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From Pokemon Iridium
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It is a short time after the world of Pokemon Dynasty (PX3). Team Rocket has succeeded in its most sincere ambition, to deploy a ship to colonize a new world.

Setting information

A nearby world, seemingly uninhabited at the time, was selected to be this new colony. The world was selected not only for its rich natural resources, but for its rich deposits of iridium, more than any other world that is currently known. Because of this, the world was given the name Iridia by the new settlers. The Poqmori Protectorate Starship Firefox was the ship deployed to settle the new world, and remains in orbit to this day, being the lifeline between Poqmori and Iridia. The Starship Firefox maintains a full crew and is under the military jurisdiction of Poqmori and Team Rocket, however it is sometimes deployed out for missions so it is not always there.

In orbit above Iridia is the single space station, "Starbase Echinacea". It is run militarily as well, but much of the life on the station is civilian. It has the distinction of being the first extra-solar starbase built by the Poqmori Protectorate. On the station there are three levels of society, it is lead by the military of the Protectorate, but most of the occupation of the station is civilian. There is also an underclass of civilians living on the station. The station is a relatively safe place to live, but it's commonly said that "Noone ever got rich on Echinacea". The starbase is inhabited almost exclusively by pokemorphs, though some pokemon live up there, life on the station isn't really suited to them. Civilians with enough money to start out up there, usually open a business of some sort, usually concerned with trading materials fished up from Iridia, but often other things like bars, gyms, and restraunts have prospered too. It is hoped by the military industrial complex of Poqmori that the rich deposits of Iridium on this world will lead to more starbases and even more exploration of the galaxy, and for trade with other worlds, including Earth, Echinacea tends to be a centerpoint.

On the surface, where the colony has started, is where most of the action is on Iridia. The settlement, called "Neo Ginseng", is under civilian rule. Like Poqmori it has a council and a prime minister. Outside the council, however, the social structure of nobility, merchants, and peasants have evolved. There are regular elections every 3 years for both the council and prime minister seats, but usually nobility find their way into them, in fact unofficially you almost have to be nobility to qualify for one, due to it being representative of influence. In the center of the settlement the highest technology reigns, and in many ways it's like being in the center of old Ginseng. As you travel away from the city, however, there is lower tech, lower security, and lower class, until you reach the slums. A clear caste system is formed. While the colony is representative on paper, the actual power is held by those with either money, influence, or property.

The slums skirt the edges of the colony, and at the edges of the colony, large walls have been erected. Its this way for a reason. Outside the walls is the rest of Iridia, is the Great Wilds. Some term it to be an extraterrestrial paradise of boundless beauty, others describe it as a hellish wilderness where anything can kill you and usually tries to. A world of glowing plants, living organisms and new pokemon that have only begun to be cataloged. Many things are poisonous, many other things, are curative. In the world of the slums, its easy to be lost and forgotten, and for some this is perfectly okay. The slums is where most crime takes place, and with that, come team crime syndicates, all operating in an area which the rest of the colony, particularly the police in the center of the city, tend to forget.

Where the walls stand between the slums and the Wilds, the veracity of the Wilds is apparent, because of the constant growth of plants and vines on the outside, constantly threatening to get inside and overtake the city. And in some ways, it could be that this would be nice to have, as the growth is full of beauty, however, a serious threat has been discovered, inherent in the world, a threat given the name 'Greengen'. While the nature of Greengen is not fully understood, it's effects are. People who wander into the Great Wilds sometimes come back afflicted by an illness. In most cases those afflicted, particularly pokemorphs and humans, begin to regress to a pokemon form. In some cases, it also regresses the mind, turning it towards instinct and wild thoughts. In particular it is harmful to humans, as humans who become afflicted with Greengen, while they can be cured of becoming a pokemon, can only return to being a pokemorph, due to the infusion of pokemon DNA the process entails. However some people go to the wilds just to lose themselves in the paradise out there, even when they know what it will eventually do to them. The Wilds is a great way to lose yourself.

But at the same time, the Wilds is where the money is. The city tries to grow out further and further all the time, fighting with the wilds for space. Due to the proximity of the slums and the push outwards, its possible, tho less likely, to get Greengen in the slums. Expeditions go out to find new places to mine Iridium and other substances. Iridia, as is its namesake indicates, is rich in certain hard metals, in particular, Iridium. This element has become essential to space travel, thus its demand. But it has other, far rarer and more valuable resources as well. These missions pay very well due to the inherent danger of establishing outposts in the Wilds, let alone mining operations.

The world of the wilds is stunningly beautiful, wildly alive, and actively hostile. Some has even theorized that nature itself does not want the new settlement..

