Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon Astoria! In Astoria, there's plenty to do: people to see, places to explore, mysteries to uncover, and growth to be had, so why don't we dive right in? All together now!

overview
Pokemon Astoria, aka The Astoria Region, is an AU, tabletop RPG inspired, open world, original region Pokemon RP hosted on Proboards. It is a combination of the mainline Pokemon games, some aspects of the Ranger and Mystery Dungeon Games, mechanics from Dungeons and Dragons, as well as elements from Terraria, Animal Crossing, Rune Factory, Stardew Valley, and Fantasy Life. This site is well on its way to being open, and this interest check is to gauge how many people want to see something like this, what concepts are difficult to grasp, and to get people excited!

set-up
Astoria is a mid-sized region, based partially on Canada, New Zealand, Hawai'i, located on one end of a massive, mostly undeveloped landmass. With wide-open beaches, beautiful vistas, and awe-inspiring sights, Astoria has, since its conception, been a region of tourism, traditionalism, and open hearts. However, as more and more tourist islands open their doors in the surrounding areas, Astoria's tourism industry has begun to flounder.

In an attempt to bolster the tourism industry, the government has put forth a simple concept, a scavenger hunt, available to citizens and tourists alike. The idea was to show off the most beautiful parts of Astoria, re-invigorate the citizens, and bring tourists from far and wide to explore. However, this simple hunt quickly became a region-wide spectacular, and has had some pretty nasty effects on the region.

Tensions between traditional Astorians and modern Astorians is at an all time high. Regardless of which side a person is on, or if a person is neutral, they're being pulled into this argument. One half of the region wants to stick with the old ways and continue as they always have, even if that means losing something. The other half wants to strike out into the future, embrace new paths, and, for some, maybe nix tourism altogether.

Of course, the mess in the human communities has had an impact on wild Pokemon, causing them to act somewhat irrationally and violent in certain areas, and it appears the mess has had an effect on the weather, as well as the legendaries. This much strife can't be good for the region, and, as the strife continues, it begins to uncover the ancient secrets of Astoria, and mysteries that no one, not even the elders, have ever seen before.

so, what do we do?
Player characters (that's you!) will be able to be tourists, immigrants, or citizens of Astoria. While the focus is on the scavenger hunt, you are free to ignore the hunt altogether and strike out however you see fit. Whether that means working your way through the Pokemon League, setting down roots for a family, growing your own food, exploring the mysterious ruins and uncharted land, beautifying up Pokemon for contests, trying to keep the peace as a Ranger, or raising havoc as a Renegade.

There's a lot of opportunities in Astoria, and those outside the scavenger hunt will still be affected by the site events, and overarching story arcs will change up the world and keep things interesting no matter who you are or where you're headed.

Play the site as an adventure, as a route RP, as a slice of life town RP, whatever you feel comfortable with. The systems are all in place to allow you to build the adventure and narrative you want to have.

why so much content?
Astoria is the product of just over three years of mulling, making, and remaking sites without ever launching them, trying to find a sweet spot of understandable and fantastical. This is a world I created to be something I've always wanted to play and be part of, fully realized. Yes, this means there's a lot of content, a lot of material, and a lot of extras you wouldn't normally see on a Pokemon site.

Astoria is built on longevity. The system is built to last, built to evolve, and built to accommodate more modules as time goes on, whether that be new Pokemon, new skills, new classes, or what have you. Simply put, Astoria is my dream site, and I wanted to share it, evolve it, and see what people think. With that in mind, regardless of the size of the member base, I am determined to keep pushing forward with it. Whether that means five members or fifty.

The best part is that so much of it is optional! Don't wanna work with trades or supplementary abilities? You don't have to!

current features

• beginner friendly and inclusive!
• character customization options: tons of races, skills, abilities, and more!
• All seven generations of Pokemon!
• easy to understand systems based on MMOs, tabletop RPGs, and the Pokemon games
• site wide, overarching story arcs
• mini-games, random events, exploration, skill building, missions, and more!
• ancient mysteries, secret lore, and tons of intrigue
• site wide plot based on scavenger hunts
• unlock abilities for characters through levelling up and going on quests
• own a house! open a business! start a farm!
• fight alongside your Pokemon with a sword, your fist, or even Pokemon-type-based magic
• modular system with optional options - only play with the parts of Astoria YOU are interested in
• ancient ruins, hidden dungeons, and mind-boggling quests

other fun things

• Custom Proboards skin, profiles, mini-profiles, and layouts, all based around accessibility
• Over two dozen encounter types!
• Bosses, Raids, Swarms, and Hordes
• Dorky IC and OOC fun
• Ability to own property, take on a job, create your own market
• Berry and apricorn breeding and growing!

some questions, answered

why is it on proboards?
because I do not understand jcink and have tried for two years without avail. plus, I find proboards more beginner friendly, and I am aiming to be very open and friendly to beginners.

do I have to start as a beginner?
nope! there will be options to start further in your journey, as a more established character, as well as take on advanced, canon roles later on.

is the site going to be aesthetically in lowercase?
oh, god no. it'll all be properly written. I just like the aesthetic in the question field of this thread. no worries.

this seems like a lot of things. will it be easy to navigate and understand?
yup! everything you need to know will be easy to hunt down and read over, and everything is streamlined and simplified to make comprehension as easy as possible. plus, a lot of the extras are just that - extras. don't wanna participate in contests? or the scavenger hunt? or have extra skills and land? you don't have to! you only play with what parts YOU want to play with! that's what open-worlds are all about.