Pokemon Tamers is a Pokémon roleplay using the Pokemon Tabletop United system, with a few homebrew tweaks. The Pokemon world and our world have mysteriously begun connecting through rifts in space, and Professor Oak has picked out five people from our world to help combat the rifts, and given each of them a Pokemon partner of their own.
At first, things seem simple: Each rift has a dungeon that appears with it and a "boss" Pokemon associated with it, and defeating it seals the rift. However, it soon becomes clear that things aren't so clean-cut...
If the premise seems familiar, it's totally intentional.
This roleplay provides examples of:
- Adopted to the House: Cori makes this offer to Luke after learning he has nowhere to stay, and is always open to letting her companions with less-happy home lives stay there as well. Due to a bad first experience with Archie, Luke declines, and ends up living with Hu/Looker and Clara/Zinnia. After learning about his fear of being alone, she makes this offer again.
- Amnesiac Lover: Archimedes doesn't remember Grace, but that doesn't stop him from being broken-up over her death.
- Amplifier Artifact: Most of the items Cori makes for her allies have this kind of function.
- Anyone Can Die: Peter sacrifices himself to save Cori's life.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Both Cori and Kenta can become extremely violent if sufficiently provoked.
- The Big Guy: Ryouta is the most physically-focused and strongest of the team.
- Big Sister Instinct: Cori wants to make sure that no harm comes to Basil because of her adventures.
- Capoeira: Ryouta's fighting style is based on this martial art, although not totally. This connection is also why Tai evolves into a Hitmontop.
- Casanova Wannabe: Ryouta hits on the various Eeveelution merchants. Borchev tends to shut him down by hosing him with cold water. Deconstructed in that he feels like he's not allowed to be himself.
- Casting a Shadow: Luke can use various Dark-type attacks, as well as manipulate his shadow to grab objects or attack from afar. He later gains the ability to create a zone of darkness around himself.
- Chekhov's Gun: The fossils obtained in the abandoned subway are finally brought out again to be revived by a machine built by David Okarin and presented at a Fan Convention.
- Did You Think I Can't Feel?: Ryouta expresses frustration at constantly having his jokes and flirtations shut down. He almost uses the trope name word-for-word when talking to Cori about it.
- Diving Save: Cori does this quite a lot, imposing herself between enemy attacks and her more fragile allies. She even does this for Clanker, one of their defeated enemies, having seen that there is potentially a way to save him.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Kenta reacts this way himself after making a joke about people dying while playing Monopoly the day after Peter's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Dungeon Shop: More recently, part-Eeveelution girls have started to show up to sell items to the characters in each dungeon. They also don't disappear when the rift does. Turns out it's just one girl.
- Edible Theme Naming: All of Cori's Pokemon except for Fern and Scrounger are named after various snack foods.
- Fan Convention: Thanks to The Men in Black, the team learns that a portal is going to open at the site of one, and get free tickets to go there.
- Fish out of Water: Luke, due to coming from the Pokemon world. He also assumes everyone else came from that world as well, thanks to being lied to by whoever gave him his mission.
- Flipping the Bird: Cori does it to Wallace and Ashton. Pepper the Tranquill joins in.
- Friendly Enemy: Pretty much every member of Legerdemain except for Wallace is only fighting the others because he told them to, and are perfectly fine with being on friendly terms with the team otherwise.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Everett managed to create a ray gun that uses Mareep wool as a power source. He's also slowly working on upgrading his bike into something much better.
- Get a Room!: The GM reacts this way to Cori and Kenta being affectionate with each other. Although technically they are in a separate room.
- God in Human Form: After his Heroic Sacrifice, Peter's body becomes Arceus' vessel. He asks the team to call him Archie.
- Parents in Distress: Legerdemain kidnaps Granny Bliss and Archie to get the heroes to listen to them.
- Home Base: The Bliss Family Bakery slowly becomes this for the team, thanks to the fact that Cori's family is the only one who knows what's going on.
- Hopeless with Tech: Cori, Ryouta, and Luke all have no idea how to handle most advanced technology.
- How Dare You Die on Me!: Cori reacts really badly when Astrid assumes Kenta is dead. He turns out to be fine, though.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Grace asks the group to defeat her, in between the random bursts of words.
- Identity Amnesia: All of the original group's Pokemon lost their memories and were reverted to their lowest evolutionary stages when they entered our world.
- It Was a Gift: Why Cori wears the Mystic Water given to her by Kenta, despite having no use for it herself.
- It's All My Fault: Cori blames herself for Peter's death.
- It's Personal: Cori's beef with Wallace after he kidnaps her grandmother.
- The Lady's Favour: Implied and invoked by Cori when she gives Kenta one of her protective charms while he tries to get through a series of hidden geysers in the Water Park of Doom.
- Little Bit Beastly: Edmund of Legerdemain resembles a Zoroark, and also shares its powers.
- Magic Music: Cori gains the ability to boost her allies' abilities through music.
- Meaningful Rename: After Clanker's death, Roller starts going by Borchev again.
- The Medic: Kenta is the only member of the group with any medical expertise.
