Post by Salient on Feb 1, 2016 3:51:09 GMT 1
Now that everyone has submitted their ideas, we can start discussing the final plot for our game. We will try to look at reoccurring trends in the submissions, and decide what we do like and what we don't. We will try to include everything that is liked from the plots in the game, but please don't be offended if your idea doesn't make the cut. At this point, new plots may not be submitted but you can slightly modify an idea that has already been submitted. Don't be an asshole if you don't like someone's ideas, just say why you don't like it.
The Submissions:
formerhope's
In this story, the region has been under the constant attack of raiders for the last 30-40 years. Despite the modern day technology, these raiders have developed sophisticated ways to quickly assemble, attack and steal before a counter attack can be formed. The constant attacks have led this region to become much more robust than most regions, with many gym leaders taking on the role of town leader and protector. While the Gym Challenge is still a thing, many trainers instead inspire to be the hero who pushes the invaders out for good.
But yet, the constant darkness has sprung forth a new order. Known simply as the "Night's Guard" they are led by a man known as "The Prophet". Many claim he has visions of a better and more pure world, a world without pokemon and for these people, who daily face the constant threat of a pokemon bursting in and attacking, stealing and harming them. This group's ideals quickly take hold. Many people, while still loving pokemon, find this promise of a peaceful world enchanting and allow themselves to become apart of this order to protect themselves and create a better life for their family.
The main character starts his/her journey having arrived at a trainer school. After some training the protagonist is picked up by a Gym Leader. After some more training with this gym leader, the protagonist is sent to a cave where they find an old tomb and a broken seal. Returning to town, they find a giant spider attacking and destroying the city. They try to fight it, but are saved by the Gym Leader, who eventually gives his life to the trainer.
From there, the trainer travels and becomes stronger while unraveling the mystery of that pokemon. Along the ways he encounters a young, and impressionable girl looking for a pokemon professor gone missing.
Eventually he discovers she is part of a trio of pokemon. One pokemon who creates, one who destroys and one who watches. The pokemon of creation, Temponae (the spider) has been locked away for many years, spinning the threads over and over again to keep the world fresh. However, sensing the awakening of the pokemon of destruction (Rudrak), Temponae awakens and begins to recover it's strength by consuming the treads of fate woven into the lives of every living thing. Meanwhile, the final pokemon of observation, the girl. Has arrived with no clue of who she truly is as to decide if this world is worth saving or if it should be destroyed. Your decisions shape her perception and when it comes down to it. She will make the choice whether to save the world of pokemon. Or allow every human to transcend to 'paradise'.
"Bad Guy Groups"
Raiders - A very basic bad guys. Based off of Mughals from actual history. They have an incredibly simplistic goal, take what others have so they can live better. However, they have been promised by their leader that eventually they will take full control of the region and be able to "live like kings".
Night's Guard - The morally gray group. Their Leader, The Prophet, has been gifted with eyes that can see through the webs of fate and even into other worlds. With this gift, he has seen into the real world and gains the belief that we are living in paradise. However, what he also comes to realize is that the only way to save humanity, is to destroy the current reality. So he causes Rudrak to be awakened to allow this to happen.
One of the key differences from most bad guys, is that these guys honestly believe they are doing the right thing and are essentially good people. Their leader isn't greedy, angry or bad at all. Instead one of his defining character traits is that he is intensely kind. However this kindness has led him to want to save everyone, leading him to starting allowing others to be hurt for the "Final Goal". Relating back to the theme of "Does the end justify the means".
Key Plot Legends:
Temponae - The main legend of the game, this pokemon is trying to save the world from destruction by Rudrak. To do this, it is on a quest to reclaim "fate threads" from living creatures. For Temponae, killing for these threads make sense. After all, he is saving them and for the "greater good" and so some people need to die for everyone to live. (hint hint, theme)
Rudrak - (based from the legend idea by DinaIsha) the pokemon of destruction. He was created to end the world should it become too destructive. Or alternatively, is a balancing force. Bringing about entropy to the world until everything has been balanced back to the same point. This pokemon is not evil, nor does it really think at all. When awoken, it simply does it's job of restoring balance to whatever state may be required.
TBD named - Pokemon of Observation, this pokemon is "the watcher" the most conscious of the three. This pokemon is meant to be the true awakener of Rudrak. Or the aid of Temponae should Rudrak start attacking at a wrong time. However due to <reasons> it has been quite some time since this pokemon walked the earth. So to truly learn if the world is worth saving, it creates the body of a human and erases memories of itself as to learn the truth.
godfather4's
-Professor is also gym leader.
-your Rival was your nearest friend but became part of an evil gang. He's also professors son.
-The champion works half-time with the cops(good guy)
This is the background story around characters explained:
Main protagonist - is invited to enter a villain faction but refuses > get's threatened > league champion appears and saves him and his mother and encourages him to become a pokemon trainer. So he visits professor [unknown name(should be a poll for this)] to get his first poke and goes out for exploring. The guy who invited him is waiting to ambush him at the nearest route > they become rivals.
Main Rival - invites you to join his gang/faction and fight for the "good" of sumthin'. You see yourself around bad ppl and decide to refuse. He's professors son who just recently joined an evil gang and he truly believes in them so he becomes your enemy from that day on.
Professor [] - is a very smart and cool guy(nice hair) who is also a gym leader(steel or bug should be a good idea, but other types also fit). His son is your friend since you were kids. However, due to bad influence he ends up as part of an evil team, which makes professor really sad.
Your goal would be to go back in time temporairly(thanks to temponae) and defeat the gangs leader before you loose your friend. On the way you go past the elite four to ask for the champions help, but he looses to you and says you need nothing else than yourself.
Saburo's [who is cute]
119 years ago
The Kyoru region, for years, stood peaceful and prominent until a mysterious figure found the web caves of Temponae. Stumbling further into the cave, he became unaware of how long he was there, or how much time has passed, objects appeared and disappeared before him, he saw people walk right past him, some he knew. Stumbling even further into the webs, everything around him swirled in cosmic energy he has never seen or felt, his body was becoming lost in time, but he felt it was okay just as long he found it. As his body was almost completely lost, he came into the most innermost chamber of the webs of time. He became drawn to one string in particular, as he drew closer to the string of web, he pulled out a dagger. Suddenly, a hiss echoed the chamber. The webs started to vibrate and the energy grew even stronger. It was Temponae, keeper of fate, crawling towards the mysterious figure. The mysterious figure drew out a Pokeball summoning a Scizor. As the Pokemon were fighting, the mysterious figure began to slice at the web. The energy around the cave started to tremble the cave The web was thick, and as he was preparing the final cut, Temponae shot a web at the mysterious figure's hand preventing him from cutting the web. Scizor was on it's knees, weak from the fight. As Temponae approached the mysterious figure, hissing. The mysterious figure pulled out a gem, the gem looked the same material as the dagger, and the gem helped the mysterious figure traverse the cave without losing his body as fast. The mysterious figure threw the gem to Scizor and shouted "Crush It". As Scizor crushed the gem, an explosion of energy shot up through the cave all the way up into the skies over the Kyoru region. Causing dangerous time shifts,the Kyoru region descended into chaos. The people of Kyoru tried to evacuate, some lives were were lost in the midst of the chaos, some were lost in time. But before the Kyoru region disappeared, Diagla appeared over the region and let out a roar, and everything was consumed in a bright white light.
