Idea Sharing an Idea for RPs: Limit Break [Pokémon]

So, I just wanted to share this sort-of idea I had for Pokémon RPs with everyone, see what they all thought of it. If you want to, feel free to use it in your RPs if you wish.

Limit Break is when a Pokémon pushes themselves to the point that they break their natural limiters. When this occurs, the Pokémon is transformed and are able to fight to the fullest potential of their kind (It can occur in Pokémon that have not fully evolved, but it is much rarer, and will only unlock the fullest potential of their current stage, i.e. a Shinx would only have the full power of its stage, not that of a Luxray). How a break evolution looks depends more on the personality, emotions, and values of the Pokémon in question, not the species. Likewise, their new Break Ability (which replaces their normal one upon achieving it) also depends on the character, not species or evolutionary line.

Mechanically speaking, Limit Break removes all limitations to a Pokémon's power and brings it up to its absolute peak (We're talking full EVs and IVs in every stat, level 100, and all positive boosts from nature) for a short time. They will also gain a new Break Ability, which, as stated prior, is dependent on the character of the Pokémon, not their type, species, or other such traits. Unlike Mega Evolution, which increases a Pokemon's Base Stat Total, Limit Break simply maximizes what a Pokémon already has.

However, it should be noted that Limit Break can only last for a limited time as it drains the Pokémon's stamina, and multiple uses in quick succession will lead to shorter periods of time per use and cuts down the Pokémon's life span more and more as the strain on the Pokémon's body grows. As a form of comparison, Think of it like Life Orb damage. If Limit Break is first used, it'll take 3% HP per turn and last five turns. If used again after the first time, it'll increase to 6% damage and, last only four turns, and cost 1 hour of a Pokémon's lifespan for every minute in use. If used yet again after the second, it'll increase again in price to 12% damage, last three turns, and cost 1 hour of life per second used, et cetera.

Regarding restrictions and conditions, Limit Break cannot be stacked with other Pokemon powerups such as Mega Evolution, Dynamax, or Terrastalizing. Furthermore, even if a Pokemon is pushed to the edge of their limits, achieving Limit Break isn't a garuntee. Rather, there is a very small chance it'll happen, and while some factors can slightly increase the odds of it being unlocked, again, it's never a guarantee (Starting from 0% if none of the factors occur). Such factors are:

-The Pokemon's physical condition; when a health is lower, the chances of Limit Break occuring are slightly higher (by 2.5% if the health bar would be yellow, 5% if red). Being under the influence of a status ailment can also boost those odds by another 2.5%.
-The Pokemon's mental and emotional state; while these help influence the characteristics of the Limit Break unlocked, they hold less sway over the chance of it actually unlocking than the Pokemon's physical state (no more than 2.5%).
-The Pokemon's will; A Pokemon's strength of will slightly influences the odds of unlocking the Pokemon's hidden potential (up to 2.5%).
-The bonds of a Pokemon's Trainer (if any); If a Pokemon feels a strong bond (high friendship, time spent with them, etc.) with their trainer, it can boost the chances of Limit Break being unlocked (by up to 5%).
-The Pokemon's Training; Pokemon at higher levels and with more experience can more successfully tap into their upper limits given they're already closer to them, the increase in odds increasing to a cap of 2.5% at level 50 and beyond.

Perhaps the best way I can think of to determine whether or not a Pokemon succeeds in achieving Limit Break is to roll a dice that best suits the number after rounding down for decimals. Once the Pokemon first achieves a Limit Break, it becomes somewhat easier to do in future battles. These numbers and percentages are just to give an understandable model anyhow. I'm trying to make this model a mixture of chance (to display its rarity) and earned merit.

I'd very much like to hear about your opinions on this RP idea/mechanic, and I'd also love to see what you guys can come up with for your own Pokémon characters, too!

