WORLDBUILDING: The World of Pokemagia

[LightningTopaz]

Some worldbuilding for a magical performance story idea...

This idea was inspired by the remixed Super Contests in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and the new magical girl anime Waccha Primagi, with a little more of a theatrical slant instead of idol performances.

The story's basic premise:

In a Pokemon world not too much different from the one we know, the hottest and most popular form of entertainment is Pokemagia, a stage show described as one part magic show, one part Pokemon Contest, one part dance, and one part theater to create a dazzling showcase of the bond between trainer and Pokemon. Since Pokemagia shows are often demanding, Pokemon that participate in Pokemagia can often go toe to toe with Pokemon raised to battle, and some have made their mark in both the League and the Pokemagia stage.

Both boys and girls participate in Pokemagia, and great magie (what a trainer that participates in Pokemagia is called) are treated like rockstars. Every magie has their own unique style, so no two magie will ever be alike (although it is possible for magie to inherit tricks and illusions from another magie, usually a teacher passing down their best material to magie in training.

Magie are trained in a master and apprentice relationship, with a magie in training learning how to dance, act, use stage combat, and combine their own natural power with their Pokemon to create tricks and illusions. Once the master feels the apprentice is ready, they perform an Exhibition--a specific type of Pokemagia show meant for the magie in training to demonstrate what they have learned in a full Pokemagia show. If the show goes over well, the magie is allowed to perform on their own. Great magie often go on to have long and successful careers, and even magie that have stepped down from the stage are still revered.

Our heroes are all highly skilled magie, and are well loved and well liked in the Pokemagia community. But when they learn about the Diamond Melody Grand Prix, and the long road to reach it--and that the competition is open to single magie and magie teams--they decide to form a team, and take their Pokemagia skills to the next level, win or lose.

Can Ash and the gang, as their newly formed magie team Prismusic, prove themselves against some of the best magie in the Pokeworld, and be immortalized as Eternal Magie--the highest rank a magie can have?

 

[LightningTopaz]

How Pokemagia Works

In the magical Pokemon world, theatrical shows known as Pokemagia are very popular. In these shows, trainers called magies combine dance, theater, stage magic, their own unique abilities, and their partner Pokemon to dazzle and amaze audiences. Music is also important for a good Pokemagia show. Instrumental music is more often used than vocal music, but singing is not entirely unheard of.

Most Pokemagia shows are performed by a magie and a single Pokemon, although a magie has the option to use more than one, if they wish. In addition to solo shows, duo shows, trio shows, and group shows are also common. In Pokemagia competitions, a variant of the group show is the team show, where a team of magie put on a grand show together to be scored.

A typical Pokemagia show lasts about two to three hours, give or take fifteen minutes. However, highly skilled magie can host shows that go for even longer, but anything longer than four hours is usually discouraged. A show can have no set theme, and the magie and their partner Pokemon just show off a program of illusions and feats to music, have a light theme with themed costumes, music, feats, and illusions, or have a highly elaborate theme that almost borders on a stage play, with a story, roles, props, costumes, sets, and all. The major difference between a Pokemagia show and stage play is that the magie are not supposed to speak, except when casting an illusion or performing a feat.

Pokemagia shows can be broken down into feats, which are shows of physical strength, such as athletics, acrobatics, martial arts, and stage combat; and illusions, which are special magical powers similar to Contest appeals that are meant to dazzle the audience. Often the line between feat and illusion blurs as the magie and their Pokemon move through their show. Depending on how many magie and Pokemon are performing, feats and illusions can get very elaborate. Many magie often have one or more signature feats and signature illusions--a feat or illusion they are best known for, or is unique to that magie.

Magie are trained in an apprentice system, where they unlock their innate power and learn to perform feats and create illusions. Once they complete their Exhibition show, they are recognized as a White rank magie. From there, the ranking system looks like this:

Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Crystal
Ruby
Sapphire
Emerald
Topaz
Amber
Amethyst
(Aqua)Marine
Pearl
Diamond
Eternal

Every magie dreams of reaching the Eternal rank one day, but the way there takes long hours of practicing, performing, and fine tuning their feats and illusions.

