Welcome to Gaia! ::

As each player's connection logged them into Pokémon the Online World, their avatar awoke in the virtual world. As the avatar awoke, so did the player. They would awake in a room which was generated based on the selections they made for their virtual body. Which meant that each was decorated based on the perceived styles. It also meant that the chance of having the same room as any other player was minimized drastically. It wouldn't be just the room which was generated but the bedroom was the one which was tailored to their avatar specifically. The entire house was generated using very complicated, very sophisticated programming so that no one awoke in the same settings. Of course, the houses were similar if they were in the same area. Everything was done much in the same way that a neighborhood in real life would have similar houses. Which only made the experience all that more realistic to the awakening players.

Everything they touched would feel real. Everything they saw would look real as well. Some would be able to hear the blustery storm raging outside better than others, though, as their locations varied throughout the city.

As each player got up the scent of an iconic breakfast would waft through the house. But the first thing that most would probably do would be get up and realize that they were dressed in pajamas. Depending on the room they'd be able to find standard clothing based on their avatar choices in a dresser, a closet, or some sort of similar clothing storage unit.

The sound of parents going about their lives could be heard if they ventured out. There were a variety of parental models created with enough variation in character design that no two players starting in the same town would have the same parents...or parent. The models for each player would look similar to their real life parents based on a facial reconstruction from when they submitted a picture of them. If they did not submit a picture then the parents' identities were based on a break down of phenotypical features on the player's features. Vocal patterns of the parents would be based off a player's own spoken habits as well as any recordings submitted.

After they found where their clothes would be, a fairly large item would appear somewhere in the room. It would be the backpack which they picked out for their very own pokémon journey. The general items which would be inside of that backpack all depended on their first choice of the game. That choice would appear atop the backpack the moment they noticed it. They would need to select their choice before being able to open the backpack and look into it.

Once their choice was made, their backpack would morph to reflect their team. The design would incorporate their team's color and Pokémon symbol. The moment they went to open the bag, another prompt would appear in front of their face. The prompt asked them to pick fifteen items from the list that they would be taken on their journey. Each player was welcome to pick whatever combinations of items they desired.


The backpack would again shift in size and weight depending on the items they selected. When they finalized their backpacks, their in-game parent(s) would finally come to see if they were awake. The exchange would differ for everyone in various ways depending on the type of parents they received in the game. Some were enthusiastic, others were worried, and some were more aloof about the whole situation. Regardless, they would remind the Player to go to Professor Birch's seminar so that they could receive their very first pokémon.

As our players walked around or exited their starting dwelling, most would discover their expectations subverted. Not only were they not in their own two story house but they were not in quaint Littleroot Town of the Hoenn region. They were, in fact, housed in high rises located in the Mauville City metropolis. There were different apartment models depending on the family model they had but they all roughly showed the same quality of life. Each high-rise building was connected to at least another one; some through bridges high above the ground but most through underground pathways. The pathways and bridges often had small stories - like quick stops in the real world. Under the ground was a subway system that covered all the stops and shops of the busy city life.