Making Your Trainer
You are not picking a class. You are building a person who is about to walk into the Pokémon World with everything they have and nothing they can count on. Start with who they are, then what they want, then how they hold up under pressure.
Who they are
- Role and title. What do people call you? Gym challenger, ranger, research assistant, nobody in particular, someone who owes money in three towns. Your title is what doors open for you — and what people expect of you.
- Home region. Where are you from? Kanto, Johto, or further off. Your home shapes your accent, your contacts, and the reasons you left.
- Background. A short history — the job you quit, the family you left, the mistake you're running from or the promise you're keeping.
What they want
- Goal. Your concrete external drive — earn eight badges, find someone, win the tournament, get out of debt. This is what the world tests you against.
- Wants. The quieter thing underneath. To be seen. To be safe. To prove someone wrong.
- Fears. What actually scares you. Losing your partner, going home broke, becoming like your old man.
- Secret. Something true about you that would change how people treat you if it got out. The world can find out — that is what secrets are for.
How they hold up
Your trainer has six traits, each rated from −1 to +3. At creation, allocate these scores: +2, +1, +1, +0, +0, −1.
| Trait | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Brawn | Strength, endurance, lifting, throwing, wrestling |
| Grace | Speed, reflexes, catching, dodging, balance, finesse |
| Charm | Talking people around, seduction, negotiation, friendship |
| Grit | Resolve, stubbornness, pushing through pain, holding course |
| Wits | Noticing, figuring out, strategy, reading people, remembering |
| Cool | Nerve, bluffing, staying calm when it all goes wrong |
Your trainer style is how you battle and bond — commanding, improvising, hands-off, reckless, patient. It is not a stat; it is a promise about how you play. Your style decides which traits you reach for in a fight and how your Pokémon learn to trust you.
What you carry
Start with a basic loadout: a few Poké Balls, a Potion or two, a berry or three, and your key items — Pokédex, Town Map, Trainer's Bag, Journal, and a Badge Case that starts empty. You have a little money in ₽ and a place, however thin, to sleep. Your GM will help you set the starting amounts for your story.
Your partner
Pick the Pokémon that matters to you most — your partner, the one that chose you back. It may be a starter from a professor's lab, a stray that followed you home, a childhood friend, or a creature you caught and never let go. You'll build the details in Your Partner, Your Party. The bond between you starts wherever your story puts it — often wary, sometimes already working. The game is about what you do from there.