#it's two free spots on the team and four ppl fighting for them

[skimblyshanks]

CATS Pokemon AU

Made with help from @roxycake and @whitmerule

This is. Definitely not set within any proper game continuity. I’m picking and choosing my favorite aspects from the mainline games regardless of region. Technically, this is located in Galar, but it uses traditional gym challenge-Elite 4 format, and trainer classes that don’t appear in gen VIII, along with a different set of gym leader types. Also, contests and battle subways are here bc those were the shit.

**While I had help w/ categorizing characters and their types, I have headcanons that differ from those of the ppl who helped give input. I’m gonna try and not define relationships in this post, but if I do more with this, then I’m working with my own headcanons/ships/etc. If anyone wants to do anything with this that differs, go ahead!

Main 3 trainers+their partner pokemon:

Jemima-Fletchling

A cyclist-class trainer

Electra-Toxel

A dancer-class trainer

George-Tyrogue

A young, hiker-class trainer

Gym Leaders:

Etcetera-Bug

A friend of the main 3; she invites them to her gym as their first challenge. She was probably holding back during the gym battles with the 3, but don’t tell anyone.

Jennyanydots-Normal

A matronly but stern, disciplined trainer who has held her title for decades. She runs the gym next door to the pokemon school, and offers the students free time to practice and train with their pokemon.

Plato-Ground

A talented trainer who all the same doesn’t like his position as a trainer of ground types. He takes his loss as an excuse to begin training in Etcetera’s gym.

Pouncival-Flying

Another young gym leader. the trio first met him while taking a flying taxi between towns, as he’s also a cabbie. He’s got an unsinkable personality, and appears deceptively oblivious. He knows his way around flying-type pokemon, and he’s not one to overlook.

Rum Tum Tugger-Electric

A dazzling and maybe slightly overconfident leader who’s one of the newest to his title. He’s also well known in the Contest World, as he got his real start as a wildly successful coordinator. There’s his pikachu, too. People are obsessed with his pikachu.

Victoria-Ice

A figure skater as well as a gym leader. Her gym is sleek and elegant; balance and dexterity are musts to even reach her spot. Don’t be fooled by her gym’s cold presentation, though; if there were ever a trainer more excited than Pouncival to experience a wide variety of challengers, it’s her.

Coricopat and Tantomile-Psychic

Better be ready to see double. Sometimes they move in sync, mirroring each other’s attacks perfectly; other times, they’ll wipe you off your feet by acting beyond prediction. Can they really see your next move? Have they simply been doing this too long to be surprised? Yes.

Mistoffelees-Fairy

Are you put off by people who simultaneously view you as inferior while also lacking proper self confidence of their own? Good luck making it through a battle against Mistoffelees. A highly capable trainer, he’s still a bit uncomfortable with his position as gym leader. Most people wouldn’t pick up on this though, as he makes quick work of them.

Elite 4:

Bombalurina-Fire

A passionate and ruthless trainer, Bomba has dedicated her life to cultivating a team that’s always ready to win.

Alonzo- Water

A laid-back, casual, young researcher more interested in swimming and surfing than paperwork. He’ll disarm you with his sweet-talk and inviting demeanour, then hit you like a tidal wave.

Cassandra-Dragon

An elegant, intimidating force to be reckoned with, her battle style mixes beauty with ferocity. Don’t worry about being tricked into security, if you feel at all on her level, you’re likely over-confident.

Demeter-Poison

A former member of Team Enigma and a steadfast ally to the main trio. She gave Electra her Toxel when it was just an egg, and has an Amped Toxtricity as her own partner. Demeter is a genuinely kind soul. Her drive to empower young trainers has kept her in The Elite 4 for some time, and she doesn’t plan on giving that up any time soon. She won’t hold back in battle, but she does, notably, avoid status-changing attacks.

Champion

Munkustrap

Smart, kind, powerful, and stressed, Munkustrap has been a familiar face to the trio, much like Demeter. He’s honestly eager to be usurped, ready to step back and re-evaluate his goals in life.

Former Elites/Champion:

Director Gus-Dragon/Rock

Former member of the Elite Four, he has returned to his true passion of theatre, owning and maintaining a space in Wyndon. He’s also a frequent judge at contests.

Grizabella-Steel

A former league champion, she has since retired to The Crown Tundra. In her time away from the league she has journeyed to multiple regions, and has many pokemon foreign to the Galar region.

Professor Deuteronomy-Grass

Former member of the Elite Four, he left the league after a few years, drawn instead to pokemon research. Understanding the root cause of type distinctions has become his life’s work. Of his recent experiments, he has been testing type determination in-egg through gene splicing and nesting conditions.

OTHERS

Skimbleshanks-Battle Metro Boss

Currently overseeing the Battle Metro, Skimble is under pressure to keep attendance up as people have begun migrating to other battle spots. Unlike other rail workers, he does not specialize in steel or ground types, instead holding a roster of largely Normal and flying pokemon.

Jellylorum-Pokemon breeder

You can find her in a quiet corner of Wyndon, nearby Director Gus’ theatre. She runs a daycare and a breeding center.

Tumblebrutus-Research Assisstant.

A friend of the main 3 and frequent conduit to Professor Deut. He checks in at irregular intervals.

Bustopher Jones-Gentleman

A jolly, round man who likes to frequent cafes, and take picnics on the countryside.

Team Enigma

Macavity-Dark/ghost

The leader of Team Enigma, Macavity is a criminal mastermind hellbent on stealing Deuteronomy’s research on type distinctions, and exploiting it for his own benefit. He has no particular worldwide aspirations beyond expanding his realm of influence, but while he’s no mere thug, that doesn’t mean he isn’t a brutal fighter.

Henchcats-Poison/Dark

The Henchcats are Enigma grunts. They’re easy enough to best once you’ve figured out their routine, but they always fight in pairs. Macavity expects many of his grunts to use poison types for their status-changing attacks.

Jerrie and Teazer-Poison

Notable grunts who seem to have reservations about their job. The two appear to genuinely enjoy battling the trio, and, unlike many grunts, seem to have connections beyond Team Enigma. 

Other Notes

Jellylorum, Jennyanydots, Skimbleshanks, and Bustopher Jones are all childhood friends, and are still in touch. They are currently raising 4 Skwovet siblings between them all.

Many gym leaders also work with Professor Deuteronomy to study type distinctions.

Personally, I see the main 3 (+Etcetera and Pounce) as middle/older teens; 15 at the youngest. If the player character in the games can wait until age 12 to even get a pokemon when there are preschoolers battling pokemon, these three can be older teens who decided one day that they wanna go on a journey across the region.