Pokémon Essence v0.8
Pokémon Essence v0.8
Pokémon Essence v0.8
Essence
Version 0.8
by Dominic Lusk
Pokémon Essence
Art:
Becca https://twitter.com/becca_3d
Pokémon Essence is an unofficial game with no
links to the Pokémon Company or Nintendo. It is
now and always will be free to download.
Contents
How to Play 1
Creating a Trainer 3
Starter Pokémon 4
Contested Actions 7
Pokémon Types 9
Pokémon Abilities 11
Pokémon Physique 13
Pokémon Evolution 15
Pokémon Traits 16
Pokémon Advancement 17
Pokémon Health 19
Catching Pokémon 21
Pokémon Battles 22
Trainer Class 24
Generation II + 25
Character Sheet 27
How to Play
Pokémon Essence is a rules-light tabletop
roleplaying game inspired by the Pokémon anime.
3
Starter Pokémon
Each player chooses one of the following
Starter Pokémon:
Bulbsaur; Charmander; Squirtle; Pikachu; or
Eevee.
A starter Pokémon is typically a long-standing
friend and ally who will stick with the Trainer
through all your adventures. Roll twice on the
Traits table (page 23.) to generate the Starter
Pokémon’s traits.
All Pokémon information (stats, moves, etc.) is
listed in the separate Pokémon Essence Pokedéx
file.
Choose one of your Starter Pokémon’s abilities
to begin the game with and note it on the
Trainer character sheet with the following
information:
Species
Type
Abilities - start with one only
Size
Experience needed to advance (page 17.)
Maximum Health (page 19.)
4
Actions
Whenever the players describe an action which
their Trainer or their Trainer’s Pokémon is
taking, the Guide uses the Action Resolution
System to determine the outcome.
5
Action Resolution System
1. State what you are doing and why you are
doing it. This is your Action and its Intent.
2. If the Guide determins that the action is Easy
or Impossible, go to step 6.
3. Otherwise, the player rolls 1d6 to determine
the outcome. Roll an additional 1d6 for each
of the statements below which is true:
i. The Pokémon’s type is relevant.
ii. The Pokémon is using a relevant ability.
iii.The Pokémon’s physique is relevant
iv. There is a circumstantial advantage
4. Each roll that is 5 or higher counts as 1
success
i. 0 successes: the outcome does not match
the intent
ii. 1 success: the outcome matches the intent,
but with a complication or twist
iii.2 or 3 successes: the outcome matches
the intent
iv. 4 or more successes: critical success -
the outcome is extra-successful
5. The Guide narrates the outcome.
6
Contested Actions
Direct contests between 2 or more Pokémon, are
resolved using the Contested Action Resolution
System. All actions should be declared as
simultaneously as possible.
1. Both players say what they are doing and why
they are doing it simultaneously. They state
the Action and its Intent.
2. If the result of the contest is beyond
reasonable doubt, the Guide narrates the
outcome accordingly.
3. Otherwise, the players roll dice and
determine successes in the same way as the
Action Resolution System with one difference:
1. If a Pokémon has type advantage, they can
reroll any failed dice once.
4. The Pokémon with the most successes wins the
contest.
5. Otherwise there is a draw.
6. The Guide narrates the outcome.
7
Contested Actions
Sometimes the result of a contested action does
not need to be rolled as the outcome is beyond
doubt. This might occur when when one side’s
actions directly counter their opponent’s
actions. It might also occur when one side has a
significant advantage, or enough small
advantages, that there is only one reasonable
outcome.
8
Pokémon Types
All Pokémon have 1 or 2 Types which govern the
sort of actions that it can do. Any actions
appearing below do not cost any energy.
Type Pokémon of this Type all:
Fire resist high temperatures and can start fires
on contact
Water swim and breathe underwater and shoot balls
of water
Grass soak up power from either the ground or the
sun
Flying either fly or float through the air
9
Pokémon Types
Each Type is stronger or weaker against certain
other Types. The Guide considers this when
determining the difficulty of actions. It also
affects Contested Actions.
Type Good against Bad against
Fire Grass Water
10
Pokémon Abilities
Abilities are special actions that a Pokémon
can take beyond what is implied by their type
and physique. All Pokémon start with one ability,
and can learn more by advancing. Pokémon can
know a maximum of 4 abilities. To learn a 5th
ability, they must forget a pre-existing one.
Abilities each have a Description, which
explains what the ability can do, as well as a
Type. Each ability also has two Keywords.
• Pound • Stomp
• Slam • Tackle
• Cut • Kick
• Punch • Bite
• Scratch • Peck
• Thrash • Slash
12
Pokémon Physique
Every Pokémon has a unique Physique, which
determines what actions are easier for it to
complete. To determine if a Pokémon’s Physique
is relevant, look at a picture of that Pokémon.
13
Physique Examples
Examples
• Golbat’s Trainer tells it to bite down hard on
a Pidgey to stop it from escaping. Golbat’s
Trainer argues that it’s Physique is relevant
since it has a large, gaping mouth. The Guide
agrees, and Golbat’s Trainer rolls an
additional 1d6 for the contested action.