Present day Kyoru
After years of surviving in an interment camp. The protagonist just turned sixteen which gives them the right to go outside the camp to bring back important minerals with a group accompanied by one of the guards. The Kyoru region is being ran by a group called the Octo Aranearum, and they are the ones who took your parents, as well as your friends parents to work somewhere else in the region. As you prepare to go outside the camp for the first time your friends wish you luck which are the only salvation for surviving. As you journey, you are amazed of all the things around you, and when you start digging, you notice these strange gems. You pick one up and suddenly you see the area around you in a different state. The gem allows you to see the place around you during a different time and allows you travel through that time, but only for so long. The protagonist realizes this, and finds one gem for him and each your friends, and hides it from everyone. When you return, you explain everything to your friends, and decide it's time to escape, find all of our parents, and find help to take back the region. Some of your friends are for it, but some of them ask "How will we survive after?" "We don't have Pokemon to defend ourselves". In the end, you all decide to escape the next night. Using the gems to escape through walls and fences. You end up in the forest, trying to stay away from harmful Pokemon. And you all end up seeing a cabin the woods, it's abandoned. You all spend the night there. When you all wake up, there is a figure looming over you. You all freak out, after some questioning, the person reveals them self to be a retired professor. After hearing your plan, he takes you down to the basement where there is a huge underground lab. He gives you the choice of a Pokemon for you and your friends. After you train with your friends, the professor says you should all start by freeing your hometown, and right after your friends leave. The professor pulls you aside, and shows you all his research and work on the legendary Pokemon, Temponae. He then walks away back up towards the stairs to the cabin, and says "Find the caves, it's the only way to find your parents" as you run towards him up the stairs demanding how he knew that, he's gone.
This starts off your journey, and after you free your hometown. You and your friends decide it's best to split up or go in pairs through the region. As you journey alone, freeing other camps and taking back the gyms or "outposts" you start to find out the mysteries behind the professor and Temponae. As you battle the leaders of the Octo Aranearum, and beat them, they reveal that one of your friends is a traitor causing chaos among your friends, and even some death. You discover that your parents were killed when you escaped the interment camp. You decide you have to find Temponae and turn back time.
When you take back most of the region, you discover the caves of Temponae using the gems you found. You learn that you must cut the thread that speaks to you. Going through the cave, you battle past friends, talk with people you loved who are dead, your body disappearing. When you reach the innermost chamber of webs, Temponae is waiting for you. You battle it, and once you beat it. Your friends find you, telling you not to cut the web because it will cause chaos. You have a choice to either cut the web or not. Either way, the web gets cut. You start going through time shifts in reverse order instead of starting from the beginning, trying to find your way out, you start seeing and hearing things from your friends POV that start filling in what happened throughout the game. You fix what bad has happened throughout the game (like deaths), and when you reach the beginning of the game. No one is there, except the professor. He reveals to you that he was the one who first discovered the gems, which are from Diagla. He then explains he was the first to find a way into the chambers of Temponae and wanted to reverse time because he made a lot of mistakes that involved his parents death. He then continues that Temponae didn't allow him to cut it, and fearing that he had no other option told his Scizor to crush the Diagla gem. Causing the terrible legend that is spoken today. He then explains that Diagla appeared before him in a white light after, and how he had a choice, and before he fades the professor says "Make the right choice" and a white light appears, and Diagla is before you. You can make the choice to be with your family or stay here on kyoru and rebuild it.
The Villains
Minus Aranearum (Lesser spiders): The basic grunt guys. They run the Interment camps, and patrol the streets of the city in the beginning of the game towards the middle of the game.
Maior Aranearum (Greater spiders): The basic grunt guys, but even tougher. They will be towards the middle and the end of the game.
Octo Aranearum (Eight spiders): The eight leaders that run the Kyoru region. Their goal is too run an efficient and profitable region. But are after you for freeing the region. And one of the protagonists friends is a part of the team.
Level 51's
Kyoru is a beautiful region. At every corner lies wonderful beauty; sparkling streams, lush forests, breathtaking wildlife. Even the most polluted regions are beautiful in their own rights; the industrial powerhouse of the region, while smoggy, is home to marvellous pieces of architecture filled with brilliant minds working towards the advancement of the Kyoru region.
At the centre of Kyoru lies a large cave. Legends say that within this cave lies Temponae, a huge spider which has existed since the beginning of time itself. It is rumoured that Temponae's breaths keep time moving; they keep the laughing streams flowing, the prismatic flowers blooming, the amazing wild Pokemon living. However, the same time that brings life also brings death.
Prism Inc. [name not final] is a research and development firm, one of the largest and most advanced in the Pokemon world. However, one of their most brilliant scientists lies on his deathbed, fighting against a sickness which doctors are certain he will never recover from. His colleagues and friends, unwilling that such a brilliant mind should disappear so soon, have tried everything, and now they are about to attempt their last resort. It is said that Temponae spins the fabric of time into its webs, and that a piece of its thread could grant someone eternal life. Over the course of the game, the scientists steal equipment and chemicals from various cities, break into Temponae's lair, and manage to escape with a piece of its webbing. Given to the young scientist, he recovers miraculously, and continues his work.
(note: throughout the story the Prism Inc. scientists behave like the evil team, so you fight them to stop them from stealing things... but they steal it anyway. ok)
However, the theft of the web appears to have brought about some unintended consequences. Breaking the web has caused a disturbance in the fabric of time, making Temponae somewhat more irritable than before. Perhaps because of this, time also seems to progress at an erratic rate; people have reported planting berries only to see them sprout, grow and bloom before their eyes (these effects should perhaps occur after the 8th gym, similar to the intense sun / rain in Ruby and Sapphire). Your character, noticed as a strong trainer by defeating the 8 gyms, is tasked with putting things right.
