Beginner's Guide to New Logora

Welcome to New Logora, trainers! Are you still waiting to receive your pokédex and your first Pokémon, or are you a more experienced trainer who's gotten a little turned around while exploring the region? This guide touches on the basics of traveling through the New Logora region: getting from Point A to Point B, challenging gyms, finding wild Pokémon and more. (It doesn't explain ''everything'', mind—some surprises you'll just have to figure out on your own!)

If you need help understanding how the Pokémon Turquoise RP works in general (e.g., how to battle, how to perform certain tasks, etc.), see the Getting Started guide.

Moving through New Logora

Navigating through the archipelago is a little different from what you might be used to in most TRPGs; it's not complicated, but it may take some getting used to at first. Feel free to come back to this guide as a refresher if you get confused early on.

You'll begin your adventure in Leddin Town, and once you've received your starter and taken care of business you'll be presented with a choice: you can continue on to Route 1 and Shrdlu Town for now, or you can take a ferry to an eligible port on any of New Logora's other islands. Once you arrive you'll continue your journey wherever and however you see fit.

That's right—you can roam freely through New Logora, exploring its routes and cities in any order you like. The gym leaders don't need to be defeated in a specific order, most tasks can be completed whenever you please, you can search almost any area for wild Pokémon, so on and so forth. You complete your journey through the region in the way that suits you best. There are a few guidelines to help you keep track of where you've been, how you'll get there and where you can go next, all of which are outlined below.

Travel

To get from one place on any given island to another, simply walk there. By "walk there", we mean make a thread in the forum that represents your current location—the route you need to cross to get to your next destination, for example—and successfully do at least one thing in it. Doing something represents you having spent at least some time walking through that location. This one thing can be as simple as a quick battle with a wild Pokémon or trainer, but if there's something else to do in that location that you're able to attempt (most locations will have stickied threads detailing important tasks, sidequests and other things that may be available in that area) then you can do that instead. Note that if any of these tasks are described as mandatory then you must complete them the first time you visit that location; mandatory tasks do count toward your "do something" requirement. Once you've done something in that location (including anything mandatory) you may remain in the area for as long as you like, completing sidequests, training your team, hunting for new Pokémon or whatever, or you can move on to another area. If you're moving on foot, as you will be most of the time, you can only move to a new area if it is adjacent to the one you're leaving—you can see which areas are within walking distance by checking the "Access To" list in the forum's stickied Noticeboard thread. Moving to another island entirely works a bit differently since you'll need to cross water. Moving from island to island is discussed in the following section.

If you've already visited a route, city or other area you may jump back to that area even if it's not adjacent to your current location, with the one rule that the previously-visited location must be on the same island you are currently on; if you wish to return to a location on another island then you'll need a way to cross the water. (If you have a Pokémon in your party that knows Fly, however, you can jump to any location on any island as long as you've already been there at least once.) There is technically no "do something" requirement on subsequent visits to a location you've already been to, although presumably you're heading back to that specific place for a reason!

Ferries and Surfing

Walking will only get you so far in a chain of islands, of course. If you want to get down to some real exploring and battling you're going to have to visit all of New Logora's other islands, and that's going to involve crossing a little water. The easiest way to do this, and the method you'll be relying on until you're further in your adventure, is to take a ferry to another island.

Each of New Logora's islands has at least one port city or standalone dock, and for the price of a ferry ticket you can be carried swiftly from one island to another (or even between ports on the same island, if you'd rather spend a little cash instead of walk to the other side). The cost of the boat ride will vary depending on your destination: the farther away the port in question is, the more the ticket will cost. The prices are quite reasonable, however, and the family that runs the ferry system has generously offered to let brand-new trainers take their first ferry ride for free.

If you have a Pokémon that can use the move Surf (HM03) and would rather avoid paying for a ferry ticket, you can swim between the islands instead. There are several water routes connecting the islands, and while you'll likely have to fight through some wild Pokémon and trainers to make the crossing it won't cost you a cent. There might also be a few other benefits to surfing if you and your Pokémon are prepared for them...

Surfing across a route for the first time carries the same "do something" requirement outlined for land locations above. Ferries, on the other hand, will take you to your destination right away, so there's no need to make a thread anywhere or do anything in it.

You can only surf along the listed water routes, which means you can only surf to the specific locations those routes connect. You can surf from Route 5 on Kronea Island to Route 7 on Tilnen Island, for example, because they are "connected" by Route 6; you cannot, however, surf directly from either dock on Kronea Island to Xybryle Island. That sort of trip is too long to swim in one shot; you'd either have to cross multiple routes to get to Xybryle (e.g., 5 > 11 or 2 > 20 > 15 in the other direction), or simply cut out the middleman and pony up for a ferry ticket.

A Note about Noticeboards

Every route, dungeon and similar non-city/town location has a special stickied thread called the Noticeboard. The primary purpose of a Noticeboard thread is to tell you about the wild Pokémon found in that area and to point you in the direction of the nearest destinations. There is often other important information in these threads as well, however, some of which details mandatory tasks or restrictions that may be in place in that area, so don't forget to check the Noticeboard as soon as you visit a new location!

Battle Difficulty

Trainers, Gym Leaders, etc.

The strength of the trainers you encounter as you move through New Logora will increase along with the strength of your own Pokémon. Generally speaking, the moderators who update your journey will have trainer levels approximate those of your team—not too weak, but not too strong, either.