It is not unheard of for magie to be trained by friends and family, and magie families are common. Of the main group, Misty and Dawn were trained by family (Misty by her sister Daisy, and Dawn by her mother Joanna, to carry on the Solberg magie family legacy), and the boys are in the process of training family (Ash is training his cousins Chance and Elena, and Brock is training two of his siblings, Forest and Terra)

 

[LightningTopaz]

Feats and Illusions Explained

Feats and Illusions are the building blocks of Pokemagia shows, and skilled magie and their Pokemon may know hundreds or even thousands of feats and illusions. One single Pokemon move can have hundreds of different feats and illusions built off of it, so every use of the move is different. Depending on how many magie and Pokemon are involved in the show, feats and illusions can get quite elaborate. There are some feats and illusions that are exclusive to particular magie, and are often passed down to any apprentices that magie trains. Feats and illusions can evolve and grow more powerful along with the magie-Pokemon pair.

Feats and illusions are grouped into several types:

Solo--this feat or illusion is done by a single performer (either the magie or their partner Pokemon.)

Partner--this feat or illusion is performed by the magie and their Pokemon together.

Duo--this feat or illusion is performed by two magie or two Pokemon.

Trio--this feat or illusion is performed by three magie or three Pokemon.

Group--the feat or illusion is performed by a group of magie or Pokemon

Mixed--this feat or illusion is performed by a mixed group of magie and Pokemon. It may require as few as two performers, or as many as 42 (six magie each using a full team of partner Pokemon)

Team--a variation of the group feat or illusion intended to be performed by a team of magie and their Pokemon. These feats or illusions can score a lot of points for a team in competition.

Signature--a special kind of feat or illusion specific to a particular magie-Pokemon pair. This feat or illusion is usually the magie's best known feat or illusion, and is usually saved for the high points in a show, or for a big finish in competition.

Radiante--these feats or illusions are very powerful, and are usually saved for big finishes (if the signature is not used for this.) These are typically the feats and illusions everyone remembers from a magie's show.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Ash's Magie Profile and Stats

Ash is a Ruby rank magie who is well known in the Pokemagia community for his exciting shows that evoke fantasy in all its forms, complete with stage combat, plenty of feats, music, and magic. He is one magie who regularly uses an instrument in his shows--usually one of his many flutes. Even when it is just him and his faithful Pikachu Tintri, his shows border on being full on stage plays. He is also in the process of training two of his cousins, Chance and Elena, to be magie.

He is innately attuned to fire and thunder magic.

While he will mainly use his Pikachu Tintri in shows, he will sometimes use his Lucario Erin or his Pidgeot Mina.

He hopes to one day win the Diamond Melody Grand Prix, and be known as a great magie.

Some of the many feats and illusions he knows include:

Dance of the Flame Circle (solo illusion)--Ash dances to the background music, creating a huge circle of fire around him. He can then build more powerful feats and illusions off of this.

Phoenix Arrow (solo feat; requires a bow)--Ash fires a flaming arrow that then transforms into a fiery image of Moltres.

Crimson Glimmer (solo illusion)--Ash creates intricate patterns of flickering rubies

Rising Phoenix (signature feat)--Ash makes a flying leap into the air, creating the illusion he has become a phoenix in the air. One of Ash's signature feats.

Electric Star (solo illusion)--Ash creates a star out of thunderbolts. Since he is innately attuned to thunder, the lightning doesn't harm him.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Misty's Magie Profile and Stats

Misty is a Sapphire rank magie who is a fan favorite for her fearless and daring water themed shows. Initially trained to join her sisters in a family act, she resented not being able to use her ability on her terms. So after her Exhibition, she stunned her sisters by going forth as a solo act--and has never looked back since!

While she will typically use her Vaporeon Ariel in a show, her Starmie Pearl, her Dewgong Amy, and her Primarina Mele are also known to appear.

She is innately attuned to water and ice magic.

She hopes to one day prove herself as a great magie to her sisters.

Some of the many feats and illusions she knows include:

Frozen Shimmer (solo illusion)--Misty creates the illusion of many shimmering ice drops raining onstage.

Crystal Heart (Radiante illusion)--Misty creates a heart out of liquid ice. One of her most common and popular finishers.

Heavenly Waterfall (solo illusion)--Misty creates the illusion of a waterfall that appears to be coming down from the ceiling.

Note of the Fountain->Note of the River (solo illusion; requires the Sapphire Fiddle)--Misty plays an exquisite melody to create an elegant fountain. She can also create the illusion of a flowing river with a different tune.

Crystal Prism (solo illusion)--Misty creates hundreds of icy crystals that rain down on the stage.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Brock's Magie Profile and Stats

Brock is an Emerald rank magie who is a fan favorite in the community for his very musical and colorful shows that evoke fairy tales and mythology. He is also one magie that regularly sings in his performances, but this is because he has honed his magical ability enough to sing illusions like a song.