Meanwhile, the young scientist grows disillusioned with his new life; seeing that he is living on borrowed time, he fails to see the meaning in his new life. The scientist meets your character at the top of Prism Inc. to return the piece of thread. (This is a large trainer-filled dungeon, similar to the Team Magma / Aqua hideout. Presumably the other scientists don't want him to return the string.) By catching Temponae and reuniting it with the thread, not only do you restore peace and order to Kyoru, but you also grant the young scientist one last gift: the gift of death.
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Edit: Here are what I believe are the main selling points of this plot over other ones, which is why I suggested it.
- (Strong) motive for 'villains' to operate.
- Provides a good framework for encounters with villains throughout the storyline as they steal things, as well as opportunities for challenging encounters and dungeons (you can have a big 'boss' encounter outside the cave as they break in, as well as a large dungeon-style (think Silph Co.) episode as you climb the Prism Inc. tower).
- Fits in easily with most settings without affecting the overall atmosphere of the game too much.
- If they are wanted, 'Life' / 'Death' legendaries can be easily fit in with the theme somehow I guess.
- Happy ending, though without completely perfect / win-win. No deus ex machina.
- Not too intense throughout, allows for carefree / light-hearted moments amid the plot (especially near the start).
- Less unnecessary drama. Only dramatic scene could be at the top of Prism Inc. as the scientist returns you the thread.
- Allows for a more mature theme (discusses the passage of time, death etc) while still adhering to many of the main themes of Pokemon games (exploration, adventure).
Salient's
Today our young hero awakens to the dawn of a new day in the beautiful Kyoru region. Today is an important in our hero's life, he is meeting with Professor Willow about receiving his first Pokemon. At Professor Willow's Pokemon Lab, the main character meets another trainer who is getting their first Pokemon as well. The professor talks them through the basics of being a Pokemon trainer (how to battle, the gyms, the elite 4 etc). After choosing their Pokemon, the other trainer, who we now know is Kim (filler name) challenges the protagonist to a battle. As soon as the battle ends, Professor Willow receives a call. We hear one side of the conversation (obviously), ending with "...Yes, I'll be there immediately." Willow proceeds to leave, informing them that she's going to (big city), and proceeds to tell them that same city has a Pokemon gym and hopes to meet them there. Our hero and his new found friend and rival Kim, head home to say goodbye to their parents.
The protagonist and Kim meetup again at the gate of Route 1, and set off on their journey to (city). On this route, the protagonist sees a patch of grass disappear, right in front of him. As he approaches the area, the grass reappears. Once he reaches the next city, he finds Professor Willow who had stopped to do something before heading to (big city). He tells her about what happened, and says she got a report similar to that from (big city), which is why she was heading there. Willow then proceeds to tell him about the legendary Pokemon, Temponae. As she speaks, we see Temponae's cave and all of the thread it's made in black and white. She then tells the player that she believes something is wrong with Temponae and the other legendary Pokemon, before heading off.
After defeating and exiting the (city) gym, the player is challenged by a grunt, threatening to steal his Pokemon. Upon defeat, the grunt runs away, saying that "(team name) shall not give up". After healing his Pokemon, the protagonist heads to route (x) and meets up with Kim. There, they have their second battle. After arriving at (big city) and challenging the third Pokemon gym, the protagonist meets with Professor Willow to investigate more strange occurrences happening in the city. As they're looking into the disappearance of a statue, Kim appears in a panic. She's screaming over someone taking her Pokemon, and after calming down she explains what happened. The protagonist, in search of (team name) to get back Kim's Pokemon. He finds a goon standing in an alleyway, and follows him into a hideout. He is challenged by the grunts inside of it, and upon winning receives Kim's Pokemon. The grunts flee the hideout, mumbling about how (team admin) will be mad. The player returns the Pokemon to Kim.
After having an uneventful journey to the 4th gym, the player reaches (4th gym city) and after exiting the Pokemon Center, is challenged to a battle by Kim. After winning, the player heads to the gym, only to find out that the gym leader had gone to the local power plant to find the cause of recent blackouts. Upon reaching the power plant, the player is stopped by (team name) grunts, claiming they have "business" to do. The player battles his way through the power plant until he reaches the admins who are holding the gym leader hostage. They leave, saying they got all the power they needed. The gym leader tells the player that he heard something about their "base in (big city)", and that their goal was apparently "bring eternal life to all humans and Pokemon".
The player, now having 4 badges, heads to (big city) after being called by Professor Willow to meet him there. The player infiltrates the team's base with surprising ease. Once reached the second to last floor, he learns that the team had evacuated the building upon learning he was coming. The team leader had left "strong" grunts to assess the player's skills and report back to her. After defeating all of the grunts, the remaining grunts leave the building and the player gains access to the boss's office. There he finds a photo of her and "someone who looks very familiar...", and a book about legendary Pokemon, flipped to Temponae's page.
From then, (team name) drops completely off the grid. Only until (6th gym city, based on Agra), where he is challenged by an admin, does he see another (team name) member. The player follows the admin through the city to the (taj mahal). There, (team name) grunts block his way from entering. The player, needing the gym leader's assistance to enter the (taj mahal), challenges the Pokemon gym to prove he is "worthy" to the gym leader.
The evil team had dug their way into the basement inside of the (taj mahal) in order to find more lore about Temponae. The player, after fighting his way through, found his way into the basement as the team's leader is reading out loud from a book. In the book, it explains Temponae's threads and cave. The gold threads represent existence, while blue colored threads represent life. Every time something is born, a blue thread appears closer to the center of Temponae's web. The web is constantly expanding, forming "the entire universe". As a blue thread becomes longer, it starts to become weaker. Another legendary Pokemon comes in and eats the thread once it is too weak to remain in the web, signifying death. The leader, now finished reading aloud, asks out loud: "could Temponae's thread be used to bring someone back to life?" At that point, the leader realizes the player is behind her. After a lengthy talk, the leader leaves, taking all the information about Temponae with her.
The evil team, again disappearing completely, is nowhere to be seen. The player continues along on their journey after Professor Willow promised to lookout for any signs of them. When arriving to the 7th gym's city, the player encounters a familiar man being attacked by two (team name) grunts. The man asks for help, and as soon as the battle starts, something it seems something changed to (team name). The tempo of the battle music is much faster, and the grunts are battling more aggressively now. The man, sending out a very strong Pokemon, easily defeats both grunts with the player's help. After the battle, the man introduces himself as the champion, and thanks the player for his help. Again, dead silence from (team name).
