been known to kill Shuckles for this "wine", but most will deliberately breed the creatures and harvest the wine themselves. The wine can also be used to dissolve rocks- they use this to create hiding places, enhancing their survivability further.

Jab's Notes: Shuckle is unusually Bug/Rock-Type, perhaps because of the shell- like maybe it's supposed to be a snail? It looks pretty generic and it doesn't even evolve into anything, so it was obviously not given that much thought. I chose not to make this a major combatant, but gave it a lot of defensive capabilities.