He discovered he had a knack for becoming a magie by entertaining his siblings with simple parlor tricks. When asked if he wanted to train as a magie, Brock said yes, and the rest was history. Since then, his Pokemagia journey has come full circle--now he is training two of his siblings, Forest and Terra, as magie. (they are beginning their training, however)

He is known to use two partner Pokemon in his shows--the Kantonian Ninetales Hinata, and the Alolan Ninetales Yuki. If he must choose one Pokemon, he will choose Willow the Leafeon, Rocky the Dusk Lycanroc, or Tarina the Pichu (who also wears a costume herself.)

While he can use all the elements, he is innately attuned to earth (in both its forms)

He hopes to be known as a great magie, and make people happy with his gifts.

Some of the many feats and illusions he knows include:

Emerald Rain (solo illusion)--Brock rains hundreds of emeralds onto the stage and into the audience

Dancing Leaves->Dancing Sakura->Dancing Roses->Dancing Mums->Dancing Lotus (solo illusion)--Brock dances to create a beautiful pattern of leaves. As the illusion grows stronger, the leaves become different types of flowers, and the patterns grow more elaborate. He can also shift between what levels of the illusion he has learned, or combine different levels for a beautiful effect.

Magical Change: Celestial Minstrel (solo illusion)--Brock snaps to transform himself into a fantasy minstrel in an elaborate green silver and gold costume. He will typically transform into this costume before using Nature's Chord, an enchanted green acoustic guitar made just for him.

Humming Flowers (solo illusion)--Brock creates flowers on the stage by humming notes. The more elaborate his melody gets, the more elaborate the illusion's patterns get.

Magic instrument: Nature's Chord (solo illusion)--Brock summons Nature's Chord with a snap.

Autumn Bow (solo illusion; requires a bow)--Brock fires an enchanted arrow skyward, creating the illusion of falling autumn leaves.

Jeweled Burst (Radiante illusion)--Brock creates a rainbow explosion of jewels--one of his most popular finishers.

Golden Note->Golden Voice (solo illusion)--Brock creates hypnotic patterns using his voice. As the illusion grows stronger, the patterns Brock can create grow more elaborate.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Serena's Magie Profile and Stats

Serena is an up and coming Gold rank magie that has made a name for herself in the community, and many Pokemagia news sites have said that she is a magie to watch thanks to her shining and colorful shows that evoke the Kalosian revue stage. But she very nearly didn't get a chance to become a magie at all--her mother Grace initially wanted her to be a coordinator instead. After calmly laying out her case as to why she wanted to become a magie, Grace gave her blessings, and from there, Serena began her training.

She deeply respects Ash as a friend and mentor, and so the two of them will sometimes perform a duo show together.

She is innately attuned to light magic, even though some of her feats and illusions are fire elemental.

While she will mainly use her Braxien Krystal in shows, her Sylveon Bijou will also appear on occasion.

She hopes to one day prove herself to her mother, and join Ash as a great magie.

Some of the many feats and illusions she knows include:

Kitsune's Shadow (can be done as any type of illusion)--Serena emerges from a shadow of a Delphox. Someone else can conjure the shadow, making this one of her most versatile illusions

Shining Flame (duo illusion with Ash)--Ash and Serena combine their power to create the illusion of a shining gold flame.

Shining Dragon Bow (duo feat with Misty; requires a bow)--Misty first conjures an illusion of a dragon. Serena then fires a shining arrow at the dragon, making it turn into a shining gold dragon

Shining Dust (solo illusion)--Serena rains shining dust onto the audience. It is one of her most popular openers.

Ailes d'Ange (Kalosian for "Angel Wings"; solo illusion)--Serena appears to fly on shining gold wings, making her look like an angel.

Radiant Wheel (solo illusion)--Serena conjures a shining intricate wheel of light.

Vivid Light->Sacred Light->Wonder Light->Miracle Light (signature illusion)--Serena creates a colorful showcase of rainbow lights. As the illusion gets stronger, the patterns get more intricate and the colors brighter. One of Serena's signature illusions.

Golden Flute (duo illusion with Ash)--Serena creates a flute out of light, which Ash then plays to prove it is a real instrument.

Dazzling Ballet (solo illusion)--Serena performs a beautiful dance that leaves intricate patterns on the ground.

 

[LightningTopaz]

May's Magie Profile and Stats

May is a Sapphire rank magie who is well known for her colorful and dazzling Beautifly themed shows. She was inspired to become a magie after seeing a show in Slateport City, and so with her family's blessings, found a mentor to train under. After an initial rocky start, May found her own unique voice as a magie, and has done well ever since.

