The Somar Region


Occupying an archipelago of two large islands with four smaller islands between them, the Somar Region is a mini region with very few unique native Pokemon species. However, over the centuries many pokemon from many other regions have migrated there and settled permanently or semipermeable, giving the region a great deal of diversity in wild pokemon.

The Somar region for decades suffered from severe poverty but approximately thirty years ago the, at the time small, "Pokemon Bio-Organic Research and Innovation Incorporated," or "PoBORI Inc" moved their main operations there. PoBORI Inc's mission statement? "Humanely and ethically studying the biology of pokemon and the flora that have evolved alongside them, discover the biomechanical and bio-physical mechanics behind them, and use them to create technology to improve the lives of both man and pokemon."

Their first major success was using the Somar Region's native, unique Apricorn species, one heartier than most other varieties, for crossbreeding experiments with other species. By doing this, PoBORI Inc was able to mass manufacture Pokeballs far more cheaply than many competitors. While PoBORI Inc has not been able to displace Silph Co's monopoly in the major regions, they've been able to make a killing in smaller markets and by selling certain specialty balls at more affordable prices.

This fortune was not only used to fund further research, it was invested into various parts of the Somar Region, building up prosperity for its people and investing in, emerging with, or sometimes, if necessary, buying out struggling local businesses.

Now the eight major cities of the region sprawl and bustle, with people riding around in their PoBORI Inc made Rotom cars, browsing the internet and doing business on PoBori Inc brand Rotomphones, Pokemon Centers using PoBORI Inc medicines and equipment to save the lives of the beloved Pokemon companions of the Somar Regions happy, prosperous citizens who live happy, stress-free lives thanks to PoBORI Inc Lobbyists influencing the Region's governments to keep the cost of living low and all of the high paying PoBORI Inc jobs(with great benefits!) and cheap, comprehensive education that can be easily obtained from any of a number of affordable PoBORI Inc sponsored schools.

Somarian people are entertained by tournaments, exhibition matches, and Leauge Battles held in grand PoBORI Inc sponsored stadiums, and League trainers train, battle, and test their might in PoBORI Inc sponsored Gyms(Located in All Major Cities!)

CEO Ace Helix, despite his aged appearance, projects a friendly and approachable demeanor and, when not at the office, is an avid Pokemon Battler... In fact, he's won the League Championship fair and square more than once and currently holds the position.

Other than occasional easily quelled terrorist actions by Team Greens, a bunch of ineffectual eco-terrorist whackjobs who claim with no proof think that PoBORI Inc is performing inhuman experiments on Humans and Pokemon. Things are great. But really, very few people ever get hurt and Team Greens is easily dealt with by the authorities.

All is well in the PoBORI... I mean, Somar region.
Spoiler: Or is it?
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No, no it's not.

PoBORI Inc's CEO and Board of Directors, as well as all major investors, are motivated entirely on Greed and lining their own pockets.

They didn't come to Somar to be generous, but because the laws in the Somar Region in regards to certain kinds of... Research, aren't as strict as in other regions.

Nobody talks about how trainers sometimes go missing in the caves between Hemoglo City and Mount Cranium, for example.

All of the kind, generous, 'sharing the wealth' actions they've taken were to get the people on their side as they slowly infiltrated, subverted, and took over every aspect of Somarian society. PoBORI Inc is the government, they are the league, they are the police, the firemen, the schools, the hospitals...

PoBORI Inc, over the last few decades, has become the Somar Region.

Only the upper-crust of the upper-crust know just how extensive their control is, but the Company has ways of making sure only the loyal or the buyable make it to any position of real power.

The Leadership of Team Greens consists entirely of PoBORI Inc paramilitary agents who find and radicalize anyone with valid complaints against the company in order to both keep control over potential dissenters and to discredit anyone who tries to expose their crimes.

The Elite Four all hold undying Loyalty to Ace Helix and the company, and the Gym Leaders are more or le loyal to the Elite 4.

...Though, one has to wonder how loyal some of the Gym Leaders knew what was being done in the secret laboratory in the heart of Osteo forest. Something that Ace Helix thinks will pave the way for the transition from dominating Somar to ruling the World.

There are so many loopholes regarding the international regulations on the use of Pokemon in the military after all. And very few regulations on the use of humans.


The Archipelago that makes up the Somar Region consists of Renal Island to the West, Respir Island to the East, named for their shapes, and between them Northwest Phlemg Island, Northeast Chole Island, Southeast Melaina, and Southwest Blood Island.

Collectively, the Islands between Renal Island and Respir Islands are called the Islands of Good Humor.

At the Northernmost section of Renal Island, there is a forest of bone-white barked trees that dominates as far as the eyes can see, all the way out to the cliffs that make up the northern shore. This is Osteo Forest, and entrance to it is strictly regulated due to the presence of many dangerous Pokemon that live in the area... Particularly some unusually aggressive Regional Variant Phantumps and Trevenant.

As an aside, most dusk stones in the region are found in Osteo Forest by carefully trained extraction teams employed by PoBORI Inc.
Spoiler: Details on Regional Phanttump
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Bark is White, they're able to learn dark type moves, particularly dark pulse, and a few minor poison type moves. They evolve from Dusk Stones instead of trade, creating a Dark/Grass Type Trevenant


South of Osteo Forest is Spinabase City, where most trainers taking the league challenge try to earn their first badge. A relatively small city, Spinabase's Gym Leader, Skelo, is friendly and specializes in common normal types, stating his personal belief that anyone and anything can be great with adequate care, hard work, and maybe a hand up. Many people who now work in the Gym started out as trainers who came to challenge him, lost for one reason or another, but decided to stay around because his kind words of encouragement made them feel like they could do more good working with him than going off on their own... This was, of course, not what he meant, but he won't turn down anyone who wants to join his Gym without a very good reason.