After the eighth gym, the player receives a message from Professor Willow to meet him at the (Himalayas). When he gets there, the champion and Professor Willow explain that (team name) was sighted at the base of (Mt. Everest) and tells him to head there. And after a long and grueling journey, the player reaches the top of (Mt. Everest). He is challenged by one of four (team name) Admins, and proceeds his descent into Temponae's cave. As he gets closer to the bottom, the intensity of battles increases drastically. Going from semi-easy wins to extremely close battles. He battles the rest of the admins along the way, who say things like "the boss is getting scarier", "I think she's lost it", and even "The boss was lying to all of us along, but she threatened us if we left". These are to explain the intensity of the battles, as the leader became "unhinged". Before entering Temponae's cave, where the team's leader is, the champion arrives and heals the player's Pokemon. They enter the cave together, and enter a cutscene. The scene zooms in on Temponae, who is at the bottom of a large pit on a web. It then shows the leader looking down, and she has a menacing look on her face. She turns around, seeing the champion and the player. The leader, not screaming, turns to the champion and says: "This is all your fault!"
At this point, the leader goes off on a rant that basically explains all of this: the champion and her are related, and when they were younger their parents had been killed by thieves on her brother's birthday. When she was older, she started (team name) originally to try to bring back her parents, and had lied and said it was to "give humans and Pokemon eternal life". She had planned to "recreate" her parents' threads on the web, but after finding out that it wasn't possible, she grew angry and decided to get her revenge on her brother, saying it was his fault they had gone out that night in the first place. Now that she had full control over (Pokemon that eats away at the threads), she was going to use it as well as Temponae to control the world, killing anyone that opposed her rule: starting with her brother and the player. A battle then begins between her and the player. The leader will be as strong as the champion, having a large variety of high-leveled Pokemon.
After winning, the champion goes up to her sister to stop her from controlling the (thread eating Pokemon), and uses one of his Pokemon to destroy the machine. Once everything is settled, stones appear leading down to Temponae, and the player heads down and is able to battle it.
After these events, Professor Willow arrives and aids the Champion into taking away (team leader). The player leaves the cave, and returns on his journey, after finding out that the team had run before they had arrived. The events of the game proceed as normal, with little issues.
After beating the champion, we'll be using Snaq's idea for the post game, with either (team name) or have a team from a previous game return.
Major Characters:
Protagonists:
Player: The player is trying to beat all 8 Pokemon Gyms. On his journey, he meets the evil team and learns of their plan to imprison Temponae. Professor Willow, who is busy trying to prevent panic from the vanishing objects throughout the region, asks the player to stop the evil team.
Kim: The player's rival and friend. They battle often, and the player helps her a lot during the game. She would always be female, similar to Barry always being the rival in DPPt.
Champion: Met sometime around the 4th gym, the champion becomes important to the plot when they help the player discover where the evil team is heading. He is related to the evil team's leader.
Professor Willow: Gives the player help when necessary, and encourages them to beat all 8 gyms and stop the evil team.
Antagonists:
anti-Temponae 'mon: A Pokemon, who originally just existed in Temponae's cave, that began eating away at the threads. Eventually, this Pokemon became controlled by the evil team (we learn of this around the 5th gym), and was being used to get to the center of Temponae's cave.
Evil Team Leader: We don't meet the leader until the 7th gym, where she battles the player to see "if the rumors are true." Not battling to her full potential, she will have a fairly "competitive" team, showing how strong her Pokemon really are. In the final battle between her and the player, she proves to be just as strong as Kyoru's champion.
Evil Team Admins: Consisting of all males, the Admins are strong, but easily overcome. All four are arrogant, and throw tantrums after losing to the player. They all rematch the player at the very bottom of Temponae's cave.
Other things:
Towns/cities should be fairly large because of India's large population.
The Evil Team uses many different Pokemon. This is to show they're actually stealing them, rather than everyone using the same Pokemon.
We forgot to include this, but at some point in the story we find out that the legendary Pokemon that destroys/eats/erases Temponae's strings is in control of (team name) and has been used to get rid of obstacles.
Anonymous Platypus's
Esteban's Story:
Esteban, the champion, originates from Geosenge Town in Kalos. He found a Pokémon egg containing Kyoru's Pseudo-legend when he was 8, and received a Froakie from Sycamore. He moved to Kyoru shortly after, leaving his childhood friend, Laura. His parents couldn't afford to send him back to Kalos to complete his journey, so he set out in Kyoru instead, quickly becoming a loved and respected champion who spoke of peace
Laura's Story:
Laura, on the other hand, has a much darker past. Her mother died while trying to get her abusive father out of her life for good. Said man lives in Geosenge Town. She received a Togepi from her late mother. Esteban became good friends with her and would always try to protect her the best he could, but one day, Laura's father killed Togepi and had his own Pokémon OHKO Esteban and his Pokémon with Dark Stream. After Esteban moved, Laura stole her father's Pokémon and ran away from home.
Once she saved up enough money, she headed to Kyoru to try and find Esteban because he ws her only true friend. She infiltrated the villainous team and became the leader after defeating the old one with ease. The team's goal was to use Temponae's power to make Kyoru an economic powerhouse so the team's empire would prosper whereas Laura wanted to use Temponae to erase her awful memories. (memories are actually connections your brain makes to the outside world)
Plot:
Villainous team takes over Kyoru before the events in the game begin. Esteban helps the player out of a camp where he/she is being forced to work. The professor there mistakenly gives a Pokémon to player, but when the professor realizes it, the starter has grown attached to the player. Esteban continues to guide you throughout your journey as you try to make your way through a complete dictatorship at the hands of the villainous team. Esteban and Laura are unaware that they are fighting each other for most of the story. It's only after Laura successfully awakens Temponae that they realize that they were fighting each other the whole time. Temponae attacks because it is enraged that it had been awakened for such selfish purposes. It defeates both Esteban and Laura, leaving the player to fight it. Laura's grunts, who were no match for her, fled out of fear.
After the player defeats/catches Temponae, Laura admits her guilt and admits that she was selfish for trying to use Temponae to fix her problems. Esteban forgives her and explains that memories and connections are a part of who we are, and that she wouldn't have been the same without her abusive past. He points out that he had visited her old house during the Festival of Champions and her father explained that Laura ran away because he was such a horrible father. Her father had an appiffiny when Laura ran away. He realized that he was a horrible father and did his best to overcome his problems. He said that Togepi didn't actually die and that he wanted Laura to be reunited with Togepi. Esteban gives Laura her Togepi, and upon seeing Laura, it evolved into Togetic. Esteban also mentions that Laura's father wanted Esteban to apologize to her on his behalf. Laura doesn't quite forgive him, but implies that forgiveness is on the table. Esteban says that her father said she is welcome to come home whenever she feels ready.
