PokéStory

Before I get started, first I want to extend my deepest apologies for the lack of updates in the most recent months. I don't want to bore you all with excruciating details, so to make a long story short, I'll simply say my development machine died and upon getting myself set back up, I had a family emergency pop up and needed to focus my energy on that. But, in these first weeks of 2026, I want to recommit to you all my desire to push PokéStory ahead; I want to implement all those features, continue adding missing move effects, and get back on track to getting PokéStory closer to a version 1 release!

Personal issues weren't the only thing that delayed development...

I've been talking a lot about an "exciting" new technology I have been working on putting into PokéStory. And while exciting might be an over exaggeration to some, to me it is not saying enough! Throughout my professional development career, I have picked up a lot of web development skills. While I haven't applied those skills to the fullest for my personal projects, I have always had a working knowledge of the web because of my work. Well, now, I'm committing to using more of those skills, because I am bringing web technology into PokéStory by using it to replace the old UI system! The system I have in place now is rigid and doesn't allow for much flexibility without a lot of scaffolding and plumbing to go into it. But, by leveraging HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, I am able to create full featured UIs for PokéStory which modernize its look and bring a sense of class to the menus.

As of right now, the only menus that have been redone is the login menu and the loading menu. But slowly over time, I am shelving all other development work in order to slowly convert every menu into the new, React powered UI system. I am hoping that by implementing this new system, PokéStory not only looks better, but it also functions better on more screen sizes. This also takes us one step closer to the idea of PokéStory on a platform other than Windows! But such talk is far in the future, well after I've implemented everything I need to consider the game in version 1.0.

A renewed commitment to regular releases.

Originally, I had planned on releasing one minor version every month, but that gave me the false sense of being able to handle more than was possible within the time frame, causing me to delay releases more than I would have liked. This time, I am committing myself to a new update every 2 weeks. Hopefully, this will make me to accept less work in between releases, and while each release will have less changes, I hope to release more updates overall. Again, I can't really make any promises concerning this new commitment but know that it is something I will be trying to do with PokéStory in this new year and beyond.

Version 0.1.7!

Yes! Version 0.1.7 will be coming out soon! With it, I will be introducing the Marketplace system. The Marketplace building in Union Plaza will be open for the first time, and the Marketplace Matron is waiting to help you buy and sell! The Marketplace System is complemented by the Mail System, which was released last version, so with both systems in place, other major systems will now receive my attention.

However, I know I had a bunch of stuff slated for v0.1.8 and beyond. Given the new UI system, and the new menus that need to be created, this roadmap will be altered, and new 0.1.x versions will focus on UI updates. Every item that was planned for v0.1.8 and beyond will be pushed to a v0.2.x release. More details will be revealed once they are known. Keep an eye on the roadmap for the updated release plan!

But the game world will still expand!

Even though I am putting new feature development on hold until all current forms have been brought into the new UI system, I will be working closely with Zocan to ensure that we are still expanding the world map. Once all 8 Gym Challenges are available, there are a whole host of features that will need to be worked on to accompany this, and that might be the only exception I make in pausing new development for form work. In short, I plan to resume expanding the game world, and to keep it expanding despite a lack of new features entering the client. If Zocan gets me 8 accessible gyms before I can translate all the forms, then all the necessary features needed for this will become a priority!

So that's all I have for right now. Thank you for being a loyal follower, and until next time, I hope you enjoy everything PokéStory has to offer!