- Cori, as a White Magic Medium, also has some limited healing abilities, although her moveset is focused more towards buffing. She is good at making snacks that can heal a bunch of Status Effects, though.
- The Men in Black: They show up after our heroes stop a Runaway Train. It turns out that Hu/Looker has some jurisdiction with them, and they end up helping out a bit by providing more data, guarding their families, and acting as Mission Control.
- Mr. Exposition:
- Kenta explains various aspects of the Pokemon universe, and individual Pokemon, to the rest of the team.
- Granny Bliss also does this for more supernatural elements, although Cori also knows quite a bit.
- Never Heard That One Before: James would really like it if you didn't make any Team Rocket jokes around him, thanks.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Telling Galahad and Velvet that all the other guardians who have appeared are dead causes Velvet to fall into despair, advancing the process of them becoming controlled as well.
- No-Sell: None of the "boss" Pokemon or their minions can be captured. They are also immune to Cori's attempts to heal them of their mind control.
- Numerical Theme Naming: All of Wallace's Pokemon are named after their national Pokedex number. Cori and Kenta chew him out over this.
- Open-Minded Parent: Cori's mom and grandma are both totally cool with her going out on potentially dangerous adventures with a bunch of guys.
- Pals with Jesus: Turns out that holding one of his plates gives you a pretty close connection with Arceus.
- Parental Abandonment:
- Ryouta's parents don't approve of some of his life choices, so he mostly sleeps in alleys.
- Peter's parents also died when he was younger, leaving him to raise his two younger siblings himself.
- Parental Neglect: Kenta's parents don't really care about what he gets up to at all, which at least lets him avoid awkward questions.
- Parental Obliviousness: Everett's mom is clueless about the real nature of what's going on with him.
- Promotion to Parent: Peter had to raise his two younger siblings himself after their parents died.
- Psychic Block Defense: Cori is immune to any form of mind-reading, and has extra resistance against Psychic, Dark, and Ghost attacks.
- Later on, she gets the ability to No-Sell a status move or secondary effect of a move of the above types.
- Pungeon Master: In the most literal sense of the term. His players either join him or call him on it.
- Hu/Looker as an in-character example. Clara is not amused.
- Runaway Train: A high-speed rail goes out of control after being boarded by a pair of giant Galvantula.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Cori throwing herself between Clanker and the tank that Peter's driving does make him stop it, although at the cost of his own life. However, Clanker dissolves soon after that, making her hopes of saving him false.
- Shipper on Deck: Roller/Borchev is this for Kenta and Cori. And
Viktoria as well. - Shock and Awe: Everett has made a ray gun from Mareep wool that allows him to do this.
- Shout-Out:
- The whole game is reminiscent of Digimon Tamers, though
Word of God confirms this as the point. - The Bliss Family Bakery is based on the Bliss book series, with several of Cori's treat names coming right from said series..
- Several character portraits are shout outs, including Mimi the Wonder Baker and Kirito.
- Everett's equipment includes a Scouter and a sheep-powered ray gun.
- Fang's laughter is oddly reminiscent of a certain One Piece Villian...
- When the players initially find the Water Rapier, they assume it to be some sort of Lightsaber, but find the blade actually works more like the Madogu Ensui.
- The Mercury Hammer/Cannon is a direct pull from Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow.
- The whole game is reminiscent of Digimon Tamers, though
- Shrinking Violet: Viktoria. Although Cori seems to be helping her come out of her shell a bit.
- The Smart Guy: Everett is knowledgable about technology, Kenta about medicine and the Pokemon themselves, and Cori about the supernatural and cooking.
- Stat-O-Vision: Everett can do this thanks to a scanner that was mistaken for a jockstrap.
- Supernatural Sensitivity: Cori can see traces of psionic influence on others, and even tell the work of different psychics apart.
- Support Party Member: Cori knows a lot of Blessing moves, and can usually get the most important ones up before their enemies start hitting them too hard.
- Talking Animal: Each character's starting Pokemon is capable of human speech.
- Talking Your Way Out: Especially when on a time limit, the characters usually try to negotiate with the Pokemon they meet instead of fighting them. Of course, sometimes this just results in having a one-on-one fight with a Pokemon that wants to see their strength.
- Team Chef: Cori is more of a snack-maker, but the snacks she makes can boost her allies in various ways and cure Status Effects. Plus they also taste really good.
- Through His Stomach:
- Cori makes several specialized marzipan snacks that are only useful for Kenta. He's the first member of the party to get those personalized snacks. She also manages to recruit several Pokemon to her side simply by offering them food.
- Iris the Eeveelution merchant decides to stick around and answer questions after an offer of hot chocolate.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Hurting Luke was a bad idea already. Knock out Kenta? Cori will show you no mercy.
- Amusement Park of Doom: Water Park Of Doom: The third boss' arena is one, with both combat events and puzzle challenges.
- Wham Line: Luke revealing that he assumed all the other characters were from the Pokemon world.
- You Are Not Alone: After Luke reveals a fear of being left behind in the Pokemon world after the "real" world and Pokemon world separate, everyone else reassures him that they will still be his friends, and that their Pokemon companions will be there for him as well.
