How To Roleplay A Pokemon (WIP)

When creating a character, it's a good idea to do research, such as looking around here:

Although I'm sure most of us know what a Pokemon is and how to roleplay them, there may be some that wish to join us that do not, and I'm sure there will also be people who are not familiar with the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. So, I will give some advice and information on this subject. If there's any way it can be made better, or if something needs to be added, please leave a comment below telling me what it is.

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• What is a Pokemon?
  Ah, the big question. Well, a Pokrmon is many things... In a technical sense, Pokemon are a creation of the Japanese, and known by their logo species, Pikachu. It is mostly considered to be something for kids, whether it be the card game, anime, toys, or video games. However, we are going a bit more in depth about Pokemon, and more specifically, explaining the Pokemon within the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon universe. Pokemon are mostly organic beings, creatures that often resemble animals. There are several hundred species of Pokemon, most of which can change into other species. This process is known as evolution. Pokemon can also use attacks, known as moves, which have different effects and types, such as Fire and Water. They also have different power and accuracy levels. What moves a Pokemon can use varies on their species, although I will be a bit open on that. See the topic on character creation for details. Just like moves, Pokemon also have types. For instance, Fire is weak to Water but effective against Grass. Grass is weak against Fire, but powerful against Water. Water is weak against Grass but strong against Fire. Not all types follow a pattern such as this, but it generally works that way. The following is a complete list of types and the effects they have:
  
  1. Normal-Type:
     
  2. Fire-Type: 2X: Bug, Grass, Ice 1/2X: Dragon, Fire, Rock, Water
     
  3. Water-Type: 2X: Fire, Ground, Rock 1/2X: Dragon, Grass, Water
     
  4. Electric-Type: 2X: Flying, Water 1/2X: Dragon, Electric, Grass 0X: Ground
     
  5. Grass-Type: 2X: Ground, Rock, Water 1/2X: Bug, Dragon, Fire, Flying, Grass, Poison, Steel
     
  6. Ice-Type: 2X: Dragon, Flying, Grass, Ground 1/2X: Fire, Ice, Steel, Water
     
  7. Fighting-Type: 2X: Normal, Rock, Steel, Ice, Dark 1/2X: Poison, Flying, Bug 0X: Ghost
     
  8. Poison-Type: 2X: Grass 1/2X: Ghost, Ground, Poison, Rock
     
  9. Ground-Type: 2X: Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel 1/2X: Bug, Grass
     
  10. Flying-Type: 2X: Bug, Fighting, Grass 1/2X: Electric, Rock, Steel
      
  11. Psychic-Type: 2X: Fighting, Poison 1/2X: Steel
      
  12. Bug-Type: 2X: Dark, Grass 1/2X: Fighting, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Poison, Steel
      
  13. Rock-Type: 2X: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice 1/2X: Fighting, Ground, Steel
      
  14. Ghost-Type: 2X: Ghost 1/2: Dark, Steel 0X: Normal
      
  15. Dragon-Type: 2X: Dragon 1/2X: Steel
      
  16. Dark-Type: 2X: Ghost 1/2X: Dark, Fighting, Steel
      
  17. Steel-Type: 2X: Ice, Rock 1/2X: Electric, Fire, Steel, Water
      
  
  
  Pokemon also have abilities. They have a variety of effects. Abilities vary on the Pokemon's species. It's best to do your research so that you stay canonly accurate.
  
  Pokemon also have stats that determine many things. They include the following:
  
  1. Health Points
     
  2. Attack
     
  3. Special Attack
     
  4. Defense
     
  5. Special Defense
     
  6. Speed
     
  
  Stats are a good way to judge a Pokemon's power and defense in battle, as well as their level.However, as long as you have a general idea of how strong they are (using a scale from 1 to 10 helps alot), I don't really care if you come up with stats or a level. Nevertheless, don't make your characters super strong, or at least not all of them. How powerful they are should make sense for their age and species, although there are exceptions.
  
