You will start with three squads: Abra, Dratini, and Mew; Larvitar, Beldum, and Gible; Eevee, Scyther, and Ralts. Just like in the games, some Pokemon evolve once they reach a high enough level. In this mod, they evolve once their pilot reaches level 1 and 2. Mew doesn't evolve.
When Pokemon evolve, they gain new abilities; their graphics change, they may gain the ability to fly, and they may gain new moves and forget old ones.
Some of these have branching evolutions. You can choose which form they will take once they evolve.
Others have Mega Evolution. In this mod, this is triggered when a max level Pokemon is dead at the start of the player's turn. They revive, gaining a single-use move and new graphics.
You will encounter new bosses. Articuno will appear as a boss on Pinnacle only, Zapdos on R.S.T., and Moltres on Archive. Not only are they fearsome opponents, but their boss missions come with appropriate environment effects, to which these birds are immune.
Once you defeat them, they will leave behind a Master Ball, which you must protect, as other Vek may try to destroy it. Should you protect it, you will get an achievement; get all three and you unlock the Legendary Birds as a squad.
Similarly, you will encounter new boss-like missions, letting you face Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Deoxys. Capture all three and you will unlock the Evil Minds as a squad.
You will encounter other missions where Shaymin, Xerneas, and Celebi will appear. Shaymin and Xerneas must be protected; Celebi must be captured. Succeed at all three and you will unlock Nature's Guardians as a squad.
You will also face Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina during missions on a custom tileset in Pinnacle.
Moreover, this mod adds Armored Mewtwo as a permanently unlocked option for custom squads.
None of these legendaries evolve, except for Shaymin.
All Pokemon are treated as Cyborg mechs by the game.
All Pokemon can be given extra weapons. If they evolve and gain an extra weapon, whatever you gave them will be sent back to your inventory.
Note that you will need to have reset turn (or, I think, closed and reopened the game mid-run) at least once for evolution to work, due to engine limitations. If you forgot and missed an evolution (or it failed to evolve for some reason), reset turn next battle and they will evolve just fine.
Pokemon only evolve at the end of battle, just like in the games.
I recommend building your perfect team as a custom squad; this may reveal interesting synergies.
The code for the evolution mechanic should be decently reusable in more lore-friendly ways.
Get the mod here!