Edits:
- Spoiled Bread pointed out a more appropriate name for this power-up would be Limit Break, and looking a bit closer at it, I can agree, so new name. Thanks, Spoiled!
- GojiBean pointed out a couple things I need to work on regarding restrictions and clarifying what limitations must be reached to achieve Limit Break.

Sounds like eviolite users wet dream. Might be neat for a justification for protagonist power up, but I think it doesn't have to have 'evolution' on its name if it doesn't make them evolve at all. Maybe Limit Break or other new term like Optimallize would be better.

Spoiled Bread said:

Sounds like eviolite users wet dream. Might be neat for a justification for protagonist power up, but I think it doesn't have to have 'evolution' on its name if it doesn't make them evolve at all. Maybe Limit Break or other new term like Optimallize would be better.

Click to expand...

Noted.

Hoyo!

Limit break mechanics should be approached with caution, as they can rapidly wear out their novelty and become just another part of the adventure rather than something special or unique about the experience.

Based on how you construct your specific mechanics, it can also very easily become an excuse to temporarily God-Mod or Deus-Ex-Machina your way out of an unfavorable situation which is cheap, and makes the resulting victory entirely undeserved and void of any meaning.

I know it sounds heavy-handed, but I would highly recommend placing strict restrictions on one's ability to achieve the state. Simply saying "when they break through their limits" leaves A LOT open to interpretation, and someone could easily just say "their emotions rose to such a fever pitch that they entered Limit Break," and then God-Mod their way to a total stomp of whatever the problem was even if there were other less God-Moddy ways of achieving the ultimate goal.

For example, you could say that a Pokemon cannot enter Limit Break unless certain conditions (all of them, not just one or some of them) are met such as:

* Have 5% or less of their total HP remaining
* Have 5% or fewer of their total PP in all four moves remaining
* Actively suffering from a status effect
* Facing a Pokemon with type advantage either by natural typing, or move set
* Their trainer must also be in danger

Putting these kinds of restrictions on one's ability to achieve Limit Break would make it far more likely (though not 100% guaranteed, circumstances and writer's skill depending) that when the moment comes it's actually deserved, feels earned, and feels like a genuinely special moment for this particular Pokemon and its Trainer.

If you're familiar with the original Pokemon anime series (Kanto series), remember the moment where Ash said goodbye to Butterfree? I don't think there's a single fan who didn't cry watching that scene. Ash had Butterfree since it was a Caterpie. They had many battles and adventures together which forged their bond. And then Ash, a 10-year old, made one of the hardest and most mature decisions of the entire anime series even to this day by doing what was best for Butterfree's happiness by letting him go with the Pink Butterfree. The dialogue, the music, the camera angles, the memory flashbacks, everything came together showing just how far they'd come and how hard it was to say goodbye.

The moment was earned like few others in the series, to date.

Here's the scene for any youngsters who haven't watched it yet.



I know that's an entirely different event/circumstance from Limit Break. But the point is the same. When the moment is earned, it becomes something special.

Imagine if Ash had caught Butterfree early in that same episode as an already evolved Butterfree, and then let him go at the end of the episode. Would it feel earned if Ash and Butterfree were crying when they said goodbye? No. Because there would be effectively nothing tying them together to make the moment so heartbreaking, and yet so heartwarming by the time it was over. Ash caught and released a Pokemon. Big deal.

Same with Limit Break.

If you make Limit Break just another thing people can do whenever they want so long as they write something like "when they break through their limits," which can and does mean different things to different people, anyone could just invent a reason for it to happen and cheapen the moment. "Their emotions rose to a fever pitch, and suddenly it was like something snapped within them." Does this sound like a good reason to Limit Break? To me, it does not sound like a good enough reason given the nature of the mechanic as you described it. However, as it stands you've left it open for this to be a viable method of achieving the state because mental limits are still limits. You never said whether it had to be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, or some combination thereof. So, I or anyone else could write something cheap like this and achieve Limit Break whenever we wanted.