  
• What's the difference between a Mainstream Pokemon and a PMD Pokemon?
  There are actually several differences. In the main games, Pokemon are more like animals, with humans being the dominant species. They talk in their own language mostly, and although they still use moves and have types, stats, and abilities, the two groups of Pokemon have very little in common other than that. Pokemon in the Mystery Dungeon dimension, on the other hand, can talk. They appear to be much more intelligent, having their own communities, towns, and have quite a bit of organization. They are still a little primitive, compared to humans, but they are the dominant species, since there are no or few humans in the world. They mainly strive for peace, and form Exploration Teams and Rescue Teams, with that being the main career. They also have correct knowledge of the world, including the use of items. Some, such as seeds, berries, gummies, and elixirs are consumed or thrown to create the desired effect. Others, such as orbs, are either broken on the ground or thrown to get particular results. Thorns, sticks, Gravelrocks and Geopebbles are tossed or thrown to inflict damage. Some items need to be held to be made useful. Some items are even worn. Although Pokemon don't usually wear clothes, they do wear scarves, bows, bands, bandannas, pendents, ribbons, and other things. Some might even wear goggles, glasses, or carry weapons. There are only a couple moves only Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Pokemon can learn. They also have the ability to learn both of the abilities for their species. Overall, they are both Pokemon, but have more differences than similarities.
  
  
• How does the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon world function? What's the history behind it?
  On that first question, all you need to know is how the area of the roleplay in particular funtions. We have a topic for that, which can be found here. On the second question, most of the history is unknown. What is known is very important to known, but we have a topic for that as well, which can be found here. Nonetheless, there are things I can talk about considering it, as I understand creating a character who was born in and grew up in that period may be difficult for many. The first thing you need to look out for is the essentials, most of which are pretty normal for any Pokemon, not just a future one. Name, gender, age, species, moveset, abilities, ect... As soon as you have that, you're ready to start thinking. One should probably get some ideas for a history first, even if they're just basic, because I've found that my best characters have personalities that mingle with their past. They are affected and changed by their history. So, with the world out of order, being dark, cold, and dangerous, there are many ways to develop a character. One is best to start at birth. Pokemon are very vulnerable when they hatch out of their egg, and when born into a dead environment where time is corrupted, a million different bad things could go wrong. The possibilities are endless. Remember, conflict is the magic word. Perhaps the character was abandoned, or their parents murdered. Maybe one or both of their parents were evil or abusive. Or being a Shadow Pokemon could work too... That's allowed. I can help you, but be creative. Don't be afraid to torture your character.
  
  Although the world is no longer paralyzed, your character would have been born during the Planet's Paralysis, so there's no doubt that they would have been affected by it. A character that was playful when they were born probably will have their personality changed by the point in their life in which they are roleplayed. Angelina for example was always very playful and cheery, generally. However, she was also rather timid and easily startled as a pup because she had a very evil family, besides Cleo. Later on she became braver, alot sweeter and kinder, and tried to see the light side of things. However, although more mature, she still tends to panic a bit easy in extremelly dangerous situations, fears her brother Galix and her sister Gunda, and is nervous in dark areas and at night. She has a hard time adjusting to the revived world, where time flows properly. Although Angelina is now used to it, others may not do so as quickly, or may never get fully adjusted to the world the way it's supposed to be.
  
  As mentioned before, you may want to think about how your character was affected by its past. Take it into consideration in order to determine how to write your bio. None of what I mentioned is required that is not mentioned elsewhere; it is nothing more than a list of guidelines to make it easier for you. Sorry if I'm making it even harder than it really is. What I would like to see more of is detailed descriptions, histories, and personalities. Undeveloped characters can ruin a site, and I've worked too hard on this for it to fail. This is to help you decide what your character is going to do in a roleplay, so they aren't just 'there'.
  
  I would like to state before I end this that I will in no situation be the History Police or the Character Nazi. This site is supposed to be fun for everyone.