Niana Region

[pokemonniana]

The main cast of my Pokemon story, Ace of Drills, over at https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/174836/ace-of-drills-pokemon-journey

Been fun to write, and flesh out Dinah, Jade and Cian, and their Pokemon.

[pokemonniana]

Inspired by weasels, minks and Ermine, I wanted to design a fakemon that plays into both that vibe of fancy white purity, and sneaky mischief among Mustelids. So a branch evolution, into a glorious scarfy fairy type, or a nasty playful poison type.

[pokemonniana]

Started writing a fanfiction to explore my Niana setting, starring Dinah, a Grunt of the villainous Team Drill. They love digging, gemstones, fossils, and pit traps, because what kind of villain doesn't use a nice concealed pit once in a while?

The story is uploaded at https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/174836/ace-of-drills-pokemon-journey if you want to read it, but I'll share art here as we go.

[pokemonniana]

Final bunch of the starters, which I'm not really balancing or having equal. I do want them all to be very different sizes, and maybe have an Ability about Growing, Storing and Consuming Berries.

Smoldray, the soot Pokemon, are known to steal Berries to hoard up for winter, and help keep themselves warm. They often forget where they bury Berries, and accidentally help burnt forests recover.

Scorchrel, the campfire Pokemon, love to cook Berries and even cause explosions with them, or use the fire to help bolster their jumping and climbing.

Rodetona, the detonation Pokemon, is truly capable of flight and tends to store its Berries up in its fluffy tails. Somewhat cowardly and reckless, Rodetona stay out of reach and throw explosive Berries down at their foes, before riding the updraft to safety.

[pokemonniana]

Second set of starters, this time I wanted to draw on legends of the Beithir, Lindworm and such, which might have fit a Dragon or Poison type better, but once I started leaning into 'adder', I liked the bubble theme too much!

Abbahiss, a precoscious eel Pokemon, Abbahiss travel in large groups called 'schools', and use their bubbles to count how many fellows they're meant to be with. They're amphibious, and often appear on docks watching humans.

Calculind, known for being reckless, Calculind often antagonize other Pokemon to see what will happen. Their skin is very slick, granting them surprising swiftness both in water and on land.

Bubbeithir, nicknamed the Professor Pokemon, this large eels are incredibly curious, and tend to collect interesting finds in bubbles they carry with them. There is some debate over whether this is a pre-existing behaviour, or an imitation of human Trainers.

[pokemonniana]

The first starter for my fakemon region, Niana. Capaberry, Holpaca and Ginormoose are pure grass types, with some physical focus as they truly grow massive over long lives.

[pokemonniana]

This pair is a bit more hit or miss, but are a concept I fully want to include in my region. The Selkie is such a cool legend, seals are lovely animals, and I feel like Primarina might be a good mermaid, but isn't a good selkie?

Manatone, these chunky oceanic pokemon are gentle and prefer to spend their days grazing, relying on their natural speakers to echo back assaults against them.

Knelkie, showboating and excitable, when a Knelkie claps, their speakers can produce deep subsonic waves that help them find or stun prey. A gaggle of Knelkies can be loud as thunder as they encourage each other.

[pokemonniana]

A Gargoyle fakemon line, I had fun trying to design them! Trogdon, the Cobble Toad Pokemon, loves to try and hide in potholes or broken walls, where its stony back blends in. Blargdon, the Fountain Pokemon, gargles a steady stream of water to catch insects in its large mouth. Gargdon, the Guardian Pokemon, sets itself up in high urban environments where it can glide to catch prey.

[pokemonniana]

Puffspin are small diving birds that shoot through coastal waters like torpedos, their ruffs and tailfeathers spinning with shocking speed.

Torqskua tend to remain on the surface of the water, and can in fact walk on waves using the buoyant rings around their ankles.

[pokemonniana]

One of my clunkier concepts, but I feel like there's something there to build on.

Deezil, the Tank Pokemon, these large arthropods suck up oil and pollution to store, purify and use as fuel in their bodies. They tend to infest polluted areas, and often rival Grimers.

