The Pokemon franchise is by far one of the most popular properties in the world, with fans all over the world that can instantly recognize almost any aspect of the series. The pocket monster franchise is also an avenue for creativity, where fans have shown a variety of creations that have ranged from Pokemon crossover art to animations and toys. There's no stopping Pokemon fans when it comes to fan-made works, as there are many ways to show appreciation for the series.
One less common form of player-created content is a Pokemon Tabletop Board game. There have certainly been attempts at producing a board game version of the franchise, such as Pokemon Master Trainer back in the early 2000s or even more recently, Pokemon Battle Academy, though that game uses the Pokemon Trading Card Game mechanics. One fan, however, is making a board game that is more in-line with the mainline Pokemon games, which they're calling Pokemon Unify.
This Pokemon-themed passion project was created by Reddit user BZNintendo, who posted their latest iteration of Pokemon Unify onto the r/pokemon subreddit. They describe the game as being a unification of the mainline games and Pokemon TCG, where it features a number of elements that fans can expect. This includes catching Pokemon, trading, battling, specific Pokemon encounters, and even Gym Battles.
The amount of content in the game is staggering, where multiple players become trainers and build up their teams of Pokemon. From there, it becomes a race to collect eight gym badges and defeat the Elite Four. The map available in this iteration is of the entire Kanto Region, and according to multiple play tests between the user's friends, the game took around 20-30 hours to complete. It took over six months for them to design and make the whole tabletop game, including its map, cards, and other aspects.
BZNintendo notes upfront that due to it being an unlicensed board game, they couldn't take this project to Kickstarter to get this tabletop game made in an official capacity. Even contacting The Pokemon Company itself was unsuccessful, with the company turning down a collaboration offer. They also state that there are no plans to reskin or change any aspect of the game to replace the Pokemon aspect of it, as they say it is firmly a passion project. On the bright side, BZNintendo does share that there's possibility to host it on tabletop simulator or create a DIY version for fans to make themselves.
If fans want to keep up with the development of the tabletop game, BZNintendo has a dedicated subreddit for Pokemon Unify.
Source: Reddit