Lastly, Esteban tells the player that he looks forward to the battle against the player. He also invites Laura into the Elite 4 because one of the members had just retired. Laura accepts the invitation. Her team is a little more varied than the other Elite 4 members because she did a lot of adventuring.
The Submissions:
formerhope's
In this story, the region has been under the constant attack of raiders for the last 30-40 years. Despite the modern day technology, these raiders have developed sophisticated ways to quickly assemble, attack and steal before a counter attack can be formed. The constant attacks have led this region to become much more robust than most regions, with many gym leaders taking on the role of town leader and protector. While the Gym Challenge is still a thing, many trainers instead inspire to be the hero who pushes the invaders out for good.
But yet, the constant darkness has sprung forth a new order. Known simply as the "Night's Guard" they are led by a man known as "The Prophet". Many claim he has visions of a better and more pure world, a world without pokemon and for these people, who daily face the constant threat of a pokemon bursting in and attacking, stealing and harming them. This group's ideals quickly take hold. Many people, while still loving pokemon, find this promise of a peaceful world enchanting and allow themselves to become apart of this order to protect themselves and create a better life for their family.
The main character starts his/her journey having arrived at a trainer school. After some training the protagonist is picked up by a Gym Leader. After some more training with this gym leader, the protagonist is sent to a cave where they find an old tomb and a broken seal. Returning to town, they find a giant spider attacking and destroying the city. They try to fight it, but are saved by the Gym Leader, who eventually gives his life to the trainer.
From there, the trainer travels and becomes stronger while unraveling the mystery of that pokemon. Along the ways he encounters a young, and impressionable girl looking for a pokemon professor gone missing.
Eventually he discovers she is part of a trio of pokemon. One pokemon who creates, one who destroys and one who watches. The pokemon of creation, Temponae (the spider) has been locked away for many years, spinning the threads over and over again to keep the world fresh. However, sensing the awakening of the pokemon of destruction (Rudrak), Temponae awakens and begins to recover it's strength by consuming the treads of fate woven into the lives of every living thing. Meanwhile, the final pokemon of observation, the girl. Has arrived with no clue of who she truly is as to decide if this world is worth saving or if it should be destroyed. Your decisions shape her perception and when it comes down to it. She will make the choice whether to save the world of pokemon. Or allow every human to transcend to 'paradise'.
"Bad Guy Groups"
Raiders - A very basic bad guys. Based off of Mughals from actual history. They have an incredibly simplistic goal, take what others have so they can live better. However, they have been promised by their leader that eventually they will take full control of the region and be able to "live like kings".
Night's Guard - The morally gray group. Their Leader, The Prophet, has been gifted with eyes that can see through the webs of fate and even into other worlds. With this gift, he has seen into the real world and gains the belief that we are living in paradise. However, what he also comes to realize is that the only way to save humanity, is to destroy the current reality. So he causes Rudrak to be awakened to allow this to happen.
One of the key differences from most bad guys, is that these guys honestly believe they are doing the right thing and are essentially good people. Their leader isn't greedy, angry or bad at all. Instead one of his defining character traits is that he is intensely kind. However this kindness has led him to want to save everyone, leading him to starting allowing others to be hurt for the "Final Goal". Relating back to the theme of "Does the end justify the means".
Key Plot Legends:
Temponae - The main legend of the game, this pokemon is trying to save the world from destruction by Rudrak. To do this, it is on a quest to reclaim "fate threads" from living creatures. For Temponae, killing for these threads make sense. After all, he is saving them and for the "greater good" and so some people need to die for everyone to live. (hint hint, theme)
Rudrak - (based from the legend idea by DinaIsha) the pokemon of destruction. He was created to end the world should it become too destructive. Or alternatively, is a balancing force. Bringing about entropy to the world until everything has been balanced back to the same point. This pokemon is not evil, nor does it really think at all. When awoken, it simply does it's job of restoring balance to whatever state may be required.
TBD named - Pokemon of Observation, this pokemon is "the watcher" the most conscious of the three. This pokemon is meant to be the true awakener of Rudrak. Or the aid of Temponae should Rudrak start attacking at a wrong time. However due to <reasons> it has been quite some time since this pokemon walked the earth. So to truly learn if the world is worth saving, it creates the body of a human and erases memories of itself as to learn the truth.
godfather4's
-Professor is also gym leader.
-your Rival was your nearest friend but became part of an evil gang. He's also professors son.
-The champion works half-time with the cops(good guy)
This is the background story around characters explained:
Main protagonist - is invited to enter a villain faction but refuses > get's threatened > league champion appears and saves him and his mother and encourages him to become a pokemon trainer. So he visits professor [unknown name(should be a poll for this)] to get his first poke and goes out for exploring. The guy who invited him is waiting to ambush him at the nearest route > they become rivals.
Main Rival - invites you to join his gang/faction and fight for the "good" of sumthin'. You see yourself around bad ppl and decide to refuse. He's professors son who just recently joined an evil gang and he truly believes in them so he becomes your enemy from that day on.
Professor [] - is a very smart and cool guy(nice hair) who is also a gym leader(steel or bug should be a good idea, but other types also fit). His son is your friend since you were kids. However, due to bad influence he ends up as part of an evil team, which makes professor really sad.
Your goal would be to go back in time temporairly(thanks to temponae) and defeat the gangs leader before you loose your friend. On the way you go past the elite four to ask for the champions help, but he looses to you and says you need nothing else than yourself.
Saburo's [who is cute]
119 years ago
The Kyoru region, for years, stood peaceful and prominent until a mysterious figure found the web caves of Temponae. Stumbling further into the cave, he became unaware of how long he was there, or how much time has passed, objects appeared and disappeared before him, he saw people walk right past him, some he knew. Stumbling even further into the webs, everything around him swirled in cosmic energy he has never seen or felt, his body was becoming lost in time, but he felt it was okay just as long he found it. As his body was almost completely lost, he came into the most innermost chamber of the webs of time. He became drawn to one string in particular, as he drew closer to the string of web, he pulled out a dagger. Suddenly, a hiss echoed the chamber. The webs started to vibrate and the energy grew even stronger. It was Temponae, keeper of fate, crawling towards the mysterious figure. The mysterious figure drew out a Pokeball summoning a Scizor. As the Pokemon were fighting, the mysterious figure began to slice at the web. The energy around the cave started to tremble the cave The web was thick, and as he was preparing the final cut, Temponae shot a web at the mysterious figure's hand preventing him from cutting the web. Scizor was on it's knees, weak from the fight. As Temponae approached the mysterious figure, hissing. The mysterious figure pulled out a gem, the gem looked the same material as the dagger, and the gem helped the mysterious figure traverse the cave without losing his body as fast. The mysterious figure threw the gem to Scizor and shouted "Crush It". As Scizor crushed the gem, an explosion of energy shot up through the cave all the way up into the skies over the Kyoru region. Causing dangerous time shifts,the Kyoru region descended into chaos. The people of Kyoru tried to evacuate, some lives were were lost in the midst of the chaos, some were lost in time. But before the Kyoru region disappeared, Diagla appeared over the region and let out a roar, and everything was consumed in a bright white light.