The natives

The natives are the most present threat. Present around the planet, the lack of any pokemorphs among them initially concealed the fact that there were sentient populations on the planet. The natives are definitely sentient, even though this has only been recently discovered. They have their own language and many have learned the language of common Poqmori. The natives are just under stone-age in technology, and seem to be content to stay that way. It is theorized that 'Greengen' keeps them from evolving into pokemorphs. For the most part their mindset is between a wild and tame pokemon.

While they are friendly to newcomers and those who share their beliefs (explained soon), but to those who molest their world, by harvesting things unnecessarily or killing needlessly, or otherwise become a threat to the planet, like for example, starting a mining operation.. they become at the very least distrusting, and often actively hostile. Sometimes they will attack the colony without provocation, though to them, the presence of the colony is provocation enough, say some of them. But usually, they will only attack those outside the colony exploring on their own, and only if they are doing something harmful. Unlike the settlers who call the world Iridia, the natives call it by the name they were given by their goddess, Zora. It is an unbelievable insult to call the world Iridia in front of the natives, which insinuates the world is nothing more than the stuff on it.. In general the natives are a people who want to welcome others but are totally intolerant of exploitation of the planet, due to the nature of their beliefs..

One thing is known, about their beliefs. They have a belief that their planet is alive, a manifestation of a spirit called Zorua, which manifests in the world as a dark fox. Sometimes more than one. The mythology around Zorua is that she is a dual-gendered divinity, who believes that progress into civilization is the greatest bane a planet can ever encounter, a state where the life on its own surface attacks its own host and starts to tear it apart. Zorua is all about life being in harmony with the planet, remaining part of the process and acting as one entity. Avatars of Zorua can be found around the world, almost always acting as shaman or tribal leaders. Needless to say, all avatars of Zorua take the form of Zorua. Sometimes these avatars are sent into the settlement of Neo Ginseng as well. But before they do, they evolve to Zoroark so that they may blend in better with other pokemorphs. It is said that the natives are by nature linked to the planet, but there's been no way to confirm this.

There are species of pokemon not seen before and that alone motivates research on the natives (OOC: Most of them are gen 5 pokemon). Almost all of these new pokemon, if found in a party, are slaves of some kind, as they unlikely came willingly. It is very hard, but not impossible, to catch a native in a pokeball.

Natural resources

  • Iridium (5kNY/gram): This metal has become an essential part of space travel, it being of a particular denseness and hardness to protect the hulls and other essential parts of starships and space stations. For a while, the rarity of this metal was the primary inhibiting factor of the space fleet of Poqmori and why so few ships were made. On Iridia, however, Iridium is considered only semi-rare, about as rare as gold on Earth. Its value is relatively high due to its demand in both space travel and industry both local and off world.
  • Jirium (10kNY/gram): It's alot like Iridium, but better. It is used in spiral drive engines such as the ones used in the Poqmorian fleet, as a 'spacetime flux conductor'. Its not that rare on Poqmori, there is actually more of it there then on Iridia.
  • Arceum (100kNY/gram): A strange and rare metal. It has polymorphic properties. The only samples of it found on Poqmori were, long ago, transformed into the various Arceus Plates. It is still a rare metal on Iridia but enough of it exists to be detected from orbit. It is said that Arceum can be refined to many other elements, and is valuable for that reason alone.
  • Celeum (100kNY/gram): Scientists are hard pressed to say whether this is a metal or something else. It is closely related to water, but it has superconductive properties. When drank, the body treats it just like water. But its superconductive properties allows it to both float, and when placed in circuits, the circuits both generate no heat, transmit light instead of electrons, and are generally superconductive to temperatures up to 100 centigrade. If it is present, it will be typically repelled by magnets, including the planet itself. Ingestion of this element, however, has been known to cause effects classified as 'psychotic', including an inclination to become progressively feral. Trace elements of it are found in the blood of the natives, but killing the natives of the world is considered about as illegal as it gets and those doing so are rarely given a trial.. if they get caught. It can also be found naturally. Circuits made with this material make very powerful computers, and are usually sealed, usually in Iridium, to keep it from getting out..
  • Mewium (10NY/gram): The scientific name of a semi-common but powerful mutagenic element present in various substances around Iridia, commonly known as "Greengen". It is scientifically proven that this is the substance that causes the affliction also known as 'Greengen', called for the radiant green glow of Mewium. This substance causes people to start to 'regress' to non-morphic pokemon. While there is no specific cure, simply using a pokemon healing machine flushes it out of your system and begins the process of returning to your regularly scheduled pokeform. It has no effect on either wild or tame pokemon, only pokemorphs. If humans were to arrive, it would change them into a pokemon too, but purging it from their system will leave them a pokemorph, not a human, so it is considered particularly dangerous to them. For that reason alone, not many humans come to Iridia. It has a value only because its mutagenic properties are also curative, both regenerating limbs and reversing aging, for only the small price of going feral for a month or so...