What Type of Game is Pokémon at Its Core?

[JollyYoshi]

I was outside today, thinking about what a true Pokémon Fanfiction/story would be like. A story that embodies what Pokémon is, not just the emotions you get and events from the games.

I thought, “An Adventure story of discovery and mystery.” Because, wasn’t Satishi Tajiri’s, the creator of Pokémon, original inspiration for this game was going outside and discovering mysterious bugs?

But then, I went home and remembered what the original games were like. They were RPGs full of towns with tons of fun dialogue with people to talk to and turn-based battles with basic animations. Isn’t that an RPG?

But then when you look at the game a little bit more closely, there isn’t exactly one cohesive epic story, which is what gives an RPG the feel of an RPG, meaning it’s a game of discovery. But when you look at it again, the game is pretty linear.

So, what exactly is Pokémon at its core? Is it more of an RPG or a world of exploration. I would like to hear what you have to say down below.

(Note: I didn’t post this in controversial opinions because I don’t feel like any side is really that controversial. I couldn’t find any other thread really similar to this that was under a year old so I just created a new one.)

 

[Jersey Jimmy]

Pokemon is a JRPG, and that's what it will always be first and foremost, but I think the interpretation of training and battling as a sport goes unsaid far more often than not. this is reflected in-universe, of course - there are massive stadiums populating just about every region, battles are shown on television, etc. - but there's also the aspect of actual, real-life competitive formats such as VGC and Smogon singles reinforcing that fact. essentially, Pokemon managed to turn JRPG mechanics into a genuine, legitimate esport, and while I'm not particularly fond of esports myself, I think that's an incredible achievement, and it's something I think to this day the franchise can claim as its own.

 

[Battista]

Essentially, Pokemon managed to turn JRPG mechanics into a genuine, legitimate esport...

This is one of the best definitions I have heard of how the Pokemon games work.

 

[Daren]

It's an RPG. It's basic gameplay was very likely based off the original Dragon Quest with a few changes. The early games had minimal story but so did a lot of old-school RPGs.

 

[Greninjaman]

I think early on, Pokemon was more about the creatures themselves than the story.

 

[Nicolas721]

Pokemon is about the collaboration between people and Pokemon and the bonds they create. You can make an story about a cook and their Alcremie, a pilot and their Nosepass or a janitor and their Trubbish and it would still be Pokemon as long as they help each other. However, battles and type matchups are also a very core thing of the franchise, so you have to show some of them frequently to keep that Pokemon feel.

Unique discoveries and random chances are a thing too, but I think those happen in most stories.

Talking about the first games, they do have a story which is simply put overcoming every obstacle and becoming the best. It's not the best nor it has the more complex characters but if it has a beginning and an end it is still a story.

 

[Sheep40]

As a game: JRPG.

As a story: everybody's talked about bonds and friendship to death, but I'd like to add discovery and learning, as well as growth, as just as important.