This is a draft copy of thematic information!
It was a dark and bleary night, and in the darkness, the sneasel’s eyes reflected what little light was available. Running her claws through her hair and over her signature red feathers, Nycty sighed a little bit. A small shift from one foot to the other to test the softness of her soles against the ground before moving into a crouch. The gem on her forehead glowing faintly in a light blue as the icy cold of her prepared Ice Punch starts to sink through her claws.
Pokemorphs are more then just human shaped pokemon (although humans ‘‘being’’ pokemon is somewhat established canon) and as such, come with a slew of differences that can flavor your roleplaying to give that little something extra in your scenes. For the first major example, many pokemon are covered with fur, leaves, features, or scales and as such, may not be able to blush well, if at all. Others might have expressive ears, twitching noses, or tails that can convey emotion. While in general all pokemorphs are treated like warm blooded mammals, there are many different ways to non-verbally communicate available with the addition of such things as wings or extra arms. Take inspiration from animal behaviors in terms of what they use to signify emotions such as calm, distress, or anger to add that extra depth to your character so you aren’t just a human in a fuzzy suit!
That being said, pokemorphs are not uncivilized nor feral - in fact feral pokemon do exist, and generally at an intelligence level of simple animals due to the destruction caused by the Apocolypse and their constraints to wild caves or dungeons that remove them from outside socialization. Waving, hand motions, most if not all pokemorphs do have a full five fingered, dextrous hand to work with, with some particular types (like the aforementioned Sneasel) being able to ‘retract’ and ’extend’ their breed’s spectacular claws as needed for a scene.
This bring up another often forgetten detail about having everyone with some kind of instrinsic power. While pokemorphs only start out knowing 3 “moves”, these are close to what might be considered magic in the real world. Powerful psychic pokemon can use the move ‘‘Psychic’’ to move things with their mind, or speak in telepathy (as long as the target isn’t a ‘‘Dark’’ type). Moves such as Chilling Water or Water Cannon might help you create a cool cup of water on a hot day, or allow you to output enough water to fill a small swimming pool depending on how much you want to use it. Some pokemorphs can fire massive lasers from their eyes, gems, or mouths while other might channel dark force through their claws. Fire types never need a lighter as long as they have some kind of fire element attack, and if you’re an electric type, you might be able to power a radio in a pinch. Dittos can transform themselves freely to copy others, making them both wondrous and feared.
There can even be some deep-seated changes to your character simply due to typing. For an example, most ‘‘Plant’’ type pokemon are a little yellowed due to the artificial underground lights rather then a vibrant green - lush, green plant types generally indicate wealth or access to restricted areas to keep them that way. A pure ‘‘Ghost’’ type can turn immaterial to get through some common materials (although this isn’t true of all materials, and they can’t carry anything with them when they do so - including clothes!). ‘‘Fire’’ types are much more capable of dealing with the high heat of things like underground magma flows, and ‘‘Poison’’ types can handle concentrated pollution better then most.
In short, be creative and see where you can go! If you do have any specific questions about the system ramifications, or if a particular idea of how to exhibit a power may apply, reach out to the game’s staff for help!