Present day Kyoru
After years of surviving in an interment camp. The protagonist just turned sixteen which gives them the right to go outside the camp to bring back important minerals with a group accompanied by one of the guards. The Kyoru region is being ran by a group called the Octo Aranearum, and they are the ones who took your parents, as well as your friends parents to work somewhere else in the region. As you prepare to go outside the camp for the first time your friends wish you luck which are the only salvation for surviving. As you journey, you are amazed of all the things around you, and when you start digging, you notice these strange gems. You pick one up and suddenly you see the area around you in a different state. The gem allows you to see the place around you during a different time and allows you travel through that time, but only for so long. The protagonist realizes this, and finds one gem for him and each your friends, and hides it from everyone. When you return, you explain everything to your friends, and decide it's time to escape, find all of our parents, and find help to take back the region. Some of your friends are for it, but some of them ask "How will we survive after?" "We don't have Pokemon to defend ourselves". In the end, you all decide to escape the next night. Using the gems to escape through walls and fences. You end up in the forest, trying to stay away from harmful Pokemon. And you all end up seeing a cabin the woods, it's abandoned. You all spend the night there. When you all wake up, there is a figure looming over you. You all freak out, after some questioning, the person reveals them self to be a retired professor. After hearing your plan, he takes you down to the basement where there is a huge underground lab. He gives you the choice of a Pokemon for you and your friends. After you train with your friends, the professor says you should all start by freeing your hometown, and right after your friends leave. The professor pulls you aside, and shows you all his research and work on the legendary Pokemon, Temponae. He then walks away back up towards the stairs to the cabin, and says "Find the caves, it's the only way to find your parents" as you run towards him up the stairs demanding how he knew that, he's gone.
This starts off your journey, and after you free your hometown. You and your friends decide it's best to split up or go in pairs through the region. As you journey alone, freeing other camps and taking back the gyms or "outposts" you start to find out the mysteries behind the professor and Temponae. As you battle the leaders of the Octo Aranearum, and beat them, they reveal that one of your friends is a traitor causing chaos among your friends, and even some death. You discover that your parents were killed when you escaped the interment camp. You decide you have to find Temponae and turn back time.
When you take back most of the region, you discover the caves of Temponae using the gems you found. You learn that you must cut the thread that speaks to you. Going through the cave, you battle past friends, talk with people you loved who are dead, your body disappearing. When you reach the innermost chamber of webs, Temponae is waiting for you. You battle it, and once you beat it. Your friends find you, telling you not to cut the web because it will cause chaos. You have a choice to either cut the web or not. Either way, the web gets cut. You start going through time shifts in reverse order instead of starting from the beginning, trying to find your way out, you start seeing and hearing things from your friends POV that start filling in what happened throughout the game. You fix what bad has happened throughout the game (like deaths), and when you reach the beginning of the game. No one is there, except the professor. He reveals to you that he was the one who first discovered the gems, which are from Diagla. He then explains he was the first to find a way into the chambers of Temponae and wanted to reverse time because he made a lot of mistakes that involved his parents death. He then continues that Temponae didn't allow him to cut it, and fearing that he had no other option told his Scizor to crush the Diagla gem. Causing the terrible legend that is spoken today. He then explains that Diagla appeared before him in a white light after, and how he had a choice, and before he fades the professor says "Make the right choice" and a white light appears, and Diagla is before you. You can make the choice to be with your family or stay here on kyoru and rebuild it.
The Villains
Minus Aranearum (Lesser spiders): The basic grunt guys. They run the Interment camps, and patrol the streets of the city in the beginning of the game towards the middle of the game.
Maior Aranearum (Greater spiders): The basic grunt guys, but even tougher. They will be towards the middle and the end of the game.
Octo Aranearum (Eight spiders): The eight leaders that run the Kyoru region. Their goal is too run an efficient and profitable region. But are after you for freeing the region. And one of the protagonists friends is a part of the team.
Level 51's
Kyoru is a beautiful region. At every corner lies wonderful beauty; sparkling streams, lush forests, breathtaking wildlife. Even the most polluted regions are beautiful in their own rights; the industrial powerhouse of the region, while smoggy, is home to marvellous pieces of architecture filled with brilliant minds working towards the advancement of the Kyoru region.
At the centre of Kyoru lies a large cave. Legends say that within this cave lies Temponae, a huge spider which has existed since the beginning of time itself. It is rumoured that Temponae's breaths keep time moving; they keep the laughing streams flowing, the prismatic flowers blooming, the amazing wild Pokemon living. However, the same time that brings life also brings death.
Prism Inc. [name not final] is a research and development firm, one of the largest and most advanced in the Pokemon world. However, one of their most brilliant scientists lies on his deathbed, fighting against a sickness which doctors are certain he will never recover from. His colleagues and friends, unwilling that such a brilliant mind should disappear so soon, have tried everything, and now they are about to attempt their last resort. It is said that Temponae spins the fabric of time into its webs, and that a piece of its thread could grant someone eternal life. Over the course of the game, the scientists steal equipment and chemicals from various cities, break into Temponae's lair, and manage to escape with a piece of its webbing. Given to the young scientist, he recovers miraculously, and continues his work.
(note: throughout the story the Prism Inc. scientists behave like the evil team, so you fight them to stop them from stealing things... but they steal it anyway. ok)
However, the theft of the web appears to have brought about some unintended consequences. Breaking the web has caused a disturbance in the fabric of time, making Temponae somewhat more irritable than before. Perhaps because of this, time also seems to progress at an erratic rate; people have reported planting berries only to see them sprout, grow and bloom before their eyes (these effects should perhaps occur after the 8th gym, similar to the intense sun / rain in Ruby and Sapphire). Your character, noticed as a strong trainer by defeating the 8 gyms, is tasked with putting things right.
Meanwhile, the young scientist grows disillusioned with his new life; seeing that he is living on borrowed time, he fails to see the meaning in his new life. The scientist meets your character at the top of Prism Inc. to return the piece of thread. (This is a large trainer-filled dungeon, similar to the Team Magma / Aqua hideout. Presumably the other scientists don't want him to return the string.) By catching Temponae and reuniting it with the thread, not only do you restore peace and order to Kyoru, but you also grant the young scientist one last gift: the gift of death.