Wheezil, the Extinguisher Pokemon, are beloved in cities and forests for their cooling foam, which suppresses fires and impacts, before the Wheezil consumes the foam again with the absorbed energy.

Freezil, the Nitrogen Pokemon, has an intricate set of chemical tanks through its body, allowing it to create a diverse array of reactions to be released from its hands, snout, or jet limbs on its back. They are quite curious, and often close companions to chemists.

[pokemonniana]

First time trying out an alternate color scheme, under the idea of shiny, or perhaps regional color variance.

Calfog are friendly docile pokemon prone to licking whatever they are curious about. They build up charge within their thick fur, and can quickly cause electrical surges when excited or scared.

Coomoolus tend to operate in large herds that increase humidity and rainfall, and historically farmers have often brought them to regions afflicted by drought or wildfire to bring healing rain.

Rumbull's heavy coat and sluggish nature bely the terrifying speeds they are capable of when charging. Their horns build up massive amounts of electrical energy, and they are capable of summoning storms when angry, or rain when sour. Some blame the high number of Rumbull for the Niana region's frequent rainy weather.

[pokemonniana]

Putting a pretty literal spin on Mountain Goats! Got mixed feelings about a completely brown palette, but don't think they look too bad.

Stalakid are small pokemon prone to wandering chaotically, with any attempts to ranch them often failing as they climb fences, buildings and mountains with abandon.

Stalagoat tend to be hungry and territorial, despite having an iron stomach liable to digest almost anything. They bleat loudly as a single warning, before charging to dislodge any intruders.

Stalagruff are surprisingly protective mountain guardians, who take extreme umbrage with any Grabnates setting tolls or traps in their territory. Despite their heavy frame, they are shockingly good climbers, and often roost upside down hanging from cave ceilings.

[pokemonniana]

Wanted to have a go at a silly woodpecker idea!

Wyldnock- This clumsy bird charges headlong into battle, trusting its thick metallic skull to protect what little brain it possesses. Some trainers are known to pick up and wild Wyldnocks by their legs, which they seem to greatly enjoy.

Drendrill- Prone to leaving long gouges dug into trees, rocks, buildings and honestly anything in their search for grubs, Drendrill are viewed as either a menace or a handy companion if trained.

Rivelture- Possessing a surprisingly long neck, Rivelture gnaw on metal and build up a reserve of molten iron in their hardy throat. When threatened, Rivelture pecks forward with devastating force, impaling the target with an iron stake.

[pokemonniana]

Expert of the Niana Region, Professor Douglas Fir!

He's a gentlemanly sort with a serous interest in Habitats and Biodiversity, making surveys of how the environment shapes Pokemon, and vice versa. He personally specializes in Psychic Type Pokemon, to the extent that he can act as a reserve Gym Leader if anything happens to the usual roster.

[pokemonniana]

A trainer idea for a Pokemon campaign idea, specializing in plural pokemon. Needing a punny name, settled on Polly, with them being a former volunteer nurse- because while Pokemon is full of funny stuff, a single family running all Pokemon Centers was too far for me.

[pokemonniana]

The current rough map for my homebrew Niana region. I'm Scottish, I'm heavily basing this on Scotland with some Iceland and Denmark inspiration.

I'm primarily building this with an interesting in running an "Unbeatable" ttrpg campaign, so there isn't a prescribed route, and wild pokemon levels skew more from civilized to wildness, than progressing in a linear fashion.

If you're going to say, "Ahem, isn't that Galar? Isn't that the Crown Tundra? Isn't your entire nation worth one town and a stupid deer?" then... don't.

[pokemonniana]

First ever Fakemon designs! Inspired by folklore, brownies, trolls, yule lads, with some mandrills and proboscis monkeys mixed in.

Gniblet- A tiny household pest who endeavours to clean anything it can reach, and often gobbles down food when unsupervised.

Glomdhu- A gangly mischievous mon known for sneaking into places to steal food, mess up pots, and grab berries.

Grabnate- A lazy stern elder, they tend to find busy roads and bridges to seize as territory, demanding a toll in exchange for maintaining the structure.

All three would be Fairy/Ground typing.