The bottom line of all this is that if Limit Break is meant to be something special and unique in your RP then you have to make people work for it. You can't just hand it to them with open ended language that makes it easy to both cheapen and abuse the privilege of the mechanic. Whether they realize it or not, people want to work for those special moments because the work is what makes it special.

Hopefully that helps!

Cheers!

- GojiBean

GojiBean said:

Hoyo!

Limit break mechanics should be approached with caution, as they can rapidly wear out their novelty and become just another part of the adventure rather than something special or unique about the experience.

Based on how you construct your specific mechanics, it can also very easily become an excuse to temporarily God-Mod or Deus-Ex-Machina your way out of an unfavorable situation which is cheap, and makes the resulting victory entirely undeserved and void of any meaning.

I know it sounds heavy-handed, but I would highly recommend placing strict restrictions on one's ability to achieve the state. Simply saying "when they break through their limits" leaves A LOT open to interpretation, and someone could easily just say "their emotions rose to such a fever pitch that they entered Limit Break," and then God-Mod their way to a total stomp of whatever the problem was even if there were other less God-Moddy ways of achieving the ultimate goal.

For example, you could say that a Pokemon cannot enter Limit Break unless certain conditions (all of them, not just one or some of them) are met such as:

* Have 5% or less of their total HP remaining
* Have 5% or fewer of their total PP in all four moves remaining
* Actively suffering from a status effect
* Facing a Pokemon with type advantage either by natural typing, or move set
* Their trainer must also be in danger

Putting these kinds of restrictions on one's ability to achieve Limit Break would make it far more likely (though not 100% guaranteed, circumstances and writer's skill depending) that when the moment comes it's actually deserved, feels earned, and feels like a genuinely special moment for this particular Pokemon and its Trainer.

If you're familiar with the original Pokemon anime series (Kanto series), remember the moment where Ash said goodbye to Butterfree? I don't think there's a single fan who didn't cry watching that scene. Ash had Butterfree since it was a Caterpie. They had many battles and adventures together which forged their bond. And then Ash, a 10-year old, made one of the hardest and most mature decisions of the entire anime series even to this day by doing what was best for Butterfree's happiness by letting him go with the Pink Butterfree. The dialogue, the music, the camera angles, the memory flashbacks, everything came together showing just how far they'd come and how hard it was to say goodbye.

The moment was earned like few others in the series, to date.

Here's the scene for any youngsters who haven't watched it yet.



I know that's an entirely different event/circumstance from Limit Break. But the point is the same. When the moment is earned, it becomes something special.

Imagine if Ash had caught Butterfree early in that same episode as an already evolved Butterfree, and then let him go at the end of the episode. Would it feel earned if Ash and Butterfree were crying when they said goodbye? No. Because there would be effectively nothing tying them together to make the moment so heartbreaking, and yet so heartwarming by the time it was over. Ash caught and released a Pokemon. Big deal.

Same with Limit Break.

If you make Limit Break just another thing people can do whenever they want so long as they write something like "when they break through their limits," which can and does mean different things to different people, anyone could just invent a reason for it to happen and cheapen the moment. "Their emotions rose to a fever pitch, and suddenly it was like something snapped within them." Does this sound like a good reason to Limit Break? To me, it does not sound like a good enough reason given the nature of the mechanic as you described it. However, as it stands you've left it open for this to be a viable method of achieving the state because mental limits are still limits. You never said whether it had to be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, or some combination thereof. So, I or anyone else could write something cheap like this and achieve Limit Break whenever we wanted.

The bottom line of all this is that if Limit Break is meant to be something special and unique in your RP then you have to make people work for it. You can't just hand it to them with open ended language that makes it easy to both cheapen and abuse the privilege of the mechanic. Whether they realize it or not, people want to work for those special moments because the work is what makes it special.

Hopefully that helps!

Cheers!

- GojiBean

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up and advice. I'll make sure to update this when I have the time.