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Edit: Here are what I believe are the main selling points of this plot over other ones, which is why I suggested it.
- (Strong) motive for 'villains' to operate.
- Provides a good framework for encounters with villains throughout the storyline as they steal things, as well as opportunities for challenging encounters and dungeons (you can have a big 'boss' encounter outside the cave as they break in, as well as a large dungeon-style (think Silph Co.) episode as you climb the Prism Inc. tower).
- Fits in easily with most settings without affecting the overall atmosphere of the game too much.
- If they are wanted, 'Life' / 'Death' legendaries can be easily fit in with the theme somehow I guess.
- Happy ending, though without completely perfect / win-win. No deus ex machina.
- Not too intense throughout, allows for carefree / light-hearted moments amid the plot (especially near the start).
- Less unnecessary drama. Only dramatic scene could be at the top of Prism Inc. as the scientist returns you the thread.
- Allows for a more mature theme (discusses the passage of time, death etc) while still adhering to many of the main themes of Pokemon games (exploration, adventure).
Salient's
Today our young hero awakens to the dawn of a new day in the beautiful Kyoru region. Today is an important in our hero's life, he is meeting with Professor Willow about receiving his first Pokemon. At Professor Willow's Pokemon Lab, the main character meets another trainer who is getting their first Pokemon as well. The professor talks them through the basics of being a Pokemon trainer (how to battle, the gyms, the elite 4 etc). After choosing their Pokemon, the other trainer, who we now know is Kim (filler name) challenges the protagonist to a battle. As soon as the battle ends, Professor Willow receives a call. We hear one side of the conversation (obviously), ending with "...Yes, I'll be there immediately." Willow proceeds to leave, informing them that she's going to (big city), and proceeds to tell them that same city has a Pokemon gym and hopes to meet them there. Our hero and his new found friend and rival Kim, head home to say goodbye to their parents.
The protagonist and Kim meetup again at the gate of Route 1, and set off on their journey to (city). On this route, the protagonist sees a patch of grass disappear, right in front of him. As he approaches the area, the grass reappears. Once he reaches the next city, he finds Professor Willow who had stopped to do something before heading to (big city). He tells her about what happened, and says she got a report similar to that from (big city), which is why she was heading there. Willow then proceeds to tell him about the legendary Pokemon, Temponae. As she speaks, we see Temponae's cave and all of the thread it's made in black and white. She then tells the player that she believes something is wrong with Temponae and the other legendary Pokemon, before heading off.
After defeating and exiting the (city) gym, the player is challenged by a grunt, threatening to steal his Pokemon. Upon defeat, the grunt runs away, saying that "(team name) shall not give up". After healing his Pokemon, the protagonist heads to route (x) and meets up with Kim. There, they have their second battle. After arriving at (big city) and challenging the third Pokemon gym, the protagonist meets with Professor Willow to investigate more strange occurrences happening in the city. As they're looking into the disappearance of a statue, Kim appears in a panic. She's screaming over someone taking her Pokemon, and after calming down she explains what happened. The protagonist, in search of (team name) to get back Kim's Pokemon. He finds a goon standing in an alleyway, and follows him into a hideout. He is challenged by the grunts inside of it, and upon winning receives Kim's Pokemon. The grunts flee the hideout, mumbling about how (team admin) will be mad. The player returns the Pokemon to Kim.
After having an uneventful journey to the 4th gym, the player reaches (4th gym city) and after exiting the Pokemon Center, is challenged to a battle by Kim. After winning, the player heads to the gym, only to find out that the gym leader had gone to the local power plant to find the cause of recent blackouts. Upon reaching the power plant, the player is stopped by (team name) grunts, claiming they have "business" to do. The player battles his way through the power plant until he reaches the admins who are holding the gym leader hostage. They leave, saying they got all the power they needed. The gym leader tells the player that he heard something about their "base in (big city)", and that their goal was apparently "bring eternal life to all humans and Pokemon".
The player, now having 4 badges, heads to (big city) after being called by Professor Willow to meet him there. The player infiltrates the team's base with surprising ease. Once reached the second to last floor, he learns that the team had evacuated the building upon learning he was coming. The team leader had left "strong" grunts to assess the player's skills and report back to her. After defeating all of the grunts, the remaining grunts leave the building and the player gains access to the boss's office. There he finds a photo of her and "someone who looks very familiar...", and a book about legendary Pokemon, flipped to Temponae's page.
From then, (team name) drops completely off the grid. Only until (6th gym city, based on Agra), where he is challenged by an admin, does he see another (team name) member. The player follows the admin through the city to the (taj mahal). There, (team name) grunts block his way from entering. The player, needing the gym leader's assistance to enter the (taj mahal), challenges the Pokemon gym to prove he is "worthy" to the gym leader.
The evil team had dug their way into the basement inside of the (taj mahal) in order to find more lore about Temponae. The player, after fighting his way through, found his way into the basement as the team's leader is reading out loud from a book. In the book, it explains Temponae's threads and cave. The gold threads represent existence, while blue colored threads represent life. Every time something is born, a blue thread appears closer to the center of Temponae's web. The web is constantly expanding, forming "the entire universe". As a blue thread becomes longer, it starts to become weaker. Another legendary Pokemon comes in and eats the thread once it is too weak to remain in the web, signifying death. The leader, now finished reading aloud, asks out loud: "could Temponae's thread be used to bring someone back to life?" At that point, the leader realizes the player is behind her. After a lengthy talk, the leader leaves, taking all the information about Temponae with her.
The evil team, again disappearing completely, is nowhere to be seen. The player continues along on their journey after Professor Willow promised to lookout for any signs of them. When arriving to the 7th gym's city, the player encounters a familiar man being attacked by two (team name) grunts. The man asks for help, and as soon as the battle starts, something it seems something changed to (team name). The tempo of the battle music is much faster, and the grunts are battling more aggressively now. The man, sending out a very strong Pokemon, easily defeats both grunts with the player's help. After the battle, the man introduces himself as the champion, and thanks the player for his help. Again, dead silence from (team name).