She is innately attuned to wind, but many of her feats and illusions are also earth and light themed too.

While she mainly uses her Beautifly Niji in shows, her Glaceon Neva is also known to appear.

She hopes to one day reach the Eternal rank, and inspire others to become magie.

Some of the many feats and illusions she knows include:

Shimmering Wing (solo illusion)--May creates the illusion of a pair of shimmering Beautifly wings. Depending on May's mood and the occasion for the show, the wings may be different colors or differently designed.

Autumn Breeze (solo illusion)--May creates the illusion of colorful leaves on a cool breeze.

Azure Wind (duo illusion with Misty)--May and Misty create a blue tinged ocean breeze, which also creates the illusion of a beach.

Beautifly Blaze (duo illusion with Ash)--May sends a breeze through a wall of fire Ash has conjured, creating flaming Beautifly spirits that fly over the crowd. As the flaming Beautiflies are only illusions, there is no danger to the audience or the theater.

Flower Tiara (signature illusion)--May always starts her shows with this illusion--snapping to transform her bandanna into an elegant tiara with flowers.

Beautifly Waltz (Radiante illusion)--May performs a beautiful dance that surrounds her in hundreds of Beautiflies.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Dawn's Magie Profile and Stats

Dawn is a Pearl rank magie who has blossomed into a worthy heir for the Solberg family legacy after an initial rough start. Trained by her mother Joanna, she initially did well performing alongside her mother in shows. But once she set out on her own, the pressure of trying to live up to her family's expectations almost led her to bow out of Pokemagia altogether. But the community rallied to support her, and encouraged her to find her own unique voice than trying to copy her mother's style. Dawn took the advice to heart, and very steadily has risen through the ranks since then. She credits the community for helping her through her blue period, and how they encouraged her to not give up.

Her shows are usually cosmic themed, with many sun, moon, and star motifs.

She is innately attuned to cosmic magic, but also has some light elemental influence and some ice elemental influence from her Pokemon.

While she will mainly use her Piplup Kori in shows, her Buneary Lola and her Espeon Raya have also appeared in shows.

She hopes to use her influence as a high ranking magie to help out other magie, and maybe train some apprentices.

Some of the many feats and illusions she knows include:

Celestial Arrow (solo illusion; requires a bow)--Dawn fires an arrow into the sky, making shining sparkles and light rain down on the audience.

Aqualuna (partner illusion with Kori)--Dawn creates a frozen crescent moon out of Kori's Ice Beam.

Deerling Dance (solo illusion)--Dawn dances to create the illusion of colorful Deerlings around her.

Meteo Glow->Meteo Glitter (solo illusion)--Dawn creates an illusion of a shooting star, sending colorful stardust on the audience. As the illusion grows stronger, the initial star is larger and brighter, and the stardust burst is bigger.

Galaxy Void (solo illusion)--Dawn creates the illusion of a starry night.

Mystic Moon (solo illusion)--Dawn creates the illusion of a shimmering silver moon.

Shining Crescent (solo feat; requires a ribbon)--Dawn uses a ribbon to draw a shining crescent moon in the air.

 

[LightningTopaz]

How Pokemagia Competitions Work

While most magie are content to perform for fun, there are Pokemagia competitions, allowing both individual magie and teams of magie to show off their skills to win fabulous prizes, and possibly rank up.

The most well known and famous competition is the Diamond Melody Grand Prix--which is considered the most prestigious competition in the magical Pokeworld. But in order to even enter the Diamond Melody Grand Prix, a magie, or team of magie, must first compete in many different qualifying competitions--and the Diamond Melody itself is invite only. Depending on the competition,, a full competition can last anywhere from several hours to several days.

The road to the Diamond Melody is different between individual competition and team competition--so individuals and teams have their own competition.

Individual and team rules have some differences between them:

--Teams need at least two members, but there is no upper limit. Teams with more than 50 members compete in the Ensemble division.

--Pokemagia shows are dramatically shortened in competition--a short performance is no more than 30 minutes, and a full performance is no more than an hour.

--A Pokemagia competition has three rounds--an appeal round, a short performance, and a full performance. The individual or team with the highest score at the end of the three rounds, wins. In case of a tie, the tying magie or teams perform one more appeal--the appeal that gets the best crowd reaction wins.

A competition begins with the Parade of Magie, where all the competitors are introduced. In the appeal round, each magie or magie team performs five appeals of any type to the judges, similar to a Pokemon contest.

