It's been years since the event occurred. One night, years ago, Pokémon - both wild and trained - began to change into human forms. They were caught somewhere between a Pokémon and a human, later given the names gijinkas, and were suddenly thrust into a life entirely different from the one they had spent battling for survival or living beside a beloved trainer. Unsure how to proceed, some managed to integrate into society, living side by side with humankind, while others retreated to the wild in an attempt to find their unchanged kinsmen that might still be wandering wild through the woods.
As time went on, one thing became clear: each Pokémon was changed for a reason. That particular Pokémon was turned into a gijinka by an unnamed entity, though some whispered rumors of the harvest goddess's involvement in the affair. Whatever the case, it became the priority of each gijinka to find his or her own purpose. The first to do so was a Geodude who found his calling in life working among humans to better a small mining town's industry. It has been said that the night after he found his so called 'purpose' in life, the harvest goddess appeared to him in a dream. She offered him a choice: return to his life as a Pokémon, or continue to live among the humans as a gijinka. The choice was his, but once it was made, there was no going back. He chose to stay human, and thus, the story was passed on from village to village, traveling far across the endless seas and boundless expanses of land until it had become widely known that each gijinka was there for a purpose, and once it was obtained, they were allowed to revert to their Pokémon form and return the the lives they once knew.
Since the event, which is acknowledged each year on the fifth day of the spring season, gijinkas have integrated into society and have begun working among humans. They own businesses, run farms, and attend the same schools as human children might, creating a peaceful bond between humans and gijinkas.
Which brings us to Durinvale.
Far to the east, where the mountains rise up over a vast valley and kiss the sun, there is a small town called Durinvale. Settled on the edge of the valley, with the mountains at its back and the sea to its west, Durinvale has become one of the many communities to spring up across the region, offering land to those who are willing to settle it and bubbling up into a real town of substance. To the north lies the prosperous metropolis of Andora, a high functioning city only a few days worth of walking from the remote town. To the south, acres and acres of unexplored land and forests spread as far as the eye can see, waiting to be settled. The town itself is small, but houses residents of all sorts looking to build it up into a town of prosperity. With residents moving in day by day to the ever growing town, nothing is stopping it from becoming a gijinka's - and human's - paradise. So what are you waiting for? Welcome to Durinvale!