After the eighth gym, the player receives a message from Professor Willow to meet him at the (Himalayas). When he gets there, the champion and Professor Willow explain that (team name) was sighted at the base of (Mt. Everest) and tells him to head there. And after a long and grueling journey, the player reaches the top of (Mt. Everest). He is challenged by one of four (team name) Admins, and proceeds his descent into Temponae's cave. As he gets closer to the bottom, the intensity of battles increases drastically. Going from semi-easy wins to extremely close battles. He battles the rest of the admins along the way, who say things like "the boss is getting scarier", "I think she's lost it", and even "The boss was lying to all of us along, but she threatened us if we left". These are to explain the intensity of the battles, as the leader became "unhinged". Before entering Temponae's cave, where the team's leader is, the champion arrives and heals the player's Pokemon. They enter the cave together, and enter a cutscene. The scene zooms in on Temponae, who is at the bottom of a large pit on a web. It then shows the leader looking down, and she has a menacing look on her face. She turns around, seeing the champion and the player. The leader, not screaming, turns to the champion and says: "This is all your fault!"
At this point, the leader goes off on a rant that basically explains all of this: the champion and her are related, and when they were younger their parents had been killed by thieves on her brother's birthday. When she was older, she started (team name) originally to try to bring back her parents, and had lied and said it was to "give humans and Pokemon eternal life". She had planned to "recreate" her parents' threads on the web, but after finding out that it wasn't possible, she grew angry and decided to get her revenge on her brother, saying it was his fault they had gone out that night in the first place. Now that she had full control over (Pokemon that eats away at the threads), she was going to use it as well as Temponae to control the world, killing anyone that opposed her rule: starting with her brother and the player. A battle then begins between her and the player. The leader will be as strong as the champion, having a large variety of high-leveled Pokemon.
After winning, the champion goes up to her sister to stop her from controlling the (thread eating Pokemon), and uses one of his Pokemon to destroy the machine. Once everything is settled, stones appear leading down to Temponae, and the player heads down and is able to battle it.
After these events, Professor Willow arrives and aids the Champion into taking away (team leader). The player leaves the cave, and returns on his journey, after finding out that the team had run before they had arrived. The events of the game proceed as normal, with little issues.
After beating the champion, we'll be using Snaq's idea for the post game, with either (team name) or have a team from a previous game return.
Major Characters:
Protagonists:
Player: The player is trying to beat all 8 Pokemon Gyms. On his journey, he meets the evil team and learns of their plan to imprison Temponae. Professor Willow, who is busy trying to prevent panic from the vanishing objects throughout the region, asks the player to stop the evil team.
Kim: The player's rival and friend. They battle often, and the player helps her a lot during the game. She would always be female, similar to Barry always being the rival in DPPt.
Champion: Met sometime around the 4th gym, the champion becomes important to the plot when they help the player discover where the evil team is heading. He is related to the evil team's leader.
Professor Willow: Gives the player help when necessary, and encourages them to beat all 8 gyms and stop the evil team.
Antagonists:
anti-Temponae 'mon: A Pokemon, who originally just existed in Temponae's cave, that began eating away at the threads. Eventually, this Pokemon became controlled by the evil team (we learn of this around the 5th gym), and was being used to get to the center of Temponae's cave.
Evil Team Leader: We don't meet the leader until the 7th gym, where she battles the player to see "if the rumors are true." Not battling to her full potential, she will have a fairly "competitive" team, showing how strong her Pokemon really are. In the final battle between her and the player, she proves to be just as strong as Kyoru's champion.
Evil Team Admins: Consisting of all males, the Admins are strong, but easily overcome. All four are arrogant, and throw tantrums after losing to the player. They all rematch the player at the very bottom of Temponae's cave.
Other things:
Towns/cities should be fairly large because of India's large population.
The Evil Team uses many different Pokemon. This is to show they're actually stealing them, rather than everyone using the same Pokemon.
We forgot to include this, but at some point in the story we find out that the legendary Pokemon that destroys/eats/erases Temponae's strings is in control of (team name) and has been used to get rid of obstacles.
Anonymous Platypus's
Esteban's Story:
Esteban, the champion, originates from Geosenge Town in Kalos. He found a Pokémon egg containing Kyoru's Pseudo-legend when he was 8, and received a Froakie from Sycamore. He moved to Kyoru shortly after, leaving his childhood friend, Laura. His parents couldn't afford to send him back to Kalos to complete his journey, so he set out in Kyoru instead, quickly becoming a loved and respected champion who spoke of peace
Laura's Story:
Laura, on the other hand, has a much darker past. Her mother died while trying to get her abusive father out of her life for good. Said man lives in Geosenge Town. She received a Togepi from her late mother. Esteban became good friends with her and would always try to protect her the best he could, but one day, Laura's father killed Togepi and had his own Pokémon OHKO Esteban and his Pokémon with Dark Stream. After Esteban moved, Laura stole her father's Pokémon and ran away from home.
Once she saved up enough money, she headed to Kyoru to try and find Esteban because he ws her only true friend. She infiltrated the villainous team and became the leader after defeating the old one with ease. The team's goal was to use Temponae's power to make Kyoru an economic powerhouse so the team's empire would prosper whereas Laura wanted to use Temponae to erase her awful memories. (memories are actually connections your brain makes to the outside world)
Plot:
Villainous team takes over Kyoru before the events in the game begin. Esteban helps the player out of a camp where he/she is being forced to work. The professor there mistakenly gives a Pokémon to player, but when the professor realizes it, the starter has grown attached to the player. Esteban continues to guide you throughout your journey as you try to make your way through a complete dictatorship at the hands of the villainous team. Esteban and Laura are unaware that they are fighting each other for most of the story. It's only after Laura successfully awakens Temponae that they realize that they were fighting each other the whole time. Temponae attacks because it is enraged that it had been awakened for such selfish purposes. It defeates both Esteban and Laura, leaving the player to fight it. Laura's grunts, who were no match for her, fled out of fear.
After the player defeats/catches Temponae, Laura admits her guilt and admits that she was selfish for trying to use Temponae to fix her problems. Esteban forgives her and explains that memories and connections are a part of who we are, and that she wouldn't have been the same without her abusive past. He points out that he had visited her old house during the Festival of Champions and her father explained that Laura ran away because he was such a horrible father. Her father had an appiffiny when Laura ran away. He realized that he was a horrible father and did his best to overcome his problems. He said that Togepi didn't actually die and that he wanted Laura to be reunited with Togepi. Esteban gives Laura her Togepi, and upon seeing Laura, it evolved into Togetic. Esteban also mentions that Laura's father wanted Esteban to apologize to her on his behalf. Laura doesn't quite forgive him, but implies that forgiveness is on the table. Esteban says that her father said she is welcome to come home whenever she feels ready.
Lastly, Esteban tells the player that he looks forward to the battle against the player. He also invites Laura into the Elite 4 because one of the members had just retired. Laura accepts the invitation. Her team is a little more varied than the other Elite 4 members because she did a lot of adventuring.