The short performance is a showcase of the magie or team's skills, usually no more than 20 to 30 minutes. Magie teams do not typically have the full team compete in the short performance--only the team's best members perform the short performance (or "the quickie show", in magie lingo) The full team does perform for the full performance, which is typically 45 minutes to an hour.

Magie and magie teams are judged in five categories:

--Skill (do the magie perform the feats and illusions well, and do they recover gracefully from any mistakes and mishaps?)
--Technique (how challenging are the feats and illusions to perform? Does the magie have a good command of their power?)
--Artistry (how beautiful are the feats and illusions? Do they keep the audience entertained?)
--Flow (how do the feats and illusions flow together? Has the magie/team put some thought into designing a good show?)
--Radiance (How well do the feats and illusions excite the audience? Do the magie and their Pokemon do the same things we've all seen a million times, or do they show off original feats and illusions?)

 

[LightningTopaz]

Summoning a Partner Pokemon

At the start of every show they do, a magie summons the Pokemon they plan to use in the show by casting a specific illusion called the Elementia Spiritum. Depending on the Pokemon they plan to use, there is a different Spiritum they have to cast:

The current type chart matches up to the different Spiritum like this:

Normal--Anima Spiritum
Ground, Rock, Steel, Grass, some Bug--Gaia Spiritum
Fire, Fighting--Pyros Spiritum
Flying, some Bug--Anemos Spiritum
Water--Aqua Spiritum
Ice--Nix Spiritum
Electric--Fulgur Spiritum
Ghost, Dark, Poison--Umbra Spiritum
some Psychic, Dragon, some Fairy--Lux Spiritum
some Dark, some Psychic, some Fairy--Astra Spiritum
every elemental--Iris Spiritum

Depending on the size of the Pokemon they wish to summon, a magie may also append "Major or Minor" to the incantation (so if someone wished to summon a Pichu, for example, the incantation would be "Fulgur Spiritum Minor")

 

[LightningTopaz]

Magie in Training and Determining Innate Power

When a magie apprentice begins training, the teacher's first task is to determine what kind of power their apprentice has. To do this, they lay their hands on the apprentice's chest and cast an illusion named Mezame (awakening). The colors that appear from the apprentice's heart are the elementals they are attuned to.

It is possible for apprentices to be attuned to more than one elemental--usually two related elementals, or a power related to a bond with a Pokemon or a person. An apprentice that is attuned to all the elementals--known as a "rainbow heart" among magie--is not entirely unheard of. It is also possible for a magie to master the other elements with time and practice. Typically, magie in a family will usually share the same or similar powers.

The boys are in the process of training family:

Ash is in the process of training his cousins Chance and Elena--Chance is innately attuned to thunder thanks to his bond with his Pikachu Storm; and Elena is an innate rainbow heart thanks to her bond with her Eevee Vanille.

Brock is in the process of training two of his siblings, Forest and Terra--both of them are attuned to earth. Forest is more attuned to rocks and crystals, and Terra is more attuned to flowers and plants. They both can use the other elementals through their innate powers.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Pokemagia Basics: The Snap

The most basic skill any magie will learn is a simple finger snap. One snap can trigger an illusion, summon an item or Pokemon, and even change costumes, to name a few things.

Beginning magie are often told to name what they want to happen before snapping, as simply snapping a finger won't do anything. Over time, a magie will be so attuned to their power that all they have to do is think of what they want and snap (the group is at this level. Some magie will sometimes incorporate this into an illusion, such as the Rapidfire Quick Change (a basic illusion where the magie changes into a lot of costumes very quickly)

Chance and Elena are learning to master the snap, but still have to name what they want. Forest and Terra have a little more ability, and can simply snap to summon simple items, but they are nowhere near Brock's level (snap and he has anything he wants)

Brock can also use his snap ability to cue instruments to play on their own--a favorite illusion when entertaining music students

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I tried reading the Pokémagia fic, but I couldn't get into it because the first chapter was began with an exposition dump. I get that you were trying to mimic the narration style of the anime, but you could've woven it in more organically, not to mention that that style of narrating works better in a visual medium, where you can show and tell at the same time.

 

[LightningTopaz]

@Nitro Indigo

This is one thing I'm trying to keep in mind as I rework it--in the current new version of the story, it's now an in universe media franchise with all new characters (inspired by one of the real Pokemon manga)--Ash and the gang (if they even appear at all), are only the peanut gallery for the new version I'm working on.