Gym leaders and other important trainers, however, will need to present more of a challenge if they're to be an accurate test of your strength. As such, most major battles will have their Pokémon levels determined by the following method:

Take the level of the strongest Pokémon currently in your party. That level becomes the average level of your opponent's team. For example, if you're facing a trainer with three Pokémon and the strongest Pokémon with you is level 15, the opponent's Pokémon will probably be levels 14, 15 and 16 (note that the range of levels can be wider than this, resulting in weaker lead Pokémon and stronger final Pokémon, at the moderator's discretion and within reason). This ensures that important opponents will always have at least one Pokémon that is as strong as or stronger than yours, and potentially much stronger than the rest of your team if you're not careful.

The Pokémon selection that gym leaders and other major trainers use can also change to match your strength—this usually means that they'll use unevolved Pokémon if you face them early in your adventure, and evolved Pokémon if you already have a few badges and other accomplishments under your belt. The number of Pokémon your opponent uses can also change. Most of these changes, and how the trainer's team will work in general, are detailed in the relevant threads. Take Gym Leader Asher, for example:

If player has 0-1 badges:

[Simple]
[Magma Armor]
[Blaze] (knows Flame Charge)

Minimum Level: 12 (0 badges)/18 (1 badge)

If player has 2-3 badges:

[Magma Armor]
[Blaze] (knows Flame Charge)
[Own Tempo] (knows Flame Charge)

Minimum Level: 23 (2 badges)/27 (3 badges)

If player has 4-5 badges:

[Solid Rock] (knows Flame Charge)
[Aftermath]
[Own Tempo] (knows Flame Charge and Phoenix Fire)
[Blaze] (knows Flame Charge and Phoenix Fire)

Minimum Level: 32 (4 badges)/36 (5 badges)

If player has 6-7 badges:

[Solar Power] (knows Flame Charge and Phoenix Fire)
[Solid Rock] (knows Flame Charge)
[Aftermath]
[Own Tempo] (knows Flame Charge and Phoenix Fire)
[Blaze] (knows Flame Charge and Phoenix Fire)

Minimum Level: 41 (6 badges)/47 (7 badges)

The team Asher uses will be chosen from one of the above spoilers based on how many badges you have when you decide to challenge him. His Pokémon's levels will be adjusted to match yours via the averaging method mentioned above, with the exception that none of them will be below the given minimum level for your number of badges (this may result in some Pokémon being above or below the level at which they should evolve; don't worry about it). This can result in a situation like the following:

You have five badges, so Asher will use Camerupt, Ventorm, Sparcoil and Burungin. Your strongest Pokémon is level 35, so ordinarily the moderator would set their levels to something like 33, 34, 36 and 37; however, because the minimum level for a five-badge player is 36, the first two levels are raised to that minimum. Therefore, the team you'll battle is Camerupt lv36, Ventorm lv36, Sparcoil lv36, Burungin lv37.

It might sound a little complicated, but you don't need to worry too much about it—the moderator will set everything up for you.

There are some exceptions to this. Some gym leaders and important trainers may not want to challenge you until you've met a certain requirement, such as already having several badges. Other trainers will challenge you whenever you like, but they have particularly tough Pokémon that will never be below a certain level (most gym leaders, as with Asher above, will have a minimum level of at least 12). Still other trainers may have Pokémon with fixed levels that never change regardless of the strength of your Pokémon, so read the location's threads carefully to be sure you know what you're getting into when you initiate a battle. And remember to keep training—it might be worth hanging around on a route for a little while, even if you've already met your "do something" requirement, if it means the local gym leader won't be able to trample your team out of the gate!

Wild Pokémon

The strength of wild Pokémon is also adjusted, to a degree, to better match the strength of your team as you move through the islands. A glance at almost any Noticeboard thread on a route or in a dungeon will show you that most of the wild Pokémon in that area have a minimum level—they can be stronger than that, of course, and as the strength of your team increases the likelihood of seeing a higher-level Pokémon increases as well (and, conversely, the likelihood of seeing lower-level Pokémon decreases; you generally won't be finding any level 5 Pokémon if your team is in the 50's). The selection of wild Pokémon may also change the stronger your team gets, allowing you to find rarer Pokémon or even evolved Pokémon if you return to an area with a higher-leveled team.

In a nutshell, most wild Pokémon you encounter will be anywhere from one to seven levels lower than the strongest Pokémon on your team, and you won't find any Pokémon with a minimum level that is too powerful to handle unless you deliberately entered an area where the Pokémon are too strong for you. (If a mod gives you a level 20 wild when your strongest team member is only level 7 and you're in an area where level 7 Pokémon are perfectly possible, tell us and we'll kick them in the teeth for you.) Some particularly rare or delicate Pokémon may also have a maximum level they cannot rise above in that part of the wild; if you go hunting for them with a devastatingly powerful team, you'll have to be careful not to crush them before you get a chance to catch them!

As with trainers, there may be some situations in which the Pokémon you battle will be at a fixed level or otherwise differ from what was discussed above.

A Note on Level "X" Pokémon

If a sidequest, gym or other topic lists a Pokémon's level as something like [X] or [X-2], "X" should be equal to the level of the strongest Pokémon in your party unless otherwise stated; for example, there are some sidequests that give X as the level of your weakest Pokémon rather than your strongest.

Question not answered here?

Still need help? No worries—we've got a whole forum for you to ask questions in. (Be sure to search the topics that are already there to see if someone else has asked the same question, though!) If you already have an account, you can also stop by the shoutbox (at the bottom of the forum's index page) and talk to members and staff directly. Don't forget that this website may also have information that answers your question, too—check the FAQ and some other pages and see if that helps!