Where to set a traveling caravan-type story?

[SparklingBlue]

Lately, I've been fascinated by the idea of a traveling caravan of adventurers, thanks to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Whether they're on the journey to save the world, do the one thing society says they MUST DO at least once in their lives, for religious reasons, to make people happy, or they just want to see all their world has to offer, this kind of story has been resonating with me.

My question is--where should I set this adventure?

--I have a version in progress featuring a fantasy Kalos, so I could bring that fic here.
--I could set a new fic in a fantasy Paldea, drawing inspiration from the real life Camino de Santiago (which I think they really should've used as inspiration for an SV storyline)
--I could set a new fic in a fantasy Galar, and make this a kind of quest similar to its Final Fantasy inspirations
--I could throw together a fantasy Poke-Italy, and send my group through it
--I could use an entirely different country/state, and Pokemonize that (if it hasn't already).

I look forward to seeing your feedback and ideas--and thanks in advance!

 

[K_S]

Well a shame all of them isnt an option to make it a globe trotting afair... But if i pick other can i lob in for greece? Great geo diversity and ripe legends to convert into legend mon.

 

[SparklingBlue]

@K_S

Greece is a wonderful idea! Many myths could be easily Pokemonized (and I could throw in some Fakemons for good measure...we need a pegasus Pokemon.)

 

[K_S]

So considering Pegases' parents were Posidon and Medusa i'd vote making him a water ground type...

 

[Meridian]

I'm for Kalos, Paldea, or even Poke-Italy (I've named for my verse Apenno if you want names, tho I'd have to check my doc for why I picked that out)

 

[K_S]

Laughs well poke italy does have potential rocket origin story potential... But (geatures towards avatar and banner) i am biased... You think sparkling'd swing a pasta mon like they did that creme and apple mon? Because the meme potential of having a flying(type) pasta monster would be too hard to resist.

 

[SparklingBlue]

I could see several variants of a ravioli creature, with different fillings.

 

[Negrek]

I voted for Paldea, just because I think a Pokémon spin on the Camino de Santiago would be fun, but I think any of these would be a good time! In general I'm always here for journey-type stories, and these ideas sound like a kind of Pokémon twist that doesn't involve the typical badge-getting plotline.

 

[K_S]

Wow six way even split across all the options... That was unexpected. If we break 100% even will we get the globe troting idea from earlier?

 

[Nekodatta]

I'm patriotically obliged to vote Poké Italy lol
It's a fun shape for a Pokémon country, I feel like it could work a bit like Sinnoh with the Appennini mountain range evenly splitting the region in two halves other than north and south and it's got some nice biodiversity to get inspiration from: mountains, lots of beaches, at least two active volcanoes (+ a underwater one with bonus submerged ruins), you can fit a lot of climates in there.

And of course sooooo many landmarks to take inspiration from for cities and history: ancient Romans, the Renaissance, you can even do something similar as the Scarlet/Violet book with a Marco Polo inspired figure and his book about traveling the Silk Road to connect it to other regions... Or you could make something inspired by the Italian maritime republics and make the whole culture of the region rotate around sea travel (yes I know, too much water lol).

Uniformly scattered across the Italian peninsula, the maritime republics were important not only for the history of navigation and commerce: in addition to precious goods otherwise unobtainable in Europe, new artistic ideas and news concerning distant countries also spread. From the 10th century, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in re establishing contacts between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which had been interrupted during the early Middle Ages. They also had an essential role in the Crusades and produced renowned explorers and navigators such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus.

(And of course food. Give me a Parmesan cheese inspired Pokémon Gamefreak)

I've got... Many ideas about it lol

 

[SparklingBlue]

@Negrek

If I go the Paldea route, our travelers would be going to a new city named Sagrada ("sacred") which would be based on the goal for the real life Camino. The journey would involve collecting pearls, since seashells and pearls are symbols of the real Camino.

 

[K_S]

If we get a tie will the tale start in one region and end w the cast completing the tale after exploring the second region?

 

[SparklingBlue]

@K_S

If we end up with a tie, I'll run a tiebreaker poll with just the tied options. The tiebreaker will run for a week.

 

[SparklingBlue]

@K_S @Negrek @Nekodatta @Meridian

Okay...so since we ended up with a tie between Poke-Italy or Poke-version of some other place, which of those two options would make a better fantasy traveling caravan story, and why?

 

[K_S]

The dreaded tie has occured, oh woe.

I'm sticking to "other" and hoping for greece...

As for reasons...

Rich mythology for legend poaching, and Team dynamic, nice biosphere options, nerd for greece?

But if you do get italy and need mob terms ect i got a few websites I'm using for reference in my stories.

 

[Nekodatta]

Poke-Italy for me!

 

[SparklingBlue]

@K_S @Nekodatta

Okay, so we have one of each so far. If we STILL have a tie at the end of a week (Dec. 28), I'll just flip a coin.

 

[K_S]

With the hols like right around the corner i strongly suspect you might not get as many votes this time... But time will tell.

 

[SparklingBlue]

@K_S @Nekodatta

After flipping a coin...Poke-Italy won!

I'll have more details on the story soon.

 

[K_S]

Well congrats i guess. Good luck w your upcoming project.