I posted this on r/PokemonRMXP around a month ago, but I've since updated the concept a little and wanted to get more opinions on it.

It feels like everybody has that one full-scale dream (haha) Pokémon fangame they'd love to make someday. Mine is Backyard Experiment, with a region based on my home state of Victoria, Australia, a regional dex almost entirely made of Fakémon, and pretty much everything a canonical Pokémon game has. Of course, with the scope of this game, me being a solo developer with a moderate amount of experience, and other personal commitments, this would only be released after a few years, so I'm just working on planning and other concepts for now (plus, there's bound to be a new version of Essentials by the time I would actually start development). One of the new features in Backyard Experiment would be the existence of a 19th type, the Dream type, and I've written a bit (a lot, really) about it in this post. Please let me know what you think of the idea!

A little icon I whipped up for visual's sake.

Why the Dream type?

Because it's my game and screw you. I'm kidding, of course, but the idea of a Dream type has been something brewing in my head for years, and I figure what better way to realise it than in a fangame? It's not something that I can see feasibly happening in canon Pokémon, but I figure that just makes the concept a little more interesting compared to something like the frequently-discussed Light, Cosmic, or Sound types. A Dream type also fits well thematically with the events of my fangame, as well as sort of tying into the gimmick of the region (which, without spoiling much, is basically a form change based on what that Pokémon desires most).

The biggest argument I've seen against this type (from what little discussion there is of it) is that the niche for it is already pretty much covered by Psychic and Fairy. To be honest, I don't really have much of a counter-argument. It sort of justifies itself in the game's plot, but other than that, I just think it's neat.

What does the Dream type mean?

Well, the obvious answer is that it represents dreams, and by extension, sleep. (Side note: Dream-type Pokémon are immune to sleep.) But there is a little more than this. It also represents desires and wishes, since that can also be considered a dream, as well as imagination and other sorts of creativity. There's also sort of an eldritch, otherworldly aspect to the type, since dreams can be sort of unsettling at times. If you've heard of the left brain, right brain saying, the Psychic type is the left brain, but the Dream type is the right brain. There isn't much room in the current Pokémon type philosophy for the Dream type, so my aim is to create a new niche, and with it, hopefully, unique Fakémon designs.

Matchups

I also added some of the reasoning I used to decide the type matchups. I'm not too good at balancing, so please let me know if something feels off.

Super effective against:

• Psychic
• Dark (being in the dark helps sleeping)

Not very effective against:

• Rock (it’s hard to sleep on a hard, jagged surface)
• Dream

Weak to:

• Electric (something something Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and also referencing how blue light inhibits sleep)
• Flying (dreams of falling are very common and often wake people up from dreaming)
• Ghost (sleep paralysis was often thought to be the work of ghosts and other demons)

Resists:

• Psychic
• Grass (certain herbs and plants, like lavender, can actually help sleep, not to mention other plants that can help with… let’s just say imagination)
• Dream

Type Retcons

My game won't have many pre-existing Pokémon, leaning more towards Fakémon and regional forms, but if any of these Pokémon below get in, their type would be changed:

• Drowzee (Dream/Psychic)
• Hypno (Dream/Psychic)
• Snorlax (Normal/Dream)
• Slowking (Water/Dream)
• Jirachi (Steel/Dream)
• Munna (Dream)
• Musharna (Dream)
• Morelull (Grass/Dream)
• Shiinotic (Grass/Dream)
• Komala (Dream/Normal)
• Mr Rime (Ice/Dream)
• Wyrdeer (Normal/Dream)
• Rabsca (Bug/Dream)

New Dream-type Pokémon

I'm still in the planning phase, so I don't have many ideas for Pokémon at all, but I do have a few ideas for Dream-type lines.

• Regional Venipede line (Bug > Bug/Dream): It's based on Christmas beetles, especially the black ones, and how they have an iridescent texture to them, as well as the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. (I'm just drawing inspiration from all sorts of bugs with this one.) This line is in the running to be the ace of one of the rivals.
• Mon that goes bump in the night (Dream/Dark): This one doesn't have a name yet, but it's a gimmicky Pokémon with two forms. The Lights Out form has boosted stats and a shadowy appearance, but if a “light move” (ie, a Fire, Fairy, or Electric) hits it, it goes into the Lights On form for three turns, which is weaker and reveals the Pokémon to be an objectmon made of random furniture.
• Tram mimic Pokémon (Steel/Dream): Victoria has one of the largest, if not the largest, tram systems in the world, and this is my way of honouring our iconic vehicles. Tram stops act as a form of fast travel in this region, but sometimes, you'll hop on a tram and find yourself in a battle with this Pokémon instead, think like finding a Poké Ball and it really being a Voltorb. It's also based on the concept of liminal spaces and how unnerving they can be.
• Dream-type Eeveelution (Dream): Having an Eeveelution is pretty much a foolproof way to showcase a new type. I don't have much by way of design, though, just the concept of it existing. I might scrap this in favour of a regional Eevee with exclusive Eeveelutions.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading all of that if you've gotten this far. This idea is definitely in its very early stages, so any feedback is appreciated, especially with the type matchups.