• Hitmonchan’s Trainer tells it to punch its way
out of Team Rocket’s latest trap. Hitmonchan
is wearing boxing gloves, so it gets an
additional 1d6 if it is trying to punch
something. Hitmonchan’s Trainer argues that
its type, Fighting, is also relevant since it is
punching soemthing. However, the Guide
decides that since the thing it is attacking is
inanimate, its not really relevant. The trianer
rolls 2d6, one as a standard and an
additional dice for the relevant Physique.
The trainer rolls a 3 and a 5, giving 1
success - a success with a complication or
twist. The GM decides that Hitmonchan
successfully smashes a hole in the walls of
Team Rocket’s trap, but that doing so is very
noisy and alerts Team Rocket’s Arbok, which
surges into the area.
14
Pokémon Evolution
Most Pokémon can evolve into a more mature
form. Pokémon evolve through the advancement
system. When a Pokémon evolves, replace its
Species with the new Species. It’s Physique also
changes. Some Pokémon change Type when they
evolve. Evolved Pokémon also have more Health
than unevolved Pokémon.
15
Pokémon Traits
All Pokémon have Traits, which act as guides for
roleplaying and feed into the advancement
system. Whenever a Pokémon is encountered for
the first time, the Guide generates a trait for
that Pokémon.
16
Pokémon Advancement
At the end of each game session, each Pokémon
gains experience (xp). For each of the
statements below, the Pokémon gains 1xp, or 2xp
if it happened multiple times
• You helped a person or Pokémon in need
• You played out your Pokémon Traits
• You attempted to complete a challenge by
using your abilities, type or description
A Pokémon gains an advancement point when it
passes its advancement threshold, determined
by the formula below:
17
Pokémon Advancement
Pokémon can spend Advancement points on the
advancement options below:
• 1 point = learn a new ability
• 1 point = use a keyword to create a new
ability
• 1 point = use a keyword to modify a pre-
existing ability
• 1 point = evolve for the first time
• 2 points = evolve for the second time
• 1 point = learn an ability whose type matches
the Pokémon’s Type but is not on their ability
list
• 2 points = learn an ability whose type does
not match the Pokémon’s Type and is not on
their ability list
• 1 point = change a Pokémon’s trait
Normal Type Pokémon can learn any abilities of
any type for 1 advancement point.
18
Pokémon Health
All Pokémon have Health, which represents the
overall stamina and endurance of the Pokémon.
When a Pokémon runs out of current health they
cannot fight or use their abilities.
19
Catching Pokémon
Trainers can catch up to a maximum of 6
Pokémon each. Pokémon can only be caught
after the Trainer has appealed to the Pokémon’s
traits.
20
Pokémon Battles
Battles between Pokémon can be modelled in two
formats - Scenarios and Contests. During
battles the Guide should switch between the two
formats as the narrative dictates.
Scenarios are used when one participant has
set up a challenging situation which their
opponent must counter or overcome to progress
through the battle. Scenarios are most common
in Gym Battles, or when one Pokémon in a battle
has gained the upper hand. Typically, the Guide
will use normal actions to resolve Scenarios. It
might take repeated successes to fully resolve
a Scenario.
Scenario examples:
• A Magmar is submerged in lava, only emerging
to strike its opponents.
• A Mr Mime moves effortlessly through a hall of
mirrors, leaving fake substitute versions in
its place.
• An Onix thrashes wildly amidst a dusty canyon,
blocking the path. Its movements have stirred
up a cloud of sand, blocking vision. Mining
equipment is strewn around. Unseen, its tail
is trapped inside the remains of a digger.
21
Pokémon Battles
Contests are used when both participants are
on an even footing. In this case, the Guide uses
the rules for Contested Actions. The outcome of
the Contest might result in another contest, or
in a Scenario for one side to overcome.
22
Pokémon Traits List
To generate Pokémon traits, roll 2 dice. The
first dice is the tens column and the second
dice is the units column.
23
Trainer Class
Players can roll on this table to give them an
idea about what sort of character they will
play. The Guide can also use this whenever they
need a random non-player character. Roll 2
dice, the first dice is the tens column and the
second dice is the units column.
24
Generation II+
Later Pokémon Generations also include the
Steel, Dark and Fairy types, which use the type
chart below.
25
Adding Pokémon
If the Guide wish to include Pokémon from later
generations outside those covered in the
Pokédex, it is a simple process.
• Note down the Pokémon’s type(s) and species.
• Consider the Pokémon’s overall size - you may
wish to search for it online and compare to
other Pokémon. It can be Tiny, Small, Medium,
Large or Gigantic.
• Determine its health as per page 19.
• Find its move list online from the Pokémon
games. Look for any moves already in Pokémon
Essence and assign them to its potential
abilty pool.
• Move lists from Generation III to VI tend
to work best.
• You may wish to invent abilities. If you do
so they should be appreciable different
from existing moves. For instance, rock
throw, rock slide rock blast and rock tomb
are not very different. Try to make the
moves very qualitative.
• Put 2 to 4 abilities in the ability pool,
dependent on how evolved the Pokémon is.
26
Pokémon Essence Character Sheet
Name: Draw your trainer and their Pokémon
Pronouns: in the space below.
Traits:
Trainer Class:
Description:
Items:
Notes:
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Name: Size: Abilities
Species: Experience:
Description:
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Type:
Type Description:
Traits:
Health (current/max):
Pokémon
Essence Version 0.8