Story and events
The main story and side quests, gates that open later, people who appear and leave, rewards and the Journal.
The story is what turns a map into a game. It's made of steps, like Meet the Professor, Beat your rival or Win the badge, grouped into the main story and any number of side quests. Each step is done when the player talks to, or beats, a person you choose. When a step is done, the world changes: paths open, people show up or leave, and new dialogue appears.
The timeline
Select the Story layer (6). The panel lists the Main story, then each side quest:
- Add step adds a step at the end of that lane. Click a step to select it.
- Click its name to rename it. Use the arrows to move it earlier or later in its lane, and the cross to delete it.
- Under each step, a summary tells you who completes it, how many gate tiles it has, and who it shows or hides.
- Journal says is what the player's Journal tells them to do while it's their next step, like Find Professor Birch in his Lab. Leave it empty to show the step's name.
Open the timeline shows every lane side by side, with who completes each step, which side quests each step starts, and steps that can never happen in red. Click a step to select it. You can also open it from the command palette (⌘ K, Story timeline).
The order is how you plan the story. The player only finishes a step by meeting the person who completes it, so use Needs first to make steps happen in a strict order.
Side quests
Side quests are optional stories next to the main one, like Find the lost Skitty or Deliver the letter. Press New side quest, name it and add its steps. They work like main story steps: people complete them, and they can have gates and rewards.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Starts | Right away, or after a step of the main story or of another side quest. Until then, its steps can't be completed, even by talking to the right person. |
A side quest stays secret until the player completes its first step, so make the first step the moment someone asks for help: Accept the quest, completed by talking to them. Then it shows in the Journal with its next step, and a New quest banner appears.
Deleting a side quest deletes its steps too.
The story belongs to the whole city
What blocks the way
Select a step to choose what stands in the way until it's done:
| Blocked by | How it works |
|---|---|
| Wall | Invisible gate tiles. The player can't cross them and sees your message when bumping into them. |
| Object | A small tree, dry bush, boulder, rocks, sign, fence, posts or the tile of your current brush, drawn on each gate tile. It fades away when the step is done. |
| Person | Someone standing in the way. They block the tile they stand on and walk away when the step is done. |
For walls and objects, select the step and paint gate tiles on the map with the Brush or Rectangle tool. Erase to remove them. Gates can go on any map, outside or in an interior.
For a person, press Place a person in the way and click where they should stand, or pick someone already on the map from the list. Press Edit to change their looks and dialogue.
Close every gap
Gates only block the tiles you paint. Walk along the edge in Play mode to check the player can't go around them.
People in the story
Open a person in the People layer and scroll to Story:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shows up | They're only there after this step. Use it for rivals, visitors and people who arrive with news. |
| Leaves | They disappear after this step. Use it for guards and people who go home. |
| Needs first | They won't help until this step is done. Trainers don't spot the player and won't battle. |
| Says until then | What they say while waiting for Needs first. |
| Talking completes | Talking to them finishes this step. For trainers, it's Beating them completes. |
| Reward | A Pokémon and its level, Poké Balls, Potions and money, given when they complete their step. |
| Says afterwards | What they say every time once their step is done. |
What happens when the player talks to someone
- If they need a step that isn't done, they say their waiting line, and nothing else happens.
- If their step is already done and they have something to say afterwards, they say it.
- If they have a script (that hasn't played yet, when it plays only once), it plays instead of the next point.
- Otherwise they say their dialogue. Trainers battle, and Nurses heal.
- If they complete a step that isn't done yet (and its side quest has started), it's done now: the reward is given, a banner shows what's next, gates open and people show up or leave.
Rewards are given once per player. A Pokémon reward goes to the party, or the PC box when the party has six.
Steps can also be completed by a script's Story step action, like an event area where the rival runs up. See Events and scripts.
The Journal
Players press J, or the Journal button in Play, to see what to do next: the main story's next step, side quests in progress with their next step, and completed side quests. Each shows how many of its steps are done.
When a step is done, a banner at the top of the screen says what happened and what's next: the step and the next goal for the main story, New quest, the next goal, or Quest complete for side quests.
Progress
Story progress belongs to each player, per city. A visitor starts your story from the beginning, and their progress is kept in their trainer profile.
To test your own story again, press Restart my progress in the Story panel. It forgets your finished steps and the trainers you beat in this city. Badges and caught Pokémon stay.
Deleting a step
Deleting a step opens all its gates and removes it from every person's story settings. Side quests that started after it start right away.
Ideas
See Story recipes for ready-made patterns: a Professor who gives a Pokémon, a guard who wants a badge, a rival, a chain of tasks, a road that opens at the end, and more.