Further south are vast plains and rolling hills dotted with small towns and villages until one makes it to the southern shores of the kidney-shaped isle, where one finds a beach. Follow the path east and you'll run into Adrenal Town, home to another Gym and a free Ferry Service to Blood Island.

Blood Island's only major city is Lymphocyte Town, which hosts a Gym, though to the far north one may find a small town infamous in the region for "the Duke," an old man who it seems refuses to die. A surfer in his youth, in his old age he claims that he can teach anyone or anything how to easily traverse the seas on body or board... Though most dismiss him both for his ridiculous claims ("My Charizard knows surf!") and his open distrust of PoBORI Inc

Phlegm Island is similar, though almost a mirror image, one large town and one small settlement in reversed positions, and the pattern is repeated on Chole Island and Melania Island.

Strong natural currents and the presence of Whirlpools around the northern end of Lungshaped Respir Island direct all travelers coming by sea to the Southernmost section of the Island, a beach somewhat Rockeier than one on Southern Renal Island, which leads up into plains until arrives in the Twin Cities of Oxy City and Hemoglo City. Despite being right across the Pulmonary River from each other and built along similar plans, and despite being dependant on each other due to one city holding the factories that produce products the other needs, the citizens of each city hate each other with a passion each claiming that the other's Gym draws attention away from its own.

North of the city are a series of small mountains that are difficult to navigate on foot. Most people take the Tram north to Cerebellum City, home of both The Elite Four and PoBORI Inc headquarters, but it's tradition for trainers taking the League challenge to walk or bike through a series of tunnels that start just outside of Hemoglo City and take the trainer directly to Mount Cranium, a large but more navigatable mountain that has a trail that leads to Cerebellum City.

Legend Has it that a trio of Rare and Powerful Pokemon make their homes in the three caves near the rounded peak of Mount Cranium, which from a distance make the impression of a small skull at the top of the mountain, but everyone who has ever tried to find them ha either returned empty-handed or been lost in a mountaineering accident, leading to the paths towards the peak being chained off.


So here's the base setting, but obviously, there's room to flesh things out.

Gameplay will Start with the PCs escaping from the laboratory in Osteoforest and, well, surviving in the forest.

The PCs are all... Unwilling experiments of the least ethical of the company's means of research. The on's aimed towards... Military use.

I have several options planned out but don't feel constrained by them if you come up with something good.
Spoiler: Hybrids
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Created via using a modified strain of Pokerus to CRISPR a human subject with genes from Evee, Ditto, and one other Pokemon species and then exposing them to
a radiation chamber that emulates the aggregate radiations of all known types of evolution stone, the subject metamorphoses in a manner similar to Pokemon Evolution into a Hybrid of human and Pokemon.

Hybrids are humanoid enough to obviously be people, but are very clearly not fully human anymore. El Goonish Shive's "furry forms" would be a good ballpark for what I'm going for, EG

New Hybrids are born in the initial form of the pokemon they are spliced with the genes of but are capable of undergoing evolution as their pokemon. They have access to all of the abilities of an exceptional example of their species, and can potentially learn any move that can be learned by that Pokemon.
Spoiler: Fusions
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...We've all seen or Played Detective Pikachu, right? Or played the first games or their remakes and met Bill?

You know how it goes, a human and a Pokemon fused together in such a way as to result in a Pokemon of human-level intelligence. Since there are multiple ways in the source material to do this and differing results, my preference is to lead the exact details up to the player, but don't go crazy and for convenience, the fusion should be able to talk.

In terms of power... all abilities, all moves, like with the hybrids
Spoiler: Rvives
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This is your more Frankensteinian option.

We've seen the Galar Fossil Pokemon right? The ones that are two fossils mismatched together?

The Revives are a human who was dead with pokemon body parts grafted onto them and then resurrected with Fossil Revival technology. The fusion should be relatively seamless and the central nervous system should remain human(So I'm gonna say no psychics unless you were psychic, to begin with) but otherwise feel free to go nuts, mixing and matching.
Spoiler: Enhanced
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It's not Cyberpunk Without Cyborgs.

The Enhanced are modified with genes from Rotom and Beldom which allow their bodies to seamlessly merge with implants and prosthetics with nervous-system like circuits and parts made of a synthetic "bio-steel," a regenerative living metal retro engineered from studying the physiologies of many steal-types and other living metal

Enhanced run the gamut from minor military-grade augmentations o full conversion cyborgs.

To the "living" nature of their prosthetics and implants, they do not require maintenance and possess a limited ability to self-upgrade.


The Hybrids and the Fusions have defined strengths and weaknesses, while the Revives and Enhanced are more Ala Cart, you pick what you want within reason. If Your revive is Centaur made from the lower half of a ponytail and the upper half of a human, your powers are probably gonna be pretty similar to a Hybrid or Fusion that's a Ponyta.

Starting Power Level...

So Imagine a Level 10 starter... That has perfect IVs and EVs for every stat and somehow has every ability its species can have. That would be the ballpark to go for.

And it is my preference to treat the "Four Move Limit" from the Pokemon Games as a gameplay abstraction. If you know a move then you know that move, period, even if you learn a couple more.

In terms of Tone and Theme, Obviously, there's the Cyberpunk Element. This is gonna be a bit darker than most of the franchise, but I don't want it getting too dark.

I kind of want to explore how individual characters feel about the things that were done to them. Nobody had this done willingly, or if they did it was under misleading circumstances, but how do they feel about it after the fact? Like it, hate it? Want it reversed, want to keep it? Do they develop sensations of dysphoria or dysmorphia or do they now feel like the "real me."

An example character sheet, and the character I intend to use, will be forthcoming