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By TheCleric
#209169 What it is
Summary
In my vision this would be an option that you could toggle via config, or perhaps select at the start of world creation. With the option enabled, Pokémon would no longer be kept in the onscreen UI that is currently the case, but instead would be kept in physical Poké Balls within the player's inventory.
Inventory
The number of Pokémon within a player's inventory would be capped at the usual 6, with any additional acquisitions being sent to the PC. This could also allow for an additional config for the maximum amount of Pokémon present in a player's inventory for those that wish to change it (I would not personally use this feature, but I'm sure there are those who would love to spam caught Pokémon just for some chaos).
Poké Balls containing Pokémon would be named to the caught Pokémon, and if possible, contain an overlaying image of the Pokémon's sprite over the Poké Ball allowing for easy identification.
UI
The Overlay UI as well as the inventory UI would remain the same, allowing for the same management of Pokémon order and items as it is currently. The only potential struggle would be tying the Pokémon shown within these UIs to the Poké Balls containing Pokémon within the player's inventory.
Usage
When a Poké Ball containing a Pokémon is used, the Ball will be thrown as is done currently, and once the Pokémon is released, the Ball would return to the player's inventory (to avoid frustration, it would prioritise the last slot it was held in). The empty Poké Ball can either have an opened sprite, a changed name, or a coloured background (like the currently used aqua) to indicate that the Pokémon is out of its Ball. Using the empty Ball again will simply return the Pokémon.
If a wild Pokémon or Trainer initiates a battle with the player, the first Pokémon in the player's party (via the current inventory UI as stated beforehand) would be sent out.
Why Would This Be Used?
There are two main reasons this feature would be used, the first being immersion. Pixelmon currently has done a fantastic job at immersing the player in a vast open-world full of Pokémon. However, it always felt odd to me that once we catch a Pokémon with a Poké Ball we held in our hand, that we can never hold that Ball again. I simply believe that it would add to the immersion to have our Pokémon in our inventory so we could hold their Poké Ball in our hand before we send them out to battle.
The second reason is the main reason I'm suggesting this, and that's for better Vivecraft compatibility. Currently, playing Pixelmon in VR with Vivecraft doable. You can set most of the important commands such as Next/Previous Party Pokémon, Send Out, etc, to the radial command menu Vivecraft provides, but it isn't the best solution. It can be very difficult to aim a thrown Pokémon at a target, especially if they're flying, due to needing to position yourself at an offset to where you want to throw your Pokémon and the slight delay it takes to use the menu. There are also numerous other little things, but they could all be fixed if your party was contained directly on your hotbar in their Poké Balls for you to use. It would also be incredible to actually hold your companion's Poké Ball in your hand as stated before. (Having Poké Balls be 3D in your hand would also help massively towards the immersion, though it's understandable if this isn't possible).

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I very much hope that more people will want to see this included so that I, and hopefully many others, can enjoy this incredible mod just that little bit more.

User avatar
By SKyTheThunder
#209172 Aside from the VR compatibility, I feel this would only accomplish to further decrease the inventory. Players are already struggling to have all the balls and meds they want on hand while still having some space available for loot and building, and locking off 6 slots would only make that worse.

I could see a compatibility sidemod that binds all additional inputs to a single item. On "use" (right click) it would then fire that event - like "throw out Pokémon" -, and on "crouch use" (shift + right click) you can choose the event it currently has active. That way you can have a single slot, set to send out your poke by default, which you can switch to toggle Move Skills or the Quest Menu if you need it, then switch back. This would benefit any limited input devices, or just people who dislike so many keybinds in general.
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By TheCleric
#209176 I do 100% agree. However, there are already numerous suggestions on the forums about an implementation of some sort of Pokémon bag that would contain Pixelmon related items that I'm quite surprised hasn't been implemented.
This is also why the system would be optional. Even without a Pokémon bag people could actively choose whether or not they want to sacrifice more inventory space for a little more immersion/ease of use. (Additionally, modded bags can still be used to at least carry held items found and vanilla resources as I've done)
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