Pokemon UTD Version

The Pokemon franchise has been a very important part of my life, and since beginning in the fourth generation with Pokemon Diamond, has been a source of inspiration and creativity. While I had drawn up sketches of fake - pokemon, affectionately referred to as 'fakemon' online, it was after my graduation from college that I began creating a playable parody.

As a love letter to the school I went to, as well as the people that I met, befriended and still met to this day, I went about crafting an unorthodox sort of Pokemon game. Where the traditional narrative sees the player journeying across an entire region, beating the gym leaders and eventually challenging the Elite Four and Champion, that was not quite the case in this game.

Pokemon UTD Version follows the player as they and their father have just moved to Rockwall Town in the state of Texas. Being greeted by the professor and mascot of the University of Texas at Dallas, Temoc, in their dreams, the player awakes in a state of confusion. Briefly attempting to begin the commute to the University since the semester has just begun, they are stopped by their first rival, Jacky, who alongside her sister Kiki, present the player with their starter based on their favorite type. With well-wishes for the road ahead, they enter Route I-30 on the way to Garland Town, but run into not only Jacky in front of Garland Town, but also the second rival: Shaan.

The playable demo I released to my friends for playtesting encompasses the events above, and only reached as far as the first pivotal battle in the game: the battles against the first and second of the player's rivals modeled after myself and my friend group.